52 Huntress

With everyone else in position, Emilia skulked along the edge of a large clearing that ran adjacent to a gently flowing creek. There was an area on the far end where large brush could be seen amidst the remnants of several brutalized trees.

Having spent most of her life hunting, Emilia moved silently through the area, her ears periodically flickering in accordance with sounds only she was able to hear.

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From his perch in the distance, Linnaeus had a thoughtful expression on his face as he watched his new companion demonstrate her skills. She had a bad habit of ignoring her back whenever she was tracking down prey but, over the last week, she had made considerable improvements...

Just as he was wondering when the target would appear, there was a sudden cracking down that echoed through the woods. Emilia used this as an opportunity to increase her speed, bounding up a tree with extremely deft movements before finding a perch of her own to observe.

From within the area of heavy brush, a horse-like monster standing at over three meters in height emerged. It had bronzed fur covering much of its body but, on its legs, back, neck, and the crown of its head, a dense layer of pale-gold scales could be seen. However, even these didn't stand out as much as the set of ivory white horns running vertically alongside each other atop its head.

While this particular Territorial King was much smaller than some, this actually allowed it to move far faster than its competition. Using their own size against them, it would bury the meter long horns in their exposed flanks and side, disabling them with a powerful paralytic poison that allowed them to turn their victims into a veritable pin cushion...

As if she had become one with her surroundings, Emilia became so still that her presence, even while being observed from the distance, seemed to fade away. This was of particular interest to Linnaeus as it was rare to have the opportunity to experience how a Skill like [Presence Concealment] worked from the perspective of a direct observer. It gave him several ideas about how he could use his own but, as now wasn't the time for such wayward thoughts, he forced himself to stay focused.

Emilia was actually very nervous about facing a Territorial King on her own. Even when she was in the outside world, she always hunted int a pack so it always felt awkward to be alone. Still, in spite of the incongruous feelings that made her gut flitter about, her eyes were crystal clear as she watched her prey move steadily closer to her position.

With heavy footsteps, each leaving tracks several centimeters deep, the horse-like monster moved ever closer toward where it had sensed an enemy. Its body was taut with powerful muscles and, the moment it was able to identify a target, it would explode into an expression of pure violence in its attempt to overwhelm its foe.

In order to take advantage of this cautious and intense state, Emilia did her best to remained as still as possible while manifesting an orb of water several meters behind her quarry. She, like everyone else, had an effective range of 50m at her current level so it wasn't difficult for manifest an orb a few tens of meters away.

Though it didn't sense the formation of the water sphere, the monster heard Emilia manipulate it to move through the underbrush. It quickly turned around, kicking its legs out to arrest the momentum of its turn before digging hard into the moist soil and accelerating at an extreme speed toward the direction of the now non-existent water sphere.

Emilia was actually a little surprised by the spontaneous acceleration of the monster but, more than that, its ability to thrash around and use its horns as sabers unnerved her. She had originally planned to strike it from the flank with her spear but, seeing how quick it could twist around, the best course of action was to kite it around, using the terrain to her advantage to tire it out.

After waiting for the monster's thrashing to cease, Emilia immediately formed a second sphere, this time forcing it to snake up and around the monster's leg. This caused it to freak out and, as could be expected, it began to thrash around, kicking its limbs to try and dislodge the thin film of liquid, even though it was currently harmless.

It actually took a considerable amount of focus to make sure her water clung to a target so Emilia was forced to remain on her perch throughout the process. It wasn't until the monster began to slow down, its ribs expanding and contracting a considerable amount, that she finally decided to make her move.

Using one of the five spears she kept on her, Emilia arched her body like a bow as she leaped from her perch. Then, at the very peak of her jump, she snapped her body forward, her spear following the arc of her right arm before piercing through the sky, its target the base of the monster's neck.

Though she lacked the [Stealth] Ability, [Presence Concealment] could function in a similar manner if you were skilled enough. Since the monster was currently using its horn to try and scrape away the persistent coating of water, it only reacted at the very last moment to try and evade the momentous projectile.

Unfortunately, as its reaction was to thrash about in an attempt to knock the projectile from the air, the monster ended up taking the spear directly to its throat. This wasn't enough to kill it, as it had only penetrated a few centimeters due to Emilia's lacking Strength, but it still inflicted the Bleeding status effect.

