Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 212 Owl Bear
owlbear,

A dangerous monster widely distributed in forests, mountains, and plains.

As its name suggests, its most striking feature is its unusual appearance, a combination of the characteristics of an owl and a bear.

The bear's body, nearly three meters tall and as solid and robust as a mountain of flesh, was topped with the head of an owl.

Even its roar is a rather low-pitched bird call.

The origin of this creature has been debated in the academic community for many years.

Some scholars believe it was an accidental creation of a mad and daring mage after an experiment.

After all, whether from the perspective of physiological structure or reproductive evolution, it does not seem to be a creature that could be naturally evolved and conceived.

The counter-argument to this viewpoint is based on the fact that similar owl-bears were recorded in elven texts thousands of years ago.

On the continent of Aifara, it's perfectly normal for monsters to look a little strange.

There are many theories about the origin of the owl bear, and there is still no definitive conclusion.

However, it is undeniable that this dangerous creature has become part of nature, and one of the monsters that adventurers must pray to the gods to avoid before embarking on missions.

The owl bear is a fierce and violent creature. Its significantly higher intelligence compared to ordinary wild animals is not enough for it to understand so-called politeness and restraint. Instead, it helps it tear prey into pieces one after another, filling its cave with rotting flesh and bones.

In most cases, it enjoys using its strong and sturdy body to fight other monsters in the forest. Its overly rough and fearless fighting style sometimes makes even stronger and more powerful monsters retreat.

Its extreme aggression and bad temper cause a large number of unfortunate adventurers to die under its beak every year.

If you were to encounter this creature head-on in the forest, all you could do was pray that it had already filled its stomach.

Blindly attacking or fleeing will only provoke its ferocity.

It's worth mentioning that the Owl Bear's challenge level is "3".

This means that a healthy adult owl bear requires a well-organized team of four "Level 3" professionals to defeat it without casualties, provided they are fully prepared.

The challenge level may not fully and clearly reflect the specific strength of a monster, but it is enough to indicate its level of danger.

For reference, this was encountered during Xia Nan's second mission after he first transmigrated to this world.

Before they even saw what the company commander looked like, the entire squad had already been reduced to half its size.

Then came the petrified lizard "Basilisk," which rendered the entire group, including guards Wood and the half-elf Haian, utterly powerless to resist and forced them to flee in disarray, nearly wiping out the entire team.

Its challenge level is only "3".

Furthermore, it must be pointed out that at least half of the three challenge levels of the petrified lizard are probably due to its "petrifying gaze".

However, Owl Bear does not possess any special abilities.

With only his physical strength and a temper that ranks among the worst in the world of monsters, he managed to raise his challenge level and become the nightmare of countless adventurers.

Xia Nan had no idea why this ferocious and cruel beast had chosen him as its first target.

Perhaps it was because of its relatively rearward position, or perhaps it was because of the bits of flesh and blood from other wild animals on its body, or maybe it was just a simple coincidence.

But whatever.

At that moment, as he was thrown away, he once again experienced the immense power of that huge truck with its roaring horn, just a moment before he was transported through time.

Since becoming a professional, I have not felt intense pain for a long time, which burst forth and spread from my forearm, chest and abdomen.

Even though the reaction was timely and the arm shield blocked the opponent's direct attack, the powerful force that would have crushed an ordinary person into a pile of minced meat was weakened by the snake scale arm shield, plate chain composite armor, and [copper tendons and iron bones].

Even as Xia Nan was sent flying backward, he was momentarily dazed, his eyes glazed over.

If he hadn't been so determined, he probably would have fainted on the spot.

[Tidal Stabilization] Works silently:
— Fall damage is halved; any push/pull effect applied to you is enhanced or weakened depending on the situation.

This caused Xia Nan, who should have been thrown directly into the depths of the forest by the owl bear's attack, to suddenly feel light as his body tilted slightly in the air.

Like a leaf about to drift away, the body's center of gravity, which had been out of control, was instantly regained.

