Chapter 26

This time, the hunting ground is in a place called the Hermit's Forest.

The Hermit's Forest is a secluded area deeper than the Dawnwind Valley, with towering trees that almost block out the sunlight and countless precious herbs. It is also home to a large number of wild boars and bird wyverns.

The Hermit's Forest is usually quiet, as the beasts there generally remain deep in the forest and rarely show themselves. However, recently, some monsters have begun to venture to the edges of the Hermit's Forest, threatening the peace of Mirado Village.

"Ah, Mr. Cat, the trees here are so tall!" Catherine tilted her head back to look up, only to see a dense canopy of treetops and a small amount of sunlight filtering through.

"Hmm, seeing these tall trees with dense canopies means we have entered the Hermit's Forest. Be careful, meow."

Wenlong walked ahead, with Catherine following closely behind. The two of them cautiously advanced, but before long, they saw the footprints of a wild boar.

"It's a wild boar, and there's more than one. This means the Wild Boar King should be nearby. Indeed, the information is correct. The beasts that should be deep in the forest have come out. If we let this continue, it will cause significant trouble for the village, meow."

"Mr. Cat..."

"Are you ready, meow?"

"I'm ready, Mr. Cat."

"Then let's continue forward, but be careful. From now on, crouch low and hide in the grass. Try not to be noticed, meow."

Following Wenlong's instructions, Catherine and Wenlong began to follow the wild boar tracks with even greater caution.

After a while, Wenlong saw a wild boar vigorously rubbing its body against a large tree. As they got closer, the number of wild boars in Wenlong's field of vision increased, and a rough count showed there were about ten.

Upon closer inspection, Wenlong noticed one wild boar that was particularly large, with tusks much longer than those of a regular wild boar.

Undoubtedly, this was the Wild Boar King they needed to deal with this time.

"Mr. Cat, what should we do? There are so many wild boars."

"Shh, let's take out the stragglers first. Once we weaken their numbers, we can finish them off, meow."

Wenlong knew that a head-on fight against such a large number of wild boars, including the Wild Boar King, was not a good idea. So, he planned to take out the wild boars that were far from the group, and try not to alert the others.

Fortunately, wild boars are not as alert as the quick and sensitive Blue Speed Wyverns. Wenlong believed that if he was careful, he could take out two of them without alerting the others.

First, Wenlong targeted a wild boar that was rubbing its body against a tree.

Wild boars have thick fur, which can easily harbor dirt and parasites. One way they clean themselves is by rubbing their fur against rough tree bark to remove dirt and parasites.

Clearly, this wild boar was using this method to clean itself, and it was not paying attention to its surroundings. More importantly, this wild boar was far from the others that were foraging.

"Are you ready, meow?" Wenlong asked Catherine.

"Uh-huh," Catherine nodded.

Wenlong picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the wild boar that was rubbing its body against the tree.

The stone hit the wild boar's head accurately, but because the stone was not very large and Wenlong did not throw it with full force, it did not cause any damage.

However, it was enough to attract the wild boar's attention.

The wild boar stopped rubbing against the tree and looked in the direction the stone had come from, seeing Wenlong standing there, making a silly face.

"Come on, stupid pig, meow!"

Wenlong wanted to convey to the wild boar that he was just an Elgar Cat, and the wild boar seemed to fall for the trap, charging over without hesitation. Throughout the process, the wild boar did not alert its companions and instead moved farther away from the group without realizing it.

"Hmph, as stupid as a pig, oh, wait, it is a pig, meow."

Wenlong remained calm as the wild boar charged at him. This was just the first step in his plan, and the one who would truly face off against the wild boar was not Wenlong himself, but Catherine, who had little experience.

In the previous hunt, Catherine had been so scared by a wild boar charging at her that she covered her eyes. This made Wenlong very concerned about her mental fortitude, so this time, he wanted Catherine to face the same situation again to help her build up her mental strength.

"Alright, woman, it's your turn, meow."

Wenlong stepped back, pushing Catherine to the front. Catherine raised her giant bone sword and took a defensive stance.

This was the only greatsword skill Wenlong had taught Catherine in the past few days.

From the previous hunt, Wenlong had identified Catherine's biggest weakness: a lack of composure. In the short time they had, he did not teach her many techniques but instead emphasized one skill: defense.

Defense is one of the basic skills of the greatsword. The basic stance is not difficult. Catherine needed to hold the greatsword horizontally, with one hand on the hilt and the other supporting the broad blade, and place it in front of her to use the wide and sturdy blade as a shield against enemy attacks.

Wenlong believed that with Catherine's strength and the greatsword forged by Wise Grandma, if she correctly took the defensive stance and maintained her position, she could definitely withstand the wild boar's attack.

"Now, it's up to this woman's mental fortitude. After the last failure, can she overcome her fear? After all, once you succeed once, it won't be a problem in the future..."

As the wild boar got closer, Wenlong noticed sweat beads forming on Catherine's forehead, but she gritted her teeth and maintained her defensive stance.

"Still very nervous, huh?" Wenlong kept a close eye on Catherine's facial expressions, ready to react immediately if anything went wrong.

"The wild boar is thirty meters away..."

"Twenty meters..."

"Ten meters!"

"Oh, Mr. Cat!"

"Ah!" Catherine, who had been gritting her teeth, suddenly cried out.

Catherine still wanted to retreat, turning her face away as if afraid of being hurt, and closing her eyes again!