Chapter 85

After a few more days, in a certain part of the wilderness, the Falcon Squad was engaged in battle.

The ground was littered with the corpses of seven or eight monsters, and a few more were still putting up a fight, but their defeat was inevitable, and it wouldn't take long to finish them off.

Once this batch of monsters was dealt with, the day's mission objective would be achieved. Terry, a warrior from Class 2-2 with earth-type斗气 (martial aura), couldn't help but boast, "Hehe, the tasks our instructor gives us are too easy, there's no challenge at all. No, maybe it's just that our squad is too strong, which makes the tasks seem..."

Before he could finish, a strange "quack" sound was heard, followed by a sharp, whistling column of air that struck like a cannonball, moving so fast that it reached the squad in the blink of an eye.

Everyone's faces changed, for this was not a stray monster but an unexpected ambush outside their plan.

In mercenary hunts, no plan is foolproof. Sometimes, while fighting a batch of monsters, other monsters might interfere, and the squads are prepared for such situations. However, this kind of ambush was unusual.

The squad members were quite familiar with the types, levels, and characteristics of the monsters in this part of the wilderness.

The "quack" sound and the cannon-like attack, if not mistaken, should belong to a D-rank monster called the Giant Clam.

E-rank monsters generally have elemental attack capabilities, but martial artists with elemental martial aura are much stronger than E-rank monsters. After all, monsters lack human intelligence and don't learn various martial techniques like humans do, so even when outnumbered, they can still handle it.

However, D-rank monsters are much more threatening and should be avoided as much as possible at this stage. That's why the squad chose a location that wasn't within the activity range of D-rank monsters.

Now, the D-rank Giant Clam had suddenly appeared, which was quite unexpected.

Moreover, a bigger problem arose—Giant Clams don't usually act alone; they are a small group of monsters.

Sure enough, with a few more "quack" sounds, several black shadows leaped out. They looked like clams but were enormous, and with each breath, their bellies swelled like water buffalo. Then they opened their mouths and spewed out several columns of air.

Everything happened so quickly. Terry, as a warrior, reacted almost instinctively. He shook off an Earth Bear beside him and pushed his hands forward, causing a wall of earth to rise from the ground. This was a large-scale defensive skill that warriors needed to learn. Terry, who had some family background and personal ability, was assigned to Class 2-2, and his earth wall was quite impressive.

"Bang! Bang!"

After withstanding two consecutive air columns, Terry's body shook, and cracks appeared on the earth wall. D-rank monsters' attacks were indeed formidable, and even the tough earth-type defensive skill couldn't hold up for long.

The earth wall could only withstand one more air column before collapsing, but several more were already incoming. The Earth Bear he had shaken off earlier wasn't mortally wounded and was charging at him again. The warrior was now facing a front and rear attack, making the situation even worse.

If he abandoned the earth wall, his teammates behind him would be hit, and the entire squad might be in danger.

Think of himself or the team?

Terry gritted his teeth and exerted more force, repairing the cracks on the earth wall. This was a technique he was proud of, but even so, his expression was grim. The repaired earth wall wasn't as strong as before and could only withstand three more air columns. Moreover, he had completely abandoned active defense against the Earth Bear behind him and could only rely on the inherent defensive power of earth-type martial aura, which was not enough to withstand the powerful bear's paw, capable of shattering a large rock.

Now, he was purely holding the front line with the mindset of sacrificing himself to protect the team.

At this moment, another black shadow flew over, another Earth Bear.

One Earth Bear was already tough, and now a second one appeared, likely due to a teammate's negligence in the chaos.

However, strangely, Earth Bears don't move that fast, and this second one seemed to fly over, spinning as if out of control. This was definitely a human action.

Luo Feng's hands were still in the throwing position, having used a throwing technique called Spiral Throw to hurl the Earth Bear. Since learning the Thunder Six Techniques, which could replace many other martial skills, Luo Feng no longer learned a wide variety of skills but instead chose some very practical ones, like Spiral Throw. In group battles, you could throw your enemy to attack other enemies and use them as a meat shield, which was very useful.

The timing and accuracy were perfect. The paw of the Earth Bear behind Terry was already out, and even if it saw its own kind flying towards it, it couldn't stop and hit it.

"Crack!"

The Earth Bear that was hit had no idea how many bones were broken, but its massive body, with great impact, slammed into the other Earth Bear, sending it flying.

The threat from behind Terry was eliminated, but the threat from the front still existed.

"Bang! Bang!"

After withstanding two more air columns, the earth wall finally collapsed, but three more were incoming. Terry had used too much strength and even his martial aura had temporarily retreated to the Gangqi stage. These three air columns were fatal, and Terry couldn't quickly move out of the attack range. He could only raise his arms in a weak defensive posture.

