"Something's amiss!" The Wolf King's reaction was the swiftest, and Maki Shinpu and I were not far behind. In less than a second, the clutter on the ground was kicked aside, and the three of us leaped onto the nearby trees. From our elevated vantage point, we observed over a dozen skilled warriors surrounding three small demons, their combat experience evident in their seamless coordination. Without a moment's hesitation, I flicked my fingers, releasing eighteen radiant light projectiles, and immediately launched myself into the fray.
"Do you require assistance? We are also part of the Demon Hunter Mercenary Corps training camp..." The warriors were taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. By the time they comprehended the situation, I had already soared above the battlefield, and the three small demons, already wounded, were swiftly purified beneath my light projectiles. I had just transformed my zero achievements into a commendable three-fifths, filling me with a sense of pride.
"Damn it, we don't need your help. Next time, keep your distance; otherwise, we won't hold back," one of the warriors retorted. As I had anticipated, they were ungrateful for my assistance. However, my dazzling display of skill had rendered them hesitant to turn hostile immediately. The Wolf King leaped down from the tree and sighed, shaking his head at Maki Shinpu. "Wang Lin was once a good kid, but now he has been tainted by this environment, becoming quite despicable. I was a beat behind him; otherwise, those three small demons would have been my achievements."
Maki Shinpu shrugged, saying nothing. Upon rejoining my companions, a cold smirk appeared on my face as I quietly stated, "We should relocate; we won't find any small demons here; they must have been slain by these people." The Wolf King and Maki Shinpu concurred with my assessment. After a brief discussion, we prepared to venture deeper into the dense forest in search of prey. I lagged slightly behind them.
As I raised my hands, three fingers held two cards—trophies from my conquest of the three small demons. A mere glance sent a thrill through me; the spoils were two magic cards: a Level Two Fireball Card and a Level One Ice Spike Card. "When we hunted the Swamp Dragon, we obtained nothing but a collection of dragon skins and tons of dragon meat. I never expected the small demons to drop such valuable items; magic cards are quite a high-priced commodity," I mused.
Maki Shinpu called out to me from ahead, prompting me to hastily respond and catch up while stowing the cards into my Demon Book. Suddenly, an odd sound echoed from nearby. The Wolf King quickly retreated, and I activated my holy shield. A fiercely explosive fireball struck my shield, dispersing into a cascade of flames upon impact.
"Fire-element small demons!" Maki Shinpu instantly perked up, raising his long sword, "Ancient Moon," toward the origin of the fireball, while the bone sword, "Mizukagami," was firmly gripped in his hand. The Wolf King promptly summoned the Seven Kills Polaris, adopting the perfect firing stance. After squeezing the trigger, a ghastly scream resonated from a hundred paces away.
My agility was unmatched; I executed the Flying Flower and Sweeping Leaf technique to its fullest, appearing in the clearing where the fireball was launched. To my astonishment, I found a horde of small demons gathered there instead of the anticipated solitary foe. "Damn it, we've stumbled upon a swarm of small demons, around seventeen or eighteen of them! Be cautious!" I shouted a warning while activating my holy shield. Almost simultaneously, five or six fireballs, radiating intense heat, crashed onto my shield.
The fireball spells unleashed by these small demons were over ten times more potent than my light projectiles, comparable to my amplified magic output using the Max spell. At this moment, I had no intention of conserving energy; I summoned the Seven Kills Polaris. Although using the psionic firearm was costly, it conserved my stamina, and I wished to maintain my peak combat effectiveness, making the use of tools a sensible choice.
The Wolf King was a skilled marksman; had it not been for my perfect accuracy card and dynamic vision card enhancing my target acquisition abilities, I would not have matched his military prowess. However, the outcome was different now. I fired six shots; aside from two that were deflected by the small demons' magic, merely injuring the targets, the remaining four resulted in headshots.
"I've completed my task! Wolf King, Maki Shinpu, you need to step up your game!" My taunt ignited the Wolf King's pride. Lacking the protection of my holy shield, he dared not approach the battlefield, but the power of his sniper rifle transcended distance, allowing him to effortlessly take down three small demons. Maki Shinpu, adept in both ranged and melee combat, fared even better than the Wolf King, yet the small demons were not easily subdued.
With several companions slain, the small demons recognized a tactical shift; they had initially targeted me, but the resilience of my holy shield surprised them, wasting precious time. Once they regrouped, they redirected their assault toward Maki Shinpu. Although he wielded the formidable Mizukagami, he struggled against the onslaught of fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, and lightning bolts. After managing to deflect two or three projectiles, he was struck by a green-glowing poison spell, causing his complexion to turn sickly green. I rushed to expand the range of my holy shield to encompass him as well.
Upon expanding the shield, its effectiveness plummeted sharply. After absorbing two ice spikes and a particularly powerful fireball, I sensed the instability of the shield. This was not the time to endure; I swiftly countered with a widespread bombardment of holy projectiles, hastily ushering Maki Shinpu to retreat.
As the small demons, emboldened by their advantage, charged after us, a barrage of various magical missiles rained down around Maki Shinpu and me. The situation was perilously dangerous.