"Clang, clang, clang..."
As the crisp sound of the copper gong rang out, the men on night duty in the other rooms were instantly shocked awake, and they began to beat their wooden sticks.
Since wild beasts could potentially harm people, the bailiffs were already light sleepers, and this sound immediately jolted them into action.
Only the Old Station Guard remained unhurried, glancing outside before flipping over and crawling into a hole in the ground.
A few bailiffs tried to follow him in, but the hole was small, and the Old Station Guard refused to open the cover, which led to a string of curses.
"Brothers, grab your weapons and gather by the doors and windows. If that beast dares to break in, we'll stab it back."
Under Zhou Yuan's command, the bailiffs regained their composure, holding sticks against the doors and windows of the room.
"Heave, ho, heave..."
The bailiffs shouted and beat their wooden sticks, trying to make noise to scare away the beasts in the night.
Ordinarily, the noise from over a hundred people should be enough to scare off ordinary beasts.
But the beasts outside the post station seemed to distinguish between soldiers and civilians. Despite the deafening shouts, the beasts outside showed no intention of leaving.
The darkness provided the bears with a layer of camouflage, making it difficult for the bailiffs to see their movements.
But in Zhou Yuan's eyes, the movements of the bears were crystal clear.
He saw the health bars of two Level 3 Forest Crescent Bears gathering at the courtyard gate, constantly pounding on it.
Then, as they climbed the earthen wall, Zhou Yuan could vaguely make out their features once the two bears scaled the courtyard wall.
The two black bears stood taller than a person, with a V-shaped white patch on their chests, round heads, and large ears, appearing very robust.
The other four black bears were slightly smaller, with only health bars above their heads and no level attributes.
"They're coming, light the lamps quickly."
"Don't be afraid, everyone. There's no way those beasts are stronger than our twenty-odd men."
The warm yellow light illuminated the room, and the tense villagers panted heavily, sweat pouring out unconsciously.
At this moment, the post station's building was both a shelter and a cage, with just six black bears forcing the bailiffs into defensive positions, not daring to leave the house.
This situation significantly weakened the bailiffs' numerical advantage.
In a scenario where they could only rely on their companions and not expect help from others, the six black bears were essentially facing not a hundred men, but twenty-odd people in a room.
"Get a few people to dismantle the bed boards and use them as shields at the doors and windows."
The walls, made of rammed earth, were solid and reliable, making it difficult for the bears to dig through. The most vulnerable spots remained the wooden doors and windows.
Zhou Yuan stood in the front row by the window, raising his iron spear, ready to attack.
"Roar..."
A ferocious bear head suddenly smashed through the wooden window, roaring loudly at the villagers inside, frightening them into wailing.
"Hold steady, hold steady, hit its head, stab its neck.
Bear paws and bear gall are worth a lot. If we pull this off, we can all turn our lives around."
Under Zhou Yuan's shouts and the stimulus of fear, the villagers finally erupted, frantically beating the black bear trying to climb into the room.
Such attacks only provoked the bear's ferocity and couldn't take its life. The best strategy was to hold its head, preventing it from entering.
But how could the villagers maintain their composure? The man holding the bed board by the window was so scared he dropped the board and retreated.
Zhou Yuan was also somewhat nervous, but the power of his skills began to manifest at this moment.
Regardless of his mental state, as long as he activated his skills, he could produce stable damage.
He thrust his spear into the bear's mouth and nose, causing the black bear to bleed profusely and roar in pain.
The injured black bear became even more ferocious, lunging to force its way inside. Zhou Yuan seized the opportunity, bracing the spear's butt against the ground and thrusting it into the bear's open mouth.
"Ugh, ugh..."
The cold spearhead pierced the throat, and the bear's weight, combined with Zhou Yuan's bracing, drove the spearhead through the bear's neck.
Zhou Yuan watched as the black bear's health bar plummeted by half, quickly drew his hatchet, and delivered two Mountain-Splitting Strikes to the bear's head.
With two thuds, the blade sank into flesh.
Thanks to the skill's enhancement, Zhou Yuan's strikes were precise, turning the bear into a true blind bear.
The black bear, mortally wounded, tried to escape but was caught by the iron spear lodged in its neck. As it struggled, its health bar continued to drop, and soon it stopped moving.
But this feigned death couldn't fool Zhou Yuan. Seeing the beast's health drop to just 26% and still declining, Zhou Yuan grabbed a stick and called the villagers to jab at its head, working together to push it out.
This time, the black bear could no longer play dead. The jabs from the sticks caused the iron spear in its neck to inflict secondary damage.
As it was flipped over, Zhou Yuan grabbed the spear's butt and yanked it hard, delivering the final blow.
[Ding, killed a Level 3 Forest Crescent Bear, experience +30]
Boom, the heavy bear carcass hit the ground, invigorating the villagers inside and terrifying the other bears.
"Did it drop something?"
Zhou Yuan glanced at the bear carcass outside the window but didn't immediately go out to retrieve it. The other bears hadn't left, and it was too dangerous to go out now.
After a few beastly roars, the four black bears without levels prepared to flee, while the remaining Level 3 Forest Crescent Bear lunged at them, biting.
A good opportunity, Zhou Yuan took the chance to reach out, grab the iron spear from the bear carcass, and, with the help of two villagers, pulled it out.
"Whetstone."
Hearing Zhou Yuan's call, Zhao Dahuang immediately rummaged through the miscellaneous items and handed over a strip of stone.
At this moment, the spearhead in Zhou Yuan's hand was damaged and bent, with a chipped tip, but he still didn't give up on the spear.
After instructing two villagers to sharpen the spear, he also found a hammerhead as a backup weapon.
It wasn't long before the Level 3 Forest Crescent Bear killed two of the non-leveled bears, and the other two climbed over the wall and escaped.
The dead bears seemed very important to it, ignoring the two fleeing bears, it charged at the broken window again.
"Brothers, this beast holds a grudge, we can't let it in.
Don't hit randomly, use the sticks to push it out, exhaust its strength. If we can kill one, we can kill a second."
After killing one big bear, the villagers' confidence soared. Although still nervous, they no longer struck wildly.
With the efforts of a dozen strong men, the big bear was pushed down every time it tried to climb through the window, turning the life-and-death battle into a contest of strength.
Zhou Yuan held his spear, a few thrusts piercing its eyes, mouth, and nose.
By this point, it had lost most of its threat. In this mutual exhaustion, Zhou Yuan stabbed it from the side through its ear hole, calling the villagers to help pin it down.
"Put in more effort, pierce its head."
[Ding, killed a Level 3 Forest Crescent Bear, experience +30]
With both big bears dead, the villagers were just about to catch their breath when they saw Zhou Yuan climbing out the window.
"I'm going to check on the other brothers, see if they need help."
Amidst calls of caution, bravery, and not to be reckless, Zhou Yuan bent down to pick up a green glowing orb and a white glowing orb.
[Ding, obtained Moonlight Bear Gall, Great Bear Stance]