69

The First Day of Departure

After dinner, Forseti went to Landvety Forest alone. Walking on the path, he took out a pair of gloves and put them on, then retrieved the Ice Shaper Longbow from his sanctuary space.

The Ice Shaper Longbow generates intense cold when condensing ice arrows. Without gloves, one might get frostbite.

Though inconvenient to use, as the treasure of the Ice Shaping tribe, this longbow packs a punch. An ordinary Asgardian goat hit by it would freeze instantly, losing its ability to move.

Even wolves couldn't withstand the Ice Shaper's arrows. Forseti had taken down many Landvety wolves effortlessly with it.

He wondered what effect the longbow would have on the four-horned goat, the most ferocious beast in Asgard.

As Forseti wandered through Landvety Forest, he reminisced about his years there.

Initially skeptical, in the ten years he followed Tialfi, he hadn't even heard a four-horned goat's cry.

While four-horned goats are rare, such a long period without encountering one was unusual.

Through conversations with tavern hunters, Forseti realized how remarkable it was that Tialfi hadn't encountered a four-horned goat in over a century.

Every hundred years, around twenty four-horned goats are typically caught.

As a professional hunter, Tialfi spends at least a third of his time in the forest daily. Yet, under such circumstances, he hadn't encountered a four-horned goat in over a hundred years.

Forseti began to feel that his own luck might also be affected. For instance, last year, when he purchased the gift of destiny at the Pious Store, he won the "thank you for your patronage" prize over thirty times in a row...

Maybe this is the legendary bad luck. With Tialfi absent today, perhaps a bit of luck would come his way.

In the dense forest, Forseti wandered for about half an hour.

Suddenly, a peculiar sheep's cry echoed: "Bah-baa-"

It was hard to describe—a roar rather than a bleat, sounding both like a sheep and a beast. Forseti had never heard such a sound in either his past or present life.

Hearing this, Forseti froze.

Could it be the four-horned goat?

No way, after ten years with Tialfi without encountering one, and now, the moment Tialfi left, he found one?

It's really bad luck!

Forseti's heart raced with a mix of excitement and nervousness.

The four-horned goat is Asgard's most dangerous and ferocious beast. If most people encountered it alone, their only option would be to escape as quickly as possible.

Forseti dared to chase it only because of his various means—the Ice Shaper's formidable attack and the quick potion for escape.

Though the four-horned goat is fast, reaching the tavern would ensure safety. No matter how powerful, it couldn't defeat a group of Asgardians.

Soon, Forseti carefully approached a tree and glanced diagonally forward. Sure enough, he saw a massive goat... eating a wolf.

A four-horned goat devouring a wolf.

The creature was enormous, three or four meters long, with four thick, curled, silvery horns, resembling metal and giving an indestructible impression.

"Bah—" The four-horned goat growled, tearing into the gray wolf's flesh.

Forseti felt apprehensive... Could he really defeat this beast?

He carefully stepped back, took out his staff, transformed a nearby rock into a rock golem, and sent the golem to the other side of the four-horned goat.

Then, he retrieved a bronze arrow from Asgard and nocked it on the Ice Shaper Longbow.

The Ice Shaper Longbow doesn't require arrows, but it's more powerful with them.

Forseti pulled the bowstring with all his strength.

The surrounding cold air converged on the bronze arrow, turning it ice blue, a strange substance like ice and metal.

Forseti couldn't fully draw the bowstring, his hands trembled halfway, and he had to release the arrow.

"Whoosh!"

The ice-shaping arrow flew, striking the four-horned goat's hip.

The metal arrows infused with the longbow's icy power become fragile, shattering upon impact. The arrow hit the four-horned goat's hip and burst into ice-blue fragments, blooming like icy flowers.

"Whoa-"

The four-horned goat wailed.

It turned to charge at Forseti, but the rock golem on the other side threw two stones, both hitting the goat's head and diverting its direction.

Forseti observed the four-horned goat's wound healing rapidly, the ice power hardly hindering its recovery.

Its resilience was too strong!

Forseti remembered that the goat's resilience had weaknesses. Injuries to its bones, except the head and heart, were difficult to recover.

He aimed to break one of its legs.

While the rock golem distracted the four-horned goat, Forseti bent the bow again, shooting another ice-shaping arrow at its leg.

The goat was large, making its legs an easy target. The arrow hit, but it didn't seem to injure the bones. The leg froze briefly and then regained speed, charging at the rock golem.

"Boom!" The rock golem shattered.

The four-horned goat then turned towards Forseti, emitting an angry breath.

Forseti summoned Sanctuary, deciding to use some spell fragments.

Blinding Light!

A dazzling light burst from his hands, far brighter than the sun, blinding the four-horned goat. Its speed decreased significantly, and it veered off course.

Forseti took out Verrigan's Fist, gripping the warhammer with both hands, and jumped up.

Hammer of Justice!

With immense force, the Hammer of Justice struck the four-horned goat's forehead.

"Boom--" The impact sounded like a bell.

Under the shock effect, the four-horned goat staggered, finally collapsing to the ground.

It struggled to get up but failed.

Forseti hurried forward, swinging his warhammer at one of its legs.

Holy Light Strike!

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, Verrigan's Fist smashed the leg, but to Forseti's surprise, the bones remained unbroken despite the bloody mess.

The wound healed quickly, almost closing up.

Forseti prepared to strike again, but the four-horned goat regained its senses, kicking him in the chest with its front hoof.