The Priestess’s Power and an Unforeseen Meeting

Boom!

Two figures lunged to either side. Elise and Barry narrowly dodged the charging beast. The maddened Water Rhino, having stormed past them, continued its relentless charge, flattening a vast swathe of water caltrop plants and snapping a sturdy oak tree clean in half before finally grinding to a halt.

“That damned beast, to possess such brute force!” Barry exclaimed, scrambling out of the mud, his voice laced with shock. Had that charge connected, he knew his sturdy body would have been gored through.

“Everyone scatter! Do not, under any circumstances, try to go head-to-head with this Water Rhino! Get your bows ready and aim for the wound on its head,” Elise called out, her voice ringing clear despite the mud smeared across her face. Focusing her will, the surrounding spiritual energy began to churn. The next moment, the mud beneath the Water Rhino’s feet suddenly turned incredibly soft. Its massive body immediately sank downwards, and no matter how it struggled, it could not escape the mire, only sinking deeper.

“How incredible! Is this what they call magic?” Such astonishing power left the men utterly dumbfounded. They quickly retrieved their hunting bows, nocked arrows, and drew their strings with all their might. In an instant, nearly a dozen arrows streaked towards the Water Rhino.

Deeply mired in the mud, the Water Rhino had become a helpless target, forced to endure the sharp arrowheads piercing its flesh. However, due to the suddenness of the situation, not a single man among them managed to strike the wound on its head.

“ROAR—!” The Water Rhino, now utterly enraged, ignored the arrows embedded in its hide and struggled with all its might. First, it used its head as a fulcrum to push forward, then thrashed its massive body, rolling in the mire. To everyone’s horror, it actually broke free from the mud’s grasp, its body streaming with blood as it charged towards them once more.

“Let me handle this!” Barry bellowed, seeing the beast was clearly at its last gasp. He raised his cleaver and brought it down. This time, his blade struck true, landing squarely on the Water Rhino’s neck. But before he could even register a triumphant smile, the colossal beast violently twisted its head, sending the knife flying from his grip and twisting Barry’s hand into a horrifying, unnatural angle.

“Ugh, ahhh—my hand!” The excruciating pain radiating from his hand made Barry break out in a cold sweat. Yet, in that fleeting moment of distraction, the ferocious beast had already twisted its body, its sharp horn aimed directly at his chest, poised to impale him.

“Quake!” In this critical juncture, Elise once again focused her mind. This time, however, she did not alter the mud. Instead, she unleashed a power that transcended the physical. The very next second, the frenzied Water Rhino abruptly froze, utterly motionless. Were it not for the fierce breaths still heaving from its massive body, everyone would have believed it dead.

“Quick, get away from there!” No reminder was needed from Elise. The moment the Water Rhino froze, an ashen-faced Barry executed a desperate roll, scrambling away. Immediately afterward, he felt a violent gust of wind tear past his back. Glancing over, he saw that the Water Rhino’s body had been pierced clean through with a gaping hole. It was Elise’s magic—a terrifying wind arrow had effortlessly penetrated its body, taking its heart with it. The incredibly ferocious beast had been slain.

Everyone present stood frozen, including the three individuals who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion. All were utterly stunned by the scene before them. In their eyes, Elise’s magic had always been a non-offensive force, its most wondrous application being the effortless curing of stubborn ailments. But this current display completely shattered their understanding. The Water Rhino’s body, impervious even to arrows, now seemed so utterly fragile before her magic.

“This… what kind of power is this?” one of the men murmured, as if in a daze. He looked at Elise, only to find that she wasn’t even breathing heavily. Though her clothes were splattered with mud, it was clear she was unharmed. The thought that such a creature alone was clearly not enough to injure her sent a ripple of unease through him.

Most of the men who had agreed to follow Elise harbored motives that were far from pure. However, after witnessing her terrifying power, they quickly discarded their ulterior thoughts, their eyes now filled with nothing but profound respect.

“Ah… my hand, my hand…” Barry groaned incessantly, sprawled on the ground. A blow from such a ferocious beast had left his hand virtually crippled. Elise, wasting no words, stepped forward. Her very reason for accompanying them was to handle such unforeseen incidents. With a tremor of spiritual energy, points of light scattered from her hand and flowed into Barry’s. His twisted arm began to visibly mend, and the external flesh wounds rapidly healed. In mere moments, he was significantly better.

“Thank you so much, Priestess Elise.”

“You don’t need to thank me. This is what I’m meant to do… but I don’t want to see such reckless actions again.”

“I understand, I understand. I’ll definitely be more careful.”

Barry nodded repeatedly. At this moment, he knew he had erred. The nearly two-meter-tall man appeared remarkably docile before Elise.

“Let’s take a break and find somewhere else. Given the current situation, we probably won’t find a single trace of game nearby.”

Nodding in agreement, the group tidied up their belongings and set off once more in a different direction. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, they wandered through the forest for a long time, unable to find any trace of animals.

“This is truly bizarre. How can such a vast forest not even have a single deer?”

“While we certainly caused a huge commotion earlier… this situation is indeed too strange.”

Even Elise was somewhat bewildered. They had been roaming this area for so long; it was impossible not to encounter a single animal. In previous years’ hunts, it wasn’t unheard of for an accidental commotion to scare away other animals, but that would, at most, affect only a small region. Yet now…

“What should we do? Why don’t we switch to a different area? We can’t keep wasting time here.”

Seeing no success after such a long time, one of the men suggested it. The day’s harvest was crucial for his entire family’s livelihood through the winter; he absolutely could not return empty-handed.

“That’s not a bad idea… Let’s go back and check near the wetlands again. If there’s truly nothing there, then we’ll move to a different hunting ground.”

Elise nodded, concurring with the suggestion. South Creek was at a crucial stage of growth, and a supply of meat was absolutely essential.

Just as the group was discussing their options, a rustling sound suddenly emanated from the nearby bushes.

“What’s that? An animal?”

Tension immediately mounted, and everyone’s gaze simultaneously darted in that direction. The rustling grew louder, and before long, several figures emerged into the sight of Elise and her companions.

“What? It’s actually you…”

“Why are you here?”

Pushing aside the tangled branches and leaves, the group that appeared before them was none other than the party led by the Village Chief.