Rowan's words acted as a trigger in the hearts of the soldiers, and they began to fight even more seriously. Their movements became even faster, their coordination improving as they fought side by side.
The frequency of notifications increased.
A few soldiers made wrong moves and were about to be ended by the monsters they were facing. Rowan and Blaze were there to help and prevent their deaths. Blaze moved like a shadow, intercepting attacks before they could reach their targets, while Rowan provided strategic support.
Rowan didn't even bother to join the battle since most of the monsters here were FF-rank.
There were only a few F-rank goblins and wolves, but they were no big deal as the soldiers easily took care of them.
Out of everyone, Bryce slew the most monsters.
Bryce's character and personality were mostly battle-oriented, and thus he was able to shine. His erratic and hot-headed self gave him a special boost of confidence that caused him to challenge monsters without any sort of fear.
He punched, kicked, and slammed the monsters to the ground as though he was in a wrestling tournament.
His erratic personality made him stand out on the battlefield.
Some of the monsters even had to stay away from him.
As Rowan observed Bryce, he couldn't help but imagine a scene with himself sitting on a golden throne and Bryce standing beside him, clad in dark armor with a smirk on his face. The vision was vivid, almost prophetic, and it brought a slight smile to his lips.
"After this battle, I will distribute the other martial arts skills with me to him," Rowan noted. He recognized the potential in Bryce and wanted to nurture it.
He even proceeded to check his character status.
[ Occupation: Captain ]
[ Power: N/A (4905/100000) ]
[ Special skill: Sword Master ]
'He might be the first to evolve at this rate!' Rowan noted to himself with a smile.
The other captains had around 3500–4000 evolution points. A few of the soldiers had already reached the 2000 mark. Winston was the only soldier who had 3000 evolution points. The steady progress of his men filled Rowan with a sense of pride.
The battle continued, becoming even more chaotic every second.
The advantages were greatly twisted in the direction of the Winterseed men.
Their advantage was so significant that some of the intelligent monsters and demonic beasts became frustrated. They came out of the forest to eat but were greeted with a battle. The tables had turned, and now they were the ones being hunted.
In the beginning, they all thought they would be able to easily devour the soldiers, but now they realized they couldn't have been more wrong.
The moment any of them gained a big advantage over a soldier, they were either stabbed with arrows or slain by Rowan or Blaze.
Some of the monsters tried to attack Rowan and Blaze but were slaughtered in a matter of seconds.
Minutes passed and turned into hours, and gradually the hours went by. Now it was almost noon, and the battle was getting close to ending.
The rate of monsters pouring out of the forest had reduced to about three to five monsters and demonic beasts per ten minutes.
As the rate reduced, the soldiers were able to focus more on the current horde at hand without fearing that another monster would come attack from behind!
According to Rowan's estimation, at least two thousand monsters and demonic beasts had poured out of the forest so far!
It was nothing compared to the last goblin and hobgoblin horde though, considering those goblins were far stronger than most of the strongest monsters here.
Rowan didn't even have to interfere too much as the soldiers got better the more the battle continued. Their skills were sharpening, and their teamwork was improving noticeably.
[ Occupation: Captain ]
[ Power: N/A (8775/100000) ]
[ Special skill: Sword Master ]
[ Occupation: Captain ]
[ Power: N/A (7070/100000) ]
[ Special skill: Sword Master ]
[ Occupation: Captain ]
[ Power: N/A (5500/100000) ]
[ Special skill: Sword Master ]
The stats of the captains had greatly improved, especially that of Bryce and Roland.
The stats of the soldiers had also improved. Even the archers who were only supporting from the sidelines had crossed the 3000 mark!
It was a really fruitful hunt!
'At this rate, the captains might be able to evolve after ten hunts if the monsters and demonic beasts are slightly stronger than the current ones. It will take twenty more hunts for the soldiers to evolve,' Rowan analyzed with a calm expression on his face. He began to plan future training sessions to accelerate their growth.
Blaze was standing beside Rowan, his eyes scanning the battlefield keenly. His eyes had a slight hint of sadness though, considering he wouldn't be able to devour monster cores after he had swallowed so many food pills at the same time. He even complained to Rowan telepathically several times.
Another hour passed, the sun had begun to punish the earth with its scorching heat and light.
At this moment, only a few monsters were still alive.
Some of the smart monsters tried to escape when they discovered their odds of winning and surviving were low, but the soldiers quickly caught up to them and slew them.
The really fast monsters were chased down and slaughtered by Rowan and Blaze.
The archers stood at the sidelines and fired the last set of arrows to take down the last standing monsters.
The last two wolves trying to escape fell to their deaths.
The soldiers celebrated immediately.
They lifted their weapons and celebrated as usual.
Rowan observed their enthusiasm with a calm smile on his face.
"This is just the beginning of the many journeys to power we will be taking to protect our people," Rowan began with a loud voice. His words resonated with the soldiers, filling them with determination.
The soldiers reacted to his words by lifting their weapons as usual and chanting his name.
Rowan used his hands to make them stop before asking them to help harvest the monster cores from the monsters.
They did not waste time and immediately went on with it. The process was swift and efficient, a testament to their training.
After they were done, they left and went back to the village, unaware of the news awaiting them.