One must never be too reckless when dealing with such a fierce beast; those shattered corpses already illustrate the consequences of recklessness.
A spear? A sword? Or a bow? Rostislav pondered how to respond, knowing that choosing a weapon for hunting beasts required caution, for if he missed, he would be the one to die.
I will use a bow.
After a moment of thought, the Prince still chose the bow and arrow. The risk of fighting the beast up close was too great, even though he had hunted many beasts this way before.
At this moment, someone seemed to suggest he could sing to attract the auroch's attention, making it easier for everyone to hunt it, but the Captain of the Guard immediately ordered him to shut up. The Prince looked over, and it seemed to be that Gael who had been silenced.
Rostislav paid no mind to this, merely gesturing to those behind him to retreat. Seeing this, everyone orderly fell back, but an accident occurred at that very moment.
The Moscow Prince accidentally stepped on a long-dead branch, crushing it instantly.
As it shattered, the branch made a very loud sound in the now quiet environment.
The auroch, chewing on blood-stained grass, stopped. It had heard the sound.
The auroch suddenly turned around, lowered its head, and charged with its horns towards the source of the sound, letting out a loud roar. It didn't care what was behind it, because it had strong confidence in its horns. The hunters who had tried to kill him earlier had all been dealt with this way.
"Damn it! Give me the hunting spear!"
Seeing the auroch charging fiercely, Rostislav instinctively took the hunting spear, stained with the blood of countless beasts, from the hands of a Bodyguard Unit member who had offered it. Now, this was all he could rely on.
The Prince knew very well that under such circumstances, he absolutely could not run. A person could certainly not outrun an auroch. Fleeing rashly would be to completely entrust his fate to God, and Rostislav would not do that; he was not that kind of person.
Seeing the Prince so calm, the momentarily flustered crowd also settled down, taking out their respective weapons and preparing for battle.
Meshko stood directly in front of the Prince, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. Although this Polish Knight no longer had his former blindness, he still yearned for glory. How glorious it would be to kill such a beast!
The auroch charged in an instant, reaching the crowd. The bushes that had concealed them were torn apart in a flash. This creature appeared before them like a monster faced by heroes in Greek mythology.
The moment the auroch appeared, several arrows immediately struck its powerful body. Unfortunately, this did not kill the monster, nor did it even affect its charge; it continued to rush forward madly, ignoring everything.
Two Bodyguard Unit members bravely stepped forward, each holding a sharp hunting spear, attempting to stop the rampaging beast, but their movements were still too slow.
In an instant, these two brave men were mercilessly knocked down. Their armor, at that moment, was as flimsy as paper, providing them no protection whatsoever.
The two men who had fallen to the ground were directly trampled by the auroch, letting out incredibly painful wails, demonstrating the terrifying power of the auroch.
The tragic deaths of the two warriors made everyone present feel even more solemn. This creature was not easy to deal with, and even the arrows they released seemed soft and powerless, flopping uselessly to the ground.
But Rostislav did not panic. The Prince calmly aimed his spear at the charging monster, but the Pole in front of him obstructed his view.
"Meshko, step aside. I will deal with this monster."
The Moscow Prince gave the order, his tone very firm.
The Prince's words startled the Polish Knight, then he met the Prince's resolute gaze, and he understood.
"Yes."
The Pole cleared the way.
His vision finally clear, Rostislav was at last able to see the wildly charging monster. His heart couldn't help but grow tense; this was the first time he had faced such a fierce beast.
And while tense, the Prince's work with his hands did not slacken in the slightest. He rested the shaft of the long spear on the ground, aimed the spearhead at the auroch, and lowered his body as much as possible, trying to make the angle of the long spear to the ground as shallow as possible.
Rostislav's nerves were stretched to their limit at this moment, for victory or defeat would be decided in the next instant. Success meant directly killing this prey, while failure, at best, would probably mean months in bed, and at worst, his life would be gone.
As the auroch adjusted its charging path, the Prince's long spear also adjusted slightly, ensuring the spear was aimed at the auroch's vulnerable neck.
Fortunately, the auroch was only charging head-on, not noticing the sharp spearhead.
The auroch was getting closer and closer. Rostislav felt as if he could smell the auroch's heavy breath and feel the powerful pulse of the beast. The Prince also knew that the crucial moment had arrived.
Rostislav's efforts paid off. Before its horns reached the Prince, the auroch's neck was pierced by the Prince's long spear.
To prevent his arm from being ravaged by the immense impact brought by the auroch, the Prince suddenly released his grip on the long spear just as it was about to strike.
The long spear then pierced the beast's neck, and then, under the auroch's charging force and the ground's reaction force, the auroch's entire neck was penetrated, and blood spurted out like water.
The enormous beast let out a tremendous wail, then crashed to the ground in front of the Moscow Prince. That scene was like an earthquake, as if the sky was falling and the earth was splitting. Rostislav felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, only to stop just as it was about to crush him.
"Hoo, hoo, God bless, God bless."
Looking at the huge monster in front of him, Rostislav thanked God while instinctively making the sign of the cross.
When this creature charged in front of him, the Prince was truly afraid. He was certain that if he had been hit, his life might have been lost. Now that it was dead in front of him, he naturally had to thank God.
But in the eyes of the onlookers, it was another matter: the brave Moscow Prince faced the powerful beast without panic, calmly piercing the beast's neck with a long spear, and even after defeating such a monster, he did not forget to humbly thank God.
"Auroch Slayer!"
Someone, he knew not who, shouted this phrase that made the Prince, with his modern memories, feel a little strange. And with his voice, everyone began to cheer this new title for the Prince, celebrating their monarch's brave display.
Killing such a huge beast was something to be praised anywhere, let alone the Moscow Prince doing it up close with a long spear. That made it even more worthy of cheering; it was undoubtedly a manifestation of valor.
The cheering also pulled Rostislav out of that feeling of surviving a disaster. Although the title was a bit strange, this was an opportunity to boost his prestige, delivered right to his doorstep!
The Prince's performing persona immediately emerged. He first disdainfully kicked the dead monster, showing his disregard, and verbally ordered everyone to move the beast. He wanted everyone to see his prey!
And the crowd responded with wave after wave of cheers. Everyone loved heroes, everyone adored heroes, and everyone was happy to follow heroes.
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