Above the mage

Chapter 806 Long-Range Strike

[The Mist-Beaked Crow... typically inhabits islands in the sea, a gregarious creature of the ley lines... generally Tier 3, elite individuals can reach Tier 4... preys on birds, is violent and ferocious, has a strong sense of territory, feeds on small marine creatures... enormous in size, possesses immense strength, tough hides and feathers, and has the ability to spew poisonous mist...]

In just a few breaths, Gao De roughly learned the names, abilities, and habits of these birds.

However, a question suddenly arose in his mind.

"These are sea birds with a very strong sense of territory. Why would they leave their nest and appear on land?"

The large-scale landing of the fog-billed crows is an unusual act that goes against the group's usual behavior.

There are actually many possibilities, and with a lack of clues, Gaode couldn't figure out which one it was for the time being.

Territory scramble? Resource plunder? Deep-seated hatred? Or just a chance encounter?

Before he could delve deeper into his reverie, the situation in the sky was already pressing.

The sky was filled with swarms of ravens flapping their wings and swooping down. The dense black shadows had already approached the canopy of the Norfolk pine forest. With just one swoop, they could completely plunge into the heart of the forest and wreak havoc.

But just as the crows were about to land in the forest, several violent magical fluctuations suddenly erupted from the snow-resistant Norfolk pine forest.

A dozen or so burly, imposing men burst out of the forest, facing the approaching flock of fog-beaked crows.

These burly men were all far larger than ordinary humans.

Their skeletons are broad, and their shoulder-to-waist ratio is significantly higher than the average human physique.

Their muscles were bulging and taut, their lines exuding explosive power; they were not dead muscles. Even an angry ordinary person wielding a knife would be no match for them.

The exposed skin was covered with dark tattoos.

The tattoo designs are mainly abstract animal shapes, often featuring wolf heads, snake bodies, or wings.

The pattern features bold lines and dark colors.

It looks like it was created by repeatedly piercing the skin with a blunt needle to deposit some kind of mineral dye.

They were dressed in thick wolf-skin clothing.

Most of them were carrying heavy double-edged battle axes or serrated spears, their weapons stained with old blood.

The tallest and strongest man at the head of the flock of crows suddenly let out a short, low growl from deep within his throat as the flock swooped down.

The roar wasn't loud, but as the low growl sounded, his aura underwent a dramatic change.

A very faint dark red halo emerged from his body.

The halo flowed along the surface of his exposed skin.

In an instant, the muscles in his already thick arms swelled up again, and the bluish-black veins bulged out like snakes.

The muscles in his shoulders and back bulged upwards at the same time, stretching out and instantly making his body appear larger.

The people behind him made the same movements simultaneously.

Eighteen burly bodies swelled and grew stronger simultaneously. Without hesitation or fear, they charged head-on at the low-flying flock of fog-beaked crows, wielding heavy weapons.

The battle entered into a high-intensity confrontation from the very first moment.

The flock of fog-billed ravens lowers their bodies and tucks their wings into their narrowest, streamlined shape in order to achieve greater diving speed.

The burly man at the front, wielding a giant axe, swiftly cleaved at the base of the wing of a mist-billed raven that was coming straight at him.

Crimson blood gushed out from the incision.

The jay tumbled in the low sky, its wing scraping across the snow and leaving a long trail.

Even the Mist-billed Crow, known for its hard feathers, couldn't withstand the attack of this axe.

However, the burly man was immediately attacked by three swooping ravens from another direction.

Bang bang bang!

The strong man's muscles were taut and as hard as stone, blocking the jay's claws.

However, due to the impact, he involuntarily staggered back several steps, his heels carving two deep grooves in the snow.

The moment he regained his footing, he swept his battle axe across, forcing the two back.

However, a fourth-tier mist-beaked crow slashed open the beak of a bird that swooped down from the side on his left shoulder, leaving another wound.

However, his expression did not change, his eyes were full of fighting spirit, and he flipped the battle axe over.

The axe blade drew an arc from bottom to top, creating a curved beam of light that struck the raven's belly, cutting a two-foot-long gash in its abdomen.

The ferocious fourth-tier bird of prey let out a sharp, hoarse cry, its body flipping uncontrollably to the side, skidding across the ground for a distance before coming to a stop.

This is the fighting style of this group.

By enduring attacks, one gains the chance to land a hit.

They rarely dodge.

When the talons of the fog-billed raven grip their shoulders or arms, they will slash back with the same-side weapon.

