"This is a Deinonychus. It's fast—watch its claws," Anser reminded them.
"Can it swim?" Salian asked.
"Maybe a little," Anser nodded slightly.
Most dinosaurs should be able to swim. Even a Tyrannosaurus rex could manage a clumsy "dog-paddle." It was an instinct shared by most terrestrial vertebrates—the difference lay only in proficiency.
"They… won't dare come over, right?" Kaleno slowly drew his longsword.
"Not necessarily." Anser pursed his lips.
As everyone knew, dinosaurs generally had intelligence levels not even as high as a chicken's.
The vast majority of dinosaurs had an Intelligence of only 2 points. Deinonychus were the smartest predators among dinosaurkind, yet their Intelligence was merely 4 points.
Hunting was an adventurous activity driven by experience and instinct. An excellent predator would not fixate excessively on an ineffective group size, but would instead prioritize judging the vulnerability of individual targets.
The Deinonychus might never have seen humans before, but judging from biological form, claws and fangs, and mobility, these humanoid creatures… were weaklings.
Looks like they haven't suffered at the hands of adventurers before. Could this be a primeval forest?
Seeing the Deinonychus growing restless, Anser could not help but feel suspicious.
Ahead, the waterway veered off, forcing the elven ship to adjust its course and draw closer to the forest on the right.
Accompanied by a piercing screech, more than a dozen Deinonychus leapt into the water, diving beneath the surface and lunging toward the Quesser.
"Stay away from the rails! Melee units forward! Archers take the high ground—" Salian shouted his commands.
The ship carried two eighteen-pounder cannons, six twelve-pounder cannons, and one Flame Cannon. However, artillery was cumbersome, with limited firing arcs; the muzzles were difficult to turn, and they were generally usable only for flat or elevated fire. Against close-range assaults, they were basically useless.
Even so, Salian was not worried. There were thirty-six crew members aboard the ship. Counting Anser, Kaleno, Kafka, and the other passengers, there were forty-eight people in total. Thirteen of them were adventurers. Excluding little Claira, who was only there to make up the numbers, the remaining combat strength was still formidable.
"Bratt!"
Anser came to Bratt's side and slapped his back. Magic Power coursed around his entire body, gradually gathering in his chest, abdomen, and throat.
"Lightning—underwater!" He gestured diagonally a few times.
Bratt's eyes lit up. He quickly ran to the stern and focused on observing the movement beneath the water.
Anser climbed straight up to the top of the aftcastle and wrapped the directional focus orb around his hand.
"Now!" Salian suddenly shouted—his Wisdom was exceptionally keen.
Bratt lay prone against the bulwark, took a deep breath, and forcefully exhaled. A cone of lightning erupted in an instant, slanting into the water and covering a range of six to seven meters along the ship's side.
A loud boom—sparks of electricity scattered in all directions. The water below flashed bright, bubbles surged upward, and then the surface churned as one Deinonychus after another was forced to leap out of the water. Their bodies were rigid; some choked and coughed violently, wretched and bedraggled.
At least half of the Deinonychus had been driven out—the ambush plan was ruined!
"Free fire!" Salian had barely finished speaking when the arrow in his hand had already struck a Deinonychus cleanly in the eye.
More than a dozen arrows followed in quick succession. The aim was quite good, but unfortunately, Deinonychus had thick hide and flesh. Aside from Finn and a few other adventurers, everyone else's damage was very poor.
A Deinonychus sprang out of the water. Its scythe-like claws hooked onto the bulwark as it lifted its head up, opened its jaws wide, and let out a piercing screech, scaring an elven sailor into stumbling back several steps.
"રંગીનબોલ"
A blue sphere of energy shot over like lightning and slammed into its mouth from the side, erupting with a thunderous blast.
The screech cut off abruptly. The Deinonychus's mouth hung wide open, blood filling it. Its body went rigid and arched backward, hanging on only by its claws hooked into the bulwark—like a dried biological specimen.
Kaleno dashed forward in a single stride and drove his sword up through the Deinonychus's lower jaw and into its skull, sinking in more than a foot.
The Deinonychus's body went limp and, with a splash, fell into the water.
[Target dead. Gained 115 experience points.]
At this moment, Bratt again guided Magic Power to gather in his throat and suddenly poured a mouthful of lightning dragon's breath into the water below. Amidst the sizzling sounds, water vapor spread everywhere, and a fleeting rainbow-like sheen even appeared on the surface.
Several Deinonychus that had just been trying to climb onto the deck stiffened, and the crew took the opportunity to stab them back down.
