Chapter 82: Bountiful Harvest
With a single, powerful shield bash, Duane sent a charging Frog Fish Monster flying. The immense force of the blow left it unable to get back up for some time.
At the same time, his Basic Shield Skill Level increased by 18 points.
’Sure enough, true life-and-death combat is what makes Combat Skills’ Skill Levels increase rapidly.’
"My Lord, be careful! That Frog Fish Monster up ahead seems to be a leveled Demon Beast!" Kaelon shouted a warning.
The creature Duane now faced had dark green skin and scales dotted with red and black spots.
It looked different from the rest—it was slightly taller and even wielded a weapon made of sharp bone.
"Good!"
Showing no fear, Duane quickly channeled his Fighting Qi. As he swung his longsword, he unleashed a Fighting Qi Slash that cut horizontally forward.
POP!
The Frog Fish Monster spat out a dense Water Bomb that collided with the Fighting Qi Slash.
With a BOOM, the Fighting Qi Slash disintegrated, while the Water Bomb exploded into a spray of countless droplets.
Duane raised his shield to block the shockwave, then pushed forward and delivered a straight thrust with his sword.
He avoided the scales on its chest. Raymond had tested them yesterday and discovered they had a certain degree of defensive strength, making them somewhat difficult to pierce.
Duane’s blade sliced across its neck, opening a wound several centimeters deep and sending blood splashing.
The Frog Fish Monster was slain by Duane before it even had time to dodge.
This counted as Duane’s first time drawing blood in a kill.
Perhaps because of this, the Skill Levels for his Basic Swordsmanship and Spirit Swordsmanship saw a considerable increase.
The battle was not yet over.
Duane’s eyes shifted to the next target. "Keep going!"
Kaelon stayed by his side, ready to act at a moment’s notice.
He had practically watched Duane grow up and had a good understanding of his combat prowess—or so he had thought.
He had been worried that the Baron would panic at his first taste of blood or become disoriented on the chaotic battlefield.
But reality had just delivered a harsh slap to the face.
The Baron was remarkably composed. In the heat of the melee, his offense and defense were both flawless. He didn’t look like a new recruit on his first battlefield at all; he was more like a seasoned veteran with combat experience.
’My Lord is truly a genius!’
He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. It was the only explanation.
’Lord Carter, did you see that? I firmly believe that in your son’s hands, the Brian Clan will grow strong and become renowned Nobility in the Pruck Kingdom!’
Land, personnel, and his own talent and strength—Duane possessed them all.
As long as they could solve the problem of travel between Black Forest Island and the Kingdom, Duane would absolutely have a chance to secure a place among the Kingdom Nobility.
Besides, who else could possibly go from a regular person to a Middle Level Warrior in such a short time?
Kaelon even wondered if it was Carter’s heroic spirit that was allowing the Baron’s strength to increase so rapidly!
Duane was fighting with wild abandon, and so were the others.
Gaius of the Broken Wave Gang seemed to love a good brawl. The moment he entered the battlefield, he didn’t even think of holding back, making a beeline for the larger creatures that looked like pack leaders.
Raymond and Simone, acting as support, did the same, each seeking out the most threatening individuals to fight.
Their fierce fighting style quickly yielded impressive results.
However, on a chaotic battlefield, there were always some who found themselves at a disadvantage.
This was true for all three parties involved.
For instance, someone was hit by a spear, a bloody hole torn in their body.
Others were caught in a large net cast by several Frog Fish Monsters, then swarmed and stabbed to death.
Still others made their own mistakes—twisting an ankle or stumbling—giving the Frog Fish Monsters an opportunity to grievously wound them.
In any case, there were always some who, like Duane, managed to remain relatively calm and not tremble with nervousness.
But the battle progressed quickly. In just three to five minutes, more than half of the Frog Fish Monsters were dead.
Even though they were aggressive and dim-witted, continuing to fight even after their leader was killed.