Take advantage of the brief gap when the opponent is unable to escape quickly during an attack to launch a counterattack, retaliating against the enemy with an even more ruthless and devastating injury.

In just one exchange, everyone's body was covered with several wounds, some shallow and some deep.

However, their results were equally devastating and dazzling.

A dozen or so fog-billed ravens were violently shot down.

The hit jays fell to the ground.

After landing, they struggled to take off again, but damage to their wings or bodies made them extremely unstable, losing their ability to dive and attack.

Although these strong men appeared brave and powerful with impressive battle records at first glance, Gao De did not have a high opinion of them.

The team of eighteen had only three members with the strength of a fourth-ring warrior.

The remaining group consisted of thirteen third-ring mages, and even two second-ring mages with weak foundations.

In contrast, the Mistbeak Crow flock far outnumbered them by five times, with nearly a hundred fierce birds forming a formidable line, many of whom were elite individuals who had reached the fourth tier of combat power.

With such a numerical and combat advantage, what use are these strong men no matter how brave they are?

Unless one of them emerges as an outlier like Sunefa, capable of killing a fifth-ring player with only a fourth-ring ability.

But are monstrous talents like Sunefa so easy to find?

as predicted.

The size advantage of the Mist-beaked Crow flock began to emerge during the second swooping attack.

The remaining nearly ninety Mist-billed Crows no longer charged in a frontal formation, but instead dispersed and attacked simultaneously from different angles.

Some of them were engaged in frontal containment, while others, the Mist-billed Crows, swooped down from the left and right flanks at low altitudes.

The sharp claws drew countless short arcs in the low air.

They firmly hold the absolute advantage of attacking from high altitudes and employ a hit-and-run tactic.

The constant pulling and tugging depleted the mages' physical and magical strength.

Every few breaths, large plumes of corrosive poisonous mist would be spewed out, covering a wide area of ​​the battlefield and constantly weakening the strong men.

The situation deteriorated rapidly.

Their formation was quickly broken.

Mages at the third and second ring levels began to suffer injuries one after another.

Within a few rounds, the formation was completely broken and collapsed.

They were forced to pair up and fight their own battles.

Several strong men had their leather armor torn open by crow claws on their shoulders and backs, their flesh turned inside out, and the wounds, stained with poisonous mist, were bluish-black.

The two second-ring mages were even more seriously injured.

But Gao De noticed that even after all that, no one ever retreated towards the direction of the Norsched Pine Forest.

They maintained a horizontal, loose defensive line, preventing any jay from crossing their flesh and blood to break into the heart of the Norschling forest.

Sunafa tilted her head slightly beside Gaode, looking at the mages who were fighting to the death, and said, "What are they guarding?"

Gaode Maps also noticed it.

If their only goal was to drive away the mist-beaked crows, these mages could have retreated into the forest and used the trees to limit the angle of the crows' aerial attacks.

However, they did not choose that tactic, but instead abandoned the terrain advantage and remained in the open area at the edge of the pine forest to fight.

This undoubtedly exposes the body to the most advantageous angle of attack by the Mist-billed Crow.

This seemingly foolish tactical choice has only one reasonable reason:

What they needed to protect was not to be affected by the battle, and that thing was in the Norwegian cedar forest behind them.

However, no matter how determined they are or how strong their fighting spirit is, the difference in combat strength is there, and they certainly cannot last long.

Seeing these burly men being wounded one after another under the onslaught of the Mist-beaked Crows, and the defensive line on the verge of collapse, a smile flashed across Gao De's eyes, and he sighed softly, "What good luck."

He turned and met Sunefa's gaze, seeing the same meaning in her eyes.

Although Gaode had never seen Vikings, these burly men possessed such a distinctly barbaric fighting style and berserker magic, as well as unique physical characteristics.

In addition, there was their act of risking their lives to protect the Norwegian cedar forest.

How could he not guess that these people were the Vikings he was looking for on this trip?

At this moment, the Vikings were clearly in danger, even facing certain death.

An excellent opportunity is now before us.

This is precisely the time when they see injustice and use their magic to help.

This genuine act of saving a life is far more valuable than any polite formalities.

If they intervene to resolve the situation now, they will naturally have the upper hand in terms of reason and morality when it comes to pursuing technological exchanges with the Vikings later on.

I saved your people. If you're reasonable, you should at least give me some face, right?

What else could this be but good luck?

Both were insightful individuals, and they instantly reached a tacit understanding.

"Let's rush over there to save the day!" Gao De said softly, his voice filled with urgency.

