"careful!!!"
Easter shouted in horror at Madman Lugo and Hog Blackhand.
Then, a roar loud enough to cover all other sounds rang out among the soldiers in formation.
The Skellige youths who were rescued by Madman Lugo and Hogg Blackhand all covered their heads in pain, as if thunder was echoing in their ears.
They screamed, they rolled on the ground, they roared in the crowd.
In East's ears, their roars changed from human voices to beast roars within two breaths; in East's eyes, their bodies began to expand rapidly in the blink of an eye, and finally turned into the shapes of wild beasts.
That's the Skellige Bear!
…
When facing wild beasts, humans rely on equipment, numbers, and wisdom. With tacit cooperation, the connection of a variety of long- and short-range weapons, the design of numerous traps, and deliberate or unintentional strategies, an experienced team of hunters can also try to hunt giant bears.
It was just an attempt, and the danger involved was still unknown to outsiders - so once a hunter successfully hunted a giant bear, they would immediately become a famous hunting master, and could even be summoned by the lord, receive rewards, or even a respectable job.
But if it was an encounter, where humans ran into a giant bear without much preparation, the situation would be very different.
Even if a fully armed team went into the mountains, they would be in a panic when suddenly faced with a giant bear charging at them, and might even lose several soldiers.
At this moment, more than a dozen giant bears appeared together and began to charge towards a group of soldiers who had their backs to them and whose attention was not on them at all.
…
The dense military formation at this moment became a cage that restrained the soldiers themselves. The power erupted by more than a dozen giant bears in the crowd knocked over dozens of people in an instant, and blood and flesh began to fly everywhere in the first moment.
The soldiers had no idea of an enemy sneak attack and didn't even have time to turn their weapons. All they could do was scream.
It was like a dozen chariots rolling over the minced meat. Then, the giant bears fixed their bloodthirsty and psychedelic eyes on the madman Lugo and Hogg Blackhand at the front of the team.
"roar!"
The deafening roar almost deafened the two lords. A bloody and smelly wind blew from behind them. They were looking at East smugly in the last second, and now they could not react at all to what was happening on the scene.
Fortunately, Easter rushed out without hesitation at the first moment, pulling the two lords to the ground.
But there were too many bears and the scene was too chaotic.
In his hazy state, East only heard screams, followed by panicked shouts of "protect the patriarch", and then various uncontrollable roars.
Looking up, his eyes were immediately covered with blood. It was the Skellige warriors who were using their lives to delay these giant bears.
The members of the Dimen and Drummond families had been completely dispersed.
East yelled at the lord he had knocked down, "Are you okay? Are you two okay?"
Madman Lugo was still in shock, and he reacted very quickly. He glanced at East with an inexplicable look, then immediately jumped up with an axe in his hand, shouting loudly to attract the attention of his family's soldiers. But he was immediately knocked down by two guards, and then a giant bear ran over where he was just now.
Hogg Blackhand's situation is much worse. His "black hand" has turned into a "bloody hand"... no, he no longer has a hand.
A giant bear was chewing something in its mouth, and Hogg Blackhand was screaming. There was nothing below his right shoulder, and only the blood on the ground could prove that there was something there just now.
Easter saw the female guard behind Hogg Blackhand pounce forward, as if trying to pull her lord into the protection of her own Tursek soldiers, but the giant bear rushed forward again and slapped the female guard away with one palm.
Then it opened its bloody mouth and grabbed Hogg Blackhand's back again, and began to shake its head violently to tear its prey apart.
Easter let out a roar, drew his sword and chopped the giant bear's neck.
The sword was embedded in the flesh, and after being cushioned by the thick fur and fat, it failed to kill the beast with one blow, but the pain was enough to make the beast loosen its jaws and turn towards him.
With a deft jump, Easter dodged the giant bear's mad attack and shouted behind him:
"Ged! Ged! Help!"
Easter knew Gede's strength. This demon hunter could fight a giant bear alone with just a dagger. If he joined the battle at this moment, he would definitely be able to solve the urgent problem.
But his calling brought no help.
Taking advantage of the gap when the soldiers of the Dimen family reacted and blocked the giant bear, Easter looked in the direction of the witcher and was shocked to see that Gerd had clamped the neck of a giant bear in his own army!
…
The thick bear paws occasionally created waves of golden ripples on Gede's body.
