Rein, while responding to the enthusiastic Bounty Hunters, started checking the system notifications:
[Your skill Giant Bear Sword Technique has improved, Experience +145]
[You have been through a battle, Night Watchman Professional Experience Points +76]
The battle was extremely short. Although Rein only used thirty percent of his ‘Strength Burst’ and swung his sword twice, each strike was an excellent combination of his current level of strength and skill.
Therefore, the experience gained was considered quite substantial.
Meanwhile, the three Bounty Hunters beside him were now engaging Rein eagerly, a stark contrast to their indifferent demeanor when they had first arrived, as if they had completely changed their faces.
“Did a troll appear near Flashgold Town?”
“I personally saw Haral, that ‘little giant,’ accept this task in County Town.”
“…”
Listening to the Bounty Hunters talk about that ‘giant’ who had left a deep impression on him, Rein immediately thought of the day that group of Bounty Hunters entered Flashgold Town.
And the barbarian girl with the large shield who was the last in line.
Rein naturally wanted to learn more about the barbarians and trolls.
Especially since several days had passed, and he seemed to have heard no news about them from anyone else.
It seemed like the barbarian Bounty Hunters had waited at the Beech Hotel for a few days before setting out after receiving confirmed news about the trolls.
But today, it had been two or three days since they left the inn at Flashgold Town, and by counting the days, they should have been back by now.
However, for some reason, Rein had not heard any news of their return.
Could it be that they went straight back to County Town?
Possible.
Perhaps these three Bounty Hunters from County Town knew something.
With that thought, Rein also nodded slightly, replying somewhat reservedly, “Yes, that team of barbarian warriors is very strong.”
“Yes, but, Rein, I see that you’re so young and already possess such strength. In no time at all, you will……”
Just as that Bounty Hunter was eagerly talking, a kind of high-frequency Shock sound, inaudible to human ears, seemed to permeate the air.
Buzz buzz buzz!
A trembling presence suddenly descended, making everyone feel something was off.
“Crack crack crack!”
Before everyone could look around, Rein and the others felt the ground shake, and the ceiling of the mining tunnel began to drop various sizes of rocks, causing everyone to stagger and struggle to maintain their balance.
“Could it be an earthquake?” many exclaimed.
‘Cookie’ started barking frantically behind them, and Rein’s mind instantly rang alarm bells.
“Not good, it’s an attack!”
But before Rein could turn around, he felt a huge gust of wind hit him from behind.
Rein immediately rolled forward on the spot, dodging the attack from behind.
But the two elite Night Watchmen following closely behind Rein could not dodge in time.
“Pop!”
The sound of a hammer forcefully striking a watermelon rang out!
The heads of the two elite Night Watchmen burst open like exploded watermelons, instantly splattering blood and white brain matter everywhere.
His colleagues, who had been conversing cheerfully just a moment ago, were now dead on the spot!
Rein quickly turned around, and only then did he see that their attacker was a giant creature standing three meters tall, its head nearly touching the top of the mining tunnel.
It resembled a giant, with a pockmarked and uneven body surface, wielding a stone mallet over two meters in length.
That horrifying strike had been delivered by swinging that stone mallet.
But what Rein could not fathom was how such a massive creature, which they had not noticed upon their earlier arrival at the tunnel, could remain unnoticed; they had passed through this area upon entering.
Moreover, logically, a creature of this size and build should produce a sound from its movement in the tunnel that Rein could have felt from dozens of meters away, yet the attack had been so sudden and stealthy.
Furthermore, this time he had ‘Cookie’ with him; a dog’s hearing and smell are dozens of times better than a human’s, but even so, they only detected something was amiss a moment before the attack.
Truly bizarre!
At this moment, Captain Weilun was already red-eyed with rage. The two who had just died were his direct subordinates, with whom he had been through numerous tasks and battles, creating a bond unlike any other.
Unexpectedly, they had perished here.
Instantly, Weilun used all his strength to deliver an exceptionally swift striding thrust at the creature’s chest.
It seemed… the creature was too slow to react.
Just as Weilun thought his strike would be successful,
“Ding!”
Everyone was shocked to see that when Weilun’s thrust hit the creature’s body, sparks flew.
By then, because of the falling rocks and dust, and the sudden attack, many people’s torches had fallen to the ground, and the whole mining tunnel was flickering between light and dark, with most people only able to see a towering humanoid figure attacking them.
But Rein, with his Dark Vision, immediately noticed that the creature’s irregularly surfaced body was entirely made of a special type of rock, and in terms of defensive power, it was even stronger than the Crystal Stone lizard they had just encountered.
No wonder Weilun’s thrust, even though successful, was futile.
At that moment, the monster seemed to react, swinging its huge stone mace towards Weilun.
“Be careful!!” Hamilton, positioned in the middle of the team, bellowed.
