booktalesy Chapter 118 brought a small shock to the captains.
Chapter 118 brought a small shock to the captains.
Chapter 118 brought a small shock to the captains.
The battle continues.
Xiuqi witnessed the entire process of the princess slaying the Thorn Demon.
From the moment that crimson demon elite stealthily infiltrated the flank, to the princess appearing from the void to launch a surprise attack, and then to the abyss avatar splitting in two to deliver the final blow.
All of this happened in just a few seconds.
The silver-haired goblin and the red-haired goblin stand side by side, like twin phantoms suddenly blooming on the battlefield.
The fiery mace and the frost-covered longsword shone brightly, their brilliance intertwining, exploding, and then extinguishing in the morning light.
Finally, the Thorn Demon shattered into ice crystals and scattered all over the ground.
Xiu Qi withdrew his gaze, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on his lips.
princess.
This being, who transformed from a timid and cowardly ordinary goblin in the Grey Forest, has now grown to the point where he can instantly kill a level 2 elite demon on his own.
Although the card's rank is still only two-star premium (green), its attribute panel is not outstanding in Xiuqi's main lineup. It is significantly inferior to Goblin Warrior Max, not to mention Bird Poet Sylph's terrifying intelligence and charm attributes.
But the princess possessed unparalleled talent.
[Void Walk] allows her to move freely, as if walking between reality and the void. The cooldown of this talent is reduced to 50 seconds after advancing to two stars, exponentially increasing its tactical value.
The Abyss Avatar ability grants her nearly double the damage output in a short period of time.
The avatar inherits 90% of the original's attributes and possesses unique characteristics and talents, making it difficult even for elite demons like the Thorn Demon, known for their agility and toxicity, to withstand.
In addition, there's the continuous burning effect from the [Undying Ember] trait, and the more stable effect after the upgrade.
This kind of princess can no longer be described as an ordinary "assassin".
She is a true deadly weapon.
While her base stats may not be the most outstanding, in specific battle scenarios, the instantaneous damage she can unleash can even surpass that of most high-tier two-star cards.
That's the value of talent.
Xiu Qi snapped out of his thoughts and scanned the entire battlefield with his own light.
Lynn, a wanderer with keen senses, witnessed the moment when the Thorn Demon was instantly killed by the princess.
"That Thorn Demon is dead!" Lynn shouted, the wiry figure of the wanderer darting nimbly along the edge of the battlefield. "It was Captain Xiuqi's comrades who took it down!"
News of the princess's slaying of the flank thorn demon has already spread throughout the party.
Morale is rising at a visible rate.
"Beautiful!" Captain Cade roared, slamming his shield forward and sending a Primal Demon that was trying to break through the defenses flying.
His hammer followed closely, smashing the head of another coward.
Squad 31 began to advance.
It's no longer a simple defensive stance, but an active forward, forward, and forward again.
Cade could clearly feel his heart racing and his blood boiling.
It's not because of fear.
It's because of excitement.
As a level 1 shield bearer, Cade has been on the path of an adventurer for twenty years.
Twenty years is enough for a passionate young man to become a calm and cautious veteran, and enough for countless comrades who once fought side by side to leave this path due to death, retirement, or various other reasons.
Over the past twenty years, Cade has seen far too many so-called geniuses.
Young people graduating from college with impressive resumes and expensive equipment often reveal fatal weaknesses in their first few missions.
Lacking practical experience, they are unable to adapt to real life-or-death battles and will hesitate, panic, and make wrong judgments in critical moments.
Therefore, when he first met Xiuqi in Summer Town Square, his disdain and doubt were not unfounded.
An 18-year-old mage apprentice, accompanied by an equally young hunter and a seemingly tamed ogre.
Kade has seen this combination no less than ten times in the past twenty years.
The outcome is often the same: mission failure, team disbandment, and some people even remaining forever in the gray forest.
But now, Cade realizes he was wrong.
And it's wildly wrong.
This young man is not only capable, but what's even more frightening is his calmness and control that are completely out of character for his age.
While most of his peers would still tremble, hesitate, or forget tactical instructions in battle, Xiuqi was already directing three squads in complex coordinated operations, allocating kill priorities for each unit, and anticipating the demon's tactical intentions and preparing countermeasures in advance.
