The bark giant had a brownish-yellow skin tone, covered in dense, intricate stripes, similar to the growth rings on a tree, each circle stacked upon the other. His chest muscles bulged in blocks, looking from a distance like solid, hard basalt rocks.
His joints—knees, elbows, and others—were adorned with sharp spikes. Though no longer than daggers, these spikes were as sharp as triple-edged bayonets. Yang Lin had no doubt they could easily pierce even the hardest human skull.
The weapon in the bark giant's hands was overwhelmingly large, so massive it was almost suffocating. Rather than a giant version of a wolf's tooth club, it could be more accurately described as a massive log—thicker than the beams used for brick houses back home. Yang Ling didn't doubt that with a single swing, even the newest T92 tank would be reduced to a heap of scrap metal.
It was breathtaking—simply overwhelming!
Yang Lin was stunned, and the black-clad warriors felt their scalps go numb. The bark guardians were the forest elves' protectors—towering, robust, and immensely powerful. Though they understood the possibility of encountering such terrifying beings, they never imagined the long-haired beauty would summon a total of twenty-five of them at once.
Under her command, the bark guardians stomped forward with tremendous force, each step kicking up a large cloud of dust. Though their movements were slow, each step covered nearly ten meters, and in the blink of an eye, they were right in front of the black-clad warriors.
With a single swing, the club struck with a thunderous "bang," sending the unlucky warrior and their mount crashing into a heap of bloody pulp, creating a pool of dark red blood.
Taken completely by surprise and faced with these towering, fifteen-meter-tall giants, the black-clad warriors frantically urged their cloud hawks or griffins to soar into the air, trying to escape. These bark guardians, though not yet evolved, had such sturdy bodies that the swordsmen couldn't hope to defeat them. Aside from the accompanying mages, no one could harm these protectors of the elves.
With the bark guardians covering them, the elves launched a desperate counterattack. Dark green arrows rained down like a storm, piercing through the black-clad warriors, turning them into human porcupines. The morale of the elves surged.
Unable to ascend in time to evade, some of the black-clad warriors desperately maneuvered their flying beasts, trying to dodge, but they quickly realized it was all in vain. Either they were turned into pincushions by the elves' arrows or swatted down like flies by the bark guardians. Then, with the massive feet of these guardians, they were flattened into thin meat pancakes, an image that sent chills down Yang Lin's spine.
According to the report from the scout wasp beasts, there were no ambushes from either side nearby, which made Yang Ling feel more at ease. He certainly didn't want to lose his life just for watching a spectacle. This world was too crazy—rabbits could breathe fire, pythons could spout water, and now even trees could become spirits. Who knew what kind of monsters they might encounter next.
"Wind Sprint, now!" Seeing the bark guardians rampaging, the terrified young man shouted loudly, "All mages, retreat! Cast Wind Sprint on the warriors, quickly!"
After heavy losses, the grim young man, furious, glared at the long-haired beauty holding the dark green staff on the ground, gritting his teeth in hatred. According to the mercenaries' intelligence, this was only a small elf tribe that he had thought he could easily conquer, but he never expected there to be so many bark guardians protecting it.
"Ebils, once you're done, I'll sell you to the lowest bidder*, making you service seventy or eighty barbarians a day—damn!" The young man cursed viciously. Only by selling these young, beautiful elven girls to various nobles or brothels could he make up for the losses; otherwise, it would be a massive defeat.
Following orders, a few robed mages, riding on griffins, ascended again. After confirming they were out of the elves' archers' range, they stopped and chanted quietly, casting Wind Sprint on the black-clad warriors. Immediately, the black-clad warriors moved with the speed of the wind, easily evading the slow-moving bark guardians, and charged toward the elves, who were not as adept in close combat.
The speed of the cloud hawks and griffins was already remarkable, but with the Wind Sprint spell, they became even more astounding. Some of the elves, caught off guard, had their throats slit by the black-clad warriors as they descended from the sky. Others fared worse—torn in half by griffins the size of calves, with blood, brain matter, and intestines spilling across the grass.
