novelnext Chapter 101 Cooperation among Professionals
Chapter 101 Cooperation among Professionals
Chapter 101 Cooperation among Professionals
"clang--!!"
The metal collided with the spiky tail of the spiky lion, producing a series of ear-piercing sparks and a teeth-grinding friction sound.
Garu's thick arm muscles bulged, and the ground beneath his feet sank slightly, managing to withstand the swift attack!
Almost at the same moment, another stinging tail, angled with a tricky angle, struck the slightly slower female priest, Melissa!
As a healer in the rear of the squad, she was clearly not immune to attacks from monsters.
Xia Lin pushed off the ground with his left foot, slid to the side, and raised the Scale Shield on his left arm in time to block Melissa.
"Bang!"
The spiked tail slammed heavily into the shield, the impact causing Xia Lin's arm to go numb, but the shield successfully deflected the sneak attack.
The wanderer Kyle, with his exceptional agility, didn't even need to move much. Just as the stinging tail struck his body, he slightly turned to the side with an almost dance-like grace, and the deadly stinging tail once again failed to strike.
This result clearly enraged the proud predator.
Its amber vertical pupils blazed with ferocity, and it let out an even more furious roar. Its massive membranous wings flapped violently, and its enormous body, no longer content with intimidating from the sky, charged down towards the ground like a meteorite! Its target was the orc who had just blocked its spiked tail!
"Roar! Just what I wanted!" Garu showed no fear, and even took a big step forward to protect the people behind him. He swung his giant axe to meet the spiked lion's claws that were coming at him!
"Clang—! Boom!"
The axe blade clashed with the claws, producing a piercing metallic clang, followed by the muffled thud of primal muscle and strength. A surge of air rippled, sending fallen leaves and dust flying in all directions.
After a direct confrontation, the Spiky-tailed Lion seemed to realize that in terms of pure strength, the green-skinned behemoth before him was not much inferior to himself.
A cunning glint flashed in its eyes, and using the recoil from the heavy blow, it flapped its wings again, and its massive body began to rise—it wanted to return to the air and use its maneuverability to toy with its prey on the ground!
"Big guy! Don't let it go up in the air again!" Woody's warning rang out. "The danger of this thing on the ground and in the air are completely different things!"
After spending a few days together, everyone had gained a certain understanding of the abilities of the crow companion on Xia Lin's shoulder.
Upon hearing this, Garu reacted almost reflexively!
Just as the Spiky-tailed Lion's forepaws were about to leave the ground and its wings were flapping at their maximum, Garu roared and his large, fan-like left hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the Spiky-tailed Lion's thick forepaw ankle tightly!
Then, using the strength of his waist and abdomen, all the muscles in his body tightened like steel cables, pulling downwards with all his might!
"Get down here!"
The Spiky-tailed Lion let out a roar of alarm and rage, its takeoff momentum abruptly halted. It frantically flapped its wings, trying to break free, its powerful membranous wings whipping up gusts of wind that shook the surrounding trees and leaves, almost making it impossible to stand.
"Garu!" Seeing this, Xia Lin didn't hesitate to leap forward and grab Garu's waist from the side, pressing down with his entire weight and the force of the fall! Together, the two acted like a heavy anchor, firmly holding back the giant beast that wanted to take off.
"May the light grant you strength!" Melissa's clear chanting rang out at the opportune moment. A soft yet firm milky-white radiance enveloped Xia Lin and Jia Ru.
1st Ring Blessing Spell!
Instantly, the two felt a warm current flow into their limbs and bones, their fatigue lessened, and they felt as if they were rooted to the ground, their strength increased!
"Drink it—!"
Garu and Xia Lin roared at the same time, and with the blessing spell, their legs slammed into the ground as if cast in iron, and together they plunged downwards!
"Bang!!!"
The spiky lion ultimately could not withstand the combined force and perfect timing, and was forcibly pulled back down from its half-raised position, crashing heavily to the ground, splashing up a cloud of mud and decaying leaves.
Although it was not severely damaged, it had already lost its brief flight advantage.
In the blink of an eye, as it was reeling from the fall and struggling to get up, a silver figure appeared without warning, like a ghost, below its neck.
It's Kyle!
She had somehow already positioned herself in the best position to attack, and the slender rapier in her hand drew a cold, precise silver line through the dim forest, so fast that it was almost impossible to detect with the naked eye.
"Pfft."
With a soft sound, the sharp blade pierced the weak spot under the armpit of the spiny lion's forelimb with unparalleled precision, penetrating the fur and muscle at a tricky angle, and reaching the heart!
The massive body of the spiky lion suddenly stiffened, its amber vertical pupils widening instantly, filled with disbelief.
It twitched a few times in vain, blood and foam spilling from its mouth, before finally collapsing and becoming still.
The battle ended cleanly and decisively.
"Is everyone alright?" Melissa strode forward, her face still flushed with nervousness, the light from her staff softening as she prepared to cast a healing spell at any moment.
After checking themselves, everyone found that apart from expending some energy, they were otherwise unharmed.
This spiky lion, appearing alone, posed little challenge to a team of three experienced professionals, once their most troublesome ability—flight—was successfully limited.
"Hmph, lucky to have only one," Woody commented, landing on Xia Lin's shoulder. "If these things were circling in groups, attacking with their tail stingers and dives, that would be a real problem."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
During his break, Xia Lin didn't idle around. He walked to the body of the spiky-tailed lion, took out the collection guide from his pocket, flipped to the corresponding table of contents, and carefully compared it.
"The Spiky-tailed Lion, a flying predatory monster—it feeds on carrion and is often attracted by the smell of blood and decay—"
The usable material—the tail stinger—is hard, sharp, and slightly paralyzing, and can be used to make arrowheads, daggers, or special trap parts; the forepaws are strong and sharp, and can be sharpened to make carving tools or small weapon materials.
Xia Lin spent a few minutes meticulously following the descriptions and illustrations in the guidebook before beginning to process the corpse.
He first carefully cut the joint with a dagger and completely removed the most valuable, ferocious tail spike of the spiky lion, which was about half a meter long.
The tail spike was heavy in the hand, its tip gleaming with an eerie light, clearly carrying the venom unique to monsters, and the huge barbs looked extremely sharp.
Then, with great effort, he removed his two thickest front paws from their joints.
Looking at the three blood-stained, foul-smelling "trophies" before him, Xia Lin was at a loss. His luggage wasn't very big to begin with, and the supplies he had prepared earlier had already taken up a lot of space.
These three things, especially the claws, take up quite a bit of space. More importantly, the fresh flesh and the pungent, stench of monsters they emit are like a beacon in the depths of the perilous forest, potentially attracting other unnecessary trouble.