The quiet forest was punctuated by the occasional chirping of insects. The towering trees, dense with foliage, blocked out the sun almost entirely, with only occasional beams slipping through like pillars of light.
"Caw! Caw! Caw!" A somewhat familiar cry echoed from up ahead.
"What do you think? Should we take a detour?" Lannuo asked.
"I'm afraid we can't — it's already spotted us!" Leilin said without turning his head, studying the image on his Chip.
The sound of flapping wings grew closer and closer. Kreweir laughed aloud. "Since it's practically delivering itself to our doorstep, we'll just have to oblige!"
Everyone looked relaxed. After this period of working together, they had developed a solid strategy for dealing with Red-Eye Crows.
"Wait — there are two!" Leilin's expression suddenly changed as he studied the light screen.
Kreweir was startled. Following Leilin's warning, he spotted a second black silhouette behind the incoming Red-Eye Crow, noticeably larger than the others.
"This is trouble," Kreweir said, brow furrowed. "Leilin, Ni Lan — you two handle the one in front! Leave the other one to the three of us!"
"Ready!" Leilin called back to Ni Lan, pulling the Crossbow from his back.
"Calculating wind speed and humidity! Adjusting trajectory…"
*Whoosh!* A black line sliced through the sky, piercing straight through the Red-Eye Crow in front and sending a few feathers scattering.
"Caw!" The Red-Eye Crow let out an angry cry and charged toward Leilin.
It appeared to be completely unharmed.
"I'll draw it away!" Leilin said calmly, lowering his Crossbow.
Through the Chip, he could clearly see that his bolt had hit the Red-Eye Crow, but the creature's constitution was far too robust — roughly equivalent to a human Knight — and its plumage was extraordinarily tough, so the shot had done minimal damage.
For creatures of the
Watching Leilin and Ni Lan lure one Red-Eye Crow away, Kreweir felt reassured and barked: "Lannuo, Lilisite — cut off the second Red-Eye Crow from behind! Buy me time to cast!"
Lannuo and Lilisite exchanged a glance, then charged toward the Red-Eye Crow trailing behind.
While running, Lannuo pulled the bow and arrows from his back and fired into the sky — along with the arrows, several flying knives joined the volley.
"Caw! Caw!" The enormous Red-Eye Crow beat its black wings, swatting the arrows and knives aside with ease.
"It deflected everything with just its wings!" Lannuo went pale, his steps faltering.
But the Red-Eye Crow — a full size larger than the others — was already diving from above. Its massive claws raked across Lannuo's shoulder, leaving a bloody gash. The full weight of the creature pinned Lannuo to the ground.
"Help — help me!" Lannuo screamed.
*Bang!* Just as the Red-Eye Crow was about to peck down, a brilliant white flash erupted. Lilisite swung a greatsword larger than herself and knocked the crow aside with a resounding blow.
*Thud!* A large net of iron wire landed in front of Lannuo.
"I'll hold its attention — throw the net when you get the chance!" The normally quiet, even shy Lilisite looked like an entirely different person in this moment.
"Got it!" Lannuo glanced over at Kreweir, who was still preparing his spell nearby, and grabbed the iron wire net.
Lilisite had clearly trained in swordsmanship. The massive steel blade danced in her hands, forming a silver curtain of light that kept the Red-Eye Crow at bay.
"Ha!" With a clean deflection, Lilisite knocked the Red-Eye Crow to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt.
"Now!" Lannuo's eyes lit up. The searing pain in his shoulder made his vision redden as he flung the iron wire net open, draping it over the Red-Eye Crow.
"Caw! Caw!" The Red-Eye Crow thrashed wildly, nearly tearing free of the net.
"Kreweir, hurry! Its feathers are too thick — my attacks can barely scratch it!"
Lilisite shouted urgently.
"Thanks for holding it!" Kreweir had finally completed his spell. In his hand, a dark crimson fireball hovered, burning in midair.
"Get back — now!" Kreweir roared. Lilisite and Lannuo scrambled away.
"Go! Negative Energy Fireball!" With a sweep of his arm, the dark red fireball streaked across the sky, trailing plumes of searing heat, and slammed straight into the Red-Eye Crow trapped within the net.
*BOOM!* A thunderous explosion伴随ed a fierce wave of heat that radiated outward in all directions.
The blast carved a blackened crater into the ground, and even the surrounding shrubbery could not escape unscathed.
"Nice one!" Lannuo had been a touch too slow and was knocked off his feet by the shockwave, his clothes caked in dirt. But as he looked at the spot where the Red-Eye Crow had been, his eyes gleamed with undisguised satisfaction.
"Whew…" Kreweir let out a heavy breath. "This Negative Energy Fireball takes far too long to cast — you absolutely need someone to hold the target in place. Still, the威力 is impressive!"
