Chapter 372: Wyverns

'He'll definitely become a Sword Saint within five years, and he might even go beyond that in the future...' This was Dean's assessment of the Beastman. If that invincible Beastman could stay with the Temple Knights, giving him the position of Vice Leader was a must. Unfortunately, the Beastman treated him extremely coldly. Everytime he approached, the Beastman would run away and hide.

Fortunately, the Beastman didn't seem to intend on leaving. As long he remained, the Temple Knights would still have a chance. Not to mention, this "Brother" Beastman was very generous. He actually led three young mages with relatively good strength. Although those three only hid during the battles, they were still three promising High Mages.

"You there! We are now in someone else's territory, can you not sleep like that? You won't even know who killed you during your sleep if you continue..."

When William burst into the tent and saw Xiuban lying on his back, deep asleep, he angrily roared at him.

"What does me sleeping have to do with you..."

Xiuban was roused awake when William barged in and indignantly massaged his eyes as he looked up at the condescending William.

'Shit, I might be afraid of Sir Merlin, but you are just William. You aren't powerful enough to beat the Great Xiuban. If you weren't Sir Merlin's cousin, I would have already smashed you with Carnage... I finally managed to break away from Sir Merlin to get a few days of peace, yet you are now coming over to bother me...'

That "You there" was especially hurtful, making Xiuban's heart feel as if it had been stabbed. 'You Merlins, the Great Xiuban will sooner or later get back at you! The Great Xiuban isn't someone you can bully!

'Hmpf, look at the attitude of Sword Saint Dean, he acts as if I'm his elder... The Great Xiuban is no longer a Draconic Beastman you can bully!'

"It naturally has a lot to do with me." William didn't feel like looking at Xiuban and just continued, "If you go to sleep, who will be on night watch? Don't forget that there are many troublesome people in this camp. Okland's Three Great Mercenary Groups came."

"Why?!" Xiuban almost used up all his strength in his roar of indignation. In front of Lin Yun, he might only dare to mutter, in fear that he would hear his complaints, but Lin Yun wasn't there, so Xiuban wouldn't be afraid of any consequences. "Is the Great Xiuban someone you are qualified to order around?"

"Weren't you the one in charge of the night watch when Cousin Mafa was here?" William sneered. "Of the four of us, you are the one with the most night watch experience. If you don't, who will?"

"You... You aren't Sir Merlin!" Xiuban angrily growled as he ground his teeth.

'That damn contract...'

"That Beastman doesn't want to be on guard duty? How could this be? How can we sleep safely if he doesn't guard us..." Ross' lazy voice came from inside the camp.

"He doesn't have much choice. I heard that the Beastman has been close to the Temple Knights' Vice Leader recently... Cousin Mafa definitely cannot find out about this, or "Brother" Beastman will have a tragic fate." Leon's voice came from outside, purposefully loud enough to hear clearly.

At the same time, a flame jumped out of Leon's hand. That strand of flame carried a very hot aura that spread through the tent...

"I'm going..." Xiuban carried the heavy Carnage as he rushed out of the tent with heavy steps.

'That was Sir Syudos! I don't want to have a chat with him...' Those terrible memories appeared in Xiuban's mind immediately. 'Too scary...

'That scoundrel Leon is clearly threatening me, if he really tells Sir Merlin that I got too close to that Sword Saint, he won't forgive me easily... And that damn Vice Leader is too courageous, he dared to try to poach me in front of Sir Merlin, this is no different from courting death... And it's fine if you court death, but don't involve me in it...

'I have to hide far so that I won't have to say anything to him. This way, Sir Merlin won't question my loyalty...'

Xiuban sat beside the bonfire, continuously cursing, from William to Leon, and not forgetting Ross... and he finally moved on to Lin Yun. He bared his fangs as he softly cursed, "There is not one good apple in the Merlin Family..."

"Rumble..."

'Shit!'

Xiuban was startled by the loud rumble. He threw a quick glance at his surroundings, and after making sure that it wasn't Sir Merlin, he relaxed and turned to look at the source of the noise.

"Wyverns! About eight... Eh, no, looks like a few dozen... Maybe even hundred? Shit, can't count! More keep coming!"