Looking at the remaining pieces of cloth on the giant bear, it turned out to be the young man Bill that Lane and his friends had brought back before.
"Boy, I'll give you one last chance, wake up!"
Gerd slapped the giant bear's head with his left hand and cast an [Alder Seal] at close range.
It was like an invisible hammer hitting the giant bear, causing it to fall to the ground with a howl.
But after only two breaths, this extremely strong giant bear shook its head and stood up again - the giant bear itself had an amazing physique, and Gede was not good at the [Alder Seal], and might even have suffered some damage.
Looking at the giant bear shaking its head and ears towards him in an attacking posture, Gede reached out and grasped the bear-headed steel sword behind him:
"I sympathize with you, Bill. And it seems that those two stupid lords have been fooled. We will need you to find the real hiding place of the Vilka people. But if you can't seize this opportunity to wake up quickly... I will have no choice but to kill you."
…
Easter retracted his gaze, knowing that he could not be counted on for the time being... No, Gede had already provided the greatest help. It was because of him that the Tursek family's military formation was able to be maintained and not be dispersed by the giant bear ambushing behind them.
Knowing that they could only rely on themselves, East decisively began to encourage his soldiers: "Don't panic, there are only a dozen giant bears, it's just a sneak attack, we have thousands of soldiers!"
"Kartar, blow the horn!" East loudly ordered his adjutant, "Don't let our formation be dispersed by the defeated soldiers. Pull back the two wings and let them bypass us from the side."
"Yes!" the adjutant responded loudly.
Easter continued to shout, trying to boost morale: "Warriors, it's just a giant bear. Soon we will..."
A war cry interrupted Easter's words.
He saw his adjutant rush in front of him and block the flying axe that flew out of the jungle and was heading towards him.
Immediately afterwards, countless ** warriors with bloody battle patterns painted on their faces rushed into their own army formation.
They had no armor on their upper bodies, so even a dagger was enough to break through their flesh and penetrate their internal organs. However, the blood and pain made them even more frenzied, and the more seriously injured they were, the more they attacked.
"Velka Berserker... No, just a warrior."
They were "nothing more" than warriors. Each of these warriors could kill at least two armored Skellige soldiers in a sneak attack. Even if they were stabbed by the armored soldiers who reacted quickly, they could still exchange their lives for another with axes, fists, or teeth and die together with them.
Their crazy look is frightening, and even makes people feel that they just want to die.
…
They were ambushed and surrounded in their own territory.
Easter took a deep breath. This battle situation and this tragic scene vaguely brought him back to the early morning of the battle in the Manada Valley.
At that time, they were also ambushed and besieged like this, and in that battle, he lost the lioness.
"But this time, I have nothing to lose... only the sword in my hand!"
Easter strode up to a Vilka who had just killed a Tursek soldier, split his entire neck with his sword, and then raised his round shield to block a flying axe.
His armor was too conspicuous and he was now surrounded by three Vilkans.
"Come on, Vilkans... No, Nilfgaardians!!"
The experienced Easter used his long sword to chop off a desperate Vilka warrior and used his thick armor to block the axe of the second man.
As for the third person, he didn't have the extra strength to resist, but an unexpected person helped him -
Madman Lugo pulled the axe out of the back of the third man's head, then stuck it into the back of the second man, pulling it out with force, bringing out a column of blood and a small piece of spine.
"Are you crazy?" Madman Lugo shouted at East, "Why are you charging ahead instead of running back to your own guard team at this time!"
"Where are the reinforcements? Where are Kratz? Where are the Lannisters? Why haven't they come to rescue you yet!"
Easter stared at the madman Lugo for two seconds and chuckled.
He was about to say something when suddenly his whole body lit up with an emerald light.
The light was so bright and dazzling that it instantly attracted the attention of everyone present.
…
For important people, Lann would mark them so that they could be teleported at any time.
