Chapter Fifty-Five: This Time, the "Air Force" Has Arrived
Deep within the dense forest, a flock of Blackwing birds gathered. Their hooked beaks and talon-like claws were as sharp as swords, and though their bodies were not large, their wingspan reached two meters.
“Report! Lord, all the spirit beasts that participated in the attack have perished.”
“Hmm, dead is dead. They were merely a rabble. Where are the intruders now?”
“Replying to you, Lord, the Sword and the Sleepy Bug are about to enter our territory.”
“Good. Set the plan in motion. As soon as they step into the ambush zone, unleash the ultimate skill and make certain they are slain.”
“Yes!”
“Caw, caw, caw!”
The hoarse cries of the Blackwing birds echoed through the forest, adding a sinister and terrifying air to the already silent woods.
“The King sent me to patrol the mountain, so I wander through the spirit realm…”
Suddenly, the eerie silence of the forest was broken by a discordant, wailing song, utterly out of place.
At that moment, every Blackwing bird waiting in ambush felt several metaphorical black lines streak across their foreheads.
“What the hell is that? Why is it so unbearable?!”
“I can barely stand it—I want to rush out and kill him!”
“Damn it, just move forward a few more meters already!”
...
Qin Chuan was “sitting” atop the Sleepy Bug, singing loudly and joyfully, yet refusing to advance. Meanwhile, the Sleepy Bug squinted in apparent bliss, as if entranced.
The scene resembled a concert, with Qin Chuan performing and the Blackwing birds as unwilling spectators.
“Is this ever going to end?!”
“He keeps singing the same thing, again and again—I’m about to vomit!”
“I really want to rush out and finish him off!”
...
The flock of Blackwing birds was on the verge of collapse, waiting desperately for Qin Chuan to enter their ambush circle, but he stubbornly stayed where he was, tormenting them with his “ferocious” singing.
“The King sent me to patrol the mountain, so I wander through the spirit realm…”
No one knew how many times this refrain had looped!
At last, the Blackwing Lord could no longer endure it. His eyes glowed with a fiery gloom. “Second squad, go out and unleash your ultimate—kill him!”
“Yes, Lord!”
“Caw, caw, caw!”
...
With a sudden flurry, the Blackwing birds spread their wings, plunging the already dim forest into utter darkness and gloom.
A sly smile curled at the Sleepy Bug’s mouth. “Big brother, they’re coming out. I’m off!”
Qin Chuan leapt down, grinning. “Alright, go ahead. This is interesting—the attackers are from the air force this time!”
As the Sleepy Bug burrowed into the earth, Qin Chuan’s figure vanished from sight.
“Huh? Where did he go?”
“Reporting: Target has disappeared!”
In that instant, a black sword sliced through the air.
“Chirp!”
“Ah!”
“Ding! Killed level 18 Blackwing bird. Gained 850 experience points. Bonus for cross-level kill: 100% extra experience. Congratulations, host, you’ve received 1,700 experience points.”
With a single strike, Qin Chuan instantly slew a Blackwing bird.
“Not good! The enemy has launched an attack!”
The leader of the second squad—a level 18 mutated Blackwing bird—calmly commanded, drawing on his battle experience: “Hold formation! Don’t panic! Activate group skill—Protection Shield!”
Immediately, green light glowed on every Blackwing bird, merging into a single green ring.
These level 18 Blackwing birds were exceptional; though they specialized in ranged attacks, they possessed a powerful skill that even the strongest attackers could not rival. Their Protection Shield skill was at level seven.
Protection Shield: When activated, converts sharpness value 1:1 into toughness. Each skill point increases toughness by 5%. Lasts twenty seconds.
Crucially, under the group synergy skill, each Blackwing bird adds 0.5% toughness to the shield.
A full squad had 55 birds, granting a total of 27.5% extra toughness.
The Blackwing birds’ passive skill increases sharpness by 5% per level; at level five, that’s 25% sharpness bonus.
Finally, the tier-two Blue Spirit Pearl grants a further 10% sharpness bonus.
In other words, under the group synergy, the Protection Shield’s toughness reached 197.5% of the Blackwing birds’ sharpness.
By calculation, the shield’s toughness was roughly over 300.
Thus, all the Blackwing birds remained calm. With a toughness over 300, even a tier-three Lord’s repeated attacks might not breach their defense.
The Blackwing birds advanced in a triangular formation, confident and disciplined.
Though one bird had just died, it did little to dampen their overwhelming advantage.
As Qin Chuan returned to his starting point, the Blackwing birds’ ultimate—Flying Claw Airstrike—was poised to unleash.
“Damn, they’re like a well-trained fleet of bombers.”
Qin Chuan felt as though he were witnessing a military parade—their formation was impeccable.
“But marching so neatly, you’re just moving targets. Wearing a green cap doesn’t make you invincible!”
“Ha! Watch my ultimate—Falling Sky Strike!”
Despite his surprise, Qin Chuan wasted no time and unleashed his own ultimate.
Purple light flashed as hundreds of sword shadows rained from above, striking the lead Blackwing bird.
“Swish, swish, swish!”
“Boom!”
The explosion stunned every Blackwing bird—the sword shadows shattered their powerful Protection Shield.
“Ah, ah, ah!”
“Haha, my sharpness is formidable!”
“Even if my sword shadows only carry 70% sharpness, that’s still over 300!”
The Blackwing formation, flying fast, passed directly through the five-meter radius of the ultimate.
As fifty-four Blackwing birds crossed the attack zone, a five-meter vacuum appeared from the lead position to the rear ranks.
It was as if the birds had been erased from existence.
With a single ultimate, Qin Chuan shattered the green shield. Without its protection, the Blackwing birds were utterly defenseless—the lead mutated bird was instantly slain.
The ultimate’s five-meter range could hit up to three birds at once.
Out of ten ranks, only seven remained; the front three were annihilated, and the survivors were in a pitiful state.
After three seconds, only twenty-eight of the fifty-four Blackwing birds remained—nearly half had fallen.
The shock was overwhelming, enough to startle any observer.
Now, silence—an eerie, uncanny silence.
“These Blackwing birds are hilarious, charging right into my ultimate. Their gift of lives is so generous, I couldn’t refuse even if I wanted!”
“In other words, I’d love to keep a low profile, but my strength simply won’t allow it!”
“Heh heh!”
While the Blackwing birds were dumbfounded, Qin Chuan was delighted.
Their overconfidence brought disastrous losses, and for a moment, the entire flock was stunned into silence.
“All of you, attack! No formation—just bombard him!”
Moments later, the Blackwing Lord’s furious roar rang out through the forest.
“Caw, caw, caw!”
With a single command, all the Blackwing birds surged forth.
Their unity was impressive, or else they could never have executed such powerful group skills.
It was a duel between ranged attackers, but in numbers, Qin Chuan was at a distinct disadvantage.
“Damn, another group assault? Can’t you try something else? I want a one-on-one!”
“Dream on! Only a fool would duel you when they can mob you!”
The Blackwing Lord glared venomously at Qin Chuan, waiting for an opportunity—a chance to deliver a fatal blow.