The Divine Archer on night watch screeched in vain.

Wyverns...

Everyone in the camp was woken up by the screams of the Divine Archer. In a flash, many people rushed out of their tents and raised their heads to look at the sky, which was covered in countless dark green specks.

This was definitely a disaster.

Hundreds of Wyverns... Even if their levels weren't high, mostly around Level 18, the quantity more than made up for it. They were covering the sky as they spat venom towards the camp. No matter where they hid, the mercenaries couldn't escape the corrosion of the venom.

The venom fell down from the sky like rain, followed by screams. Wyverns were only Level 18, but an ordinary mercenary would have issues dealing with the poison. A Great Mage's Mana Shields and a Great Swordsman's Aura simply couldn't resist the toxins. It wouldn't take long before they became putrefied.

Only High Mages and Expert Swordsmen could resist the venom of the Wyverns, because they had enough power to protect their bodies. But as the venom kept falling, the mana and Aura would sooner or later be spent.

Although the sudden appearance of the Wyverns caused chaos within the valley, it didn't take long before that chaos disappeared and was replaced by an organized counterattack. One after the other, High Mages and Expert Swordsmen rose up, and rich mana fluctuations covered the area while Auras were criss-crossing. When people were injured, they would immediately be replaced.

The Great Swordsmen and Great Mages couldn't fly, but they also had their own roles. They teamed up to attack. Whenever a Wyvern was flying too low, they immediately cast Frost Spikes, Frost Lances, and other such spells, or flooded the region with Aura.

They truly were worthy of being part of Okland's peak mercenary groups!

The Archers were clearly superior when it came to handling the Wyverns. In the center of the camp, two to three hundred people were gathered in a formation. They were all Spirit Archers. A few hundred arrows streaked through the horizon and were followed by the sharp screams of a few dozen Wyverns.

Leading this group of Spirit Archers were twenty powerful Divine Archers. Under their lead, the arrows harvested many lives, as every volley would hit at least a dozen Wyverns.

A joint team of mages were casting spells in the center of the archer formation. Their mission was to guarantee the Archers' safety by raising some shields or by buffing the archers.

For a moment, the sky above their heads was emptied of Wyverns.

But soon, a large cloud of Wyverns rushed over and covered the sky once again. The poison rain resumed, and was answered with another volley of arrows. The cycle continued, seeming unending.

"Rumble!"

In the Northwest corner of the camp, a formidable Sword Aura was emitted. It swept at a Wyvern, and in a flash, the Wyvern's wings were severed as its body was cut down. A sharp howl echoed as it was cut into pieces.

This was the aftermath of his Sword Aura...

Not far off, an intense battle was ongoing. A Wyvern King, ten times as big as ordinary Wyverns, was battling a Sword Saint.

There was a strange green radiance on the body of the Wyvern King, and anyone with some basic understanding of magic beasts would know that this radiance was extremely toxic. This was why the Sword Saint didn't dare to approach. He was only releasing his Sword Aura from some distance.

The Sword Saint was the Vice Leader of the Temple Knights, Dean. He was holding his one-handed sword and wasn't lacking in power, yet he was at a disadvantage after ten minutes of battle against that Wyvern King.

"Shit, what's the level of that damned Wyvern King..."

Dean's morale was down, because that Wyvern King was frighteningly strong. He had displayed all the power of a 3rd Rank Sword Saint, but ended up being suppressed, and this wasn't all... While fighting this Wyvern King, he kept being attacked by Wyverns. It reached the point where his body had already received a dozen wounds.

And that was with him being protected by Aura.

With the power struggle among the three mercenary groups, Dean would have never taken the initiative to battle the Wyvern King... But he was forced to act... The northwest corner belonged to the Temple Knights, so if he didn't restrain the Wyvern King, the Temple Knights might end up facing destruction.

'Damn, if I had known, I wouldn't have been so rude earlier... Had I not destroyed that bridge and remained polite back then, I might have been able to ask for back-up...

'Unfortunately, it is too late. I've been suppressed in all aspects, and the situation is getting more and more dangerous... Eh?'

Dean suddenly noticed a Haste landing on his body. His speed suddenly surpassed limits and he managed to barely dodge a venomous attack from the Wyvern King.