In just a few moments, the constant thrum of a bowstring echoed through the dense forest. The Withered Leaf Tribe's Ratman Warriors couldn't even get a clear look at the figure drawing a bow in the shadowy canopy before sharp arrows, powerful enough to pierce their black armor, accurately pierced their skulls.
SWISH!
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The arrows sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, carving trails of death through the twilight.
Finally, as they watched their comrades fall one after another, the remaining members of the Withered Leaf Tribe had a rude awakening.
A Divine Archer was lying in wait, one with uncanny range and unerring accuracy.
They were now trapped in the open ground between the forest and the village of the Poison Arrow Tribe. The rugged rocks and fallen logs offered no real cover for their bodies. Their only hope for survival was to risk taking an arrow to the head, charge into close combat, and eliminate the terrifying Divine Archer.
"Damn it!"
"This clearing is a slaughterhouse!"
"Hiding behind cover just makes us sitting ducks... If you want to live, you have to charge and kill that archer!"
"Brothers!"
"Charge with me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Ratman Warrior raised his longsword high and charged fearlessly toward the distant forest. But a flying arrow pierced clean through his head, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
But this sight didn't deter them. On the contrary, more Ratmen of the Withered Leaf Tribe burst out from behind the rugged rocks, guttural roars mixed with fear and frenzy erupting from their throats.
They kicked aside the wreckage of broken spears at their feet and charged, trampling over the still-warm bodies of their comrades.
Knowing that every step could be their last, met by the Death God's arrow, they still beat their chest plates with the flats of their blades, turning despair into a deafening Battle Cry.
"Charge!!!"
"Avenge the Folkwin Leader!!!"
"Long live the Withered Leaf Tribe!!!"
"Aaaah! Great ancestors of the Hall of Heroes! Witness me now!!!"
With their overwhelming numbers and a savage, death-defying ferocity, the Ratman Warriors soon swarmed to the edge of the forest like a black tide.
They extended their sharp claws, scratching at the tree trunks as their vigilant, crimson eyes darted about, searching for the unerring Divine Archer among the intersecting shadows.
Every rustling leaf, every slanted shadow, was scrutinized again and again.
But Qin Feng, a master of the One-Strike Evasion tactic, had already relocated the moment the Ratman Legion set foot in the forest.
They didn't even catch a glimpse of him. Using the "Forest's Darling" skill granted by his Ranger class, Qin Feng had already climbed nimbly to the top of the branches, looking down on them from above.
"Where is he?"
"Damn it!"
"Where did that bastard hide!"
"Wait... I hear something in the bushes up ahead! Shit! It's wolves! That pack of Forest Wolves!"
"Dammit! Don't be afraid! Just chop them to pieces!"
As the Ratman Warriors' roars tore through the twilight, dozens of agile black figures suddenly burst from the dense bushes. They pounced on the Ratmen at the front, trapping them in a jagged circle.
"AWOOO!!!"
Deafening howls filled the air, thick with bloodlust. Even the air seemed to tremble from the violent impact.
Meanwhile, Qin Feng narrowed his eyes. He watched the battle in the woods as he slowly raised his right hand.
'Now... time to test the Lord Skill I got from Bakadi.'
Lord Skill!
Boiling!
Activate!
Dark golden Spell runes suddenly erupted from the canopy, and the manes on the wolves' backs began to glow like molten rock.
In an instant, the Wolf Pack's already swift pounces grew thirty percent faster. As their sharp claws tore through the air, they even left faint golden trails in their wake.
[You have used the Lord Skill "Boiling"!]
[Your Forest Wolves' attack speed and movement speed have been greatly increased! Their Combat Evaluation has been temporarily raised to Zero-star (Blue)! Duration: five minutes!]
'Damn, what a powerful skill! It can even affect the system's Combat Evaluation!?'
Before Qin Feng could dwell on it, the pack, riding a foul wind, crashed into the Ratman line like a black tide.
The alpha wolf leaped, twisting its body in mid-air. Its streamlined muscles tensed like a bowstring in the setting sun, and its serrated fangs sank precisely into the joint of a Ratman's sword arm.
With a horrifying shriek from the victim, the wolf tore violently, sending a spray of blood into the air and ripping the Ratman's body in two.
The dull thud of severed limbs and dropped weapons, mixed with the sharp crack of shattering bone, echoed briefly at the edge of the battlefield.
Not to be outdone, the rest of the Forest Wolves plunged into the dense enemy ranks, weaving a web of death like red-hot daggers slicing through lard.
A massive Forest Wolf leaped, pinning a Ratman's shoulders with paws like iron clamps. With its sharp, serrated fangs, it bit cleanly through the creature's pulsing throat.
A smaller Forest Wolf showed astonishing agility, darting like black lightning under another Ratman. With a snap of its sharp teeth, it viciously tore out a string of warm, bloody organs.
Another Forest Wolf shot out like a black meteor. Just as the blade of the Ratman before it was about to cleave its skull, it dropped low and sank its chisel-like teeth into the cartilage of its opponent's knee.
Once the Ratman Warrior was down, the wolf opened its bloody maw and locked onto the artery in its neck, tearing a crimson gash...
In a matter of moments, the Ratman formation was in complete disarray. Severed heads and mangled limbs piled up on the muddy ground as a warm mist of blood and a heavy, bestial stench filled the air.
Yet the Forest Wolves, swift as a Gale, remained completely unscathed.
As their grey-black forms weaved between the corpses, not even the tips of their tails were stained with a single drop of blood.
"This!?"
"What the hell!?"
"Ancestors above!?"
"What kind of monsters are these!?"
"No..."
"I don't want to die..."
"There's no way we can beat these terrifying things..."
Trembling curses and wails rose and fell. Fear spread through the Ratman line like ink dropped into clear water, staining them all in an instant.
Within moments, the more timid Ratman Warriors were already dropping their longswords, shrugging off their heavy armor, and fleeing toward the seemingly safe distance.
[Your Forest Wolf Legion has dealt a devastating psychological blow to the enemy!]
[The enemy's morale is collapsing!]
Seeing this, Qin Feng relaxed the arrow nocked on his bowstring. He let out a sharp whistle, issuing a new command to the Forest Wolves who were in the middle of slaughtering the Ratman Warriors.
"From now on, try to leave them alive! Just cripple that group of Ratman Warriors! Don't deal any lethal blows!"
"Unless they choose to fight to the death and might seriously injure you or even threaten your lives!"
"In that case, don't hold back!"
"Kill them outright!"
After a pause, Qin Feng looked up toward the routing Ratmen in the distance and added coldly:
"Also!"
"Split the pack in half!"
"Cut off all those Ratman Warriors who are trying to escape!"
"They can either choose to become my prisoners!"
"Or... they can die!"