Thrown onto White Frost’s back, Colin gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
The beast beneath him struggled wildly, trying to throw the enemy off its back. But thanks to Oak Heart’s efforts, it was dood to fail, unable to escape or make any major moves.
GURGLE, GURGLE...
The force of its struggles caused the Giant Sword in Colin’s hand to gouge the wound on White Frost’s back ever wider.
Bloody froth bubbled from the wound. He could feel the beast’s muscles tensing and releasing under him as it fought, and he could hear a sound like a drowning man choking on water.
’I must have pierced its lung!’
Colin gritted his teeth and held on to the hilt for dear life, struggling with all his might not to be thrown off.
White Frost’s struggles grew weaker.
Finally, its body gave one last violent twitch, then went limp like a punctured ball, falling silent.
Colin relaxed his numb arms, sliding down the white fur to the ground. Before he could even take off his Helt, a broad Half-Orc hand appeared in front of him.
"I thought you were dead."
"You’re the one who’s dead."
As Colin retorted, he felt a tap on his Helt. Kase’s voice ca from above. "Well said, Colin. Proves you’ve still got so fight in you."
Colin reached up, trying to remove his Helt.
But his hands were slick with bear blood, and it took several tries before he could yank it off.
He looked up, surveying his surroundings.
Kase was bathed in blood, but thankfully, his muscles had already clamped his wounds shut, staunching the bleeding.
Aidan lay on the ground, also covered in blood. Orelia was pouring a [Weak Healing Potion] into his mouth. It looked like one of the Potions they had given Ale back in Snow Deer Valley.
Oak Heart had already reverted to his human form and was sitting cross-legged beside White Frost’s corpse.
The lacerations on his back were also sealed by his muscles. Though they looked frightening, they had stopped bleeding.
Colin breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.
The fight had been fraught with complications, but they had avoided any irreversible consequences.
"Colin, Colin!" Orelia cried out. "I can’t heal Aidan’s wounds! The Potion isn’t working."
"What?"
Colin scrambled to his feet and hurried to her side.
Aidan, who had just downed the Potion, was still on the ground. A vicious claw mark had appeared on his chest, and it was still bleeding profusely.
Orelia had torn open the goblin bandages they’d acquired earlier and was busy trying to dress the wound.
Colin could faintly sense a slight fluctuation in the Magic Net around Aidan’s wound. He could even see a swirling, vortex-like surge of white Spiritual Light.
"It’s Lady Ri’s Divine Power. She imbued the Bear Claws with it," Oak Heart said, breathing heavily. "My Magic can’t heal the wounds, either. It’s like trying to make a frozen river flow again..."
"Do you know when this effect will wear off?" Colin asked urgently.
"It should be better by tomorrow," Oak Heart replied.
"The wound itself isn’t that severe. A bandage should stop the bleeding," Orelia said, her brow furrowed and her tone grave. "If we can really treat it with Divine Art tomorrow, then we have nothing to worry about. But if we can’t, it will likely get infected."
’If Oak Heart is right, then it should be fine.’
Colin let out a breath and surveyed the area.
The surrounding forest was a complete ss from their battle, littered with snapped vines and branches.
During Oak Heart and White Frost’s struggle, a few unlucky trees had been caught in the crossfire. Smaller trees were snapped in two, while larger ones had great chunks of bark torn away. The grassy ground was even worse, with several small craters gouged into the earth.
"Alright, let’s bandage the wounds, find a place to make camp, and see if Divine Art works tomorrow," Colin said, looking around. "I’m worried the scent of blood will attract unwanted attention."
"Lesser beasts won’t co near. They’ll be too afraid," said Oak Heart. "There are no other powerful foes in this area—this poor creature was an anomaly."
’So we’re safe for now?’
Colin said, "Then get your wounds bandaged. Kase, you too."
"No need for that. Let’s skin this big fella first." Kase took out his small Battle Axe.
"Putting coin before your life again? Are you sure you’re okay?"
"It’s just a scratch. It’ll be fine in a bit. Now co on, help !"
With that, Kase turned and began trying to roll over White Frost’s massive corpse.
Colin glanced at the wounds on the Half-Orc’s body; they had indeed stopped bleeding. He then looked back at Oak Heart.
"Take what you need. The forest wastes nothing."
Oak Heart understood Colin’s unspoken question. He walked to White Frost’s enormous head and gently closed the great bear’s eyes, his expression a mixture of sorrow and pain.
He murmured, "Poor lady. She was tornted by a wicked goddess until she lost her reason. May the Great Oak embrace you..."
Since Oak Heart had given his blessing, Colin wasn’t going to hold back.
He, Kase, Oak Heart, and Ale, who lent a hand, worked together to harvest the useful parts from White Frost.
Once Orelia was free, they also took turns bandaging their unhealable wounds.
It took several hours for them to finish processing the massive beast.
They harvested the bear pelt, Bear Claws, Bear Fangs, and its heart.
The skinned pelt was imnse; they had to roll it up tightly just to stuff it into the [Dinsion Bag]. The Bear Claws and Bear Fangs were also huge, looking like they could be used as Daggers.
Colin wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he could faintly sense the Magic Net still clinging to the fangs.
In other words, they still held latent Magic Power.
Materials like these would be perfect for crafting equipnt.
He could already picture the look on the faces of Donkexes and the other Dwarves when they saw these materials. He figured he could get them to craft another Magic Item or two.
In addition, Colin took the bear gallbladder, while Kase carved off so Bear Fat and Bear at.
These items couldn’t be used to craft Magic Equipnt; the two n simply wanted them for themselves.
After securing all the loot, they had used up the jars of Antiseptic Oil they’d acquired earlier. The massive bearskin alone had required a huge amount.
The battle had also taken a heavy toll.
The party had exhausted all their Divine Art and Magic. Colin and Ale couldn’t even muster a Cantrip.
Kase acted as if nothing was wrong, but his legs trembled as he stood. He had clearly reached his limit, and Oak Heart was in a similar state. Worse, because of Lady Ri’s Curse, neither of them could heal their wounds.
The party was now at its most vulnerable.
"This bear’s appearance proves the one on the bounty poster wasn’t you," Colin said to Oak Heart. "Still, I suggest you co with us to Oakville. It’ll prevent people from thinking we failed to kill White Frost."
"Very well." Oak Heart nodded.
With that settled, the group set off once more, heading for Oakville.
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