After Milva heard the disappointment in Lann's words, she got off the horse and knelt on the ground. "Please... punish me, Lord Earl."
Lann stared at Milva, frowning, but then his mouth curved slightly, as if he were fighting an uncontrollable emotion.
Was Mirva's mistake really that big?
To be honest, what she did was what Lann would do when facing every villager who spat at him in the game. He was even more ruthless, looting all the property of each house and burning all their animals.
In reality, there is nothing wrong with a servant seeking justice for the sworn master.
It's just that Lann saw a little bad sign from it.
After all, Milva had been wandering in the jungle before, but she had just been taken into the city to live in the past two years. Although she was loyal to him because of the [Follower] panel and other factors, she always had a wildness that could not be tamed compared to House and Levin.
Lann didn't think this was bad, but if it was allowed to continue, it could become the spark for a big problem in the future, an unpredictable time bomb.
So, although Lann was secretly happy about what Milva did, he still had to punish Milva appropriately.
While he was thinking, Milva, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly spoke again.
"My Lord, after I went to the beekeeper's house... I also went to the Lord's Mansion in White Orchard and killed all the livestock in his house."
Lann's thoughts suddenly paused and began to search for keywords.
White Orchard, livestock, kill.
"What did you kill?"
"Everything, mainly cows and sheep."
"How many did you kill?"
Milva sensed the change in Lann's tone of voice. After a while of searching through her memories, she said with frustration: "It was too dark and I was drunk, so I can't remember..."
"Were there at least six cows?"
Milva answered much faster this time: "There must be more than that!"
…
In the White Orchard countryside, there has always been a legend.
Once, a strange giant creature with a deer head came to a village near White Orchard and for some reason, mated with a cow. The resulting offspring had the appearance of the creature with the head of a deer but with much thicker antlers and shared some of its customs, wandering the forest all year round, like a wild spirit.
However, he also has a strong sense of identity with the other side of his lineage, namely the cows. When the cows in White Orchard die too many in a short period of time, this monster would come out of the forest out of sadness and anger, punishing those herders who did not properly care for their cows.
Rural legends always tend to be exaggerated. Biologists scoff at this story, while folklorists consider it good material to enrich their studies.
The mystics have a more logical explanation. This monster that lurks in the White Orchard forest is a species of Relict similar to a Woodland Spirit. He has signed a contract with the herders and has agreed to protect the herders' cattle. When the local cattle are slaughtered consecutively, he will appear and kill the murderer according to the contract.
No matter which of the above statements is correct, they all have one thing in common: when a certain number of cattle in White Orchard die in a short period of time, this monster will sense it and then appear.
These legends are not even ballads, at most they are bedtime stories for children. The fact is that this generation has never seen the legendary monster since they were born, and the cattle in White Orchard have always been well taken care of.
Temeria has been at peace for decades, so much so that it has passed through two or three generations of villagers, so they have almost forgotten this legend.
Until today, when the inhabitants of White Orchard finally remembered the fear of being overpowered by a monster.
Not long after Lann and his party left, a creepy wail suddenly came from the forest, breaking the tranquility of White Orchard.
Then a huge monster with argali horns rushed out of the forest.
This monster had a goat's beard and argali horns, with a cow's neck and mouth, three eyes on its head, and sharp teeth. Its front legs looked like those of a lizard, with sharp claws. The hind ones were hooves, thick and powerful.
What terrified everyone was that the monster was extremely huge.
At first, the Chort simply lamented around the cow corpses behind the lord's mansion, and then wandered around the village as if looking for something.
The monster did not attack the villagers, but its strong body and fierce running occasionally smashed walls and houses.
At this moment, the sword-holding guards launched a tentative attack on the Chort.
The Chort responded with an angry counterattack.
The guards were all killed.
At this time, the Princess Adda, wearing a knight's armor, arrived at White Orchard with a dozen of her knights.
"What kind of monster is this? When did White Orchard have such a thing?" Adda shouted in surprise, and with her was the tax officer appointed by the king to White Orchard. Seeing the situation in the White Orchard, he almost fainted.
"Your Highness, be careful, retreat quickly!"
Because it was near the capital of Temeria, Adda did not bring too many soldiers with her, but the few she brought were all genuine knights who had received strict sword training since childhood and stood out from various duels. There were also several champions of various competitions.
At this moment, everyone took out their weapons and positioned themselves in formation, vowing to protect the princess with their swords.
The princess stood proudly behind them, thinking about where to hang the head of this strange creature in her room. But then she saw the knights being beaten, their armor breaking and their bodies twisting into frightening angles.
The Chort just runs around, and these knights fly everywhere.
Princess Adda was completely stunned. Not to mention that she was a princess now, even if she was still a Striga, she could not stop the Chort in front of her.
However, the Chort did not pursue the knights who were lying on the ground still alive, nor did he pay attention to Adda, who was nearby.
After all the people around it were cleared, the monster stood there, roaring and moaning, as if it was searching for something.
That's when the ground began to shake slightly. Adda turned around to see a group of cavalry appearing at the end of her sight.
With a sharp sound, a black shadow slid across the battlefield in an instant. The Chort instinctively moved his head, and the arrow that was originally aimed at his eyes ended up stuck in his neck.
Unfortunately, the arrow barely penetrated his skin superficially.
Milva, furious, pulled out another arrow. Her shots were accurate, but due to her age and development, her strength was still insufficient, even after several minor updates to her follower panel. Her average strength was similar to an adult soldier.
After the Chort received this arrow, the three eyes on its head lit up at the same time and it seemed like it had finally found its target.
The Chort lowered its head and charged towards Milva. On its way were at least forty Cintra cavalry and two teams of dwarves. They were already in formation since Milva shot her first arrow.
"Shoot!" With Lann's order, more than half of Cintra's cavalry took out their longbows, pulled the strings and released them.
A dense rain of arrows instantly covered the Chort, forcing it to close its eyes and protect its head with its claws.
After half of the Cintra cavalry released their arrows, the other half followed immediately, keeping the rain of arrows constant. Within a few breaths, the Chort in front of them turned into a hedgehog, dripping with blood.
Meanwhile, Lann took out from the [Inventory] the [Relict Oil] that Jerome had prepared for him, before applying it to the Sword of the Lady of the Lake.
The shining runes on the Lady of the Lake's sword covered with oil seemed even more dazzling and ethereal.
Lann knew that if he wanted to completely kill the Chort, simply relying on bows and arrows was far from enough.
The sword was his most reliable companion at the moment.
As expected, the Chort began to shake, causing the arrows on his body to fall, followed by the gradual healing of his wounds.
This monster was not of the same category as the griffin found earlier. The griffin was a hybrid, something that could be explained in some way with biology. But Chort was completely beyond the reach of science, it was the power of magic.
"Everyone, disperse!" Lann shouted loudly, then ordered two horsemen to carry the princess who was stunned.
Lann took out an alchemical bomb, created a spark using the [Igni Sign] with his fingers to light the fuse and with a simple movement of his body backwards, he launched the bomb.
With a roar, green smoke quickly expanded around the Chort, covering it in a green cloud and its cries of pain echoed in the dense fog.
[Devil's Puffball]: Alchemy bomb. Releases a cloud of poison when detonated.
As a Relict-class monster, the Chort only has two weaknesses: Relict oil and the Devil's Puffball alchemical bomb.
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