A string of combat notifications flashed through Anser's mind. The corner of his mouth lifted—brainless, ignorant native monsters were easy to bully!
Only now did the others truly realize just how important it was to have a spellcaster. Without those two bursts of dragon breath, everyone would inevitably have been dragged into a hard fight. They could still win, but people would definitely die.
That green dragonborn looked at the excited Bratt and could not help but feel secretly bitter. He could breathe too—but his genuine breath was actually far inferior to an imitation spell version, leaving him inexplicably embarrassed.
The Deinonychus whose initial assault had been thwarted did not give up. Instead, they spread out and, with remarkable coordination, launched a simultaneous attack from all sides.
Salian stood at the bow while Anser took position at the stern. From their elevated vantage points, their attacks could land immediately, preventing the Deinonychus from forming any coordinated assault.
Salian's arrows were fast and accurate—he could loose one the instant he raised his hand. That said, arrows were frankly not very lethal against large-bodied creatures, and expecting every shot to hit a vital point was unrealistic.
Anser switched his spell to Sorcery Burst – Lightning. The casting speed was extremely fast, and two Deinonychus that had just surfaced were struck in succession and smashed back into the water.
With a loud splash, three Deinonychus broke through the surface. Their sharp claws hooked onto nearby tree trunks as they climbed upward, then, using the momentum, they leapt and lunged through the air toward the ship from different directions.
One at the bow, one at the aftcastle, and one on the deck—clear division of roles.
Anser had long been prepared. Rings of magical radiance circled the spell focus in his hand.
"બર્નિંગરે
Three streams of fire struck instantly at the Deinonychus in midair, burning three black holes straight through its neck. The impact snapped its head backward, flipping its body over in midair before it plunged headfirst into the water.
[Target dead. Gained 200 experience points.]
Go ahead, jump—jumping just makes you a target.
He muttered the thought and was about to support the others.
Turning his head, he saw Nornoth suddenly leap into the air, slamming headfirst into a Deinonychus and knocking it flying more than ten meters. Nornoth itself was clawed once in the process, but thanks to a resistance spell layered over its body, only a few scales were damaged.
Nornoth crashed heavily into the water. The surface sank sharply, then rippled outward, yet its massive body remained steadily floating atop the water.
Quite bold.
A smile flickered at the corner of Anser's eyes.
Nornoth weighed well over a ton, while a Deinonychus was only a bit more than a hundred kilograms. When the two collided, the outcome was self-evident.
Meanwhile, at the bow, Salian had already dealt with the remaining Deinonychus there. A hunter's burst damage was not to be underestimated.
Almost at the exact moment those Deinonychus died, a sharp screech rang out. The remaining Deinonychus scattered in a panic, diving into the water one after another and disappearing from sight.
'Nornoth!'
Anser took a few running steps and leapt down from the aftcastle. Nornoth caught him with ease. Rider and mount skimmed across the surface of the water, giving chase toward the fleeing Deinonychus.
All the enemies were at low Hit Point. Who could possibly hold back? Besides, his experience points were about to cap out—if he did not harvest now, he would probably lose sleep tonight.
"Be careful—" Salian thought Anser was worried about the Deinonychus retaliating and could only shout a hurried warning.
Anser waved his hand and continued the pursuit.
After thirty to forty meters, the water suddenly became shallow. Seven or eight Deinonychus scrambled ashore one after another. They glanced back at Anser, then kept running at full speed.
The forest floor was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves—soft underfoot—but there were no dense shrubs or weeds. The giant trees had monopolized all the sunlight and nutrients, leaving no room for other plants to survive. In such an environment, there was no need to worry about an ambush.
And in fact, there was no need anyway. Once the Deinonychus realized there was only one man and one mount behind them, they turned back and surrounded him instead.
They never learn from pain.
Facing the Deinonychus probing forward, Anser reined in his mount and began casting. The spell focus in his hand flared with sudden light.
"બર્નિંગરે"
Metamagic: Quickened Spell + Scorching Ray!
Three streams of flame flashed through the air, so fast that the eye could barely track their trajectories.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One Deinonychus was struck as if by a heavy blow. Its head jerked to the side, black smoke billowing out as its body went slack and collapsed to the ground.
The Deinonychus pack froze at the same time. Before they could even react, another three fire rays blasted out. One companion dropped straight down as if falling asleep, even giving off an enticing aroma of roasted meat.
[Target dead. Gained 150 experience points. Level up!]
No matter how stupid they were, the Deinonychus finally understood. They kicked off the ground desperately, turned, and fled, quickly vanishing into the giant forest.
'Heh, not bad.'
Anser did not pursue further. He turned his mount around and headed back.
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