My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 102 Cracks in the Steel Defense Line

The battle at the pass has lasted for more than fifteen minutes.

The air was thick with a nauseating mixture of sulfur, blood, and burnt smells.

The ground was soaked in demon blood of various colors, forming a sticky swamp that made an unpleasant "plop" sound when stepped on.

Ado still stood in the center of the pass, like a wall forged of steel.

The ogre's enormous body, standing ten feet tall, almost filled the entire entrance to the pass. Its incredibly thick arms wielded a spiked club, and each sweep cleared an area.

The spikes on the mace were covered with bits of flesh and entrails, making it look particularly ferocious in the moonlight.

But Ado's breathing had already become heavy.

Even with the ogre's terrifying 12 points of constitution, fifteen minutes of continuous high-intensity combat was a huge drain on his strength. Sweat seeped from the gaps in his armor, mixing with the demon blood splattered on his body, and dripped down the steel rings of his chainmail.

Even more terrifying is that the demons seem endless.

One falls, two more surge up; a whole group falls, even more surge up.

Primal demons, cowardly demons, lesser demons—these lower-level demons flowed like sewage gushing from the cracks of hell, endlessly, tirelessly, and without fear.

They advanced by stepping over the corpses of their companions, using quantity to make up for the absolute gap in quality.

Ado's spiked club swept across again, sending the three primal demons flying as they crashed into the rock wall with a dull thud of cracking bones.

But in that instant, four lesser demons slipped in from the blind spot where the spiked club was being swung.

They did not attack Ado because the ogre's cloak, chainmail, and [blade protection] redirected their instinctive aggression toward an easier target.

The four lesser demons' target is Xiuqi.

Xiu Qi stood still, his gray robe swaying gently in the night breeze.

He didn't even raise his sword, but calmly watched as the four demons pounced from different directions.

The first little imp opened its mouth, attempting to spew out acidic liquid.

Xiuqi took a half step forward with his left foot, turned his body slightly to the side, and "Bavarian Moonlight" drew a cool arc of light.

The blade pierced precisely into the little demon's open mouth and emerged from the back of its head.

The little demon froze, a flicker of disbelief flashing in its eyes before fading away.

Xiu Qi drew his sword, turned to the side, and swept his sword horizontally a second time.

The second lesser demon attempted to parry with its iron fork, but the fork snapped like a withered branch before the rare-quality longsword. The blade's momentum didn't wane, severing the lesser demon's neck.

The third and fourth lesser demons pounced at the same time.

Instead of retreating, Xiu Qi advanced, taking a step forward, his longsword drawing a perfect semicircle in front of him.

A silvery-moon-like sword light flashed, and fine lines of blood appeared simultaneously on the chests of the two lesser demons.

They staggered backward, then slowly collapsed, their bodies splitting open from the chest, their internal organs spilling out onto the ground.

Four lesser demons, four swords.

Clean, efficient, without a single unnecessary movement.

Xiu Qi shook the blood off his sword and scanned the battlefield once more.

The "ding-dong" sound of card making rang in my ears almost every moment.

Although the demons killed by Hodor and Link are not counted, the number of demons killed by Max, the princess, and himself alone has already caused the notification sound to appear 39 times.

The 9-point intelligence score not only improves thinking speed, but also brings about a qualitative change in memory and analytical abilities.

Even in such an extreme environment, Xiuqi could still clearly remember every detail—the time of death of each demon, the killer, and even the approximate cause of death.

This data is automatically categorized, organized, and analyzed in his mind, forming a real-time grasp of the battlefield situation.

He knew that, so far, Max had killed 15 demons, the princess had killed 13, and he himself had killed 11.

只。

A total of 39.

But the number of demons doesn't seem to have decreased at all.

"This can't go on," Xiu Qi muttered to himself.

His gaze passed over Ado's enormous figure and looked toward the dark forest beyond the pass.

There, demons continue to emerge in an endless stream.

Further away, two dark red figures were slowly approaching—the two Thorn Demons were waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

Just then, Xiuqi suddenly sensed something unusual.

It wasn't through sight or hearing, but rather an almost intuitive alert, combined with the continuous spiritual enhancement provided by the rare meditation stone on his chest, that allowed him to perceive the most subtle energy fluctuations in his environment.

There seems to be something behind the pass.

Xiuqi suddenly turned his head.

Almost simultaneously, the goblin warrior Max also noticed something amiss.

After being promoted to a two-star rare quality, Max's perception attribute reached 6 points. Although it was not as sharp as Xiuqi's, the [Clan Leader] talent gave him the ability to grasp the overall battlefield.

When that faint, almost imperceptible, unusual aura appeared behind the pass, Max reacted almost instinctively.

Its scarlet eyes suddenly turned to the back of the pass, its gaze piercing through the night and locking onto a seemingly peaceful shadow.

Then, Max saw one—

A dark red figure was silently hovering in mid-air behind the pass.

