My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 94 Efficient Slaughter

The forest ahead seemed to be flattened by an invisible road roller, with bushes and low saplings collapsing under the heavy footsteps.

Ado walked at the very front, his ten-foot-tall body resembling a moving small mountain.

With a casual swing of its massive spiked club, it could pulverize any vines and thorns that blocked its path. An oak shield protected it in front of it, and each step it took caused the ground to tremble slightly, compacting withered leaves and soil beneath its enormous feet.

Slightly behind and to the side of Ado, the goblin warrior Max was silently clearing obstacles from the flank.

The enhanced Max stands six feet ten inches tall (about 2.1 meters), which is a giant among humans, but he still looks "small" next to Hodor.

Beneath its bare, grayish-green skin, its muscles bulged like rocks, each one brimming with explosive power.

Max held a fine steel longsword in his hand, its blade gleaming with a cold, hard luster in the light filtering through the trees.

Unlike Ado, it didn't clear a path roughly, but instead chopped through the thorns and bushes with precision and efficiency.

The six points of intelligence endowed it not only with combat instincts but also with tactical thinking. Those intelligent eyes constantly scanned the surrounding environment, assessing potential threats.

Link walked on the side of the group, the young hunter's steps as light as a cat's.

He already had his longbow in his hand, adjusted the quiver to the most comfortable position, and scanned back and forth between the treetops and the ground, looking for possible traps or ambushes.

Xiuqi walked in the middle of the group.

His steps were steady, his left hand hanging naturally at his side, his fingertips occasionally trembling slightly. That was the automatic adjustment of the [Xiuqi's Elementary Deflection Force Field], ready to deal with any sudden attack.

Suddenly, Xiuqi raised his head.

Through the gaps in the dense canopy, a tall and slender figure could be seen suspended in mid-air.

That is the poet of birds.

Her outstretched grey wings fluttered slowly a hundred meters in the air, her long, emerald-green hair dancing in the air currents. Her amber, vertical pupils looked down at the forest below, taking in everything within her field of vision.

Xiuqi closed his eyes, his consciousness connecting with the bird poet.

Instantly, a bird's-eye view unfolded in my mind—trees, streams, rocks, and... six moving heat sources, gathered in a forest clearing about a mile ahead.

"Gnolls." Xiuqi opened his eyes and said in a low voice, "Six of them, about a mile ahead, in a forest clearing."

Link immediately became alert: "Gnolls? Are there other monsters?"

"That's it," Hugh said. "Let's follow them. Ador, Max, keep clearing the way."

The ogre growled in acknowledgment, swinging its spiked club with increased amplitude. Max adjusted his sword grip, a glint of fighting spirit flashing in his crimson eyes.

The procession continued forward.

As the distance closed, the air began to fill with the distinctive stench of gnolls—a mixture of rotting flesh,

The pungent smell of sweat and secretions from the glands of some wild animal.

Link wrinkled his nose, his fingers already on the bowstring.

Soon, the outline of the forest clearing came into view.

It was a rare open space in the forest, about a hundred feet in diameter, with a pile of still-smoking embers of a campfire in the center.

Six gnolls sat around a fire, tearing apart the carcass of some animal.

These half-human, half-beast creatures had rough, yellowish-brown skin and sparse fur covering their hunched bodies.

Their faces are somewhere between jackals and humans, with protruding muzzles revealing jagged yellow teeth, and scarlet eyes gleaming with greed and ferocity.

The six gnolls were poorly equipped but practical: four carried spears or short knives, and two carried simple wooden bows with sharpened wooden arrows in their quivers.

They were clearly unaware of the approaching danger, completely absorbed in the "delicious food" before them.

Xiu Qi stopped at the edge of the open space, raised his right hand, and made a simple gesture.

There were no extra instructions, and he didn't even speak.

But Ador and Max immediately understood his intention.

The ogre let out a deafening roar, and its massive body charged out of the forest like a chariot, stepping into the clearing!

A ten-foot-tall body, a full-body cloak of chainmail, a menacing spiked club, and a massive oak shield that could cover most of his body—

Ado's appearance instantly attracted the attention of all the gnolls.

Six pairs of scarlet eyes widened in unison, terror and an instinctive desire to retaliate intertwined on their ugly faces.

"Awooo—!" The lead gnoll let out a piercing howl, grabbed the spear beside him, and jumped up.

But in that instant, Max moved.

Unlike Hodor, the enhanced goblin warrior did not charge with great fanfare, but instead flanked the enemy like a ghost. Its powerful body flashed through the shadows of the forest, its steel longsword drawing a cold arc of light.

The target is the gnoll archer on the far left who is about to draw his bow.

The gnoll reacted quickly; it released the bowstring, and the wooden arrow flew off the bow. But it missed, because Max's sword was already at its feet.

In haste, the gnoll raised his wooden bow to parry.

Click!

The crude wooden bow snapped like a withered branch before the fine steel longsword. The blade, still powerful, cleaved into the jackal's shoulder, penetrating deep enough to expose bone.

