My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 101: A Prelude as Easy as Chopping Vegetables and Slicing Melons

The first to emerge from the forest were the Primal Demons.

These low-level demons, whose challenge level is only 1/8, resemble human figures haphazardly molded from rotten flesh and filth, their bodies flowing with viscous black liquid.

They have no intelligence, only the instinct to devour living things, clumsily waving their claw-like hands as they stagger toward the pass.

The quantity is at least twenty.

Next came the fear of demons.

A low-level demon of challenge level 1/4, its hunched, grayish-green body covered with festering pustules.

They opened their mouths, which were almost split to their ears, and let out a piercing scream, while a foul, green mist began to emanate from their bodies.

Twenty more.

Ado let out a deafening roar.

The ogre's massive body took a step forward, causing the ground to tremble. It gripped its spiked club tightly in one hand, employing no fancy techniques, just the simplest and most direct sweeping motion.

call!

The spiked club produced a dull whistling sound as it swept across an area of ​​180 degrees.

The first Primal Demon was hit head-on.

The sludge-like bodies exploded like mud under the barbs of the spiked club, black slime and shattered internal organs splattering everywhere. The club, undeterred, continued its attack on the second, then the third...

boom! boom! boom!

With three muffled thuds, the three primal demons were sent flying backward as if hit by a speeding carriage, crashing into their companions behind them and causing a chain reaction of chaos.

Ado's attack style is naturally effective against enemies that are numerous but individually weak.

Every strike deals area-of-effect damage, and each swing can claim the lives of at least two demons.

The barbs on the spiked club tear through flesh, pulling out large chunks of tissue and making wounds difficult to heal. The oak greatsword, when pushed forward occasionally, can smash any demon that tries to get close, breaking its bones and tendons.

But there are just too many Primal Demons and Fearful Demons.

They know no fear, feel no pain, only a hunger for the flesh and blood of the living. When their comrades fall, those behind immediately trample over the corpses and continue their charge.

Just then, Max moved.

Unlike Hodor, the goblin warriors did not sweep across a wide area, but instead displayed a different fighting style.

It gripped the five-foot-long two-handed greatsword with one hand, the blade tracing a perfect arc in the air.

The target wasn't the densest part of the demon horde, but rather the cowardly demon on the flank that was spewing poisonous mist.

The sword blade slashed down.

The demon tried to dodge, but Max was too fast.

The explosive power brought by 12 points of Strength and the flexibility granted by 11 points of Agility allowed this massive eight-foot-three-inch body to perform agile movements completely out of character for its size.

The greatsword sliced ​​into the demon's left shoulder, cut diagonally downwards through its spine, and emerged from its right side.

Clean and swift, cutting in two with a single stroke.

Max withdrew his greatsword, turned around, and swept the blade horizontally, slicing another Primal Demon that pounced from the side in half.

Then it strode forward, raised its greatsword high, and with a powerful vertical slash, split the third demon in two from head to toe.

Three demons, three swords.

Every sword strike was precise and deadly, without any unnecessary movements.

The fighting style of the goblin warrior Max contrasts sharply with that of the ogre Hodor—Hodor's style is one of overwhelming power and sweeping away enemies of any area; Max's style is one of displaying skill and precise finishing.

It always appears in the most appropriate place at the most appropriate time, and every strike is of maximum effectiveness.

Even more frightening is that Max's [Chapter Leader] talent is now active.

Ado could feel that his coordination with this earth spirit was exceptionally smooth.

When it wields its spiked club to clear a space, Max always fills in promptly, eliminating any stragglers. When Max ventures deep into enemy territory, Hodor uses his shield to protect its flanks.

A 10% improvement in teamwork and coordination can mean the difference between life and death in actual combat.

Xiuqi stood ten steps behind the two, "Bavarian Moonlight" already unsheathed.

The longsword gleamed with a cool, clear light under the moonlight, and the subtle patterns on its blade seemed to breathe. He didn't rush forward, but calmly observed the battlefield.

Then, the first one to slip through the net appeared.

It was a Primal Demon that had crawled in from the edge of Ado's shield. Covered in the black slime of its companions, its mud-like body wriggled and crawled through the gap under the shield, its drooling mouth opening as it lunged at Xiuqi.

Xiuqi didn't even move a step.

He simply raised his left hand, his fingers slightly spread.

[Shuqi's Elementary Deflection Field] instantly unfolds.

A pale silver-blue force field formed a flowing halo in front of him. The moment the primal demon rushed into the force field, it was as if it had crashed into an invisible swamp.

The movement suddenly slowed down, the trajectory began to deviate, and the drooling mouth was only half a foot away from Xiuqi's throat, but it could no longer move forward even an inch.

Xiuqi's right hand moved the longsword.

It wasn't a chop, nor a thrust, but a precise horizontal swipe.

The blade sliced ​​across the primal demon's neck like a hot knife through butter. Its black head flew off, its mud-like body stiffened, and then collapsed to the ground.

Clean, swift, and deadly with a single sword strike.

Xiuqi shook off the black slime clinging to his sword and continued to scan the battlefield.