At this moment, someone appeared in front of him like a bolt of lightning, moving incredibly fast, but it wasn't the thief in the squad. Thieves have weak defenses and relatively low attack power, so they couldn't handle the three air columns.

The person was not the thief but Luo Feng.

With a push of his palms, a huge air column, like a rainbow across the sky, swallowed all three smaller air columns.

Orange Rank Five Ultimate Skill—Long Rainbow Pierces the Sun.

Everyone knew Luo Feng had this ultimate skill. He had used it to defeat Gorin in their second battle. However, after a day of hunting and fighting, everyone's strength was already greatly depleted, and it was unbelievable that Luo Feng could still use this Five-Star Ultimate Skill, which seemed even more powerful than when he used it against Gorin. Terry's mouth dropped open in amazement.

Aran's intense fiery aura flashed briefly, and he also noticed Terry's predicament. He was about to help, but doing so would expose his greater strength. Fortunately, Luo Feng intervened, and Aran retracted his energy. The other squad members were now focused on Luo Feng and Terry, and no one noticed the sudden surge in his martial aura.

"Thirty meters to the right!"

Luo Feng issued a simple command, and everyone understood. They were to move thirty meters to the right.

There were several large, hard rocks there that could serve as cover.

Before the battle, Luo Feng had already surveyed the surrounding terrain, which was a must for a squad leader.

The squad quickly moved behind the rocks. The Giant Clams' air column attacks were powerful but clumsy. Instead of trying to go around the rocks to attack again, they decided to break the rocks first before attacking Luo Feng and the others.

However, the rocks were very hard, and it took the Giant Clams some time to break them. By then, the Falcon Squad had already finished off the previous batch of monsters, and with no more threats from behind, they could easily deal with the Giant Clams.

After the battle, Terry was drenched in sweat, his heart still racing.

For him, it had been a matter of life and death. If he had been hit by two of the four air columns, he would have been finished, as he had no defense left. The warrior couldn't help but curse, "Damn, that was close. How did those Giant Clams appear here? This isn't their territory!"

Luo Feng said sternly, "Terry, you were too careless. The instructors of the Sword Edge Mercenary Group have said that all intelligence is only for reference. In actual hunts, unexpected events can happen at any time. Even if the probability of such an event is one percent or even one in a thousand, any single unexpected event can be fatal, as we only have one life and can't afford the consequences. From now on, we must always be on high alert, for ourselves and for our teammates!"

Everyone responded loudly, "Yes!"

Luo Feng was satisfied. He had already noticed the overconfidence and complacency in the squad, but his previous warnings had been ignored. This unexpected event served as a wake-up call, which might not be a bad thing.

Terry felt ashamed. Before the last hunt, he had boasted, which had a negative impact on the other squad members. He lowered his head, "I'm sorry, Captain. If it weren't for you, I would have..."

"Alright, just be more careful next time," Luo Feng interrupted his apology, then patted his shoulder, "Terry, although you made some mistakes, you were very brave and selfless when we were ambushed. I'm proud to have a teammate like you in our squad!"

Luo Feng had been observing the actions of almost all the squad members during each battle, especially those in difficult situations. He had seen Terry's performance and, after criticizing him, also praised him.

"Thank you, Captain."

After so many days of working together, the Class 2-2 student's impression of Luo Feng had greatly improved. The friction between the classes had faded, and he now had a good impression of Luo Feng, especially after seeing his competent and outstanding performance in the missions. Terry now considered Luo Feng a true partner.

Luo Feng added, "Such unexpected events won't be the last. I think we should discuss possible unexpected situations and how to handle them at tonight's summary meeting. What do you think?"

"Good!"

This unexpected event had a positive educational effect. In the following missions, everyone was fully focused and remained vigilant during battles. They encountered several dangerous situations, but no major casualties occurred.

[PS: The Earth Bear in this chapter is a cameo by the stubborn big bear who made the cover for this book using Meitu Xiuxiu, as suggested by the Thief Guild group.

Following the suggestions of the Thief Guild group, we are now collecting cameo requests. The Thief Guild will open a thread in the book review section and pin it. If you are interested, please reply in the following format:

Name: (Westernized name, preferably provide a few, must not have appeared in the story before)

Gender: (Male, Female, Non-binary, Both)

Age: (From unborn to hundreds of years old)

Identity: (For example, a grocery store owner, a barkeeper, a weapon shop craftsman, an adult store owner, etc. Avoid complex roles that affect the plot, as they have a lower chance of being adopted)

Habit or Catchphrase: (Anything that makes the character more unique)

Special cameo requests for monsters are also welcome, like the stubborn big bear who made the cover. Special cameo requests can be provided in a different format.

If a cameo is adopted and appears in a chapter, the Thief Guild will credit the contributor. Fans, especially high-level fans, may even get to play more important roles. Everyone is welcome to participate!]

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends