Although the recent battle was extremely intense and physically exhausting, he was not injured. Raine thought that if he could rest on the carriage for two hours, his stamina would be mostly recovered.
After all, heās still young!
As for the oil bottles, he still had two on him at the moment.
But in reality, when facing a demon with a challenge level of three, Raine really didnāt think the oil bottles would have much effect. So, even if he returned to Mill Town to buy as many as possible, it might not mean much.
Thus, the group of three chatted as they quickly approached the caravan.
After handing Laisaās chestnut horse to the horseman, the three of them boarded the caravan.
"....I need to remind you that as a demon focused on frost attacks, although the Frost Blade Leopardās combat skills rank low in the Lankote Snowfield, the frost spells it casts, such as the Ice Blade, are significantly more powerful than the First Level Spell Ice Blade Spell cast by ordinary mages."
"Moreover, the Frost Blade Leopardās melee attacks come with extremely strong frost damage. The longer the battle lasts, the more the intense cold will numb your hands and feet."
Laisaās words immediately made Elise look a bit uneasy.
Since Elise was the initiator of the Frost Blade Leopard hunt, she hadnāt thought much about it, feeling as if a spark of inspiration in her mind made it seem feasible, so she spoke up.
However, Raineās expression remained unchanged, which made Laisa quite curious.
"Hey, your shield seems unusual?"
"Magic equipment?" Laisa asked as she curiously glanced at the shield in Raineās hand.
In fact, before the battle, she had vaguely sensed that Raineās shield was somewhat unusual.
During the battle, this became even more apparent.
Although the shield appeared dark and unattractive on its surface, even when she stabbed it with the Assassinās Dart, it only resulted in sparks flying but no scratches.
"Hmm, it has good resistance to various spells." Since they were now temporary teammates, Raine gave a brief thought and mentioned the special effects of the Obsidian Shield.
"I couldnāt tell, youāre quite wealthy!" Laisa remarked.
This made Raine slightly pause, glancing at Elise beside him.
Seeing this, Laisa looked at the two of them and then chuckled playfully.
Raine was indifferent, but Eliseās face blushed slightly.
"Itās a pity that Miss Elise just advanced to become an Official Priest. Ideally, if time was ample, it would be best to find a clergy member who masters the Dispelling Spell. That would make things much easier."
Laisa recalled the team configuration from the last time she killed a Frost Blade Leopard.
"Dispelling Spell?"
"Miss Laisa, I can do it!" Elise said with a smile.
"Hmm?" Laisaās eyes widened.
"Thatās rare, Miss Elise, didnāt you say you just became a formal class member?"
"Could it be, your first choice for Divine Art is the Dispelling Spell?"
"Uh... actually, itās like this...."
...
Half an hour later.
Accompanied by the sound of wheels rolling over gravel, the caravan smoothly advanced toward the edge of the Lankote Snowfield.
Perhaps because Elise helped remove the Evil Blood Mark, or due to the subsequent healing, Laisaās attitude towards Elise was very friendly, and they became increasingly engaged in conversation.
As for Raine.
He gazed through the gaps in the carriage tarp at the approaching towering snow peaks, feeling a tinge of awe.
āI never thought Iād reach the Lankote Snowfield so quickly.ā
Bringing his thoughts back, Raine began to ponder which monster bloodlines to activate.
Since there were four slots in total on the bloodline bar, and the combat-effective bloodlines in the first tier amounted to fiveā
"Deep Moss Spider x1, Wild Boar Warrior Bloodline x1, Giant Bloodsucking Bat Leader Bloodline x1, Gray Dwarven Bloodline x1, Cold-Enhanced Goblin x1."
āWhen fighting the Frost Blade Leopard...ā
Soon, Raineās focus settled on the Mutated Goblin Bloodline.
āThe monsters in the snowfield generally have super high frost resistance, so the Freezing Ray is naturally useless...ā
That means using the latest combination of monster bloodlines should be the best setup.
Especially the Spider Web Spell, which might be surprisingly useful against the Frost Blade Leopardās agile form.
However, recalling when he himself previously froze the web with the Freezing Ray, Raine shook his head slightly.
āNo, it wouldnāt be very effective, just a slight hindrance.ā
āUnder the influence of extremely low-temperature frost power, the web becomes extremely fragile, and cannot trap the Frost Blade Leopard.ā
āFar better to use it on this Miss Assassin.ā
Raine couldnāt help but slightly raise his gaze, glancing at Laisa who was chatting warmly with Elise.
āHopefully, there wonāt be any unpleasant situations.ā
āHowever, Dexterity Lv2 is quite useful. Agility increased by two points, 1.2 more than before. This at least helps me keep pace with the Frost Blade Leopard.ā
Facing a Frost Blade Leopard with a challenge level as high as three, Raine couldnāt help but feel tense.
At that moment, he pulled out the Lankote Snowfield Monster Atlas and carefully flipped to the page about the Frost Blade Leopard.
As he read through the details about the Frost Blade Leopard on the atlas once again.
Raineās eyes narrowed slightly.
First, he replayed possible battle scenarios in his mind.
Against a Level 3 Frost Blade Leopard, his only advantage, or rather, the slight edge he might hold, would be his recently boosted strength, now at 9 points.
With Gigantificationās boost, it would reach as high as 11.7.
This was, in Raineās opinion, his only attribute likely to surpass the Frost Blade Leopard.
As for agility, though improved, not considering his shieldās and plate armorās weight, even with zero burdens, he wouldnāt be a match for a leopard demon known for its dexterity.
Therefore, reducing the opponentās speed is the primary goal.
If he could drag the opponent into a position battle, and with Eliseās Divine Art support, Raine reckoned his chances of winning would increase significantly.
"Hey, werenāt you the one who interrupted the spellcasting at the end? That couldnāt have been the Silence Spell, right?" Laisa suddenly asked.
"Was it some rare spell? Iāve never heard of it before?"
Laisa referred to Raine, who had accidentally collided with her chest, as āheyā the entire way.
Evidently, for a lady, being hit there, and with severe injuries, left some resentment.
However, when faced with Laisaās question, Raine continued to ignore her.
This made Laisa grind her teeth in frustration.
"Miss Laisa, tell us about your past, your skin tone is quite special, like those from the southern part of the continent, right?" Elise covered her mouth and chuckled, but she quickly redirected Laisaās attention.
...
Due to the location of the Deep Moss Spider Cave, which wasnāt far from the edge of the Lankote Snowfield,
after about two hours of travel by carriage,
Laisa suggested they get off and proceed on foot.
On the one hand, the path ahead was only wide enough for a single horse.
On the other hand, the caravanās horses were ordinary, and the driver was just a regular person, easily endangered by any sudden beast attack.
Thus, the three of them left the unnecessary items on the carriage and got off.
Once off, the first thing that caught Raineās eye was the change in foliage.
From the broadleaf trees at the entrance of the Deep Moss Spider Cave hills, it had become a mixed forest of broadleaf and conifer trees here.
The evergreen broadleaf trees like camphor gradually disappeared, replaced by robust firs and pines. The dense needles and low plants were mainly comprised of viburnum and moss.
Raine exhaled deeply, creating a long white mist.
The temperature here was at least five degrees lower than it was at the hills.
As he scanned the area, Raine noticed that not far ahead in the conifer forest, several bottom adventurers were bowing their heads, searching for something.