As the Official Wizard of the Moonlight Forest, one of Batty’s tasks was to be stationed here.
However, unlike wizard apprentices like Herag, he didn’t have to patrol the mountains laboriously; he could simply oversee the station.
Generally, it was uneventful and quite leisurely.
Early in the morning, Herag and Fred started their patrol on horseback, heading towards the designated area.
The path in the Western Mountains was extremely difficult, full of narrow and muddy trails, with plenty of weeds stretching out to block the road.
Occasionally, they could see small snakes quickly slithering across the path into the opposite bushes.
The mountain roads were hard to travel, and their horseback speed was slow, but neither was in a hurry.
There’s no task quota for patrols, and they could return to the station on time; as Herag would say: "Just go with the flow."
Herag rode slowly, enjoying the scenery, appearing quite at ease.
However, even though he appeared relaxed on the surface, he remained very vigilant.
The Shenlan Environmental Detection was always on, keeping track of everything within a radius of 500 meters.
"Last time I saw you, you were a First-Class Wizard Apprentice, and now you’re a Third Class Wizard Apprentice. With such potential, no wonder Mr. Larry took notice of you," Fred commented.
He already knew that Herag was a student of Larry’s; Herag did not specifically hide this fact.
At least within the Moonlight Forest, having an Official Wizard as a teacher could help avoid some troubles. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel※fire.net
"Just lucky," Herag responded modestly.
They walked in the mountains for half a day, and everything was calm without any incidents.
At a mountaintop, Herag found a flat area, tied his horse to a tree nearby, and then sat down under the tree to have some dried food.
After a simple lunch, Herag leaned against the tree to rest with his eyes closed, and seeing this, Fred found a large stone to lie down on.
For this journey, Herag was in charge, and Fred had no objections.
When Herag decided to rest, they rested, and when it was time to set off, Herag decided.
Fred was already twenty-five years old and had a low chance of promoting to an Official Wizard.
And Herag was only sixteen, with Larry as a teacher, promising a bright future; naturally, Fred wanted to maintain a good relationship with Herag.
Half an hour later, Herag suddenly opened his eyes and then stood up.
Fred sensed movement, saw Herag looking west, realized something might be happening, and also became alert.
Not long after, a small red bear covered in blood ran over in a panic.
Seeing Herag and Fred, the bear grew even more frantic, not daring to approach.
The bear kept looking back while fearfully gazing at the two people ahead, caught in a dilemma.
"Mountain Fire Bear! A very rare demon," Fred recognized it at once.
Herag nodded: "A bear this small wouldn’t act alone; the mother bear should be nearby. But seeing the blood on the bear, it’s likely the mother’s blood, indicating hunters are after it."
Fred’s expression became serious: "The Mountain Fire Bear’s fur is precious and can sell for hundreds of Magic Stones. Now, only the Western Mountains can find remnants of the Mountain Fire Bear, and often poachers take the risk to hunt them."
One of their tasks was to protect the resources of the Western Mountains, and the Mountain Fire Bear was naturally under protection; these were part of the Moonlight Forest’s resources.
The Mountain Fire Bear itself had the strength of a Great Knight Level, and it was stronger and had more Constitution than a regular Great Knight.
Those daring to hunt the Mountain Fire Bear were usually at least Third Class Wizard Apprentices.
Herag and Fred headed in the direction from which the bear had come, and soon heard sounds of a fight.
After crossing a ridge, they saw three people attacking a giant Mountain Fire Bear at the foot of the mountain.
The Mountain Fire Bear’s fur was a bright red, and flames emanated from its body.
Herag quickly scanned the area, finding two Third Class Wizard Apprentices and one Second-Class Wizard Apprentice among the attackers.
The Mountain Fire Bear already had many wounds by then, including a huge gash on its belly that exposed its organs, showing it wouldn’t last much longer.
"Blood Python’s Fury."
"Mountain Elf’s Blessing."
Herag cast an Absolute Defense shield on himself, then silently applied several Beneficial Spells on himself.
Fred only saw Herag smear some blood on his palm, followed by a magical surge, but couldn’t tell what spell Herag was casting.
Herag turned into a shadow and merged with the ground, moving swiftly and silently towards the foot of the mountain.
As he approached the three, he cast another spell: "Dark Imprisonment."
The trio instantly froze, realizing they were under an imprisonment spell but unable to find the caster.
The two Third Class Wizard Apprentices were about to dispel the imprisonment effect when they noticed a shadow appearing on the ground before them, and, in the next moment, a shielded person emerged from the ground.
Herag struck straightforwardly with a punch at the Third Class Wizard Apprentice before him, whose body had only a thin mana shield.
Herag’s punch was lightning-fast, with a loud whoosh, shattering the mana shield like paper.
His fist passed through the shield unhindered, hitting the Wizard Apprentice’s chest.
The apprentice’s chest caved in immediately, his body bending backward, and in the next second, he was sent flying, crashing into a distant rock wall, mumbling no more.
The remaining two were terrified, awed by Herag’s formidable strength and speed.
Reacting quickly, the other Third Class Wizard Apprentice broke his left hand’s pinky, chanting a few syllables rapidly, and freed himself from the Dark Imprisonment.
He turned and ran without hesitation, with a mana shield up, having no intention of fighting Herag.
A strong wind suddenly hit from behind, and in the next second, Herag was right behind him.
After Herag shattered his shield with a punch, he grabbed the man’s arm, pulling him back.
Without hesitation, Herag smashed a fist into the man’s neck, driving him into the ground, creating a small pit and severing his head, which rolled several meters into the bushes.
The remaining Second-Class Wizard Apprentice watched in horror, his legs trembling uncontrollably, wetting his pants.
He had witnessed battles and seen death, but never something like Herag’s sheer brutality, strong enough to crush a person with a single punch.