The ancient sages said even ten people couldn''t stop one thief. How could we easily protect horses from thieves who swam freely underground and flew like birds through the sky?


    Of course, combining everyone''s strength here, we could butcher even Giant Worms and Wyverns despite their tough shells and tendons, then sell them to the Magic Tower.


    The problem was horses dying in the process.


    "Hanna and Grace, keep the Wyvern in check, everyone else watch for the Worm surfacing! Irene, can you put barriers on the horses?"


    "Yes, I can!"


    "Got it! ...But are horses really that important? You keep saying stop the horses, protect the horses, shield the horses. I know they''re expensive livestock but do they need this much protection?"


    -lol A hundred newbie adventurers couldn''t buy one horse here


    -Fantasy novels often say horses are more precious than people


    -This separates players from non-players lol Ask why they''re expensive and you''re either newb or non-player


    -Don''t just laugh among yourselves, explain why they''re expensive


    -Why am I non-player lol I''m approaching 10,000 hours on Han Se-ah''s stream, treat me as a player


    Han Se-ah''s muttering showed her lack of medieval sensibility, making me want to explain.


    Horses were incredibly expensive. Even in modern society, factoring in maintenance costs, they could cost more than sports cars - imagine medieval times. Bluntly put, these knights'' horses were worth several times more than some rural serfs'' lives.


    These were trained warhorses adapted to the Empire''s harsh northern snowfields, maintaining formation calmly even during monster waves. Modern racehorses could cost 40-80 billion won - these must be worth about 1 billion each based on ability.


    Twenty-six high-rank knights - 21 noble young masters and a 5-person hero party - losing such valuable horses to just two high-rank monsters would be laughable. Not something to spread around, but a matter of pride.


    Sure, winning without injuries was expected, but it''d be weird for a museum guard to say "The 1 billion won jewel was stolen but no guards were hurt!"


    "Just hold tight so the horses don''t panic and run!"


    "What about the others?"


    "They''ll return to him even if they run briefly!"


    Everyone except Han Se-ah understood the horses'' value. The knights hurriedly started securing them.


    Thinking not everyone needed to watch the ground, some grabbed the lead horse''s reins and patted its head soothingly. Meanwhile, shadows repeatedly passed overhead threateningly.


    Being high-rank monsters with instinctive mana use, they seemed to be feinting to scatter our tight group of 26 high-ranks.


    The Wyvern repeatedly fake-diving overhead while the Giant Worm shook the ground in sync. Their reluctance to actually attack showed how long this monster duo had cooperated.


    "Ah seriously... how annoying!"


    "Hanna, don''t call lightning yet, save it. That thing''s measuring my arrow range."


    "Hyaaaah-!"


    A battle cry more cute than impressive.


    But the mana from her staff was anything but cute. She''d gathered so much that the flashing magical light activated not Call Lightning or Summon Ice Storm, but earth-controlling Earth Control.


    "I-it''s out... ugh..."


    "H-Hanna! Are you really okay?"


    "Kill it before it goes back innnn---!!!"


    Magic couldn''t dig underground. The intelligent but unwise Giant Worm rushed to death based on hasty conclusions from watching northern battle mages fight monster waves.


    Like its Wyvern friend, it soared skyward instead of underground. Its disgusting elongated body flew high like a fish caught in an underwater explosion. Did it think it wouldn''t be targeted while shaking the ground under Han Se-ah?


    Though Giant Worms swam through earth like water, they couldn''t control themselves in mid-air. Its well-fed body, nearly 7m long, writhed in confusion as 22 aura swords rushed to dice it before it could touch ground.


    Kee, keeeeng--!


    Kyaaak---!!!


    Was it friendship built fighting monster waves in the far north? The Wyvern made the same mistake, believing magic would target it - it shot up when the spell activated, then swooped down startled by its companion''s death cry.


    Maybe it planned to grab its companion and flee since our mage collapsed from exhaustion. Or perhaps shock made it trust its tough body to break our formation.


    "Yes, got it!"


    "Well done, Grace!"


    But even without a mage, Grace''s arrow welcomed it, her pride equally wounded. Her arrowhead pierced both wing joint and armpit, glowing ominous purple.


    If the Giant Worm''s mistake was not expecting a mage to upturn earth, the Wyvern''s was not expecting a finger-sized arrowhead - neither magic nor ballista - to pierce its hide.


    A passive skill ignoring 80% of defense on vital hits shone through, piercing like paper the tough hide that resisted swords and northern cold.


    Kya, kyak, kieek--?!


    Purple naturally meant poison in fantasy games. Whether paralyzing or not, the creature descending to save the Giant Worm spun like a top and landed bizarrely.


    Right in front of my mana-charged warhammer.


    "R-Roland! Wait--!"


    "E-Everyone duck!"


    KWAJAK---!!!