It didn't take long for the elves to decimate the poor rhino-like beasts. After the battle, if you can call it that, was done, four elves took the initiative to move the corpses to a very specific spot.
Apparently, the elves always had specified spots where they could put the corpses of different beasts or monsters. After any hunting team left the village, a gathering team would soon start to follow in their tracks.
These specific spots were incredibly important, and if the hunting team forgot to put any corpses in one of these spots, the gathering team wouldn't pick them up. This was a very strict rule, and the gathering team followed it to their core. Corpses that weren't in the specified spots wouldn't get picked up no matter what.
This ensured that all the corpses were actually hunted by the elves and none of them were prey of some random monster. If the creature had some poisonous properties when it was alive, the hunting team would just leave them where they had killed them. This meant that the gathering team wouldn't pick up something potentially dangerous.
It was a thorough system, and its goal was to make sure the elves back in the village would be as safe as possible.
This whole concept was one of the most important things Aurora had learned about from Elijah. This way, she wouldn't waste any useful corpses by just leaving them where she killed them. After all, now she could use the corpses for some special equipment.
After dealing with the two rhinos and taking a short break, the group set out once more, heading deeper into the monster territory. By now, Elijah had finished explaining and saying what he wanted to, so he also shut his mouth, and the group moved in silence.
Overall, the hunting trip went smoothly. In just a few hours, the group encountered a lot of different monsters and magical beasts. There were even some large groups, which meant a lot of possible meat.
Actually, hunting was a very important aspect of the overall sustainability of the elven village. The elves had farms for plants, vegetables, and fruits. They had farms even for some domesticated magical beasts that could be bred for food. However, the corpses obtained from hunting made up almost around 20% of all the food the elves gathered.
While the monster bodies couldn't be eaten, the meat of magical beasts was very rich in nutrients and was also very tasty. The stronger the beast, the better the meat from it was. Not to mention that the other parts of the beasts, like claws, bones, etc., could be made into various equipment or just be used as material.
That's also why hunting was one of the most valuable jobs an elf could do. However, only a few were truly born to fight.
Elves are a long-living race, but their specialty definitely isn't combat in general. On the other hand, they are very closely tied to the nature and mana, so they are one of the most talented races when it comes to magic.
The snow elves in particular are naturally good with ice magic. Of course, just like any other elf type, they also have a high affinity for nature magic, but the most prominent one is still the one with ice.
The problem is that most elves aren't really willing to fight. Although they all have high potential when it comes to magic, barely any want to use that magic to fight and kill. Only those that are truly willing to fight are taken in as hunters, so there aren't that many hunters in the whole village.
Be that as it may, Aurora didn't care for the elves in particular. Yes, they were nice to her, and she liked some of them; however, that only applied to a small group of people. As for the other, Aurora neither cared for nor was interested in.
Not having the will to fight was cool and all, but when you got to see the real world and its cruelness, you would realize that not wanting to fight was simply foolish. Unless you had someone strong to protect you, you probably wouldn't meet a happy end.
To Aurora, fighting, killing, and getting stronger was her entire life. Although she didn't know much about her past life, she knew she definitely never killed anything during that lifetime. But now, to the current her, killing was as natural as breathing.
Only the strong had the power to live a happy, carefree life, and she definitely wasn't strong. While she may be virtually invincible among those in the first rank, she was far off from being strong enough.
If a monster like Aurelius, or at the very least, something around his level were to appear, Aurora could only smile and let herself get killed. Mind you, Aurelius was merely a second-rank beast at level 30. There were even more terrifying individuals like Elaine.
Although Aurora had no idea how strong exactly the elven chief was, as she couldn't feel her power clearly, she had a hunch that the silver-haired elf was already in the third rank of power. A being like her could literally kill her with a light slap.
Did that mean Aurora was weak? No, absolutely not! It was just that she was constantly surrounded by those even stronger than her. Well, thanks to that, she at least never got too arrogant and always aimed to become stronger.
Just as Aurora was lost in her thoughts, her senses perked up as she felt something that made her eyes contract to the size of needles. Not wasting even a second, she immediately activated Telepathy.
"Elise, tell the elves to stop, now!" Faced by the sudden command, Elise got completely flustered and froze up. However, probably due to Aurora's hurried tone, her brain reacted on its own.
"Everyone, stop!" Elise called out unconsciously, her voice immediately reaching the ears of every member of the party.
"Sister, what's wrong?" Elijah asked in turn, his voice laden with confusion and worry.
"I-" For a second, Elise didn't know what to say. She didn't even mean to yell like that; her brain did it on its own. Thankfully, she soon once again heard Aurora's voice inside her mind.
Taking a deep breath, Elise quickly calmed down and looked her brother straight in the eyes.
"Powerful enemies nearby. They aren't approaching us currently, but we would reach them soon if we continued on this track." Now much calmer, Elise repeated Aurora's words.
Elijah also immediately understood that this wasn't his sister speaking, but rather, it was the small white fox next to her. And hearing the fox say those words immediately made him frown.