Just as he turned around, he saw two of his men killed with a single blow from the mace, a double kill.
Now, even Weilun was about to die at the enemy’s hand, which made Hamilton nearly uncontrollable with anger!
Weilun quickly retreated, but the speed of the mace was incredibly fast, and seeing the massive hammer about to crash onto his head, Weilun had already closed his eyes in despair.
“It’s over!”
“He was about to follow the footsteps of those two underlings!”
He hadn’t expected the monster to be massive but not slow in its attack speed.
The monster swung up its stone mace, as if it were an extension of its own arm, even faster than imagined.
At that moment, Rein had just rolled up from the ground and, seeing this, was too late to rescue Weilun.
“Clang!!”
Weilun only felt a deafening clash of metal next to his ear, but the next second he realized he hadn’t died.
Suddenly opening his eyes, he saw his boss Hamilton, whose arm muscles swelled dramatically, stubbornly holding a steel shield in front of him. However, Hamilton’s cheeks were already so red they were nearly bleeding, clearly almost at his limit.
It turned out that when Hamilton saw Weilun was also about to die under the monster’s hammer, he burst out in rage, knocking several people aside, and rushed from the middle of the team to Weilun’s side, blocking the monster’s strike just in the nick of time!
“Run!!” Hamilton roared.
The next second, Weilun, red-faced and embarrassed, turned and ran towards the back, clearly, his impudence had forced his boss Hamilton to bear the brunt of the monster’s attack.
But competing in strength with a three-meter-tall stone monster was obviously a foolish act.
Even if Hamilton was a full-fledged Knight at full power, he couldn’t withstand it.
It was a difference in species!
At that moment, Rein keenly noticed that after taking a hit from the monster, Hamilton’s thick arms were constantly trembling, and the steel shield now had a deep dent.
If not for its good quality and toughness, it would have probably cracked!
The monster seemed surprised too that this rather small fellow could actually withstand its hit.
But soon, a tint of annoyance revealed itself in its earthy large eyes, as it swung the hammer from low to high fiercely at Hamilton again!
“Pop!”
This time Hamilton couldn’t hold on anymore; the moment the stone hammer hit the shield, he was blasted away like a cannonball at high speed.
Then, with a ‘thud,’ he violently crashed into the stone rock wall!
At that moment, the fire finally illumined the monster’s body.
‘Ugly, pitted stone surface’ ‘humanoid creature’
Seeing this from the rear of the team, Endri immediately showed a look of shock and shouted, “This is the legendary Tunneling Stone Monster!”
“Damn it, this kind of creature was supposed to be extinct hundreds of years ago; how could one appear here!” Endri said incredulously.
Immediately after, his eyes showed deep longing, or rather, greed.
Endri continued to shout, “Everyone be careful, it’s incredibly strong and covered in special rock, don’t fight it head-on!”
“However, if we can kill it, we might get the ‘Heart of the Stone Monster,’ which is a treasure worth a fortune!”
When mentioning ‘Heart of the Stone Monster’ and ‘worth a fortune,’ Endri’s voice was particularly high and motivational, carrying a hint of seduction.
When Rein heard Endri mention the ‘Heart of the Stone Monster,’ he immediately remembered the advanced Magic Potion that Hamilton had mentioned to him the last time.
Bmecause the core of the advanced Magic Potion was the so-called ‘Transcendent Oddities.’
A special item that many transcendent beings, including ferocious beasts, might form at a certain probability upon death.
These “oddities” could never be found within the bodies of these transcendent beings while they were alive.
But once a transcendent being died, their transcendent traits might condense into ‘Transcendent Oddities,’ thereby being preserved, worth a fortune.
Certainly, the ‘Heart of the Stone Monster’ Endri mentioned must be this kind of ‘Transcendent Oddity.’
As soon as the three Bounty Hunters beside Rein heard the words ‘worth a fortune,’ they licked their dry lips, eyes radiating an intense glow.
The trio instantly exchanged glances and decided to engage immediately.
Although this Tunneling Stone Monster was incredibly strong, its attack speed didn’t seem much faster than a normal person, and they, with their superior agility, could easily dodge its attacks.
Rock Guard?
With axe and chisel, after a few strikes, they didn’t believe the monster’s Rock Guard would hold!
“Go!”
One of the Bounty Hunters, looking furious, pushed off with the tip of his foot and charged forward, brandishing a short-handled battle axe.
The other two exchanged looks, gritted their teeth, and also immediately followed suit, rushing forward.
Seeing this scene, Rein couldn’t help but marvel internally.
“It perfectly illustrates the saying, men die for wealth as birds die for food!”
The Bounty Hunter in the lead, truly skilled, agilely slid under the Tunneling Stone Monster.
Immediately after, he expertly swung his axe directly at the stone hips of the beast, delivering a powerful chop!
“Clang!!!”