Poacher

The ancestral warriors advanced silently, attacking from both sides with a pincer move.

Holey had long known the strength of these warriors blessed by Azemazane. The moment Harli ordered the attack, he was extremely vigilant. Now, he raised his bone spear to defend, sparks flying as weapons clashed.

The full force of both parties was exerted on their weapons, creating a crisp sound. The bone weapons let out a mournful wail, seemingly about to break under the impact. Holey stepped back three times, suppressing the pain in his arm, then twisted his body and thrust his spear diagonally.

"Stop, Harli made the wrong decision. Do you want to die with him?"

While fighting, he tried to buy time. "Everything I do is for the Bloodtooth clan."

"Your explanations are useless."

The opposing trolls were cold. "We swore loyalty to the chieftain, nothing else matters."

The ancestral warriors suddenly changed tactics. As their bone blades were blocked, they swiftly retreated, causing Holey's war spear to lose support and tilt to one side. Then the blades swiftly descended again. Holey had no choice but to roll on the ground to evade and then leaped up to distance himself.

The hunters around them drew their weapons. They were too far to hear the trolls' conversation but saw Holey's sudden attack and Harli's beast-like roar. Realizing something was wrong, they quickly surrounded the area.

"This is our clan's internal affair."

Tike, who had accompanied Holey, quickly stepped forward to delay them.

Surrounded by blade shadows, Holey defended from all sides. As the leader of the Bloodtooth clan's hunting team, he was already a formidable fighter, but he still felt immense pressure from each strike, as if the ancestral warriors were giants, each attack possessing mountain-splitting power.

In ancient times, when the deity Azemazane was active, ancestral warriors were considered ordinary soldiers among trolls, with higher ranks like Shadow Hunters and Voodoo Witch Doctors above them. In this perilous situation, Holey couldn't help but think of the glory of the ancient troll empire.

"Kill him!"

Harli roared again, this time ordering the humans.

The leader of the hunters frowned at Harli's tone but knew now was not the time for disputes. He ordered, "Kill that troll."

The humans pulled out hand crossbows, a standard weapon for hunters. Though not as powerful as long crossbows and only holding three bolts, they were convenient and easily concealed.

They aimed at Holey and fired. Without eyes on his back and no armor, the bolts penetrated his skin effortlessly, and even Tike, nearby, was hit.

Holey screamed, a loud cry not so much from pain but to signal the conspiring dragons. If they were nearby, they would hear.

"Execute it."

The troll's screams irritated the hunters' leader.

Suddenly, thunderous sounds erupted in the dense forest of Rhino Horn Isle. Harli, treating his wounds, paused, noticing everyone stopping and looking up. Unable to move his neck, he leaned sideways to see the sky.

A huge figure breathing flames passed overhead, setting the forest ablaze.

"A dragon!"

A hunter shouted, trembling with excitement or fear.

"Don't panic, just a young dragon."

The leader calmed them down.

"No... not just one."

Another companion yelled.

The leader frowned, seeing dark green fog enveloping them amid black smoke from the burning forest, obscuring their vision. They saw several strange shadows moving.

"Don't panic, they're all young dragons."

The leader drew a poisoned blade. "So all the whelps from Dragon Fort are here."

The humans stopped focusing on Holey, aiming their crossbows at the shadows in the fog. They were experienced with beasts and remained relatively calm, their faces pale or flushed, teeth gritted in determination.

"Alert! They're close!"

A nearby hunter shouted, seeing glimmers in the fog, likely dragon scales.

"The fog is poisonous."

Warnings echoed among the hunters.

With a roar, the red dragon they saw earlier returned, landing heavily, creating a dust cloud as it bellowed, flames continuing to pour from its mouth.

"Get away from it!"

The leader ordered, "Shoot!"

His order was not for the red dragon, but for the fog, a classic hunting tactic of distraction and stealth attack. As a hunter, he knew well – the target was the one waiting to ambush!

Following his order, the hunters fired two volleys, bolts sinking into the thick fog. The calm fog suddenly stirred, boiling like a thick green soup, with sizzling sounds and bright electric arcs dancing within.

"Hit."

A nearby human whispered.

"Throw spears, continue!"

With no time to reload, the hunters dropped their crossbows, pulling out poisoned short spears from their leggings, their movements smooth and practiced, without hesitation. Just as they prepared to throw at the shadows, the shadows abruptly enlarged, and a blue dragon as formidable as the red one burst out, plunging into their midst.

After entering, the blue dragon paused, scanning around with vertical pupils. Then, its scales clanged once, shaking off the arrows embedded in its body, which fell to the ground.

"The slaughter begins!" the red dragon on the other side shouted excitedly.

"These humans came for Dragon Fort, kill them."

Recognizing the blue dragon, Holey shouted a warning, focusing on evading the ancestral warriors' attacks.

"Prepare poison!"

The leader ordered, drinking an antidote and donning a mask.

At that moment, a companion's shout startled him. It was his right-hand man, usually not one to cry out easily.

"What's happening?" he asked, his voice muffled by the mask.

"Itchy... itchy!"

His companion was pale, dropping his weapons, frantically scratching his thigh. The leader saw a claw mark, likely from a small dragon.

Frustrated, the leader looked at a corner, signaling hidden assassins. They decided to capture a dragonet, perhaps to drive the dragon swarm away.

As the blue dragon approached, casually emitting electric arcs, hitting a hunter, the leader saw an opportunity.

He shot his last bolt from the hand crossbow, then charged with a curved blade, hitting the blue dragon's forearm with the handle and trying to stab with the blade. The blue dragon stepped back, then whipped its tail like an iron chain, striking the leader's chest, causing immense pain and breathlessness.

But the leader smiled under his mask, having achieved his goal. As the blue dragon focused on him, his team's elite assassin would strike its back.

He fell, looking up.

As expected, the assassin was in position, dropping from above the blue dragon, his poisoned sleeve dagger flashing, ready to stab.

A hurricane swept through, and something leaped from the side.

A black dragon, smaller but lightning-fast, intercepted, biting the assassin, its fangs piercing his chest, dripping with blood.

The leader's heart sank. He saw the blue dragon open its mouth, uttering incomprehensible syllables, possibly in dragon language, and the black dragon seemed pleased.

"By Mara, how many dragons are here!?"

The leader cursed in near collapse.

As if to confirm his words, another dragon emerged from the fog, its massive body pushing through trees and rocks, joining the fray.