Fantasy Lord: I Have a Moving Castle

Barn instinctively became alert.

Furthermore, whether by coincidence or not, all the Elves that appeared here were female.

"Uncle Barn, are these people your kind?"

With a battle axe in hand, Barn cautiously asked in a low voice.

Although he sensed the malice emanating from the few strange Elves before him, and the menacing look of the unfamiliar Demon Beasts they rode on made it clear they were not to be trifled with—Elves were creatures that cherished beauty, their mounts and beast companions were either handsome or beautiful, when had such grotesque and fearsome creatures ever appeared, clearly typical of villains?

However, because of the Elves’ historically good reputation, Barn did not attack immediately.

"I’ve never seen them before."

Ryan gently shook his head and silently pulled out the arrow from behind, placing it on his bow.

As a Wood Elf, he had seen various subspecies of Elves, but none were like those before him, and more importantly, the feeling these Elves gave him was very unpleasant.

"A Wood Elf, a Hill Dwarf, a Cloud Leopard, an Iron-Backed Wolf, not bad."

One of the female Elves revealed a mocking and cruel smile, then glanced in another direction, where other members of the hunting team were hurrying over.

"Oh, there are a few little bugs rushing over to die, very good, they’ll just become sacrifices for our master."

These few unfamiliar female Elves didn’t take Ryan and Barn seriously at all, their speech was unabashed about sacrificing the two as offerings, such brazenness deepened the seasoned Ryan’s heart.

With a loose grip, he immediately launched an attack.

In that moment, Ryan demonstrated his exquisite Arrow Skill, shooting several arrows simultaneously, each aimed at one of the Elves.

"Quick, retreat!"

Having done all this, Ryan grabbed Barn’s shoulder and swung him onto the back of the Iron-Backed Wolf.

Relying on the powerful instincts of the Demon Beasts, the Iron-Backed Wolf and Cloud Leopard had already sensed the trouble with the enemy, so as soon as Barn and the other person were back on their backs, they started to run.

On the other side, just as Ryan’s arrows were shot, he saw the ugly Demon Beasts beneath the female Elves move.

The few Demon Beasts, not at all slower than the bow and arrow, leaped to the trunk of a tall tree nearby and began to perform stunts like scaling roofs and vaulting walls.

The Long Clawed Demon Beasts rapidly approached Barn and the other person while their long hooked claws struck the trunk, making thumping noises that were disturbing and the scraping sounds of sharp objects against the trunk.

Those thumping sounds seemed as though they were striking directly at the heart, causing Barn to feel as if his heart was pounding along, and the scraping was even more unsettling, as if something sharp were truly grazing the surface of his heart, making him indescribably uncomfortable.

All of this together made Barn very uncomfortable even before the fight had begun.

A few green leaves appeared above Barn’s head, casting down a green glow, and the natural cool sensation made Barn shudder, significantly relieving the discomfort in his heart.

The same green leaves appeared not only above Barn’s head but also on the Cloud Leopard, Iron-Backed Wolf, and Ryan himself.

"Stay calm!"

After completing his spell, Ryan was about to shoot to hinder the enemy’s chase when he saw the Long Clawed Monsters suddenly swing their long hooked claws, and in the next second, several dreadful flashes of blades flew towards them.

The Cloud Leopard and the Iron-Backed Wolf activated their skills simultaneously, the skills from both sides meeting midway. The blade flashes devastated the Cloud Leopard and Iron-Backed Wolf’s skills, and in a blink of an eye, they were right in front of the two.

"Be careful!"

Ryan exclaimed, drawing the long sword from his waist, desperately trying to protect Barn, while Barn, in that moment, gasped for breath.

This was not his first brush with death; ever since he had become a member of the Hunting Team, death had been a constant companion, even though he was the youngest and weakest in strength, and the other members took care of him. In the wilderness, he inevitably faced mortal dangers.

Fortunately, this was not his first encounter with such danger, so at this critical moment, his mind did not go blank and render him incapable of taking any action. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The battle axe in his hand swung fiercely, slicing through the air with a heavy and sharp gleam. The next second, an explosion sounded, and the Iron-Backed Wolf and Barn were thrown out of the dust cloud.

On the other side, Ryan’s situation was not much better. He was much stronger than Barn and had more experience in combat, but he still got injured in the first exchange of the battle due to the enemy’s focused "care."

"Who the hell are you?"

Ryan’s heart felt like it had sunk to the bottom of an ice lake in a snowy mountain.

The strength of these Long Clawed Demon Beasts clearly overwhelmed that of the Cloud Leopard and the Iron-Backed Wolf. Their Challenge Level was likely Level 5. Just these few mounts alone could kill him and Barn.

Now, Ryan could only hope for his companions to intervene.

But soon, the screams of his companions nearby shattered Ryan’s glimmer of hope; the enemy was not limited to the few in front of them, and the situation of his teammates in the Hunting Team could be even worse than theirs.

Just then, Ryan felt a sudden pain in his hand. An arrow had flown over unexpectedly, piercing through his palm and pinning him against a nearby tree, while a web-like sticky substance burst forth, ensnaring and tightly binding him to the tree.

He had hardly even reacted when Barn was even more out of sorts.

It was not just the two of them; the Cloud Leopard and the Iron-Backed Wolf were also in the same predicament.

All of them were stuck to the trees by the enemy’s arrows and the subsequent webs. The Cloud Leopard and the Iron-Backed Wolf howled in agony, struggling violently, causing the towering trees to shake.

The enemy had shown mercy to Ryan and Barn by aiming at non-vital parts like their palms, but they were not so kind to the Cloud Leopard and the Iron-Backed Wolf, aiming at their vital points instead.

The Cloud Leopard and the Iron-Backed Wolf had been their mounts for a long time, and both men had come to regard them as companions or even family. Seeing them seriously injured, they couldn’t restrain themselves and struggled desperately.

Sounds of knocking and scraping grew louder, and after several dull thumps, Long Clawed Monsters fell one after another. Apparently annoyed by the severely wounded, dying Cloud Leopard and Iron-Backed Wolf making noise, one of the Black-skinned Elves slightly frowned and then, before Ryan and Barn could react, swiftly drew her sword and thrust it lightning-fast into the Cloud Leopard’s eye socket, piercing its skull.

Almost simultaneously, the Long Clawed Monster beneath her swung its claws fiercely, instantly beheading the Iron-Backed Wolf.

"No!"

Ryan’s cry of "No" was not even fully articulated before it was cut off by the bloody scene before him, and Barn, the young Hill Dwarf, was completely stunned.

"We’ve caught a live one; let’s head back underground now," a Black-skinned female Elf leader looked disdainfully at the sun above her head and spoke.

For these subterranean creatures, sunlight was perhaps the most detestable thing, making them feel very uncomfortable, in poor condition, and decreasing their battle effectiveness.

Although as warriors of the great Spider Queen, they could easily crush these surface creatures even in a weakened state, staying above ground for long was still unpleasant. Now that the mission was complete, there was no need to suffer unnecessarily.

"Let me go!"

Barn struggled fiercely, but his heart was filled with despair. As he watched the Black-skinned Elves slowly approach, he shouted loudly.

Just then, a few of the Black-skinned Elves seemed to sense something as their leader gripped her scimitar and suddenly slashed towards a certain direction.

A dark crescent moon-shaped blade light flashed, and from afar, a streak of red fire surged through the forest, clashing violently and creating a fierce explosion before both perished together.

In the forest, several intimidating howls sounded, resembling some kind of canine creature.

"It’s a Flame Dog!"

Barn exclaimed with surprise.