From the outside, the air around him seemed to have turned into a layer of viscous water, causing him to land lightly in a strange arc.

pat-

Bloodstained leather boots squeezed through the decaying leaves, sinking deep into the mud.

Xia Nan was pushed backward by the remaining force until he crashed into the trunk of a thick oak tree. The metal armor made a dull thud when it collided with the tree, and he finally came to a stop.

Quickly check for any injuries.

The pain in my chest, abdomen, and arms was still intense, but fortunately I reacted quickly and made a defensive move in time. My physical defense was also quite good, so I was not seriously injured.

The elbow joint moves freely, and all that remains on the body is pain.

Look ahead.

The owl-bear, drawn by the strong smell of blood and the aura of slaughter on the field, did not pursue after knocking itself away.

Instead, they stayed in place and launched a fierce attack on the remaining three members of the Seathorn Squad.

Buzzing—

The low chirping of birds echoed and whistled among the branches and bushes.

Its massive, curved, sharp beak opens wide, revealing its razor-sharp edges and serrated bony protrusions at the opening.

Protruding from between the thick, black bear paws are hard, hooked claws that are curved like bird claws and resemble daggers.

It doesn't need to be particularly sharp; even if it were blunt, driven by the thick, tree-trunk-like arms above, it would be enough to cleave any flesh and blood that dared to stand in its way in two.

"boom!"

Dust flew everywhere, and fallen leaves swirled in the air.

A deep claw mark was left on the ground, and Cash, who was originally standing in front of the owl bear, also dodged the blow that could have killed him on the spot by moving his stone spear.

The middle-aged man, dressed in scale armor and possessing extensive adventure experience, had a tense face, seemingly focused on the battle at hand, with little discernible emotional change.

But upon closer inspection, one can also detect his slightly trembling calves, his hands which are white from gripping the stone spear too tightly, and the flickering unease and panic deep in his eyes.

Clearly, he was far less composed than he appeared.

The appearance of the Owl Bear is almost a disaster for any low-level adventurer.

The Seathorn Squad might be considered a professional team that many lower-level adventurers in River Valley could not "reach".

But compared to a monster of the Owl Bear's caliber, it was no different from the beheaded black panther or a leaf crushed in battle.

The shadow flickered.

The wanderer's instincts allowed Veris to seize the extremely brief moment of stun after the Owl Bear's attack.

Exert force suddenly!

Exuding a dangerous aura, the poisoned dagger stabbed suddenly towards the owl-bear's nape. Its massive body endowed the beast with terrifying strength and explosive power, but its agility was noticeably inferior.

Therefore, Owlbear did not dodge in time in the face of the drow half-elf's rather tricky attack.

He let the dagger fall on his body.

Then--

"laugh."

Vera felt an inexplicable resistance in her hand, completely unlike the sluggish feeling of a sharp blade piercing flesh that she had experienced countless times before.

Thick, heavy brown mane gradually transitions into stiff, fluffy feathers at the shoulders and neck, covering skin that is thicker and tougher than tree bark.

Hair, skin, fat, and muscles together constitute the owl bear's natural defenses.

It may not be able to make any defensive moves against the roaming creature's attack in the short time after exerting its strength, but the beast's killing instinct also makes it tighten its muscles and compress its downy feathers in less than a second.

The short dagger barely pierced the feather before being blocked by the thick skin bulging from the swollen muscles.

Not a single drop of blood was seen.

boom--

A deafening whistling sound suddenly erupted!

Arms thicker than an adult's waist swung their claws, tearing through the air, swatting at Veris to her side like swatting a fly.

A crimson flashed, and Xia Nan heard a shrill scream in his ear.

The next second, Veris turned into a shadow and returned to Cash's side.

A large chunk of flesh was missing from his left shoulder, blood gushing out, and the white bone beneath could be vaguely seen.

It was not a direct hit.

Vera's movements were already quite swift; the instant she realized she had failed to break through the defense, she had already pushed off with her feet to move away.

Even so, he was still grazed by the slashing claws.

It is foreseeable that if she had been even slightly slower, what would have been cut off would not have been just a piece of flesh, but half an arm, or even her entire life.