保护也好，被保护也好，这样都能够最大化地利用自己的能力，甚至还能够起到决定战局的作用。
而在杰洛特的口中得知伊斯特一行人或许会遇到麻烦的时候，兰恩就第一时间开启了【传送】技能。
不过在他的原本的认知里面，伊斯特的“麻烦”应该是和敌对家族竞争对手之间的矛盾，而不是眼前这种级别的混战。
现场的状况出乎了兰恩的意料，但是身经百战的他很快就反应过来。
光芒在他的身上渐渐收敛，兰恩快速地打量四周，避过目瞪口呆的伊斯特和疯子卢戈，他看到倒在地上的霍格·黑手，还有他的几名护卫。
此刻，正有五名维尔卡战士朝着他扑过去。
【闪烁】！
没有一丝犹豫，翡翠色的光芒再次包裹他的身体。
紧接着金芒一闪，兰恩出现在了霍格·黑手的面前。
此刻一名女盾卫高举长剑朝着维尔卡正在发动自杀式的冲锋。兰恩反转弯刀，用刀背架上这名女盾卫的剑刃，随后用力一撇将她整个人振飞出去。
没有了碍事的人，他和维尔卡战士之间彻底畅通无阻。
因为之前挥剑的僵直，他此刻正背对着这五名维尔卡战士。
然而还没有等注意到这边的人惊呼出声，兰恩的身体却开始以超出常人理解的方式开始旋转。
那是人类根本做不到的出剑速度——
【回旋剑舞】！
一个眨眼之间，五颗头颅直接冲天而起！
兰恩选择了最有视觉冲击力的战斗方式，但是根据他的观察，现场的其他敌人根本没有丝毫被震慑住，反而更加兴奋了。
这些人的战斗意志很不对劲，已经脱离了一般的“精锐”的层次了。
兰恩深吸一口气，金光再闪。
这次他回到了伊斯特的身边，没有理会眼睛都直了的疯子卢戈，朝着伊斯特问道：
“他们是维尔卡人？”
伊斯特的反应很快，直接点头做出肯定。
兰恩咬了咬牙，现场有点难办。
这种数百敌人和己方士兵的混战是他现在的能力是他现在还比较难处理的。
人数本来不应该是问题，兰恩现在清场的选择有很多，无论是【伊格尼法印】还是【阿尔德法印·刺骨】，都足够应付这个数量级的敌人。但是如果是现在这样敌我双方混战的形势的话，就相当束手束脚了，现实又没有友方保护机制，总不能一把火全干死吧……
而【闪烁】又是突袭技能，不是清场技能，连续闪烁数百次足够把兰恩的魔力榨干。
他需要叫一点帮手过来。
心思沉入系统，发动技能——【传送】。
但是这一次，兰恩的身上却没有升起翡翠色的光芒，因为他并不是要把自己传送到其他的地方，而是要把别人传送到自己的身边。
四个光团从兰恩的身边亮起，将他围拢在中央。
……
“吼！”
一头巨熊咆哮着朝着兰恩这边冲了过来，它的身上已经镶了四五把斧子，但是都没有伤到要害，反而是让它愈发地狂性大发。
“嘶律律！”
比巨熊咆哮还要响亮的嘶鸣声响起，从翡翠色的光团中突然冲出了一匹黑亮宛若战车的骏马，直挺挺地朝着这头巨熊冲了过去。
低头——撞！
让史凯利格人都要躲避锋芒的巨熊飞了出去。
被巨熊的动静吸引过来的视线在一瞬间全部变得僵硬。而黑风人立而起，用前蹄在半空中打出一套组合拳，琥珀色的竖瞳闪烁着兴奋的光芒。
由于史凯利格多山不适合纵马，兰恩已经许久没有把黑风带出来遛弯了，一直养在小史凯利格岛的马厩里面；现在一出场就是这种级别的混战，瞬间就让这匹猎魔马狂热起来了。
而另外三个光团此刻渐渐熄灭，露出三个眼神迷茫的人影：杰洛特、寇格林姆、柯恩。
“这是……传送门？不对，我没有经过门，是类似的魔法？”柯恩不可思议地看着周围的一切，“但是一点都不头晕？”
寇格林姆看了一眼周围，迅速反应过来：“这是一场混战……”
杰洛特一言不发，直接拔出狼首钢剑加入了战团。
……
“杰洛特，兰恩，对付巨熊！他们钳制了我们太多的战士，制造了太多的混乱！”伊斯特高喊道，“只要能够结成军阵，维尔卡人我们自己就能够轻易对付！”
三名新出现的猎魔人顿时穿梭进了人群里面，朝着巨熊前进。