As for his companions, that ogre, needless to say, Cade had never seen such a well-trained and cooperative large creature.
It stood there like a mobile steel fortress, and the demon's attacks were like tickles in front of it.
That goblin was far more efficient. During the battle, Cade witnessed it make tactical judgments far exceeding those of ordinary monsters—when to advance, when to retreat, and when to cover its teammates. That combat intelligence even surpassed that of most human warriors.
Now he realized that Captain Xiuqi had a third trump card.
The assassin who always lurks in the shadows.
Cade didn't witness the princess slay the Thorn Demon. When he heard Lynn's shout, he instinctively turned around—
Then, his movements froze.
Just fifty paces behind him in the clearing in the woods, a pile of crystal-clear, still-chilling fragments reflected a blinding light in the morning sun.
That's... a Thorn Demon?
Cade had seen the Thorn Demon.
Three years ago, he had ventured deep into the Grey Forest with a squad of professionals and encountered a low-level demon elite of Challenge Level 2. In that battle, they lost two men before barely managing to repel the Thorn Demon.
The pile of fragments before them—the broken bone blades, the frozen dark red flesh, and the completely severed tail spikes—were indeed the corpse of a Thorn Demon.
And he had just died.
Cade slowly turned his head and looked at Xiuqi.
The gray-robed youth remained standing at the heart of the battlefield, his expression calm, as if he had just done something insignificant.
His contracted partner, the small, silver-gray goblin, was standing quietly at his feet, obediently awaiting his reward.
It was as if the assassin who had just emerged from the void and pierced the demon's heart with a sword was not her.
Cade's throat bobbed.
The intuition honed over twenty years of adventure was giving me a frantic warning at this moment:
This young man... no, this regimental commander, his power is far more unfathomable than I imagined.
An assassin-type contracted creature capable of instantly killing a level 2 Thorn Demon.
Ogres and goblin warriors capable of crushing demon armies head-on.
And there was that powerful being that he never revealed, but everyone vaguely guessed—why did that army of demons collectively mutilate themselves yesterday?
Cade took a deep breath and gripped his shield tightly.
It's not because of fear.
It is out of reverence.
And a hint of relief hidden deep in my heart—
Fortunately, he was on my side.
"Squad 31!" Cade's voice, like a warhammer striking an anvil, erupted with the authority and power accumulated over twenty years. "Charge with me!"
The Shield Captain stepped forward first, shield raised high, mace in hand.
Behind him, the greatsword warrior Blake, the wanderer Lynn, and the archers echoed his call, surging forward like a steel torrent!
At the same time, the flank of the 32nd squad's line.
Captain Allen's longbow was drawn like a full moon, the bowstring humming dangerously at his fingertips.
His gaze was fixed on the battlefield ahead, the tips of his arrows trembling slightly with each breath, ready to be released at any moment.
The Ranger profession endows him not only with superb archery skills, but also with a perception far beyond that of ordinary people.
Therefore, when the Thorn Demon stealthily infiltrated from the flank, Allen was the first person besides Xiuqi to notice the anomaly.
He saw the dark red figure moving in the shadows of the woods, its ghostly stealth path, and its target: Captain Xiuqi's back.
Allen's first reaction was to draw his bow.
My second reaction was: It's too late.
The Thorn Demon was only ten paces away from Xiuqi, while Allen himself was fifty paces away. Even with his rate of fire, it would take him three seconds from aiming to releasing the arrow.
Those three seconds were enough for the Thorn Demon to launch a fatal blow.
Then, Allen witnessed a scene he would never forget.
It wasn't fear, it wasn't panic.
It is calm.
Captain Xiuqi had his back to the lurking assassin, his eyes not even glancing in that direction for a second. His expression was terrifyingly calm, as if he were completely unaware of the impending danger.
Allen almost shouted it out.
In that instant, space began to distort.
It's not a metaphor, not a rhetorical device; it's a true spatial distortion, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, creating visible ripples.
A silver-gray figure emerged from the ripples without warning or trace, as if it had come from the shadows of the world.
That was a... goblin?
No, it's not an ordinary goblin.
She had silver-gray skin that gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen in the morning light.
