Chapter 55 - Wild Boar Strike

A moment later, Viscount Lansite rode up beside Prince Gro and whispered, “Your Highness, it seems that… stones on the mountain have split, although it rarely happens, it does occur occasionally. However… as long as one is not on the mountain being struck by the falling stones, there is no danger, so there is no need for concern.”“Ah, is that so?” Prince Roger nodded, then suddenly thought of something, “Stones don’t usually split for no reason, right? Could it have been caused by some animal?”

Lansite appeared somewhat shocked, “What animal could have that much strength?”

Roger exclaimed, “A dragon! The legendary Giant Dragon! The reason I came to hunt on your lands was because I heard from others that there might be a Giant Dragon in the forests of your domain. Lansite, tell me, do you actually have a Giant Dragon here? Could that noise just now have been caused by a Giant Dragon?”

“Ah, this…” Lansite began with a bit of a rueful smile, “Your Highness, all those stories about Giant Dragons are just fabrications by some foolish hunters and farmers, they are never true. In fact, not only have I heard them vow that they saw a Giant Dragon flying in the forest sky, but they also say that there are ferocious werewolves prowling at night, and at noon, there are Fire Bears with their bodies ablaze, roaring through the forest.

“Every time, I have sent people to investigate, but found them all to be false. After severely whipping those who spread rumors, they calmed down and dared not speak nonsense for many days. And the rumors you’ve heard, Your Highness, must have been recklessly spread by some minstrel who left my land.”

“Is that so…”

Sighing lightly, Lansite continued, “Honestly, Your Highness, there are common wild beasts in this Black Forest, and having a Beast Tide occur once a month is indeed a strange occurrence. But apart from that, there are no such things as Giant Dragons, werewolves, or Fire Bears.”

“So, it’s all fake.” After listening, Gro nodded his head and showed a trace of disappointment on his face. He reached for the dripping water bottle from his saddle, removed the stopper, and began to drink. Before he had arrived, he had fantasized about hunting a Giant Dragon, rescuing a princess, and acquiring vast treasures, but now his fantasies were shattered.

Seeing the Prince’s demeanor, Lansite knew his mood was sour and did not want to touch a sore spot, so he discreetly backed away.

Gro gripped the water bottle and gulped it down, his eyes suddenly sparked, and from the corner of his eye, he spotted a gray shadow hiding in the grass ahead.

What was this?

A plump, big rabbit!

Gro’s spirit was slightly uplifted; though there was no Giant Dragon, having a rabbit was still something… well, okay, the scale was a bit off. But in any case, having traveled so far and only just now encountering something that could be considered game, it was a bit of a surprise.

In the next moment, without having the chance to return the water bottle to his saddle, Gro quickly jammed the cork back in, hastily placed it into his bosom, and picked up his bow, aiming at the grass ahead.

The group of nobles and soldiers behind saw Gro’s actions and realized something, immediately stopping in place, not daring to make a sound, lest they scare away the unlikely hunting target Gro had regained.

“Shh—shh—”

Gro placed a white-feathered arrow on the bowstring, pulled it back forcefully, his eyes sharply watching the gray shadow in the grass, focused on every move it made.

But what he failed to notice was that, not far beside him in another patch of grass, a massive Black Shadow was lurking, its large greedy eyes fixed on him… on the water bottle stuffed in his bosom.

“Shh—shh—”

Gro’s bowstring grew tauter, reaching its limit in the next moment, then suddenly released. With a “swoosh,” the arrow turned into a dark streak and flew out.

The gray rabbit in the front grass was startled and hurriedly tried to flee, but it was already too late.

The arrow swooshed down, “thud,” piercing its body and pinning it to the ground.

The numerous nobles behind Gro, after seeing this, were about to vocalize their admiration—not because he had killed just a rabbit, but because the archer was the Prince.

But before their pondered praises could be voiced, and before the mounted Gro had a chance to rejoice, from the nearby bushes, a huge body suddenly and swiftly charged out. Weighing over four hundred pounds, in that moment, it was like a small mountain itself—ferocious and unstoppable!

“Wild boar!”

“Wild boar!”

“Block it!”

“Damn it, how did you handle this, why didn’t you spot it sooner!”

“It’s charging at Prince Gro!”

“Hell! Stop it!”

“Hurry, block it!”

Everyone was shocked by this sudden change. The praises that were just about to be uttered turned into shouts of alarm. In their panic and shouting, they tried to block the wild boar, but how could they stop it?

Viscount Lansite drew his longsword, preparing to ride forward to intercept it, but just as he was about to move, he noticed an unfamiliar noble charging out from his side. If he kept his direction unchanged, he would collide with the other in just seven or eight meters, so he quickly turned his horse around, taking a slightly detoured path toward the wild boar.

But another unfamiliar noble galloped out, once again blocking his path. Lansite had no choice but to turn his horse again. During this delay, the wild boar had already reached Prince Gro.

At that moment, Prince Gro’s heart was struck with terror.

Although he had just imagined slaying a dragon, that involved having many soldiers cripple the dragon first, so he could elegantly deliver the final blow and claim the dragon’s life. He had never considered truly battling a dragon. In fact, now facing a more than four hundred-pound boar charging at him, he felt his mind go blank.

What to do? What to do? What to do?

As he asked himself “What to do?” for the third time, the wild boar fiercely rammed into the horse beneath him.

With a “bang,” the horse screamed, falling to the ground in agony.

“Ah!”

Gro cried out as he fell from his horse, but fortunately, he reacted at the last moment, quickly removing his feet from the stirrups and rolling as he went along. Thus, although the fall was hard, he wasn’t pinned by the horse, which likely would have broken his leg.

But this quick thinking during a critical moment couldn’t completely remove him from danger. After hitting the horse, the wild boar didn’t stop, continuing its charge towards him, eyes fixed intently on his chest.

Was this… was this about to bite open his chest?

Gro thought in horror as he struggled to his feet, not trying to be a hero. He quickly ran towards the distance, continuously crying out, “Help me! Help me! Save me! Save me quickly!”

But the nearest soldier was seven or eight meters away, and the wild boar had already closed in to less than five meters.

This…

Was he, a prince, really going to be killed by a wild boar?

What a disgrace!

Gro thought with sadness and anger, clenching his teeth, wanting to resist. But after feeling around, he realized his weapons were all on the saddle, and his bow and arrows had been lost during the fall. Now he had nothing but a water pouch on him.

Could he really kill the wild boar with an almost empty water pouch?

Clutching the water pouch in his chest tightly, Gro couldn’t help but think.