Chapter 117: Hunting
"Screech..."
As Light Snow pounced and bit, this Elite Level Quill Rat let out a sharp shriek. Its small, dark eyes revealed a look of painful unwillingness. After a long while, it slumped softly onto the ground, no longer moving.
"Hoo hoo..."
Light Snow shook its head, splattering blood everywhere. These small Quill Rats were as insignificant as flies to it. Yes, they were too small, and covered in hard spines, making them somewhat difficult to handle.
The other Ghost Wolves were also patrolling the surroundings, occasionally lowering their heads to sniff the corpses on the ground with their sensitive noses. The Poison Creeper was still the same as usual. After easily killing 7 more Quill Rats and swallowing one, it was now leisurely circling on the ground as if taking a walk after a meal.
Nearby, there were probably still dozens of Quill Rat corpses lying around. After leaving the Village, I bypassed a group of Giant Beasts and not long after, I encountered this pathetic group of monsters that seemed to be on a long migration. They usually didn't leave their Door and were good at Sneak attacks from the Jungle. It seemed they had never traveled this far. Their plump bodies covered in hard spines waddled along like turtles, looking utterly comical. Thousands of Quill Rats stretched out into a long procession, extending into the distance. Such a large piece of meat right before me, it felt wrong not to take a bite, and Quill Rats could also be considered Ranged Attack Monsters. They were still worth dealing with to some extent.
Therefore, I summoned the Ghost Wolves and Poison Creeper. Following this winding procession, which looked like a long strip of pork floss bread from above, I avoided the thickest Quantity in the middle and "ate" along the sparse, crispy edges. Thanks to them stretching out the procession, otherwise, gathered together in the thousands, even if they were Quill Rats, I wouldn't have the confidence to charge in headfirst.
Slaughtering all the way, this spread-out Quill Rat pork floss bread seemed to have a layer gnawed off from the side, missing at least a fifth. Of course, this was all thanks to Light Snow and the others' Merit. Dealing with these weak Quill Rats, I didn't even need to get down. I was always riding on Light Snow 's back, giving Commands and directing their actions. My hands had long since switched to a Long Bow, practicing for the Quest without delay. Hehe!
"Ah..."
I sighed softly. The dozens of Quill Rats on the ground, plus the Elite one I just killed, only dropped 3 bottles of minor Potions, 8 Gold Coins, and dozens of Silver Coins. This level of stinginess was probably unprecedented.
"Quack quack!!"
Lazy Crow grabbed the last Silver Coin hidden in the Grass and placed it in my hand, calling out proudly a few times. Recently, I discovered a new hobby of Lazy Crow's. No, rather than a new hobby, it was just its Instinct being stimulated.
That was collecting shiny things. Gold, and shiny Equipment, absolutely could not escape its sharp eyes. But it ignored White Items and Potions that had no Glow. Thanks to this, several times valuable Items like Chipped Gems hidden under Stones or in the Grass were discovered by it. What was most commendable was that after getting the Item, it would actively hand it over. It seemed only interested in the process of collecting and never considered keeping them for itself. Speaking of which, it couldn't possibly have the thought, "My Master's things are my things," right...
There were no more Quill Rats ahead. It seemed this "bread" had been gnawed to the End. Looking back, their slow figures, illuminated by the setting sun, still stretched like a long snake towards the Village...
Should I go back and kill a few more rounds, completely eradicating these Quill Rats?
Forget it, these Quill Rats weren't my Target. I was just clearing them out along the way. Their threat wasn't the greatest. It was better to quickly complete this Quest first. I thought for a moment, weighing the priorities, and gave up on that Idea.
I patted Light Snow , signaling it to continue walking towards the Northwest. The Target's Speed wasn't slow. I estimated I should encounter them not far ahead.
Before dark, taking advantage of the twilight Light, I finally spotted them on a small hill not far away.
