"Everyone, keep advancing. Buckle, release your Ravens to scout the surroundings. Prioritize finding locations that are easy to defend but hard to attack, so it's convenient for the Rogues to come and establish an outpost."
"Yes, Captain Leo." Buckle immediately released his summons. Although he had always been very polite to Leo, any observant person could see that he was deliberately maintaining a distance from everyone.
"Max, have your Skeleton Warriors lead the way." Leo walked behind the skeletons, the Vigor aura beneath his feet making the entire squad's advancing speed much faster.
Max was still jumping around and chattering incessantly, but he was quite diligent in executing Leo's orders: "You got it, Boss! My skeletons will surely sweep away all obstacles ahead for you."
Leo watched the eight skeletons forming a semi-circle to clear the path, laughing inwardly. This kid has definitely developed Stockholm Syndrome; he's turned into a total bootlicker.
Although the Hellish aura of the Stony Field was much stronger, the journey was quite pleasant with Ravens monitoring enemy movements from the sky, Skeleton Warriors clearing the path ahead, and Buckle's Dire Wolves and Majesty's Shadow Warrior bringing up the rear.
"Captain Leo, after entering the Stony Field, the Ravens have discovered flying monsters peeking at us from a distance from time to time."
It couldn't be Foul Crows, could it? Those monsters were the most disgusting; their nests would continuously produce Foul Crows. Once they gathered in sufficient numbers, they would conduct night raids on their prey, making them very troublesome. To deal with them, one had to destroy their nests.
"Have your Ravens watch the ground. See if there are any strange things—specifically, pillar-like objects made of flesh that stand on the ground, squirm, and have large crowns." Leo tried desperately to find words to describe a Foul Crow Nest. Unfortunately, after thinking it over, all the words he came up with were normal individually but very strange when combined.
The Rogue girl was the most sharp-witted and had the most vivid imagination, reacting immediately: "Hahaha! Captain, you're so improper!"
Leo glared at Shika: "Zip it. Do you still want the equipment provided by the squad?"
Shika couldn't help but want to laugh further, so she covered her mouth with both hands, revealing a pair of crescent-shaped eyes.
"Captain Leo, found them. There seem to be quite a few; a total of five of these fleshy pillars. The location they've occupied is excellent; it should be usable for establishing an outpost."
The group bypassed several large boulders and walked for nearly half an hour before finally seeing the five disgusting nests. These nests stood atop a flat-topped stone mountain. The stone mountain appeared dark blue-black and very sturdy, standing a full hundred meters high. Fortunately, there was a crevice on the back that allowed them to climb up. If they could clear the nests on top, it would be an ideal place to build an outpost.
Leo looked at the constantly squirming nests and felt troubled. These dark red nests were very tall, at least over ten meters. The crown-like structures at the top resembled twisted tumors, riddled with holes. Foul Crows were like bees out gathering nectar, constantly flying out of the holes and then bringing back flesh to crawl back in.
There were at least 200 Foul Crows in the air. These flying monsters had fleshy wing membranes and looked like oversized mayflies. Not only did they have long claws on their bodies, but they also had terrifying spikes on their tails. Surprisingly, there was even a Unique monster among them that could use the Might aura.
> Witch Venom the Seething: Level 40; Stoneskin, Extra Strong [Aura].
> Foul Crow Nest: Level 37; Foul Crow: Level 37.
>
If the opponent were a ground unit, Leo would have charged in long ago. But flying units were awkward; if they couldn't win, they would flee and then return to harass them continuously.
After observing for a long time, Leo finally decided to give it a try: "Buckle, Thales, are you confident in hitting targets that far away?"
The two shook their heads gently.
"Does anyone else have a good idea?" Leo already had a draft in his mind, but to be safer, he wanted to see if anyone had any better suggestions.
"None." Inceyste felt somewhat embarrassed, turning her head away and answering in a low voice. Encountering such a predicament was clearly because the squad lacked long-range magical strike capabilities.
"We can just fight our way through. I can shoot down over 10 with one arrow; it'll only take about 20 arrows."
Thales' suggestion was aggressive enough, but Leo chose to ignore it. The remaining few also shook their heads.
Seeing that no one had any good suggestions, Leo pointed at a relatively large rock and said: "Look at that rock; its base has been hollowed out by rushing water. Wait for Buckle to use his Dire Wolves to lure the monsters. We'll run over and utilize that terrain to wear down the enemy's active forces."
The rock Leo pointed to was relatively close to the nests. If they got there, they could definitely reach the nests. If they truly couldn't win, there were still Howl and Cloak of Shadows; retreating would certainly be no problem.
The Dire Wolf that received the command acted like certain individuals out for a stroll, appearing very excited, howling as it ran. Watching that self-absorbed, joyful pace, a look of envy appeared in Buckle's eyes.
Facts proved that "loving to play leads to a capsized ship." After running only about a hundred meters, the Dire Wolf's howl turned into a terrified wail. A large circle of Foul Crows worked together to lift it up, flying toward the nests on the mountain peak.
The group arrived under the rock just in time to see the Dire Wolf being thrown into a large gash on the nest. Buckle immediately canceled the summons; the Dire Wolf inside the bloody maw vanished instantly. When he summoned it again, the newly appeared Dire Wolf kept rubbing against Buckle's leg, making aggrieved whimpering sounds.
Leo let out a soft cry of surprise: "Buckle, your Dire Wolf is so spirited."
"I suppose it's because I care for animals quite a bit; they haven't died even once." Buckle rubbed the wolf's head vigorously, and the Dire Wolf squinted its eyes in comfort.
He wondered if Majesty's Shadow Warrior would develop a consciousness; he'd have two sisters then. He shuddered—how terrifying.
While letting his thoughts drift, Leo took out his weapon and activated the Meditation aura and Holy Shield. He was becoming more and more like an "AFK" player; everything was being completed by his teammates. It was truly good to have teammates.
Before him were Skeletons and a Golem that feared no death. Beside him were Dire Wolves frolicking around the Heart of Wolverine, with Ravens perched on their heads. In his eyes, he admired the magical flames generated by enchantments; in his ears, he heard the whistling wind, the sizzling lightning, the wonderful "dolphin-voiced" spells, and the crisp sound of bowstrings. The feeling of standing here protecting his teammates was truly wonderful.
Foul Crows fell like dumplings into a pot. The attacked nests went into a frenzy, desperately producing Foul Crows. The Unique Crow, meanwhile, craftily hid in the back, continuously adding aura statuses to these cannon fodder.
Unfortunately, the Foul Crows were too fragile and couldn't even get close to the skeletons. A large number of Foul Crows were slain, and the five nests continuously consumed flesh to replenish their forces, visibly thinning out at a speed seen by the naked eye. It seemed that before long, their supplies would run dry.
Leo signaled Majesty to have her Shadow Warrior wander at the edge of the group's protective circle.
Once again faking a mistake, he walked to the edge of the defensive ring. Sure enough, the Unique monster lost its patience and charged out with its minions. They quickly pounced on the Shadow Warrior and tore at it; the poor Shadow Warrior let out another scream and vanished.
Leo seized the opportunity. With blue auspicious clouds beneath his feet, he Charged forward, delivering a powerful Vengeance to avenge the Shadow Warrior.
The Unique monster was smashed directly to the ground. It fluttered, still wanting to fly up and escape, but it was frozen by Holy Freeze, which severely affected its speed. Leo stepped on it, pinning it into the soil, and then initiated several rounds of Zeal. The slowed elite minions were all killed.
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