"Hiss—!"
That was no single hiss.
But a dozen or so sharp syllables overlapping in the same instant, weaving together into a noise pollution that could pierce the eardrums!
High-Rank Mantisfolk, Elite Insect Guards!
Their bodies were a size larger than the cannon fodder on the city walls below, their dark green carapaces shimmering with a cold metallic luster, their defensive power incomparable.
Most terrifying were the pair of bone blades on their forelimbs, longer and wider than those of ordinary individuals, even covered in fine crimson veins, clearly weapons that had drunk countless blood.
A dozen or so arcs of death fell from the high sky, their target clear, aiming to instantly dismember these "foreign objects" that dared to appear here!
"Be careful!"
Xia Lian's warning sounded almost at the same time as the Mantisfolk's action.
However, before her voice fell, a crisp metallic explosive sound had already detonated first!
"Seeking death!"
Lin Xiyue shouted softly, advancing instead of retreating!
Her fit body charged fiercely forward, the Blackstone Heavy Shield in front, firmly planted before the three of them, indestructible!
Holy Light flowed out from the runes on the shield's surface!
A semi-transparent golden energy shield instantly expanded, covering her entire body.
[Shield of Divinity]!
Immediately after, the [Immovable as a Mountain] effect on the shield and the force field of the Libram [Mountain's Resilience] activated at the same time.
She chose not to simply tank the hits.
Her dark eyes calmly tracked the trajectories of the bone blades from the fastest diving Mantisfolk.
Facing the first three High-Rank Mantisfolk to pounce, their three lightning-fast bone blades, Lin Xiyue suddenly exerted her strength, swinging the heavy shield upward at an incredibly awkward angle, drawing a golden arc of light!
[Golden Parry]!
"Clang!"
The deafening explosive sound of metal clashing tore through the air!
The shield's surface precisely met the intersection of the three bone blades. The runic magic circle absorbed, compressed, and then returned all the impact force at the moment of contact!
The terrifying recoil force was transmitted back along the bone blades, causing their hard forelimbs to emit an overloaded "crack."
The bodies of the three Mantisfolk lost their balance in mid-air, their momentum coming to an abrupt halt, even causing the formation of their companions who were diving down behind them to fall into disorder!
Just now!
The moment the Mantisfolk's formation fell into chaos, Su Wanqing's cold voice rang out.
"Freeze."
She did not even chant an incantation, merely tapping her staff lightly.
Dozens of sharp-edged ice spikes emitting bone-chilling cold materialized out of thin air in mid-air.
The swarm of ice spikes shot out, precisely hunting the Mantisfolk whose formation had been disrupted by the parry!
Their targets were strikingly consistent: the wing roots!
No matter how hard the carapace, the root where the wing connects to the body is always a fragile joint!
"Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!"
A series of dull thuds as sharp weapons pierced flesh.
The first ice spike struck the left wing joint of an unbalanced Mantisfolk. Crystalline frost rapidly spread from the wound, freezing the entire membranous wing into a fragile ice sculpture within half a second.
The wing surface shattered from its own vibrations, and this Insect Guard, stripped of its flight, fell screaming.
The second, third, fourth...
The swarm of ice spikes pursued them relentlessly, each one drilling into the weakest defensive points.
Wing roots, compound eyes, joints, gaps in the abdominal carapace...
Three Mantisfolk with their wings nailed shut fell toward the ground, trailing ice shards.
Perfectly timed control!
A silent arrow flew out from the shadows on the side.
A petite figure, almost blending into the shadows, moved the same moment the ice spikes struck.
Xia Lian drew her [Dark Night Starwhisper], her fingers moving so fast they almost left afterimages.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three arrows imbued with the 'Star-Concealment' effect completely erased their trajectories and sounds, transforming into invisible reapers.
A Mantisfolk struggling in the air due to its damaged wings took an arrow directly in its massive compound eye. Green ichor exploded as its slender body slammed powerlessly into the ground.
Another Mantisfolk, frozen and falling, was struggling to push its body up with its forelimbs when an arrow pierced one of its intact compound eyes, a clean and decisive strike.