'If even Lady Aurora was saying they were powerful, then that could mean just one thing!' Such were the young elven captain's thoughts.
"I don't know why your tracker said nothing, as he should be able to sense them much easier than I can." Elise spoke once more, but Elijah wasn't looking at his sister.
Seeing the small white fox looking at his party member with scrutinizing eyes, the young elf immediately understood Aurora's thoughts.
"Lady Aurora, don't blame him. Just as you said, this elf right here is our tracker. His name is Jorik. The reason he couldn't sense the enemies you are talking about is because they are already second-rank individuals, isn't that right?" Elijah asked with a small smile; however, his whole expression was quite tense.
To be honest, he was quite nervous and worried. No, it wasn't because he thought Aurora might do something to Jorik. Rather, it was because of the appearance of a fearsome foe. And judging from Aurora's words, there were at least two dangerous beings up ahead.
Now, what did dangerous mean to someone who could easily overpower any being in the first rank? It probably meant that the enemies ahead of them were rank 2 monsters or beasts. Any being in the second rank wasn't to be underestimated.
Elijah himself was one such being. He had managed to evolve past the first rank of power not too long ago. But if he was being honest, he wasn't too confident in facing a rank 2 monster on his own. He was a ranger, someone who needed support on the frontline. As for facing two or more such monsters at once? Absolutely not!
He really hoped that his worries would turn into nothing and that Aurora would merely shake her head. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
"Indeed. Up ahead are two enemies of the second rank. They also seem to be cooperating, which isn't good for us at all." With Elise's next words came the answer he most feared.
'At the very least, it's not more than two.' Even then, Elijah looked at the brighter side of things and sighed in relief.
"Lady Aurora, you said the enemies aren't currently approaching us. I think it would be in our best interest to return to the village. As much as it pains me to say, our current party definitely cannot deal with two rank 2 beasts. Even one is a sizeable problem, not to mention two." Elijah's words were completely logical. In fact, his idea was warmly welcomed by every member of the hunting squad.
However, much to the shock and horror of the elves, Aurora shook her head in response.
"I wouldn't say that's a good idea. I might be wrong, but I think the reason those two are currently coming after us is because they are waiting. If they feel us running away, they'll most probably run after us." Those words shook the elves to the bone.
Indeed, what Aurora just said wasn't impossible. If anything, there was a high chance her theory was correct. If the enemies were monsters, they would have already rushed towards the group. If they were magical beasts, then they were already quite intelligent since they were in the second rank of power.
Since they were most probably beasts, then it was also highly possible they were able to gauge the strength of the hunting squad at least roughly. Elijah was a rank 2 individual, and most of the about twenty elves were all peak first-rank beings. This definitely wasn't a group the two beasts could just attack rashly.
The beasts were most probably waiting for an opening. Either the elven party would come to them, or they would try to run away, in which case the beasts would chase after them and take them out one by one.
Realizing that Aurora was most probably correct, some of the elves already began to sweat bullets. And even if some tried to appear calm on the outside, it was obvious that everyone was worried.
No normal person wanted to die, under normal circumstances that is. These elves were no different. They might be ready to fight with their lives on the line, but they still wanted to live. They wanted to return back to the village safe and sound.
"What's with those expressions!" Suddenly, Elise exclaimed loudly and tried to sound angry. Aurora told her to act bold and angry, but unfortunately, the poor elven princess had no idea how to do that. Even then, she did her best.
Surprisingly, it worked. All the elves turned to look at Elise, who slowly picked Aurora up into her arms and raised her slightly. Now, with the little fox in front of her face, Elise continued to speak.
"Don't tell me you already gave up! You are hunters; you are the predators! You should know that there are times when the hunter becomes the prey. Even a cornered rat fights back! Have you already lost your lives? Hmm, did you!?" Elise continued in her 'angry' and 'authoritative' tone.
And although she didn't sound at all angry, none of the elves noticed that at all. The expression on the small fox's face was enough for all of them to shut up and listen, not to mention the absurd pressure the small furry creature was giving off.
"I can't hear you! Have you already lost your lives!?" Aurora asked through Elise once again, and this time, no one dared to disobey.
"No, we haven't!" Every single elf, except for Elijah, shouted at once.
"Then why the fuck do you act like you already did!? Listen up, we aren't going down without a fight, or did you already forget your pride as hunters!?" Aurora's constant barrage of spits, curses, and hurtful questions worked like magic as the flames inside each elf began to burn brighter and brighter.
"No, we haven't!" The elves shouted again, their eyes burning with determination.
"Then stop looking like beaten dogs and grab your weapons!" Even Elise was getting the hang of it, sounding more and more confident.
"YEAAAH!!!" The elves shouted in unison, all grabbing hold of your armaments.
Lady Aurora was right. Even if they die here today, they won't go down easily. They are the hunters, not the prey! Even in the face of death, they will fight until their last breath!