Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 266 The Demise of the Orcs and the Shock Ellie Suffers

At the edge of the pool, the steel-maned wild boar, which was leisurely drinking water, was startled by a sudden roar.

It suddenly raised its head, its small eyes instantly becoming bloodshot, and a threatening, low growl came from its throat. Its thick forelegs impatiently pawed at the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Five orcs had already rushed close.

They were generally over two meters tall, with bulging muscles, and their grayish-green skin gleamed with an oily sheen in the morning light.

His face was painted with rough red and white totem patterns, and his protruding fangs added to his fierce appearance.

The strongest of the orcs was the one leading the pack, wielding a heavy stone axe with a dark red sheen on its blade; he was clearly the leader.

"Roar! You damned beast! Stealing our tribe's water again!" the orc chieftain roared in his rough orcish language, pointing his stone axe at the boar. "Kill it! It'll be our extra meal tonight!"

"Aww!"

The other four orcs roared excitedly, brandishing their weapons, and surrounded the wild boar from different directions.

Steelmane Boar was clearly not new to dealing with orcs.

Instead of fleeing, it lowered its head even further, its steel-needle-like mane bristling, its fangs aimed at the orc charging at the front, and with a sudden burst of power from its hind hooves, it rammed into the orc like an arrow released from a bow!

The orc clearly underestimated the speed and power of the boar's charge, and in his haste, he only had time to hold the wooden club horizontally in front of him.

Bang!

With a dull thud, the wooden stick snapped in two!

The orc screamed in agony as he was sent flying backward, crashing onto a rock several meters away, where he collapsed, his fate unknown.

"Damn it!" the orc leader roared, seizing the opportunity to swing his stone axe from the side and smash it hard into the boar's neck!

The stone axe fell with a whooshing sound.

But the wild boar reacted extremely quickly. With a tilt of its massive head, the stone axe grazed its stiff bristles and struck its shoulder blade, producing a dull thud that made your teeth ache. It only managed to cleave a shallow gash and send a few sparks flying!

The wild boar, in pain, let out a deafening roar, twisted its body sharply, and lashed its thick tail like an iron whip at the orc leader!

The leader hurriedly retreated, but was still struck in the waist by the tip of its tail, letting out a muffled groan of pain and staggering a few steps.

The remaining three orcs seized the opportunity to pounce, slamming and stabbing the boar all over with wooden clubs and crude stone spears. But the boar's hide and muscles were too thick, and these attacks mostly only left shallow wounds, which only fueled its ferocity.

The wild boar went berserk, ignoring all other attacks. Its blood-red eyes were fixed on the orc leader who had wounded it, and it pawed at the ground, preparing to charge again.

Ellie watched from behind the rocks, her heart pounding with fear.

Each of those orcs looked fiercer than the strongest hunter in Blackrock Town, yet they appeared clumsy and powerless before that wild boar.

Is this what real battles in the wilderness are like?

Luo Lin calmly observed the battle situation.

Although the orcs outnumbered the main force, their weapons were rudimentary and their coordination was poor; they were clearly no match for this adult, enraged steel-maned boar.

Defeat is only a matter of time.

Once the wild boars are dealt with or the orcs are driven away, they will likely remain near the waterhole, and may even become more agitated and wary.

They must take advantage of the moment when the orcs are distracting the boars and sneak around.

"Let's go." Rowling lowered his voice, gesturing for Ellie to follow him.

The two men crouched low, using the rocks and sparse bushes for cover, and began moving along the south side of the pool towards the western wilderness.

The movements were light and quick, and as quiet as possible.

They had only walked a few dozen meters when a mournful scream came from behind the orc leader, followed by a triumphant and ferocious roar from a wild boar, and the terrified sounds of two other orcs fleeing and the heavy footsteps of their feet.

Rowling glanced back.

The orc leader was seen with his abdomen pierced by the boar's tusks, impaled in mid-air, dripping with blood.