A Mantisfolk, left reeling after being struck by Lin Xiyue's Golden Parry, had just regained its balance when an arrow pierced the gap in its abdominal carapace. The magic power attached to the arrowhead erupted inside its body, churning its organs into a mess.
Three arrows.
Three kills.
The chillingly efficient hunting skill of a top-tier Ranger was fully on display.
The squad's coordination was seamless, neutralizing a seemingly perilous ambush in just a few short seconds.
"Haha! Well done!"
Lin Qingyue burst into a delighted laugh. Watching her teammates' fluid teamwork, her own battle lust was completely ignited.
She raised her staff, [Beloved], and with a flick of her wrist, a golden light condensed and spun in her palm, eventually forming a divine seal that branded itself onto the staff.
[Seal of Righteousness]!
A few Insect Guards, trailing behind, had managed to dodge the ice spikes and arrows.
They communicated with piercing screeches, quickly widening their distance to flank the group.
Two of them circled behind Su Wan.
Their bone blades were raised high, and the wind from their flapping membranous wings blew Su Wan's hair wildly.
Su Wan remained completely unfazed, not even lifting an eyelid.
Because a Priest who completely disregarded martial honor had already been prepared.
Lin Qingyue gripped the staff, which was embedded with a huge gem and made of an incredibly hard material, with both hands and held it level like a cavalry lance.
Then she pushed off with her feet, launching herself forward like a cannonball!
A Priest, who had abandoned the traditional art of chanting holy words and casting healing divine spells from the rear!
Had chosen the most primitive, most savage physical charge!
A single thrust of the spear!
The purest, most direct piercing attack that broke a surface with a single point.
A High-Rank Mantisfolk, before it could even swing down its bone blade, saw its vision completely filled by a rapidly enlarging flash of pink.
Its simple insectoid brain completely failed to comprehend the scene unfolding before it.
This two-legged creature...
Why was a cloth-robed caster charging at it faster than a warrior?!
There was no time for it to think.
Under the empowerment of the [Seal of Righteousness], the front end of the [Beloved] in Lin Qingyue's hand erupted with scorching Holy Light.
The Mantisfolk reacted quickly, abandoning its attack on Su Wan and swinging its bone blade instead, hoping to cleave this ignorant pink-haired girl in half.
However, Lin Qingyue did not clash with its bone blade head-on.
She lowered her body, gliding beneath the Mantisfolk's swinging bone blade with an incredible sliding tackle.
The Holyflame Staff in her hand followed through with an upward thrust!
Pshhh!
The hard carapace, which could withstand sword and blade strikes, was as fragile as paper against the [Beloved]'s monstrous [Ignore 50% Defense and Resistance] special effect.
The staff's tip pierced straight through the Mantisfolk's chest and abdomen, bursting out of its back!
Green blood and shattered viscera sprayed out along the staff's shaft.
"Die!"
Lin Qingyue snarled, and the Holy Light Energy infused into the staff erupted violently!
BOOM!
A muffled thud.
The High-Rank Mantisfolk's entire upper body exploded into a green firework of flesh and blood.
Another Mantisfolk arrived a step late. Lin Qingyue withdrew her spear, spun, and swept the staff's tail, parrying its bone blade.
Immediately stepping forward, she drove the spear's tip straight into its open mandibles, piercing its skull.
Holy Light bloomed within the cranial cavity.
A second muffled thud.
Another mangled corpse.
Lin Qingyue shook the green liquid off her staff, a satisfied, blissful expression on her face.
"Sis! You're a Priest! A Priest!"
Lin Xiyue finally broke down in a rant, all while smashing another diving Mantisfolk into a meat patty with her shield.
"Can you have some professional ethics? At least heal someone?"
"Which one of you is injured?"
Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, and Xia Lian looked at each other.
Forget being injured, not even the corners of their clothes were dirty.
"Then that settles it."
Lin Qingyue puffed out her chest with righteous confidence, her posture as if to say, "The best healing is to kill all the enemies."