But as they realized their numbers were dwindling, fear finally triumphed over their aggressive nature.
They began to flee.
This gave the Guards stationed on the perimeter their chance.
Roaring to build their courage, they charged in with a variety of weapons to join the slaughter.
After a little more time, the sounds of slaughter in the Riverfront Forest gradually faded.
All one hundred-plus Frog Fish Monsters had been slaughtered, with not a single one left alive.
Spattered with blood, Duane stood panting.
He glanced around. No fewer than ten Frog Fish Monsters had died directly at his hands, with many more gravely wounded after he had sent them flying.
"My Lord, we’re victorious!" Raymond said with a smile.
This was their first battle under the Baron’s command. Such a great victory was worth commemorating.
The battle high coursing through Duane began to subside. "Excellent. We won!"
"Jack, John, take some men and clear the battlefield. Raymond, I need you to tally our casualties and also get the numbers for the Broken Wave Gang and the Holy Hand Association."
The three men acknowledged their orders and went their separate ways.
Accompanied by Kaelon, Duane returned to the top of the hill.
Looking down from above, he saw the battlefield littered with the corpses of Frog Fish Monsters—all of them were spoils of war.
The meat of the Frog Fish Monsters and the spears they crafted could all be collected and used.
Furthermore, their scales were quite valuable and could be stripped off to make Soft Armor.
However, casualties had been unavoidable.
Duane saw bodies lying in pools of blood.
"Baron, I didn’t realize you broke through to become a Middle Level Warrior!"
Kalina approached, her face full of adoration, a captivating light shining in her large eyes.
"You were so heroic in that battle! As one of your subjects, I’m proud to have a Lord like you!"
Duane snapped out of his reverie. "Your praise is much appreciated. But compared to a Warrior’s charge, the Fireball Technique you just used was also incredibly powerful!"
He added, "Mages... a truly mysterious and admirable profession. Just like Daniels!"
Kalina smiled sweetly. "Both Daniels’ magic and my own will be at your service."
"Haha!"
Duane laughed as well. "Yes. And just like those Sauce Meat Fruits you sent... something that rare... if Daniels has any more, I’m willing to pay a high price for them!"
Hearing this, Kaelon’s expression flickered.
He knew not to reveal anything, however, and quickly hid his angry expression.
Kalina completely missed the meaning behind his words. She covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled lightly.
"There should be more, I think? You may not know this, but they’re actually very troublesome to make! If you truly need them, Baron, you can’t let us take a loss on them like we did with the iron mine and salt well!"
’Just as I expected,’ he thought. ’They sent the Sauce Meat Fruit with the goal of fighting for more benefits.’
’At least, it was one of their goals.’
"Of course!"
Duane’s tone was firm, but inwardly, he had already decided to kill them.
"I absolutely will not let you take a loss!"
Before long, Raymond came up to report, having finished tallying the casualties.
"My Lord, our losses weren’t heavy. Only one man was seriously injured after being pierced by a spear. We have four others with minor injuries like scrapes and sprains. For now, we have no one killed in action."
Duane breathed a sigh of relief.
"Have Ronald bandage the seriously wounded man immediately. The lightly injured can rest here. After we’ve cleared the battlefield, those who can walk will walk back on their own. For those who can’t, make some simple stretchers and have them carried back."
Raymond nodded in acknowledgment and went on to report the casualties for the Broken Wave Gang and the Holy Hand Association.
In total, they had three killed in action, seven seriously wounded, and thirteen with minor injuries.
It wasn’t hard to see that in terms of overall quality, they were a step below Duane’s own forces.
After a moment’s thought, Duane announced to everyone that the Lord’s Mansion would also provide a certain stipend for those who had been killed in action.
As for the specific details of the stipend, they would be announced after everything was settled.
For now, however, this was just talk.
The end of the battle in the Riverfront Forest signaled that another operation was about to officially begin.