Staring at the bloodthirsty black-clad warriors, the long-haired beauty commanded the bark guardians to charge fiercely. Unfortunately, after the Wind Sprint spell was cast, the warriors were too fast. The moment the bark guardians raised their huge wooden clubs, the black-clad warriors, riding their griffins, were already swooping away. It was like trying to catch fish with a bamboo basket—after a long time, not even a single one could be caught.
"Sophia, gather all the bark guardians together, quickly!" Seeing how fast the black-clad warriors were moving, the elder in charge of the center had an idea. Since the bark guardians couldn't catch up to their opponents, it would be better to focus their efforts on defense.
Indeed, after the twenty-five bark guardians were gathered together, the situation changed dramatically. The black-clad warriors, unable to risk flying too low because of the massive, long wooden clubs of the bark guardians, hesitated. Meanwhile, the elven warriors, hiding behind the bark guardians, drew their bows and began to pick off the black-clad warriors within range.
"Ice Spell, freeze these bark guardians!" After circling in the air for half a turn, the young man gave the order loudly. With the murmuring of several mages, the temperature around them dropped sharply. Even Yang Ling, hiding in the treetop, couldn't help but shrink his neck from the cold.
Hearing the mages' incantations and feeling the increasingly turbulent magical energy in the air, the elven elder in command was horrified. The bark guardians had not yet evolved, and they couldn't attack airborne targets. If they were frozen and unable to attack the ground targets, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Elder, we'll stay behind and cover you. You lead the tribe's retreat. If you don't leave now, it will be too late!"
Gritting his teeth, an elven warrior laden with a quiver of long arrows stepped forward bravely. Yet before the elder could issue a command, the hovering mages raised their right hands in unison. A flurry of goose-feather snowflakes cascaded from the sky, freezing the sluggish Thornwood Guardians into icy statues within moments.
*Tsk, ice sculptures?*
Shivering, Yang Li soothed his restless Hornet Wasps—agitated by the scent of blood—while channeling his shamanic energy to ward off the cold. Admiring ice carvings was one thing; being flash-frozen into a specimen was another.
With the Thornwood Guardians immobilized, the black-armored warriors roared with renewed fervor, surging toward the beleaguered elves.
"Die, vermin!" A young man slit an elven warrior's throat and barked orders: "Kill their men! Plunder their treasures! Bind their women—alive!"
Clad in obsidian plate armor, his eyes venomous, the youth charged through fractured elven ranks astride a griffon. Shattering their formation, he aimed straight for the long-haired beauty.
"Fools! Spare the young ones—they're worth fortunes!" He snarled at a blood-drunk subordinate, raking a lecherous gaze over the captive elf maidens. "Tonight, brothers, we feast with *pleasure*!"
The black-armored horde howled, hammering the retreating elves. Some brutes tore at female captives' garments, snarling like beasts as they pinned their prey.
"Release me! Monsters—*release me!*"
The long-haired maiden writhed against her bonds. Her grandfather fought desperately through the melee, too far to save her. As the leering youth closed in, tears streaked her face.
"Ah, my sweet nectar!" Imiya's beastly desire ignited. He lunged hungrily. "Fear not, little flower—I'll *tend* you well!"
"*Aaaagh—my eyes!*"
"Hornet Wasps—save us—*aaaah!*"
---
As the long-haired maiden despairingly closed her eyes, the black-clad warriors surrounding her suddenly began screaming hoarsely. Torrents of blood cascaded from their eye sockets as they collapsed, writhing and rolling across the ground like frenzied serpents. When her trembling eyelids fluttered open, she beheld swarms of razor-winged Hornetbeasts voraciously tearing at the warriors' vulnerable points - eyes, temples, and other vital areas with their serrated mandibles.
At this pivotal moment, Yang Ling unleashed his long-restrained trump card. The bloodthirsty demonic beasts, their primal instincts awakened by the metallic tang of blood permeating the air, surged forth like a tsunami of claws and fangs, completing this macabre ballet of carnage.