Without spending too much time thinking about the mission, Lu Ban raised the crossbow with one hand and materialized [Last Words] with the other hand.

Bang——

Before Lu Ban pulled the trigger, the gray wolf crashed into an invisible transparent barrier.

Bang, bang, bang——

Lu Ban saw that several similar monsters had crashed into this barrier. They tried to break through but could not move forward.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh——

The next moment, the crossbow arrow was shot out.

Sparse but deadly arrows pierced into the bodies of these monsters, their eyes and fur. Black blood fell to the ground, melting the snow and emitting a cold stench.

Lu Ban noticed that the crossbow arrows were sparse because the people were divided into three groups.

The three groups of people were distributed in a staggered manner, with only one-third of them shooting arrows at a time. When a round of volleys was over, the second group would replenish, and the people who had just finished firing would start to reload the crossbows.

Very classic medium-range weapons tactics.

However, Lu Ban was not quite sure which round he was in. He saw that after three rounds of volleys, the monsters were about to retreat.

Then, he heard a noise behind him and turned to see several people wearing heavy armor and cloaks.

Lu Ban, who just felt that this outfit looked a little familiar, suddenly remembered that this was Xia's outfit.

They are mages.

The moment they realized this, invisible shock waves spread from the hands of those mages.

In an instant, the monsters that had not yet fallen began to collapse and break apart from the tip of their noses as if they had been hit head-on by a cannonball. Their flesh and blood formed an obvious columnar cavity, and their hideous bodies were thrown onto the surrounding tree trunks, dripping blood.

The last step is to clean up the battlefield.

People worked in groups of three to finish off all the monsters that fell to the ground. They stabbed their spears into their bodies three times until they died completely.

Lu Ban climbed out of the snow and saw the man next to him patting the snow off his cloak.

"See, I told you, there's nothing dangerous."

He looked much younger than Lu Ban, perhaps only sixteen or seventeen years old, with an immature face and a bit childish, but the way he held the crossbow was very standard.

"Birmingham, come and help."

Behind him, another older man called out, and the boy followed.

It turns out his name is Birmingham.

Lu Ban has gotten used to it. The names of the people in the Kingdom of Night tend to be Western. There are also some Eastern-style names, but they are probably located in remote areas. At least in the Gray Tower and the Black Tower, names and customs of this style should be more widespread.

Looking around, monster corpses were everywhere. The gaps between the trees were dark enough to block out the sunlight. Only the crystals held by some people emitted light, illuminating the area.

"After we pack up and load the car, we'll return to the fortress."

Said the leading mage.

Horses pulled the cart, which was loaded with the corpses of monsters. Although ferocious, it seemed that the flesh and blood of the monsters were an important source of food. Lu Ban followed behind Birmingham and listened to his chatter.

"I said that hunting is not dangerous under normal circumstances. Our tactics are perfect, so even if we encounter a sneak attack, nothing will happen."

He pointed to the team ahead.

The goods were located in the center, and outside were crossbowmen like Lu Ban and Birmingham. In the outer circle were infantrymen holding spears and wearing light armor. Mages rode horses among the team, the commander walked at the head of the team, and scouts on horseback, light and flexible, were scattered in the woods, guarding the surroundings in three layers.

In this way, even if a monster attacks the outermost scouts, the scouts in the middle can pass the information back, allowing the team to be ready for battle.

This does not include the detection skills that the mages use continuously. Lu Ban has seen Xia's spells, which can at least ensure that there are no enemies within a hundred meters. With such a tight intelligence network, it is indeed not easy to be attacked and defeated.

Lu Ban simply chatted with Birmingham on the way and got to know the current situation.

This is a military organization called Rangers, which is affiliated with the Black Tower and is a special force used to defend the Black Forest. Lu Ban belongs to the sentry force affiliated with the Black Castle, the largest fortress in the Black Forest.

The Rangers were made up of a diverse group of people, ranging from those from wizard families who were born in the Grey Tower but knew no magic, to those from poor families who could not even afford to eat. As long as they joined the Rangers, they would be able to obtain the most basic food and clothing, but at the same time, they would also have to receive training and stand on the front line guarding the Black Forest.

As for those mages, they were military mages sent by the Gray Tower to garrison the fortress. According to Lu Ban's observation, their army of about fifty people would be equipped with three mages. It was not clear whether this was too many or too few.

Even the rangers themselves seem to be divided into different categories.

Scouts are equipped with horses and are mostly trained young men who have mastered some unique combat skills.

Most of the infantrymen came from poor families, and were equipped with spears, axes, hammers, etc. They also wore leather armor that could only prevent scratches.

Crossbowmen were derived from infantrymen, and were promoted because of their good performance, or because they had learned crossbows before. They were also equipped with short swords, and some crossbowmen also had tracer arrows that could illuminate an area. In the dark forest where ancient trees were towering and blocked out the sunlight, their role was crucial.

The commander was wearing mail armor, riding a horse, and carrying a sword. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with sharp eyes.

The three mages were not considered old, perhaps only one or two years older than Lu Ban. What was curious was that the armor on these mages was the heaviest, just like the tin-can knights of the Middle Ages.

"We are in front of Black Pine Town. The people there are very nice. We can take a rest there."

Birmingham was very cheerful and kept introducing various things.

It seems that in his understanding, Lu Ban is a new recruit, and Birmingham is Lu Ban's elder brother.

"Don't worry, I'm here, no one can bully you, just call me big brother, I'll protect you."

Birmingham patted Lu Ban on the shoulder.

"Brother."

Lu Ban shouted, and the boy, who was younger than Lu Ban, looked very proud.

"Follow me from now on, and you'll have soup to drink and meat to eat."

Birmingham puffed out his chest.

"You still think you're someone else's big brother, but be careful that your head doesn't get taken away by a winter wolf."

Someone on the side laughed.

"Go away and don't tarnish my image in front of my little brother."

Birmingham rolled his eyes.

It seems that his only younger brother is Lu Ban.

But it doesn’t matter.

Lu Ban felt the cold winter in the Black Forest. This kind of cold was not the magical attack from the south, nor the physical attack from the north. Instead, it was a kind of cold that froze the mind and body, and even the thinking became sluggish. It was hard not to think that there was some supernatural power at work here.

The dark forest all looked the same, and even the roads were covered with snow. If the commander didn't know the way, the entire team would probably get lost in this unchanging scenery.

Just when Lu Ban was wondering how long he would have to walk like this, the dark forest in front of him suddenly lit up.

A large open space appeared in front of him, and Lu Ban saw that it was a small town.