"A shepherd?" Psoglav, one of the rulers of the forest, propped his chin up with his fingers while appraising the boy in front of him. "Ironically, I haven't eaten a shepherd in my lifetime. I think that eating you will be more rewarding than eating that cowardly noble boy."
William didn't say anything as he aimed his bow at the demonic beast in front of him. He had already used his appraisal skill earlier and managed to learn more about his enemy.
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Psoglav
-- Demonic Creature
-- Threat Level B (Mid)
-- Can be added to the herd
-- Success Rate: 2%
-- A demonic beast that has a humanoid body with horse legs, and a dog's head. The single eye on its forehead allowed it to see through illusions. This demonic beast can also see perfectly well during the night and in dark places.
-- Contrary to its looks, it has superhuman strength that can crush boulders with a single punch.
-- Excels in speed, cunning, and Dark Magic.
-- It is weak against Holy magic.
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(A/N: You can read its name as Physoglav or Pisoglav. The (Mid) that you see in the description of its threat level means that it is in the Middle Stages of the B Rank. Grades of the beasts would be given classifications of Low, Mid, and High.)
After the system received an upgrade during the Trial of Courage, it had unlocked another one of its features--Herd Management.
It was one of the secret privileges of the Shepherd Job Class. It allowed William to add "herd type" creatures into his own herd to increase its size. Right now, the limit on William's herd size was fifty.
(A/N: Dogs and Herds go hand in hand. Since Psoglav was a demonic creature with the features of a dog and horse, the system determined that it could be added as a potential member of William's herd.)
However, after he rose his Shepherd Job Class to the next stage, his herd size would also increase. Once he gained the second form of the Shepherd Job Class, the size of his herd would be increased to 200.
Currently, his herd was only comprised of fourteen individuals, namely Ella and the goats he had raised in Lont.
He wasn't conceited enough to think that he could convince the Ruler of the Forest to become part of his herd. The most he could do was buy some time to allow the other children to reach the flag as he fought against the Demonic Beast in front of him.
"Sorry, I don't taste good," William said. "It would be best if you look for bigger and stronger prey."
"Bigger is not always better," Psoglav replied. "Instead of eating beasts, I'm more fond of eating humans, you know? Especially the young, courageous, ones that dare to enter my territory."
"What a coincidence, I was planning to leave your territory, your excellency."
"How kind of you, but do you think I will allow it?"
"It would be best if we settle this peacefully, your excellency," William stated. "I am just an examinee trying to enroll at the Royal Academy. It just so happens that the testing area falls under your domain. None of the children that came here were aware that we were trespassing on your territory."
"You have a way with words, little shepherd," Psoglav clapped his hands. "However, do you honestly believe that having your trial in my domain is a coincidence?"
"It's not?"
"Of course not. In order for the Royal Academy to peacefully coexist with us, they have to offer some sacrifices on a yearly basis. And these… little lambs are exactly those sacrifices."
William narrowed his eyes. He was half in doubt whether Psoglav was telling the truth or not, but the fact remained that the Ruler of the Forest was indeed serious in attacking the Magic Swordsman a while ago.
He had watched their exchange from a distance, while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Sadly, the demonic beast was not an easy opponent compared to the Forest Wolves he had fought earlier.
"Does this mean that the negotiations have failed?" William asked.
"What do you think?" Psoglav asked back with a mischievous smile.
William didn't reply. Instead, he released his arrow because he could tell that the demonic beast wasn't going to back down.
Psoglav sneered as it dodged sideways. Such a simple attack couldn't possibly hit him. However, out of the corner of its eye the demonic beast saw a white blur closing in on it.
Psoglav roared as it raised its arms. Ella had circled behind the demonic beast and unleashed her Rush Attack using William's shot as a distraction.
The demonic beast grabbed the War Ibex's curved horns and skidded across the ground. Ella might not have been at full strength since she was lacking William's buffs, but the fact still remained that she was a strong beast.
Psoglav managed to grab a firm foothold as it stopped Ella's charge. However, it heard the whistling sound of the wind behind its back and immediately released the goat's horns, while jumping to the side.
The arrows passed by the sides of the demonic creature and Ella without hitting either of them.