"Awooo—!" The gnoll screamed and retreated, blood gushing from its wounds.

But Max did not pursue; instead, he turned and swept his longsword across another gnoll that pounced on him.

This is the overwhelming advantage after the attribute enhancement.

In a one-on-one fight between an ordinary goblin warrior and a gnoll, the outcome is likely to be even.

But now Max has 10 points in Strength, 9 points in Agility, and 10 points in Constitution—these three core attributes completely surpass those of the Gnoll.

Not to mention, it also has skill bonuses of [Longsword Mastery +3] and [Shield Mastery +3].

The second gnoll charged at him with a rusted dagger. Max didn't even use his shield to block; he simply sidestepped the attack and thrust his longsword forward.

puff!

The sword tip pierced the gnoll's ribs, penetrated his lungs, and emerged from his back.

Clean and swift, a single, fatal blow.

Ding—[Monster Card Maker Xiuqi has successfully created a 1-star Premium (Green) card...]

Almost simultaneously, Link's arrows arrived.

The young hunter had already chosen his targets—the other two gnoll archers—the moment Ado charged out. His first arrow was aimed at the archer who had just nocked his arrow.

call out!

The arrow left the bowstring, drawing a white line in the air.

The gnoll archer sensed danger and tried to dodge, but the arrow was too fast. The sharp arrow struck its right shoulder precisely, piercing through flesh and embedding itself in the tree trunk behind it.

"Agh!" the gnoll archer cried out in pain as his wooden bow slipped from his grasp.

The other archer had already drawn his bow to its fullest extent, aiming his arrow at Xiuqi, the seemingly most "vulnerable" target.

call out!

The wooden arrow hurtled through the air.

Xiuqi didn't even move his feet, he just raised his left hand with his five fingers slightly spread.

A pale silver-blue force field instantly unfolded in front of him, forming a flowing halo.

The moment the wooden arrow entered the force field, it seemed to have struck an invisible swamp. The arrow's speed decreased sharply, its trajectory deviated, and it finally landed helplessly, diagonally embedded in the ground three feet in front of Xiu Qi.

[Xiuqi's Elementary Deflection Field] can even deflect magic missiles, let alone ordinary wooden arrows.

Less than ten seconds into the battle, two of the six gnolls were gone: one was killed by Max, and the other was wounded by Link.

The remaining gnolls panicked.

The lead gnoll let out a rapid howl, seemingly calling for his companions to retreat. But Ado had already blocked the exit from the clearing.

The ogre's massive body stood there like an insurmountable wall. He held his mace horizontally, his golden eyes fixed on the remaining gnolls, a threatening growl emanating from his throat.

Max flicked the blood off his sword, his crimson eyes scanning the battlefield. Instead of attacking immediately, he adjusted his position, forming a pincer movement with Ado.

Link nocked a second arrow, this time aiming at the heavily wounded gnoll archer.

call out!

An arrow pierced his arm, and the gnoll's longbow flew from his hand.

Pfft!

A longsword pierced its chest, and the goblin warrior Max ended its life.

Xiuqi walked to the edge of the open space and sat down next to a tree stump.

He didn't even draw his sword; he simply watched the battlefield calmly, like an audience member sitting in a box watching a performance.

Indeed, he didn't need to take action in this battle.

The combined strength of Ador and Max was enough to overwhelm these gnolls, Link's long-range support was precise and deadly, and [Shuki's Primary Deflection Field] ensured his own safety.

More importantly, Xiuqi had instructed before the battle that the summoned creatures should deliver the final blow.

Only the essence of a target killed by a summoned creature can be crafted into a monster card.

The remaining three gnolls exchanged a glance and suddenly fled in three different directions!

One rushed toward the gap to Ado's left, while the other two lunged into the depths of the woods, attempting to escape under the cover of the trees.

Ado reacted extremely quickly, sweeping his spiked club across the room.

boom!

The gnoll, attempting to escape from the left, was struck squarely in the chest. The sound of cracking bones was clearly audible. It flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a tree and falling to the ground lifeless.

But the other two gnolls had already rushed into the woods.

Link quickly nocked an arrow and aimed.

call out!

The arrow shot towards the fleeing figure.

However, just as the arrow was about to hit, the gnoll lunged to the side, and the arrow grazed its shoulder and embedded itself in the trunk of a tree.

"What a pity!" Link stomped his foot in frustration.

The distance had increased, and the trees were getting denser, making the chance of hitting the target again extremely slim.

Xiuqi remained seated on the tree stump, his face showing no change in expression.

He simply uttered, "Princess."

The moment the words left his mouth, space in front of the two gnolls who had fled suddenly began to distort.

It wasn't a magical fluctuation, but an abnormal tremor in space itself. It was as if something was descending from the void, tearing apart the boundary between reality and illusion.

The first spatial distortion appeared beside the gnoll, who was severely injured by Max and struggling to crawl towards the woods.

Ripples like mercury spread through the air, and a silver-gray figure appeared out of thin air.

That's Princess Alice.