除了熊派之外，其他学派的猎魔人都没有明显的肌体强化，哪怕是他们也没有办法对巨熊做到一击必杀。
但是对于野兽，猎魔人有着独特的解决方法。
泛着白光的手扬起。
【亚克席法印】
迷蒙的混沌能量入侵了这些巨熊的大脑，让狂暴的它们瞬间呆滞下来。
而它们此刻是被史凯利格士兵们团团围住的。没有了反抗，没有了躲闪，瞬间就有数柄武器同时镶嵌进它们的要害，将巨熊们毙命。
史凯利格士兵们突然惊喜地发现，有了猎魔人加入后战斗变得容易了起来。
一击建功，猎魔人们施展完法印之后就头也不回地立即远遁，寻找下一头正在肆虐的巨熊。
他们如法炮制，很快就将局势稳固住。
而没有了巨熊扰乱阵型，士兵们也在号角的鼓舞下重整队列，对上这些虽然不顾死活、但是装备简陋的维尔卡战士，顿时将他们重新压制住。
……
柯恩和寇格林姆之前和兰恩一起回到城堡，与克拉茨一起集结部队；而杰洛特则是回去传送情报，因此距离战场都有着很长的一段距离。
好在兰恩早就在他们的身上打下了用于发动【传送】技能的标记。这种高端的精英战力，在这种混战中能够起到的作用是相当大的。
兰恩没有召唤爱丽丝出来。毕竟爱丽丝是灵体，在这种场合出现，哪怕是作为友军，也有点挑战史凯利格人的认知。
猎魔人们加入战团已经足够了。
不过寇格林姆一个刺客、柯恩一个法战，打起来还是有些束手束脚，不能够解放全部的战斗力。
真正在这种场合能够起到大作用的，还是——格德。
兰恩看向正在和巨熊焦灼的熊派猎魔人。
……
金光一闪，兰恩瞬间到了格德的身前，看向正对着巨熊使出锁喉的熊派猎魔人。
“你在干嘛，这个是……比尔？”
看到如今此刻这头没有理智的巨熊，再联想到这个青年之前明明没有受伤，却鲜血淋漓、衣衫褴褛的模样，一切都说得通了。
不，甚至能够联想到更多的东西，比如海妖们对他的惧怕，以及至今没有出现的美人鱼……
“他就是比尔，不知道是因为斯瓦勃洛的迷幻药剂还是其他的什么原因，他的记忆有问题，所以之前你的法印催眠才没能够判断出现在的状况。”格德大喊道，“毕竟自己都不知道的事情，他也没有办法告诉你。”
“但是我们还需要他，兰恩。”格德看到兰恩狮瞳闪烁，赶忙劝道，“我们并没有找到真正的维尔卡人聚集地，还需要他来给我们带路。”
格德的话是有失偏颇的。
理论上其实已经不需要比尔了。全歼这里的维尔卡人，斯瓦勃洛教派应该就没有什么有生力量了，一行人根本不需要再偷偷摸摸地探寻他们的聚集地了。
退一步讲，就算斯瓦勃洛教派还保留着不弱的战斗力，但是此刻已经打草惊蛇，战斗已经变成攻坚战，之后就算正大光明地把人撒出去也没事了，再和之前一样用小股部队去探寻对方的聚集地，反而可能会被熟悉地形的对方反制住。
此时格德的解说，应该是他动了恻隐之心；这个最冷酷无情的学派中走出的猎魔人，却有着一颗格外温柔的心。
不过兰恩原本也没打算杀比尔就是了。
他看向了自己的系统中剩下的最后一个技能点，还有静待点开的随从面板。
一个天生有着极强精神抗性的年轻人，说不准是有点什么天赋带在身上的；再加上此刻他已经成为一个能够变身成熊的异种狂战士，也是不错的即战力。
而且兰恩对于斯瓦勃洛教派的狂战士变身还是挺有兴趣的：这究竟是邪神的恩赐，还是单纯的炼金加上魔法的研究成果？
亦或者是两者的混合？
有没有可能复刻？
甚至有没有可能进行改良，除了熊战士之外，再研究出狼战士、虎战士，乃至狮鹫战士、叉尾龙战士……
保留下一个听话的实验体，丢给莫斯萨克研究，似乎是挺有必要的事情。
话说莫斯萨克现在手上积压了几个实验项目了来着？
……
这么想着，兰恩把手按在正被格德锁喉锁的喘不上气的巨熊额头。
巨熊的意识已经渐渐模糊了，此时正是它反抗意识最为薄弱的时候。
【随从】——契约。