Before the monster could gain its bearings and charge at her, Emilia rolled along the ground before bouncing back to her feet. She stayed low to the ground, making use of her own Agility to move at an angle that would be impossible for most. Even Linnaeus felt that he would fall on his face if he tried to emulate her form, especially with Emilia angling her spear backward to offset her balance...

Realizing it had been lured into a trap, the horse-like monster released a feral neighing sound as it attempted to intercept Emilia, its own head bucking from side-to-side when it neared her location.

Having already observed it previously, Emilia knew better than to let the monster get too close to her so, just as it began to charge, she immediately swept her spear while twisting her body in the complete opposite direction. This put a lot of strain on the joints in her knees and hips but, as it was better than being skewered by a raging monster, she grit her teeth in a determined manner as she evaded the ferocious charge with room to spare.

To its credit, the monster almost immediately realized its prey had changed direction but, like most quadrupedal creatures, it could not so easily arrest its own momentum. It could use its front legs as a pivot to try and buck its body but, the moment it tried, Emilia's eyes flashed with a vicious light.

As soon as the horse-like monster attempted to change direction, the joint of its left knee was frozen solid by the water that had soaked into its fur. This wouldn't have mattered in most situations, as a thin layer of ice was meaningless to most monsters, but it was disastrous when something as heavy as the horse-like monster tried to put all its weight on two points.

Having lost the articulation of its pivot leg, a loud snapping sound, even louder than the previous tree being broken, resonated through the forest. This was the sound of the monster's leg breaking in a rather terrifying way, the bone protruding out several centimeters as it crashed to the ground and began to twist and writhe.

Understanding how dangerous a monster could be when it was injured, Emilia took no chances. She retreated a safe distance before calming her breathing and forming a large ball of water. She would usually use her spears to skewer the monster from a distance but, remembering the practice she had gone through over the last week, Emilia instead used her Blessing to wrap the monster's head with her water, obscuring its vision and suffocating the thrashing creature.

There were very few intelligent monsters so, the moment it was surrounded in water, the horse-like monstrosity began to thrash even more while making no attempt to hold its breath. This allowed the water produced by Emilia to invade its lungs and, though she had trouble sensing it, the proximity of the larger volume of water allowed her to freeze the entire thing.

With its head, the insides of its mouth, its throat, and its lungs suddenly frozen, it wasn't long before the horse-like monster ceased in its struggles. It would normally be able to last nearly half an hour without any oxygen but, as a result of its thrashing and the cold energies invading its organs, the process had been accelerated considerably.

Emilia waited into the horse had disappeared completely to recover her broken spear and the loot items. Since her tribe didn't believe in killing without purpose, she offered up a small prayer to the deceased, promising to use all of its materials to the fullest. While this might seem senseless from the perspective of others, her tribe could literally eat anything so there was rarely anything left of their prey once it had been processed...

In order to let Emilia calm down, it was Linnaeus and co that came to her side. Since he knew it was important to praise people when they had done well, Linnaeus gave an approving nod, saying, "You fought intelligently and used the monster's own patterns against it. Great job, Emilia..."

Hearing Linnaeus' words, Emilia's ears perked up a bit, even if she didn't take them to heart. Rather, she was hoping that Eliza would praise her but, rather than meet expectations, the latter only made momentary eye contact before turning her attention to the surroundings. This caused Emilia's ears to droop pathetically, earning her an awkward smile from Linnaeus as he muttered in a voice that only reached her ears, "I'm certain Eliza is impressed by your performance. We're still in enemy territory though, so it is better to remain focused instead of make idle banter..."

Like the wind changing directions in a storm, Emilia's mood immediately recovered, indicated by her ears perking up once again as a smile blossomed across her face. She knew Linnaeus' words weren't exactly the truth but, as he was the Party Leader that Eliza recognized, it still made her a little happy to have him try to comfort her...

In order to loan some truth to his words, Linnaeus quickly worked out how the loot would be split before making the decision to pull back for the day. There was still a bit of light left in the day but, as there was no way of knowing how long the next battle would take, it was best to strike after dawn of the following day.

Krone seemed slightly dissatisfied by this arrangement but, as his temperament had improved a little over the last week, he didn't vocalize his discontent. He knew there was some truth behind Linnaeus' words so arguing would be a senseless act that earned him the ire of the entire Party. There were no benefits at all so, this time around, he just crossed his arms before ultimately agreeing to return with the rest...