After being promoted to two stars, the princess reached a height of 1.4 meters and had a more slender physique.

Beneath his silver-gray skin, his muscles were clearly defined, and on the surface of the menacing hammer in his hand, dark red flames seemed to live as they moved and spun among the spikes.

Most strikingly, a small tuft of silver-white hair had finally grown on her previously bald head, resembling a burning ice flame in the dim forest.

The moment the princess appeared, the hammer had already been swung.

There are no fancy moves, no unnecessary pre-swing, just the simplest and most direct vertical downward chop.

The hammerhead, glowing with dark red flames, struck the gnoll precisely on the back of the head.

boom!

The sound of the skull shattering was muffled and chilling. The gnoll's body convulsed violently before going completely limp.

Meanwhile, a second spatial distortion appeared in front of another gnoll who had fled deep into the forest.

The figure that appeared this time bore a striking resemblance to the princess, yet was also entirely different.

She also had silver-gray skin and a similarly muscular physique, but her hair was a long, fiery red that danced like flames.

What he held in his hand was not a hammer, but a longsword—the blade flowing with a frosty aura like water, condensing into tiny ice crystals in the air.

Avatar of the Abyss.

Princess Alice's innate skill, [Abyss Avatar], creates a clone with 90% of the original's attributes and inherits special talents, lasting for 10 minutes.

The avatar appeared in an extremely cunning location—right in front of the gnoll's escape path, less than three steps away.

The gnoll stared in terror, trying to turn around, but inertia prevented it from stopping immediately.

The avatar moved.

Her frost-covered longsword lashed out like a venomous snake, its tip aimed precisely at the gnoll's heart.

This sword strike had no unnecessary movements; it was simple, direct, and deadly.

puff!

The longsword pierced through his back and emerged from his chest. The chilling aura emanating from the sword instantly erupted, freezing the blood and muscle around the wound.

The gnoll froze, and the light in his eyes quickly dimmed.

She drew her longsword, and the gnoll's corpse slumped to the ground. She flicked away the blood and ice shards from the sword and turned to look in the direction of the princess's true form.

Two silver-gray figures stared at each other across the distance, one wielding a fiery mace, the other a frost-covered longsword; one with snow-white hair, the other with fiery red hair.

Then, they turned around at the same time and walked towards Xiuqi.

The princess returned to Xiuqi's side, stood obediently at his feet, and rubbed her head against his knee.

The avatar stood a little further away, only occasionally glancing at the obedient, cat-like silver-gray figure in front of Xiu Qi.

Xiuqi patted the princess's head, then looked towards the battlefield.

The battle lasted less than two minutes from start to finish.

All six gnolls were wiped out.

Five of them were killed by Max and the princess, while only one died under Hodor's spiked club.

Ado returned carrying a spiked club, his armor stained with blood, but it was all gnoll blood.

Its clear yellow eyes held a sense of satisfaction, and it made a pleasant gurgling sound in its throat.

Max was wiping his longsword, his scarlet eyes scanning his surroundings warily to make sure no one had escaped.

Link pulled the stray arrow back from the tree, his face showing a hint of annoyance, but mostly excitement: "Mr. Xiuqi, the princess... she can actually create clones? And that sword..."

'

Xiu Qi smiled and nodded, offering no further explanation.

He looked at the five new cards in his hand.

The card features a ferocious image of a gnoll, with a delicate green border, making it a premium product.

Unfortunately, none of them have awakened their talents. Although they are all one-star premium cards, their attributes are not as good as those of Goblin Warrior Max.

These cards will be used as sacrificial materials to enhance and promote your character.

Importantly, this battle validated the squad's tactical coordination.

Adorne draws fire by overwhelming the enemy front, Max flanks and finishes them off, Link provides long-range support and suppression, and the Princess and Avatar are responsible for flanking the enemy and finishing them off.

He himself didn't even need to lift a finger.

Xiu Qi stood up and put away the cards.

"Keep moving," he said. "There should be more than just this one pack of gnolls in this area. We need to finish the first round of clearing before nightfall."

He added Princess Alice to his deck and resummoned the Bird Poet.

Accompanied by a "ding" notification sound.

He looked up at the sky.

Through the gaps in the tree canopy, one can see the elegant figure of the bird poet circling.

Her long, emerald-green hair danced in the air currents, and her amber-colored vertical pupils, like the most acute reconnaissance eyes, took in everything in the forest below.

With such aerial vision, coupled with the overwhelming strength of the ground squad...

A cold glint flashed in Xiu Qi's eyes.

This mission to eliminate the demonic tide might be much easier than he had anticipated.

"Set off."

The group regrouped and continued their journey deeper into the forest.

Hodor and Max cleared the way again, their spiked clubs and longswords hacking at the vegetation blocking their path. Link returned to the flank, nocking an arrow.

At a height of 100 meters, the bird poet adjusted its flight direction and flew towards the next suspected heat source area.

Emerald wings swept across the gray forest, like a silent guardian, guiding the killing squads on the ground toward their next prey.

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