Their bodies and posture resembled a hairless gorilla. Their thick arms were slightly longer than their legs. They had sticky, slippery Skin, and disgusting liquid occasionally dripped onto the Grassland, making a "sizzling" corrosive sound. Above their short, thick necks, they had a bull's Head almost a quarter the size of their Body, with two sharp horns curving inward. Below an elephant-like forehead was a large mouth like a Crocodile's. Several rows of uneven, sharp buck teeth were exposed to the Air as the large mouth breathed. A slender, flexible tongue, like a snake's, extended from the saliva-filled mouth, wriggling like a slug. Their two bull's eye-sized eyes in the hazy sky were like two glowing crimson lanterns, flickering on and off, making one tremble.
That's right, they were the Crippled Fiends, almost universally despised in the entire Rogue Encampment. Not only were they terrifying in Appearance, but their Strength was also quite astonishing. In melee Battle, their full set of sharp and sturdy teeth could instantly bite through steel-hard objects. The Strength contained in their arms, thicker and longer than their legs, was also not to be underestimated. Their Ranged Attack was even more fear-inducing. The Lightning Bolts spat from their mouths, if one's Lightning Resistance wasn't high, even Advanced Transformed Ones wouldn't dare to easily face their edge.
This group of Crippled Fiends wasn't actually slow in Speed. The reason they were a bit later than the Quill Rats might be because the Monster army was distributed according to Level. With the Crippled Fiends' Strength, they were naturally at the very back of the procession. So, only after the other procession left did the clumsy ones start to Depart, becoming the monsters "bringing up the rear".
I quickly hid in the Jungle nearby. If hundreds of Crippled Fiends swarmed me at once, even I couldn't handle it, let alone Light Snow and the others. If any of them died, it would be enough to make my heart ache for a long time.
However, just as I imagined. The Speed of this group of Crippled Fiends couldn't be exactly the same. After walking for a while, they had begun to gradually disperse, like the Quill Rats, stretching into a winding procession over a hundred meters long, giving me an opportunity.
My Quest this time was to eliminate these Crippled Fiends. Choosing them was after careful consideration.
First, although their Quantity was only a few hundred, the Damage they could cause might be greater than thousands of Dark Wanderers. You see, Defense is relatively easy to increase. The Druid's Werebear Transformation, the Paladin's Resistance Aura, and the Barbarian's Shout can all greatly increase Defense, reducing the Damage from Archers. However, Equipment with Lightning Resistance is very rare, and the Paladin's Lightning Resistance Aura can only be learned at Level 24.
Second, their location - the Underground Cavern. It's the farthest from the Blood Moor. If I killed some Dark Wanderers or Skeleton Archers, they might respawn in their lair and return to form Combat Power again before the Battle ends. But these Crippled Fiends would take at least dozens of days to get here from the Underground Cavern. By then, the Battle would have long been over.
Looking at the Equipment on my Body, two pieces were:
Storm's Outer Robe Leather Armor
Defense: 31
+30% Enhanced Defense;
Lightning Resistance +)%;
+5 Energy;
+5 Vitality;
+2 Light Radius;
Replenish Durability 1 in 1 day;
Carved Harness's Light Buckle Belt
Defense: 5
+5 Dexterity;
+18 Life;
+15 Mana;
Lightning Resistance +24%;
Poison Resistance +22%;
Attacker Takes Damage 4;
These two Golden Equipment provided me with a high Lightning Resistance of 53 points. Besides these, some other Inferior Equipment I was wearing were:
+6 Life, 10 Defense. Jackal's Skull Cap;
+3 Strength, 2 Defense, Gloves of Strength
+4 Dexterity, 8 Defense, Boots of Agility
As for the Necklace and Rings, they were still the same ones as before: Necklace of the Aquamarine Condensing Shield, Bronze Ring, and Ring of Azure Greed. What I held in my hand was the most overpowered Runeword Equipment, Leaf (Rune Word) - Battle Staff.
After careful observation, among these hundreds of Crippled Fiends, 3 were Elite Level, and there were more than 10 Chieftains. Now I should try my best to avoid these more troublesome Elites and Chieftains, and slowly devour them from the outside, peeling them away layer by layer before this group of ugly monsters reaches Vita Village.
Before it gets dark, let's take down a few batches, I said to myself, gripping the Battle Staff with both hands.
