161: Chapter 161 – Hunters

Chapter 161 – Hunters

Shang watched as one team after the other engaged the beasts. They were exclusively hunting the Commander Stage beasts and ignored the few General Stage beasts that ran past them.

A lot of General Stage beasts had been killed, but a couple of them had managed to flee past Warrior's Paradise.

Obviously, they were running towards the north.

The Wild Forest would welcome a massacre today, and the General Stage beasts would even reach the Farm Line.

However, Warrior's Paradise was prepared for that. All the normal hunters and a couple of Commander Stage warriors were defending the Farm line. Additionally, the Farm Line was protected by the dogs and several Adepts.

Shang was certain that the Farm Line wasn't in much danger. The majority of General Stage beasts had already been killed.

However, things were different for Warrior's Paradise.

Commander Stage beasts could damage the mountain on which Warrior's Paradise was built. If they had free reign, Warrior's Paradise might actually be destroyed.

The teams were targeting specific beasts, and basically all of these beasts were very close to Warrior's Paradise.

Meanwhile, the True Mages concentrated on the most powerful flying beasts. The weaker Commander Stage flying beasts would be shot by the ballistae, while the ones in the later levels had to deal with the gigantic fireballs.

That was the reason for the gigantic fireballs in the first place. The smaller fireballs were enough to kill basic Commander Stage beasts, but the more powerful ones would be able to resist the fireballs.

However, if three True Mages combined their powers, even a Peak Commander Stage beast would find some difficulties in surviving.

The Wasteland and Canyon were made up of around 50% Wind Affinity beasts and 50% Earth Affinity beasts. The Earth Affinity beasts were running along the ground, while the Wind Affinity beasts attacked from the sky.

Of course, the Wind Affinity beasts were a more direct threat to Warrior's Paradise. Sure, the Earth Affinity beasts could severely damage the city's foundation, but they couldn't just destroy the entire city with a single attack.

However, the Wind Affinity beasts could completely obliterate a ballista or a group of Mages. Because of that, they were the higher priority.

The teams quickly engaged their targets.

Shang saw that most teams followed similar strategies, but there were variations.

Most teams had a very fast and agile warrior attack first to gain the attention of the beast. The beast would try its best to hit the warrior.

Due to the power difference, the warrior couldn't possibly block these attacks. The difference in power between their bodies was just too vast. If someone with heavy armor and a heavy shield attacked the beast, they would very quickly be flung into the distance.

Because of that, evasion was the only viable option to survive a beast's attack at that level.

Every team also used bows and arrows. Some of the bows Shang saw released arrows at unreal speeds. 

Of course, due to the powerful defense of the beasts, the arrows only scratched them. Some blood was drawn here and there, but none of the injuries were fatal.

Of course, the beasts weren't stupid. After realizing that it wasn't easy to kill the hunter in front of it, the beast very quickly focused on the ones shooting the arrows. 

Just like a swarm of fish, the team would disperse until the beast could only target a single human. The chased hunter would put the bow away and take out their weapon. 

And surprisingly, this hunter also used a very fast weapon. 

It was almost like the hunter had drawn the beast to them.

At that point, the strategies of the teams varied.

Some of them continued shooting arrows at the beast while juggling the beast between them.

Some of them charged directly in after the beast was sufficiently distracted. 

Some of them just kept fleeing while bombarding the beast with arrows.

Some of them continued going just like this until the beast got used to how the team fought. But if the beast targeted a specific hunter, the hunter would suddenly take out a gigantic weapon and unleash a devastating attack. The beast wouldn't be prepared for such a powerful attack.

There were many strategies among the teams, but one thing was the same with all the teams.

Their teamwork was absolutely stellar.

It was basically perfect.

Of course, these tactics mostly only worked on beasts that attacked with their body. 

One shouldn't forget that there were also beasts that attacked with their Affinity, and those fights were very different.

An Earth Affinity beast that attacked with its Affinity also had a way more powerful defense on average. After all, if one constantly attacked from a distance, speed wasn't as important. 

At that point, the hunters would have to close in on the beast and attack it from a close range. Of course, the hunters were all very experienced, and they also had ways to deal with such beasts.

Some of them unleashed devastating attacks with very heavy weapons, while others used Magical items to damage their prey.

One of the hunters had taken out a shining Mana crystal and had thrown it at a beast made of nothing but stone. As soon as the Mana crystal hit the beast, it exploded and left behind a terrifying crater in its body. The remaining hunters used the opening to kill the beast.

The teams showed incredible versatility and teamwork. Everything had basically been perfected.

And then, there were the Mages.

There hadn't been a lot of Mages that followed the hunters, but there had been a couple of them.

Shang could see five teams of Mages from where he was. He could only see the southern side from his position.

These five teams targeted the biggest and most powerful beasts on the ground. One fireball killed every single one except for the ones with the most powerful defensive abilities.

But those would die with a second one.

If a beast survived the first blast, it certainly wouldn't be in a condition to counterattack. The second blast followed very quickly, and the beast would be torn apart.

Shang noticed that no team of hunters targeted these mighty beasts.

The difference between warriors and Mages was laid bare in front of Shang yet again.

The hunting teams couldn't even fight the strongest beasts while the Mages tore them apart with ease.

The difference was shocking.

While all of this was going on, several Earth Mages had also jumped to the base of Warrior's Paradise. They weren't here to fight but to repair the mountain.

They all took out huge piles of ore and stone to repair the damage the mountain had received when the Storm Eagle had passed over the city.

Shang watched the hunters and Mages work with fire in his eyes.

Everyone involved was far above his level, but he still learned a lot.

Shang managed to analyze all the different beasts that were fighting. Hearing about abilities and names was different from actually seeing the beast in action.

Sure enough, this opportunity to watch the war was valuable. No wonder every student wanted the quota.

In front of Shang, a practical demonstration of the most powerful humans and beasts around took place, and it would continue for several hours.

The knowledge he gained by watching couldn't be evaluated in gold.

For the next couple of hours, Shang simply watched the fighting going on below him.

From time to time, Shang asked Yiral something, and he would always answer with an explanation.1

Shang's knowledge about warriors, beasts, and Mages rose with every second.

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