"Swish, swish, swish!"
Five venomous snakes, cunningly disguised as dead leaves, launched a sudden assault on the team. Two of them targeted Oliver, perhaps sensing his inexperience or exploiting a weakness in his positioning.
"Watch out!" Luke bellowed, drawing his sword in a fluid motion. With a single strike, he cleaved one snake clean in two.
The veterans dispatched their attackers with practiced ease.
All eyes turned to Oliver, the team's weak link!
"Demon Slash!" Oliver cried, his vigilance paying off as he drew his blade.
Dozens of silk-like internal energy strands surged through his body, heightening his senses and reflexes.
Time seemed to slow. The lightning-fast strikes of the venomous snakes now appeared almost sluggish. Even with his rudimentary swordsmanship, Oliver found dodging their attacks trivial.
A blur of motion, and the snakes' attacks missed their mark. Oliver's steel blade flashed, separating heads from bodies in two swift strokes.
"Well done! Beautifully handled!" Luke praised.
Though Oliver hadn't struck the snakes down directly, he'd chosen the optimal solution.
Evading the initial attack rendered the venomous snakes harmless. From there, dispatching them was child's play.
"I expected you'd be flustered," Eric admitted, his eyes betraying a hint of puzzlement. "You've adapted to this environment remarkably well."
A touch of envy colored his words as he recalled his own miserable early experiences.
"Respected seniors," Oliver replied deferentially, "my weakness and inexperience demand constant vigilance. Is that so strange?"
Luke clapped Oliver's shoulder, his approval growing. "We can try snake for dinner. Plus, leaf vipers are a species of demon beast. You might've earned yourself a bonus."
Hearing this, Oliver gathered up the five snake carcasses, shouldering them as he continued his role as the team's helper.
As they pressed on, Oliver pondered his situation.
His first hunt had passed without incident, defying his expectations of danger.
Surely this second expedition wouldn't prove fruitless? Safety was well and good, but without monster meat, where would he find resources for cultivation? How could he improve his status?
"Hold up," Luke suddenly crouched, excitement lighting his face. "These tracks... Laura, take a look!"
Laura hurried over, her own expression brightening. "Sunk an inch deep, tread like a tank track! Definitely a Scaled Beast, and a big one at that! We've struck gold!"
"Can you track it?" Eric interjected eagerly. "We can't let anyone else get there first!"
"The trail's fresh," Laura replied, her voice hushed with anticipation. "No problem. Let's move!"
With a sizeable prey in their sights, Laura devoted her full attention to the hunt. Swiftly, she pieced together the clues, drawing them ever closer to their quarry.
The trail occasionally vanished or doubled back on itself, but these challenges proved no match for Laura's expertise. She unerringly picked up the scent, closing the distance steadily.
From the team's fragmented conversations, Oliver gleaned valuable information. The Scaled Beast was a species of demon beast. Upon reaching maturity, their meat held exceptional nutritional value. Fortunately, their strength didn't match their nutritional worth, making them relatively easy targets.
This particular specimen likely weighed between 30 to 50 kilograms – a formidable individual of its kind.
Even after surrendering half to the village, at a hundred copper coins per pound, they stood to earn far more than from ordinary game like the black boar.
And who said monster meat fetched only 100 copper coins per pound? Surely there were buyers willing to pay a premium.
"This is the Scaled Beast's den," Laura announced, indicating a burrow concealed beneath nearby foliage. "Do we smoke it out or lay an ambush?"
An ambush offered stealth and the element of surprise but required patience.
Smoking the creature out was quicker but risked it fleeing through an alternate exit, forcing a chase.
"We'll ambush," Luke decided. Turning to Oliver, he whispered, "This gives us time to recover our internal energy. How are you holding up?"
"The river crossing only consumed about a third of my basic internal energy core," Oliver replied, taking a bite of dried meat. "I'm nearly back to full strength."
"Excellent. Adjust your state and prepare for a one to two-hour wait. If it doesn't show, we'll resort to smoking it out."
The team dispersed, suppressing their energy and entering a state of latency.
This technique masked their presence from monstrous perception, rendering them nearly undetectable.
The trade-off was a dramatically slowed internal energy flow, leaving them vulnerable to sudden attacks.
But such risks were inherent to monster hunting. One couldn't expect safety in this line of work.
Time crawled by.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
They'd identified as many potential exits as possible, each team member monitoring one or two.
As the newcomer, Oliver was assigned just a single hole to watch.
Fortune smiled upon him as unusual movement suddenly emanated from his assigned cave.
With a soft scraping sound, a brass-colored creature resembling a pangolin emerged.
The small beast radiated an aura of danger wholly incongruous with its size.
Before the battle even began, Oliver felt the oppressive presence of facing a far larger predator.
This sensation transcended appearance or psychology – it was pure supernatural power influencing perception.
This diminutive beast could perform feats akin to those of a cultivator.
It could leap five or six meters in a single bound, shatter iron and wood with a blow, walk on water, and more...
Upon exiting its den, the creature paused, surveying its surroundings. Oliver held his position, signaling Luke and the others instead of acting rashly.
The team's surveillance system included keeping an eye on their teammates, allowing for swift communication.
Seeing Oliver's gesture, the other three tensed, moving to close ranks around him.
The forest's complex terrain, filled with obstructions, made naked-eye perception unreliable.
As they maneuvered, each team member channeled internal energy to their eyes and ears, heightening their senses.
From Oliver's vantage point, the Scaled Beast gradually distanced itself from the cave entrance, taking small, cautious steps.
"Now!" Oliver signaled.
Laura, the only one who caught his gesture, relayed the message to the others.
Once confirmation spread through the team, Luke let out a thunderous roar. Summoning all his strength, he vanished from his position, reappearing at the cave entrance. With one stomp, he cut off the Scaled Beast's retreat.
"Wooah!" The creature cried out in alarm.
Realizing its escape route was blocked, the Scaled Beast instinctively sensed Luke's power. It fled in the opposite direction, its seemingly bulky form transforming into a blur of motion.
Yet escape proved impossible. A figure suddenly burst from nearby foliage.
A flash of white light heralded a sword's cold gleam as it slashed downward!
The attack, blindingly fast, struck the Scaled Beast's head with a resounding clang, halting its forward momentum.
"Wolf Chase!"
This lightning-quick sword technique, while lacking raw power, excelled in pursuit at close range.
Though it inflicted minimal damage, cracking only a few scales, the attack sealed the Scaled Beast's fate.
"Tiger Cleave!" Luke roared, descending from above.
Terror gripped the Scaled Beast. Its skin and flesh took on a faint luster as its defenses instinctively heightened.
Yet against Luke's onslaught, even the beast's formidable scales proved insufficient. They split apart, blood spraying from the wound. Another flash of steel, and the Scaled Beast's head rolled free from its body.
As its severed head hit the ground, the last vestiges of ferocity froze on its face.