A body six feet tall, with dark red skin like congealed blood, thorn-like bone plates growing on its back, and two curved bone blades in its hands.

Thorn Demon.

Moreover, the pair of dark red, bat-like wings on the back of this Thorn Demon were slowly flapping, keeping it hovering.

When did it get around to the back?

Max's brain completed the analysis in an instant.

This Thorn Demon clearly possessed intelligence far exceeding that of ordinary lower-level demons. Unlike the previous lesser demon, it did not charge head-on, but instead used its flight ability to silently bypass the steel defenses at the pass and directly attack the team's most vulnerable point.

Link the hunter in the back row.

The young hunter remained focused on shooting from the treetop.

His quiver was half empty, but his hand holding the bow became increasingly steady.

The initial tension and mistakes are over; Link has now entered the hunter's ideal state—focus,

Calm and precise.

He had just shot down the third lesser demon that was trying to cast a spell and was now looking for his next target.

Completely unaware, a dark red lower-level demon elite was slowly approaching from ten steps behind them in mid-air.

A cunning and cruel light gleamed in the Thorn Demon's dark red eyes.

It did not rush to attack, but rather, like the most experienced hunter, adjusted its position, angle, and timing.

The bone blade gleamed with a cold, chilling light under the moonlight, but its truly deadly weapon was the slowly rising tail spikes on its back—one, two, three—a total of twelve tail spikes, like venomous snakes, extending from between the thorn plates on the Thorn Demon's back, each shimmering with a ghostly green venomous light.

These tail spikes are the Thorn Demon's most terrifying weapon. Not only are they as sharp as steel needles, but their tips are also highly poisonous, enough to paralyze or even kill an adult human instantly.

Thorn Demon's target is clear: Link.

Once this ranged support in the back row is eliminated, the pressure on the front line of defense will increase significantly.

When those two Thorn Demons launch their final attack, this squad will undoubtedly be defeated.

Perfect tactics.

The Thorn Demon's lips curled into a cruel smile, and all twelve of its tail spikes tensed simultaneously, ready to deliver a fatal blow.

In that very instant, a roar—!!!

Max let out a deafening battle cry.

The goblin warriors had no time to explain, or even to warn.

It made a move that surprised everyone: it loosened its grip on the shield with its left hand.

Max hurled the massive iron-clad oak shield with all his might!

The shield spun in the air, tearing through the night, and crashed down on the Thorn Demon like a flying wall, accompanied by a howling wind!

Thorn Demon was clearly unprepared for this attack.

It was completely focused on locking onto Link, preparing to launch a deadly attack, and had no idea that someone would launch such an attack from the side.

By the time it sensed the danger, the shield was already in front of it.

Thorn Demon tried to dodge in haste, but the shield's coverage area was too large.

It could barely turn to the side, while its tail spikes lashed out from behind, attempting to shatter or deflect the incoming shield.

"Clang—!!!"

The deafening clang of metal echoed through the pass.

The Thorn Demon's tail spikes were embedded in the shield, and a ghostly green poisonous light exploded on the shield's surface, emitting a hissing, corrosive sound.

But Max's shield is no ordinary one.

As equipment that naturally materializes after being promoted to two-star rare quality, this shield is not only made of tough material, but also has faint battle runes flowing on its surface, giving it a certain degree of resistance to magic and corrosion.

The Thorn Demon's tail spikes left a shallow dent on the shield, and the iron plates along the edges sizzled from corrosion, but the main structure of the shield remained intact.

More importantly, the impact of this blow was enormous.

Max's full-force throw of 12 points of strength would be difficult even for a demon elite like the Thorn Demon to withstand.

The Thorn Demon was sent flying backward by the shield, and it barely managed to regain its balance by flapping its wings frantically.

At that moment, Max made his move.

The goblin warrior's enormous eight-foot-three-inch body unleashed astonishing speed.

Instead of catching the spinning shield in mid-air, it gripped the five-foot-long two-handed greatsword with both hands, stomped off the ground, and charged towards the Thorn Demon like a cannonball!

The greatsword was raised high, and the battle runes on its blade shone with a dazzling light at that moment.

The target of this sword strike was not the Thorn Demon's body, but its wings!

Max's combat wisdom was on full display at this moment.

It knew very well that the Thorn Demon's greatest advantage was not its strength or its poisonous stings, but its ability to fly.

Once its wings are disabled, this Thorn Demon loses its greatest tactical mobility and can only fight on the ground.

On the ground, Max was absolutely confident of victory.

Thorn Demon realized Max's intentions.

A flicker of panic flashed in its dark red eyes, and it frantically flapped its wings, trying to create distance.

But it was too late.

Max is too fast.

The explosive power from 12 points of Strength and the agility from 11 points of Agility allow this massive body to achieve terrifying speed in short-distance sprints.

The greatsword slashed down!

Thorn Demon barely managed to turn sideways and parry with the bone blade in his left hand.

clang-

The loud clang of metal clashing rang out again, sparks flying everywhere.