The small tuft of silver-white hair on her head fluttered slightly in the wind, like a burning ice flame.
The jagged hammer in his hand was wreathed in dark red flames, as if it had just been drawn from the depths of an abyss.
Then, she moved.
It was not a simple attack, but a meticulously planned dance of death.
The first attack was blocked by the Thorn Demon. It seemed like it missed, but Allen immediately realized that it was not a miss, but a trap.
Sure enough, the next second, the silver-gray goblin's figure suddenly blurred and disappeared.
Space fluctuated again.
This time, two figures emerged simultaneously from the ripples.
A man with snow-white hair, wielding a fiery hammer.
A man with fiery red hair, wielding a long, frost-covered sword.
Ice and fire, one on the left and one on the right, strike simultaneously.
Allen's eyes widened.
His arrow was still nocked on the bowstring, his fingers were still poised to release it, and his breath stopped completely at that moment.
Because what followed was completely beyond his understanding of the word "battle".
Sparks flew as the hammer clashed with the bone blade.
The longsword pierced the Thorn Demon's chest without any obstruction from the other side, penetrating its heart and emerging from its back.
Then, the frost erupted.
That level 2 demon elite, capable of giving an entire experienced adventure team a hard time, shattered like fragile porcelain before that longsword that flowed with white, chilling energy.
The entire process, from beginning to end, takes no more than five seconds.
Five seconds.
Allen slowly released the bowstring and took a deep breath.
He noticed that his fingers, which were gripping the bow handle, were trembling slightly.
It's not fear.
It was shocking.
And a hint of something indescribable... awe.
Instantly kill a level 2 challenge demon elite.
Is this Captain Xiuqi's true trump card?
No, Allen immediately dismissed the idea.
He keenly noticed that while the silver-gray goblin's attack methods were deadly, they also relied heavily on surprise attacks.
Her specialty is assassination, a deadly strike delivered in an instant, rather than a head-on confrontation.
Even so, being able to completely kill a level 2 challenge demon elite in a one-on-one battle is already a skill far beyond that of an ordinary adventurer.
Moreover, Captain Xiuqi likely has more than one such individual under his command.
Allen's gaze swept across the battlefield.
The ogre Hodor continued to crush the demon horde like a mobile fortress, clearing out an area with every swing of his mace, and leaving not a single decent scratch on his oak shield.
The goblin warrior Max had just slain a cowardly demon that was trying to ambush them from behind. His movements as he sheathed his sword and shield were fluid and graceful. His scarlet eyes scanned the battlefield, constantly searching for his next target.
When the silver-gray assassin, Allen, saw Captain Hugh gently pat her head, she stood quietly at his feet like a well-behaved pet, her murderous aura completely subsiding at that moment.
Just how many trump cards does this team have up its sleeve?
Allen didn't know.
But he knew one thing.
From now on, whatever orders Captain Xiuqi gives, he will carry them out without hesitation.
It's not about blindly following others.
It was a sober judgment.
Because in this demonic tide, following such a powerful figure is the only hope for survival.
"Squad 32!" Allen raised his longbow, his voice like an eagle's cry across the battlefield. "Charge with me! Coordinate with Squad 31 to flank the left flank!"
He charged out of the embankment first, drew his longbow in quick succession, and fired three arrows in rapid succession, accurately piercing through the three lesser demons that tried to stop him.
Behind them, sword and shield warriors and axemen echoed in unison, advancing with firm steps.
Although the archer was over forty, his movements were more agile than those of a young man, and each time he drew his longbow, he took the life of a demon.
Selena followed closely behind the group, her white robes fluttering in the morning breeze.
The young priestess chanted as she ran, the holy light of the [Blessing] spell enveloping the charging warriors, making them feel a continuous surge of power flowing from within them.
Meanwhile, on the flank of Squad 32, Tom, the shield warrior who had been silently guarding the rear, was now gritting his teeth and swinging his sword with all his might.
He didn't speak.
Because any language is powerless in the face of an absolute disparity in strength.
Everything he had seen in the past two days overturned his previous understanding, and at the same time, his awe of the young captain, whose unfathomable strength was terrifying, deepened even further.
Now all he needs to do is fight.
To prove himself worthy of the regimental commander who had earned his respect.