The boar suddenly swung its head, sending the orc's corpse flying, and then, without pausing, chased after the remaining two fleeing orcs, its heavy footsteps quickly fading into the distance.

The battle was over; the orc patrol was almost completely wiped out.

The wild boar chased after its enemy, and the pool was temporarily calm again, leaving only a few mangled corpses and a strong smell of blood.

"Hurry up!" Without further hesitation, Rowling pulled Ellie along and sped up.

The smell of blood will soon attract other predators; we can't stay here for long.

The two ran westward for several miles until they could hear no more unusual sounds, then stopped behind a sparse, crooked-necked earthen slope to catch their breath.

Ellie's face was pale, and her chest heaved violently; the bloody scene she had just witnessed had clearly had a significant impact on her.

"That's how the wilderness is, survival of the fittest, there's no logic to it." Roland handed her a water pouch. "Remember what you just saw."

"The orcs underestimated their opponent and paid the price."

"Never underestimate a creature in the wilderness, even if it looks like a wild boar."

Ellie took the water pouch, took a small sip, and the cool water calmed her down a little.

"Mr. Rowling—will we also encounter—that kind of battle?"

"It's inevitable," Rowling answered directly, "but we can choose the way, the time, and the place of the battle."

"Like just now, we chose to avoid it."

"It's not out of fear, but because it's not worth getting entangled with a raging third-tier demonic beast and the stench of blood that could bring more trouble, all for a sip of water."

He looked at Ellie: "What level have you reached in your 'Azure Wood Spiritual Energy Technique'? Can you reliably guide natural energy to perform even the most basic entanglement or mild healing?"

Ellie lowered her head somewhat ashamed: "Mild healing can only barely stop the bleeding of very small wounds a little faster—and binding doesn't work either, the energy always dissipates."

"That's normal, you've only been at it for a short time." Roland didn't blame him. "In the wilderness, natural energy is everywhere, but it's also wilder and more difficult to control."

"You need more practice, practice under real pressure."

"Starting today, during your daily rest breaks while traveling, I will guide you through targeted energy manipulation training."

"Let's start with perception and cohesion."

"Yes!" Ellie nodded vigorously, her fighting spirit rekindled in her eyes.

She didn't want to be a burden who needed to be protected forever.

After resting for a while, the two continued on their way.

After bypassing the pool area, the terrain ahead becomes more complex.

The low hills, dried-up gullies, and scattered boulders are becoming more and more numerous.

A faint, unpleasant smell of dampness and decay began to waft through the air.

"We're approaching the southern edge of the gray fog depression," Rolin said, judging the direction. "Watch your step, avoid the soil that's particularly dark in color or has an unusual smell."

"Also, pay attention to the condition of the plants. Plants that have been exposed to smog for a long time will appear abnormally gray or distorted."

Ellie immediately perked up and carefully observed her surroundings. She noticed that the further west she went, the darker the colors of the low, twisted trees and weeds became, and some leaves were covered with a very thin layer of grayish-white mold-like substance.

A faint smell of decay could be seen in the air from time to time.

Rowling took out two cloths soaked in some kind of herb from the package and handed one to Ellie.

"Covering your mouth and nose, while not completely blocking out possible toxic fumes, can filter out some harmful dust and spores."

The two covered the lower half of their faces with cloths and continued walking.

Luo Lin walked ahead, the power of [Quiet Dust Star] quietly spreading around him, sensing the subtle changes in energy in the air, and avoiding areas where the energy flow was obviously abnormal or felt polluted.

After walking for about an hour, an even more obvious abnormal area appeared ahead.

It was a wide, low-lying depression shrouded in a thin but real, seemingly still, grayish-white mist.

At the edge of the fog, the wild grass was completely withered, and the rock surface was covered with a thick layer of ash-like material.

The shadows in the depths of the depression were indistinct, and the specific situation could not be seen clearly. Only some distorted black outlines that looked like huge bones or building ruins could be vaguely seen.

Even from a distance, one could feel the chilling stillness and faint sense of threat emanating from that gray fog.