Ella took this as an opportunity to use her Wild Charge and charged towards Psoglav who was still in mid-air.
"Dark Shield," Psoglav enclosed itself in a shield of darkness as it watched Ella's majestic horns ram against its defenses. The shield withstood the impact. Psoglav used the momentum of the strike to jump backwards and gain some distance from Ella.
The mother and son pair didn't relent their attacks, because they knew that the demonic beast was not still using its full strength to fight against them. They wanted to at least injure it before it decided to get serious.
The steel arrows harmlessly bounced off the Dark Shield as Psoglav caught its breath. The sudden sneak attack almost gave it a run for its money.
"Good! Very good!" Psoglav glared at William with its eye. "You have caught my interest, Little Shepherd. Now, it's time for me to get serious!"
"Mama!" William shouted as he jumped off the tree.
"Meeeeeh!"
William landed perfectly on Ella's back and the two bolted out of the clearing. They had no intention of fighting the Ruler of the Forest. They only want to buy some time for the kids to reach their destination.
Psoglav stared at the retreating shepherd and sneered.
"You want to play tag?" Psoglav smirked. "Playing tag is my specialty."
Psoglav ran after William like an arrow released from its bow. It immediately closed the gap by half in a span of a few seconds.
"It's faster than we thought, Mama," William said as he looked behind him.
The snarling demonic creature was closing the distance at a rapid pace. However, William and Ella didn't seem to be too worried.
'In the worst case scenario, I'll just summon Stormcaller. But, the several hidden presences that Mama Ella warned me about might be from the academy,' William thought. 'I can't let them discover that I am capable of manipulating lightning magic.'
James had warned him before that anyone that specialized in Lightning Magic was treated like a VIP.
However, this was only on the surface.
The spies of the demon race had already integrated themselves into the human's territories. Once word got out of William's existence, powerful subordinates of the Demon King would hunt him down. Of course, this was not limited to only the Demon Race. There were also humans and other races who coveted Lightning Magic.
If William fell into their hands, they might enslave him and make him do terrible things, regardless of his will.
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"Hold it right there, buddy," Grent placed his hand on Andy's shoulder. "What do you think you are doing?"
"I won't let that bastard kill the boy," Andy said in a calm manner as he knocked an arrow on his bow.
"This won't do." Layla shook her head. "We have an agreement with the various rulers of the forest. If we break our part of the deal, they will never trust the academy again. You and your clan wouldn't be able to handle that kind of consequence."
Andy gritted his teeth in frustration. He had really taken a liking to William and, if possible, he didn't want the boy to die at the hands of the sadistic Psoglav. However, Layla was right. There was a contract between the Rulers of the Forest and the Royal Academy.
If one side broke the agreement, the repercussions would be dire.
"Relax, we can still do something about it." Grent knew what his friend was feeling. "At most, we can just hunt some high-grade beast and offer it in exchange for the boy's life."
Andy was about to reluctantly nod his head when he noticed something unbelievable. Grent and Layla also saw the changes and it made them look at William in disbelief.
William had unequipped his bow and was now holding a wooden staff in his hand. Ella had made a sudden turn and charged towards the incoming demonic beast.
"Mama Ella, use Rampage!" William ordered.
The size of Ella's horns doubled in size which made her look more imposing.
The sudden change in its enemy's move pattern caught Psoglav by surprise. It had no choice but to activate its Dark Shield without delay.
After the horns and the shield collided, the sound of a mirror breaking into a hundred pieces reverberated throughout the forest. Ella's horns had torn Psoglav's defenses apart and were about to ram into its chest.
The demonic creature only had enough time to cross its arms over its chest to protect itself from the goat's horns that were as hard as mithril.
A loud clap was heard as Psoglav was sent flying by Ella's most powerful attack. William then lowered his body on Ella's back and ordered her to use Rush Attack to close the distance.
Since they couldn't outrun the demonic beast, they had decided to just fight against it. Ella and William still had aces up their sleeves, so they were not afraid of a confrontation.
This sudden turn of events caught the examiners by surprise. All of them watched with bated breath as the boy, mounted on the goat's back, fought against the Ruler of the Forest head on!