Lilisite brushed the disheveled hair from her forehead and gazed in the direction Leilin and Ni Lan had gone, worry clear in her eyes. "I wonder how they're doing…"
"Don't worry! Leilin and Ni Lan are both strong, and we managed to hold back the biggest one…" Kreweir tried to reassure her. This was his first mission in over a year, and he was hoping for a perfect outcome.
"We're fine!" Just as Kreweir spoke, a patch of underbrush parted nearby, and out stepped Leilin and Ni Lan.
Both of them had black feathers clinging to their clothes, but they appeared uninjured.
"What about the other one?"
"Right here." Leilin held up the black talon in his hand, then glanced at the massive crater on the ground. "Impressive. I'd estimate that packed at least a sixth-degree punch. Looks like Kreweir's spells are all about raw destructive power."
"Since everyone's okay, let's head back quickly. I've got a bad feeling," Kreweir said, his expression growing somber. "The monsters near the Academy seem to be a bit too numerous."
"I was thinking the same thing. Were Academy missions always this dangerous?" Leilin asked.
"Not at all! Even on a patrol mission like ours, you'd normally need a full month to encounter ten Red-Eye Crows. We've exceeded that in barely ten days!" Ni Lan explained from the side.
"We should report this situation when we get back. Something feels off," Lilisite said suddenly.
"If something's wrong, that's a matter for the full Wizards to deal with. Let's just leave this place as fast as we can — I don't feel safe here," Lannuo added.
"He's right. Let's move!" Kreweir tossed the torn iron net aside, found a blackened iron talon among the debris, and straightened up.
No one objected, and the group hurried on their way.
"How did those two Red-Eye Crows happen to be blocking our route back to the Academy? Could it really be a coincidence?" A sudden unease settled over Leilin, and he quickened his pace.
The others seemed to share a premonition. The entire group moved with anxious haste.
"You know — do you think those two Red-Eye Crows might have been guarding some kind of treasure? You've heard the stories, right? Some crows are known to hoard shiny objects!" Ni Lan said, half-joking, toward the back of the group — perhaps trying to ease the heavy atmosphere.
"Those are ordinary crows," Leilin replied without turning around. "Red-Eye Crows may have 'crow' in their name, but their bloodline is closer to thornbirds. They have no habit of collecting treasure — what they do have is an acute sensitivity to certain rare plants. In fact, Wizards often keep thornbirds specifically to locate unusual botanical specimens."
"How do you know all that?" Lannuo sounded unconvinced.
"*The Origin and Husbandry of Thornbirds*, third floor of the library. I happened to read it recently," Leilin answered evenly.
"Oh! Leilin, you're amazing!" Ni Lan's eyes lit up with stars again.
Lannuo turned his head away.
"Hm?" Leilin's nose twitched. A faintly sweet scent had reached him.
"Stop! Do any of you smell that?" he called out quickly.
The group halted at once. "Smell what?" Kreweir's expression tensed, and his hand was already on his sword hilt.
"I seem to detect a very sweet fragrance," Leilin explained slowly.
"A fragrance? This forest reeks of nothing but nauseating stench — and it's even worse now!" Lannuo cut in.
"I actually smell something like a blend of jasmine and black oil roses," Lilisite said, sniffing the air.
"Everyone, stay sharp — there's a wild beast's scent!" Kreweir drew his blade with a sharp *shing*. Something was clearly wrong, and Leilin reached into the pouch at his waist.
*Whoosh!* A powerful gust of wind bore down on them, accompanied by a cloyingly pungent, fishy stench.
*ROAAAAR!!!* The savage roar of a beast tore through the air.
The black forest around them seemed to bend under the force of the roar.
Kreweir's face drained of color. "Watch out — something big is coming!"
*Thud. Thud.* Heavy, muffled footsteps shook the ground, and at last the group beheld the monster in its true form.
A massive black bear, its skull cracked open at the crown to expose what appeared to be its brain directly to the air. Across its chest spread a white marking shaped like a "V," resembling a bolt of lightning.
"Careful — it's a Mountain Rage Bear! Every one of them is as strong as a Third-rank Apprentice! This is the same kind of creature we ran into last time!"
Kreweir's eyes shrank to pinpoints. "Beware its roar attack — that's what killed Hank last time!"
"Damn it — let's scatter!" Lannuo's face went chalk-white, and he suddenly spun around and ran.
"Coward!" Ni Lan's face flushed red with fury. Because of Lannuo's sudden flight, the Mountain Rage Bear ahead had picked up speed.
"There's no choice — this thing is beyond what we can handle. Everyone, split up and run! Let's hope we meet again at the Academy!"
Kreweir let out a bitter laugh and made the call.