She took half a bottle of healing medicine out of her pouch, poured it all into her mouth, and the bleeding from Veris's wound quickly stopped, and the injury healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Damn it!" she cursed, her previously undisguised underground common language accent no longer needing to be concealed. "Where did this owl bear come from? Isn't this still the outer edge of the forest?"

Cash didn't reply, or rather, he didn't have time to reply.

The owl-bear, keenly aware that its prey's wounds are healing, is unlikely to give them a chance to catch their breath.

A pair of large, disc-shaped eyes, characteristic of owls, gleamed with a cold, bloodthirsty light.

With its powerful limbs moving, it charged straight toward the two like a train.

But what responded to it was a high-pitched wolf howl echoing from the side.

A phantom wolf head, formed from branches, blood, and mist, whistled closer!

Knowing the strength of his opponent, Xia Nan was never the type to back down in the face of battle.

In the current situation, he certainly needs to fulfill his responsibilities and buy time for his teammates to recover.

At the same time, many thorny brambles suddenly sprouted from the soil beneath the owl bear.

—At the back of the field, Mint gripped her yew staff tightly with both hands, her lips moving as she chanted a spell.

Even as they coiled upwards to the feet, the thorns were torn apart like weeds in the next second.

But the owl bear's movement speed slowed down for a fleeting moment.

As Xia Nan closed in, he used the momentum from [Fang Hunt] to unleash the [Whirlwind Slash], which he had already mastered to level 5, with his decapitation sword.

"Hey!"

The iron-gray arc of light flashed briefly through the forest.

Feathers flew everywhere, and fresh blood remained on the surface of the blade.

Compared to its superior durability, the decapitation sword is only slightly sharper than ordinary weapons, and Xia Nan's strength attribute is only two points higher than that of an ordinary person.

It's more than enough for ordinary monsters; what's truly needed for a single, decisive strike is precision and timing.

However, on the bear, whose physical strength is exaggerated, only a fairly considerable wound was left on its side thigh.

It's not fatal; it doesn't even affect physical movement.

It can only be considered a minor injury.

The pain emanating from its wounds intensified the ferocious, bestial nature in its bird-like eyes.

With a light flick of his right arm, he tore through the air, and the jet-black hook claws that could shatter armor on contact with them forced Xia Nan to use [Fang Hunt] again to retreat quickly.

At the same time, his left claw slammed down, creating a powerful gust of wind that swept up countless fallen leaves and broken branches, forcing Cash, who had taken the opportunity to approach, back.

He once again ignored the stab attack coming from Veris on the side.

The owl-bear shrieked and charged straight toward the mint behind it.

With a body length approaching three meters, its massive skeleton is covered in hard muscles, and it is wrapped in thick fat and downy feathers, making it look like a moving mountain of flesh.

Withstanding attacks from both sides, it closed the distance with Mint with amazing explosive power and exaggerated short-distance speed.

Xia Nan, who was forced back again, was the furthest away. [Fang Shou] was not a teleportation ability that could achieve spatial travel, so it was too late to get close.

Cash and Veris could only stand there, watching helplessly as Owl Bear and Mint rapidly approached.

Under such force, those thorny brambles were no different from the branches and shrubs next to them; they were crushed and crushed as soon as they sprouted.

Realizing that his spells could not stop the enemy, and that his teammates were unable to provide support in the short term.

Mint backed away, trying to get as far away as possible.

But he only took a few steps back, and didn't even have time to turn his body back.

An unsettling, imposing shadow had already enveloped its body amidst the terrifying hooting of owls.

Xia Nan was quite far away, and her field of vision was limited by the owl bear's enormous body.

All he could see was the back of the owl charging forward, its arms swinging upwards, and the girl's body being tossed into the air like a broken rag doll.

The crisp sound of bones breaking was muffled by the whistling noise, his chest was unnaturally sunken, and the blood spurting from his mouth was particularly conspicuous against his pale cheeks.

A plain robe stained crimson fluttered in the air as a slender, petite figure disappeared into the dense forest.

"grass!"

(End of this chapter)