Walking around the procession that stretched over a hundred meters, I finally chose my Prey - the ten to twenty Crippled Fiends at the tail end of the procession. For some reason, they were about 4-5 meters away from the group ahead. As long as I attacked the last one, I believed it wouldn't alert the monsters ahead and cause a chain reaction.
Don't laugh at me for being timid. I'm not afraid of dozens of Crippled Fiends attacking me, but the accompanying Paralysis Effect is what I fear most. If there's a chance of continuous Paralysis and I get surrounded, I'll be in trouble. Even if this probability is less than one in a thousand, with a more stable Method available now, it's not worth taking the risk. I don't want to add a line like this in a Corner of Sanctuary's history books: "Diablo XX year, the brave Druid Warrior Wu Fan, after single-handedly defeating Blood Raven, was unfortunately surrounded and killed by a group of low-level Crippled Fiends..." A dead Hero has no Meaning.
The sky was gradually darkening, but it didn't have much Influence on the upcoming Battle. As a Child of Nature, a Druid inherently possesses a certain Night Vision Ability, not to mention the Crippled Fiends' unique lantern-like red Glow eyes, which make it hard not to be discovered.
Slowly approaching the "Tail" of this procession, I took a deep breath, calming my mood. Then, an Incantation, spiraling like DNA, slowly emerged in my mind, emitting a faint Glow.
"Blizzard..."
The Level 3 Blizzard attached to the Battle Staff was cast for the first time against monsters. A dense mass of Frost, emitting a faint blue Glow in the twilight Grassland, flew towards the Crippled Fiend like a comet, trailing a brilliant blue Tail composed of countless crystal-clear ice flowers. Compared to the First Tier Skill Ice Bolt, Blizzard was much stronger in both Power and flashiness.
With a "bang", in less than a breath's Time, and coupled with the Sneak attack, the Crippled Fiend didn't even have Time to react before being hit by the Blizzard. Its entire Body was instantly covered in a layer of light blue Ice Layer, turning into a veritable ice sculpture. What was most comical was that its short, thick legs were stepping forward when it was hit, so this "ice sculpture's" foot remained suspended in Mid-air in a bizarre way, looking extremely funny.
"Sigh... what a pity."
I didn't laugh, though. Ice Magic truly is the weakest in Damage among the Three-Element Magic. The Level 3 Tier 2 Skill Blizzard only took away less than two-thirds of its Health.
Next Time, I'll use the less Mana-consuming Fire Bolt to Attract them, I thought to myself, my hands and feet not stopping. Because the twenty or so Crippled Fiends nearby had followed the trajectory of the Blizzard and discovered the Enemy lurking behind them, which was me. Except for the one I froze into an ice sculpture, which hadn't recovered yet, the others had all swarmed forward. Their distinct glowing eyes were filled with an emotion called Anger.
The Result was not bad. It didn't attract the attention of the other Crippled Fiends. I saw the procession ahead of this group of Crippled Fiends continue walking forward as if they hadn't heard anything. I snapped my fingers happily. It seemed these Crippled Fiends weren't very adapted to large group living. If it were Fallen, those standing meters away would probably have run back to support by now.
After pulling this group of Crippled Fiends a little further away, completely separating them from the main procession, the "dumpling wrapping" operation began.
Werebear Transformation!!
"Come on... come on, my Companions, let's freely spill the hot Blood of the Enemy."
Finally encountering some monsters with a bit of substance, I looked at the pursuing Crippled Fiends with eyes like they were meat pies, shouting excitedly, and then led the charge.
"Roar... Roar..."
Light Snow and the others felt the fanaticism in my heart and couldn't help but roar, following closely behind me.
"Hiss..."
The Crippled Fiends opposite, seeing the Enemy so arrogant, also shrieked angrily. Their large, crocodile-like mouths opened to the maximum, and streaks of white Light with Electric Arcs surged from their Throats. Then, with a "wah", they spat them out from their mouths. In an instant, ten to twenty Lightning Bolts, carrying dazzling Light, flew towards us.