The border between a quiet river beach and sparse woods on the west bank of Blackwater River was filled with a murderous atmosphere.
The air carried a slight chill from the water vapor, along with a faint earthy smell.
Lei Luo, leading his knights and elite guards, had already ambushed in the shadows at the edge of the woods.
Using the cover of night and the terrain to conceal themselves, only their vigilant eyes were visible, watching the direction of the river beach.
This was the battlefield Lei Luo had chosen.
The terrain was relatively open, making observation easy, and it was close to the woods, facilitating concealment and retreat.
More importantly, this location was not far from the area where the Ironclad Rhinoceros mother beast frequently roamed, making it convenient for Edd to execute his lure plan.
Time passed minute by minute, and the oppressive silence made some young soldiers' palms slightly sweaty as they tightened their grip on their weapons.
Lei Luo's face was as calm as water, waiting patiently.
Finally, a rustling of footsteps and a heavy dragging sound broke the stillness.
Under the dim Moonlight, a group of figures wearing simple leather armor and holding scimitars or bone staffs appeared on the river beach.
Their movements were stealthy, and their eyes scanned the surroundings vigilantly; they were the Magic Snake Claws.
Walking at the forefront of the group was a hunched figure in a black priestly robe, holding a snake-head bone staff with a green gem embedded at its tip; it was the old opponent, Magic Snake Priest Slark.
Behind Slark, a massive creature moved slowly, emitting dull "kuch-kuch" sounds.
It was an astonishingly large Swamp Giant Crocodile, nearly six meters long, covered in thick, dark green scales that resembled solidified mud, with jagged bone spurs protruding from its back.
Its murky yellow eyes glowed with cruelty in the darkness, and its huge mouth was slightly agape, revealing dense, terrifying sharp teeth.
Every movement made the ground slightly tremble.
This was a third-tier Magic Beast, the Swamp Giant Crocodile.
Just as the group was moving, an earth-shattering roar suddenly came from upstream of the river beach!
"Moooooo—!!!"
The sound was filled with unparalleled fury and ferocity, as if even the earth trembled with this roar!
Slark and his Claws were startled and looked in the direction of the sound.
Under the Moonlight, a massive creature like a small mountain was charging wildly!
Its entire body was covered in a thick, grayish-brown keratin layer, a sturdy single horn on its head gleamed with a metallic luster, and its four limbs were thick and powerful, each step on the ground producing a dull thud.
It was none other than the third-tier Ironclad Rhinoceros mother beast!
At this moment, the mother beast's eyes were blood-red, hot white steam spewed from its nostrils, and its entire body exuded an incredibly violent aura.
Clearly, it had been completely enraged.
"It's an Ironclad Rhinoceros! Damn it, how can there be something like this here!"
Slark's face changed.
He had heard of how troublesome Ironclad Rhinoceroses could be.
But what shocked him even more was yet to come.
A human knight on a fast horse, carrying a leather pouch, charged to the side of the Swamp Giant Crocodile with astonishing speed in a few leaps.
The Swamp Giant Crocodile also clearly felt the threat from the Ironclad Rhinoceros and was vigilantly turning in that direction.
Just then, Edd sharply swung his arm, and the leather pouch in his hand arced through the air, accurately striking the Swamp Giant Crocodile's heavily armored back!
"Splat!"
The pouch burst, and the warm, fishy blood of the rhinoceros calf inside instantly splattered out, covering the Swamp Giant Crocodile's body, and the strong smell of blood and the unique scent of the calf immediately spread.
"Kuch?"
The Swamp Giant Crocodile seemed somewhat bewildered, lowering its head to sniff the liquid on its body.
But for the Ironclad Rhinoceros mother beast, which was already on the verge of rage, this scent was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire!
That was the scent of its calf!
It was the blood of its calf!
"Moooooo—!!!"
An even more furious roar erupted!
In the mother beast's simple mind, this ugly reptile emitting the scent of its child's blood was the murderer who harmed its calf!
All its anger and killing intent instantly found a target to unleash upon!
Boom!
The Ironclad Rhinoceros mother beast's massive body, like a cannonball, charged with unmatched impact, crashing fiercely into the still-unresponsive Swamp Giant Crocodile!
"Thud—!!!"
A deafening crash echoed!
It was as if two small mountains had collided violently!
Although the Swamp Giant Crocodile was thick-skinned and tough, it couldn't withstand such a brutal impact. It stumbled, its massive body sliding several meters sideways, and even a crack appeared on its thick scales.
"Roar!"
Under the pain, the Swamp Giant Crocodile was also completely enraged!
It violently swung its thick tail, sweeping it like a steel whip towards the Ironclad Rhinoceros.
The Ironclad Rhinoceros showed no weakness, lowering its head and fiercely ramming its hard single horn into the crocodile's abdomen!
Two third-tier Magic Beasts, on this river beach, began the most primitive and bloody mad slaughter!
Crashing sounds, roars, cracking scales, splashing mud...
Slark and his Claws were stunned.
They had no idea that the battle would unfold in such a way!
The Ironclad Rhinoceros that suddenly appeared actually started fighting their Swamp Giant Crocodile!
"This... what's going on?" a Naga asked tremblingly.
Slark's face was ashen; he vaguely sensed something was wrong. The Ironclad Rhinoceros appeared too coincidentally, and its target was clearly the Swamp Giant Crocodile...
Could it be a trap?
He suddenly looked towards the woods, and indeed, just as the two giant beasts were fighting madly, attracting everyone's attention, shouts of battle shook the sky from the woods!
"Kill!"
Lei Luo led the charge, with his knights surging out like a tide!
Their target was precisely those Magic Snake Claws whose formation was scattered and who were still in shock from the Magic Beast battle!
"Not good! We've fallen into a trap! Engage the enemy! Quickly engage the enemy!"
Slark shrieked, repeatedly waving his bone staff, releasing dark green poisonous mist and curses, trying to block the knights' charge.
But Lei Luo's knights were well-trained and worked together seamlessly.
The front-row knights raised their shields, their battle aura shining, firmly resisting the invasion of the poisonous mist and curses, while the back-row knights took the opportunity to charge!
Behind the knights were hundreds of soldiers armed with wooden spears.
"For Blackstone Town!"
The knight's longsword swung, bringing forth streaks of cold light, accurately piercing through the Magic Snake Claws' simple leather armor.
The soldiers followed closely, using long spears and battle axes to harvest the stragglers.
The scene instantly became chaotic!
On one side was the brutal close combat of two massive beasts, shaking the earth; on the other side was the knights' slaughter of the Magic Snake Claws, with blood and flesh flying!
Slark was both anxious and angry. He tried to command the Swamp Giant Crocodile to break free from the Ironclad Rhinoceros and deal with these knights first.
But both giant beasts were already seeing red and completely ignored his commands.
The Ironclad Rhinoceros's single horn left bone-deep wounds on the crocodile's body, while the crocodile's sharp claws and tail whip also tore the rhinoceros's hide, leaving it bloody.
Edd had already retreated into the knight's ranks amidst the chaos, and at this moment, he was swinging his greatsword, cutting down Magic Snake Claws one by one as if slicing melons and vegetables.
His gaze occasionally darted towards the battlefield of the two giant beasts, waiting for the best moment.
According to Lei Luo's plan, after successfully getting the two giant beasts to fight, his target was the leader of these Magic Snake Claws, that Magic Snake Priest.
Although the Magic Snake Claws were fearless, they were no match for the high-spirited knights and were quickly scattered, suffering heavy casualties.
Seeing that the tide had turned, Slark began to think of retreating.