The second and third fish that slipped through the net appeared one after another, and he dealt with them in the same way.

His movements lacked Hodor's ferocity and Max's finesse; they possessed only a cold efficiency—using the smallest movements to inflict maximum damage.

Link took his third deep breath atop the tree.

The initial tension has passed.

He missed with his first arrow.

The target was a cowardly demon spewing poisonous mist thirty paces away, but the arrow grazed the demon's shoulder and embedded itself in a tree trunk behind it.

"Calm down, Link, calm down," the boy murmured to himself as he nocked the second arrow.

This time, he aimed for an extra half second.

call out!

The arrow left the bowstring and struck the demon's throat with pinpoint accuracy. The sharp arrowhead pierced the skin and penetrated deep into the trachea.

The demon's poisonous mist abruptly stopped; it clutched its throat, making a hissing sound as it gasped for air, then collapsed.

"Great!" Link felt a surge of accomplishment.

The third arrow, the fourth arrow...

His archery skills became increasingly stable, and his awareness of controlling the field began to emerge.

Link immediately noticed the three lesser demons as they emerged from behind the horde and began making Abyssal hand gestures.

The lesser demon's spell-like ability, [Small Fireball], while not very powerful, is enough to disrupt Hodor and Max in the front row.

"Prioritize shooting the spellcaster." Xiuqi's previous command echoed in his mind.

Link quickly locked onto the target.

The first arrow was aimed at the little imp on the far left.

The arrow struck the little demon's right shoulder, interrupting his chanting, and the fireball that had just formed in his hand vanished with a "poof".

The second arrow, aim at the one in the middle.

This time it was between the eyebrows; the little demon screamed and fell backward.

The third arrow... missed.

The little demon on the far right had finished its incantation, and a fireball the size of a fist hurtled toward Ado.

But Ado didn't even turn around.

The ogre merely shifted slightly, using his right shoulder, covered by a robe, chainmail, and [Blade Protection], to take the fireball head-on.

boom!

The flames exploded, leaving a charred patch on the armor, but not even the outermost cloak burned through.

Ado didn't even feel any pain.

Link gritted his teeth and nocked the fourth arrow.

This time he didn't fail.

The arrow pierced the forehead of the last lesser demon and emerged from the back of its head. The lesser demon's eyes widened as it slowly collapsed.

The young hunter wiped the cold sweat from his brow and continued searching for his next target.

In the shadows on the right side of the pass, the princess moved like the Grim Reaper.

Her agility of 13 points allows her to move freely among the demons, and her [Stealth +8] skill makes her figure appear and disappear in the darkness.

It never confronts demons head-on, always appearing in the most unexpected places.

A little imp was preparing a second fireball when it suddenly felt a chill down its spine.

Looking down, he saw a jagged hammer tip protruding from his chest, with dark red flames burning at the wound.

It opened its mouth, trying to scream, but its lungs were pierced, and it could only make a "hoarse" sound.

The princess drew her hammer, and the little demon's corpse fell limply to the ground.

The next second, the princess's figure disappeared into the shadows and appeared five steps away behind another cowardly demon.

The hammer struck, shattering the back of his head.

Disappears, then reappears...

The princess, like a ghost, reaps the lives of demons, taking one with her every appearance and disappearing without a trace.

She specifically targets demons that are attempting to cast spells or are commanding others, disrupting the demon horde's offensive rhythm.

In the first three minutes, the battle was one-sided.

The ironclad defense formed by Ador and Max stood firm against the onslaught of the demonic tide.

Link's precise shooting eliminated most of the ranged threats, Shuki's interception ensured that no one escaped and could threaten the backline, and the princess's assassination disrupted the demon's command system.

The corpses of the Primal Demons and the Fearful Demons piled up like a small mountain at the entrance to the pass, their black and green blood mixing together to form a disgusting swamp.

But there were simply too many demons.

One falls, two more surge up; one piece falls, two more surge up.

Ado's swinging speed with his spiked club began to decrease, and the energy consumed with each swing was accumulating.

Max's two-handed greatsword technique remained precise, but his breathing had begun to become heavy.

Link's quiver is half empty; the princess's talent, Void Walk, needs to cool down.

Just then, a new figure appeared behind the demon horde.

It was a six-foot-tall, dark red figure with skin like congealed blood, thorn-like bone plates growing on its back, and two curved bone blades in its hands.

Thorn Demon.

Challenge a level 2 lower-level elite demon.

And there was more than one.

The first Thorn Demon emerged from the depths of the forest, its bone blades rubbing against each other, producing a teeth-grinding "crunch" sound.

Its dark red eyes swept across the battlefield, lingering on Hodor and Max for a moment before locking onto Link, who had been directing from the back.

The second Thorn Demon appeared immediately afterward, standing beside the first one.

Two Thorn Demons, two level 2 challenge demon elites.

The princess stopped moving in the shadows.

Silver-gray eyes peered through the gaps in the demon horde, fixed on the two dark red figures.

She gripped the hammer tightly, and dark red sparks swirled rapidly between the spikes on the hammerhead.

The battle has only just begun to enter its true phase.