I'm not a Witcher anymore.

boom!

The moment the giant claw slammed onto the shield, the heavy impact sounded like a muffled thunderclap, instantly shattering the suffocating silence of the wilderness.

This was no longer a block, but a complete and utter crushing defeat.

Ingram's arms jolted, his bones groaning under the strain, and the ground beneath his feet cracked.

The heavily armored body completely lost control in the face of this savage and unreasonable force. After its feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground, it was forcefully sent flying.

More than ten meters away, Ingram crashed heavily onto the rocks.

The steel-forged breastplate twisted and deformed on the spot.

He struggled to sit up, but a sudden sweet taste rose in his throat, and blood gushed from the corner of his mouth. He could only let out a suppressed and painful cough and could no longer stand up.

Even though Ingram blocked the frontal blow for him, the brute force from the sweeping claw still slammed into Finn.

The spear in his hand bent into a dangerous arc and then flew out of his grasp.

The spearman lost his balance in mid-air and rolled awkwardly across the gravel-strewn ground, tumbling several meters before finally regaining his footing.

In just one exchange, the front line of defense crumbled.

The owl-bear slowly turned its massive body.

Craig sat atop the broad back of his beast, his iron shield slightly raised, pointing towards Ingram, who was still coughing up blood. A cruel and gleeful grin spread across his face, which was contorted with excitement.

"Crush him."

The enormous creature once again took its heavy steps.

A distance of more than ten meters is nothing more than two or three strides in the face of its terrifying size and explosive power.

With the ground trembling, the owl-bear approached its prey like a moving mountain of flesh. Its powerful forelimbs were raised high, and its massive shadow instantly engulfed the fallen Ingram.

It looked like this heavily armored warrior was about to be trampled into a pile of minced meat along with his heavy armor.

At this critical moment, a sharp whistling sound suddenly tore through the night.

Ravenna abandoned her safer shooting position and charged out.

Using the scattered cover in the wilderness, she moved swiftly, her short bow clapping repeatedly, arrow after arrow aimed at Craig's face, forcing him to keep his head down.

The arrows slammed into the iron shield one after another, producing a series of ear-piercing metallic clangs.

Taking advantage of the moment when the giant beast's movements were briefly distracted, Finn, covered in dust, pounced forward, grabbed the clasp of Ingram's armor on his back, let out a hoarse growl, his arms bulging with veins, and dragged him backward with all his might.

The heavy armor scraped violently against the gravel ground, producing a series of harsh scraping sounds.

The two narrowly escaped the shadow just before the giant claw came crashing down.

Craig noticed his prey being dragged away, and his face immediately darkened.

Ravenna's arrows were too tricky.

Each arrow was aimed at vital spots like the eye socket and throat; if he dared to peek out from behind the iron shield, he would be pierced through by an arrow.

The frustration of watching his prey escape while being unable to free his hands finally ignited the savagery within him.

"I'm going to tear you to pieces!"

Craig yanked the reins sharply, urging the owl-bear to abandon the two wounded on the ground, and instead fixed its fierce eyes on Ravenna.

The owl-bear began its charge.

Its massive body, once it started running, didn't appear clumsy at all. Each stomp of its thick limbs created a crater in the dry dirt road, and mud and gravel exploded behind it, kicking up clouds of dust.

Ravenna has pushed her speed to the limit.

But the monster kept getting closer and closer.

The already small distance between the two sides is being cruelly erased little by little.

Hearing the heavy trampling and bloody, hot breaths getting closer and closer behind her, the shadow of death loomed over her back for the first time so vividly.

"Get out of the way, Ravenna!"

In the distance, Finn's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was distorted with extreme shock and anger.

Ingram struggled to sit up, but he only managed to lift himself half an inch before he vomited bloody saliva and could only watch helplessly as the huge shadow pressed down on Ravenna.

Zig has already moved.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the charging owl-bear, he charged ahead towards Ravenna.

As he ran, tiny specks of light gathered in his palm, quickly condensing into a vial containing an amber liquid.

He gave it a push with his thumb, and the cork popped open.

The next moment, Sieg tilted his head back and poured the entire contents of the potion called "Prologue: Maripo Forest" into his mouth.

The bitter and spicy medicine burned down my throat, and the mixed smell of herbs and pine resin rushed into my nasal cavity, like a ball of fire exploding between my chest and blood vessels.

My heart suddenly raced.

That wasn't panic, but a kind of clarity that was forcibly pushed to the limit.

Everything around us didn't really slow down.

However, his consciousness became sharper than ever before under the influence of the drug.

The trajectory of the flying pebbles, the amplitude of the owl bear's forelimbs lifting and falling, the deflection of Ravenna's shoulder as she staggered, and even the dust swirling in the air, all became exceptionally clear at this moment.

Zig suddenly exerted force with his feet.

boom!

The hard, dry ground cracked open, sending dirt and gravel flying in all directions.

Using the momentum of his forward thrust and the instant the drug's effects exploded, he accelerated again like an arrow released from a bow, crashing headlong into the final dozen or so meters of life-or-death distance.

A strong wind rushed towards us.

Just as the owl's massive claws were about to crush Ravenna's skull, Sieg grabbed her wrist.

He didn't even slow down.

Simply following the momentum of the forward rush, it smoothly and neatly flung her to the side to safety.

The next moment, the giant claw, accompanied by a suffocating stench, crashed down with such force that it seemed capable of crushing rocks into dust.

However, in the ultimate sensory experience brought by "Prelude: Maripo Forest", this seemingly unavoidable blow is full of flaws.

Zieg didn't even lose his breathing rhythm.

He simply slid half a step to the side.

The giant claw almost grazed the hem of his clothes before slamming heavily into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Just as the behemoth's old strength was exhausted and its new strength had not yet been generated, Sieg stepped onto the owl-bear's thick wrist bone.

Using the recoil, he leaped lightly into the air and landed steadily on the back of the giant arm.

The owl-bear let out a furious roar, and suddenly raised its arm, trying to fling the ignorant insect away.

Even amidst the interplay of weightlessness, wind pressure, and violent turbulence, Zieg's gaze remained calm.

With a crisp metallic scraping sound, the steel sword was drawn.

A cold, silvery arc swept across the night.

The blade pierced precisely from top to bottom into the weak spot where the feathers met the thick skin on the owl-bear's forearm.

Zieg did not covet the chance to pierce through with a single strike.

He simply and steadily inserted the sword, using the blade embedded in flesh as a fulcrum, and his entire body pressed against the thick bear arm as he moved upwards against the force.

Under the immense kinetic energy generated by the beast's frantic swinging, the blade sliced ​​through the muscle fibers, tearing apart the thick, solid skin and flesh.

Hot blood gushed out and drenched Zieg.

But his hand holding the sword remained perfectly steady, without the slightest deviation.

He cut upwards amidst the violent shaking, yet his footwork remained terrifyingly precise.

He only stopped when the sword, carrying a chilling killing intent, pierced the most vulnerable crevice in the bear's shoulder blade, firmly fixing him to the giant beast's shoulder.