Gao De has the Mandora's Eye, and Sunefa seems to have some special farsightedness as well.

Therefore, although the two clearly saw the intense and tense situation on the battlefield, they were actually still six or seven kilometers away from the center of the battle.

Therefore, Gaode was somewhat anxious.

Since we've decided to step in and help, we must do it thoroughly and completely.

If the speed were even slightly slower, resulting in the death of the Viking mage, then this favor would not be considered perfect.

"No need for that." Faced with Gao De's urging, Sunafa remained calm and composed, her tone utterly unwavering.

Before she finished speaking, she immediately took down the ice bow [Blizzard], lightly twisted it between her fingertips, and, to Gao De's astonishment, her slender fingers gripped the bowstring and pulled it back fully.

hum!

The deep, trembling bowstring rang out with a deafening thud.

The frost exploded.

The instant Sunafa released the string, dozens of slender ice crystal arrows condensed on it.

The ice crystal arrows were released at the same time, spreading out in a fan-shaped trajectory forward.

The arrows flew at extremely high speeds, drawing very thin, silvery-white trails in the sky, like dozens of contour lines radiating from the same center, precisely covering the flock of crows six or seven kilometers away.

Gao De's pupils contracted slightly, his heart filled with shock.

What's shocking is not only the number of arrows fired, but also the fact that they are now a full six or seven kilometers away from the center of the battlefield.

This distance is several times greater than the effective casting range of any conventional spell.

But how could Sunefa launch an effective attack from such a distance?!

While Gao De was still in shock, the dozens of ice crystal arrows had already streaked across the air and landed among the flock of mist-beaked crows.

Even at such a great distance, and with so many arrows fired at the same time, Sunefa's precision and accuracy remained terrifying.

Every arrow hit a single mist-billed raven with pinpoint accuracy; none missed, and none were repeated.

A series of dull, suppressed explosions rang out.

The moment the ice crystal arrow touched the body, it did not pierce and explode directly, but instead burst into fine frost crystal fragments.

The extreme cold instantly enveloped the entire ferocious bird, freezing it.

The once fiercely attacking Mist-beaked Crows were all frozen into crystal-clear ice sculptures.

They remained in a diving posture, falling straight down from low altitude and crashing onto the frozen snowfield.

In just one volley of fire, nearly twenty Mist-beaked Crows fell instantly, and the previously densely packed dive formation was suddenly torn open with a huge, fatal gap.

Before the still-shaken Viking warriors and the remaining crows could react, Sunefa continued her actions, raising her hand to draw her bow once more.

The exact same fan-shaped arrow technique, the exact same long-range sniping.

The frost shines again, and the rain of arrows returns.

Another round of dozens of ice crystal arrows shot through the air.

A dozen or so fog-billed crows were hit by arrows again, and all of them froze and fell to the ground.

After two rounds of arrow rain, nearly forty fog-billed crows were wiped out in an instant.

This rapid attrition, coupled with the terrifying arrows that seemed to come from nowhere, instilled in the remaining Mistbeaks an extreme sense of impending death.

The once fierce and violent crows instantly panicked and disregarded everything else.

They flapped their wings and turned their heads, scattering in panic and fleeing desperately into the distant sky.

The brutal battlefield fell silent in an instant.

Eighteen battered and bruised Vimakaya warriors stood on the frozen ground, leaning on their weapons, their heavy breathing rising and falling.

They were covered in blood and wounds, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Many people's wounds were tinged with a faint bluish-black poisonous aura, traces of the poisonous mist from the Mistbeak Raven, indicating that the situation had reached a very bad point.

Just a few breaths ago, they had mentally prepared themselves to die in battle, but in their desperate situation, they were rescued by two rounds of icy arrows that fell from the sky, pulling them all back from the brink of death.

Everyone looked up at the distant horizon where the rain of arrows was coming from, their hearts filled with doubt and relief.

They don't know who helped them yet, but their lives have indeed been saved.

Just as everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, two figures swept through the wind and snow.

Gao De and Sunafa landed lightly, standing steadily in front of the group of Viking mages.

The leading Viking mage was the most imposing, with a dark and striking wolf pattern on his forehead. He was the only mid-fourth-ring mage among the eighteen.

His name is Roger.

Roger raised his hand and fiercely wiped the blood and snow off his face. He dragged his wounded body forward and slammed his battle axe heavily onto the frozen ground.

A dull thud, deep and powerful.

"Was it you who saved me just now?" Rogge's gaze fell on the huge ice bow that Sunefa was carrying on her back.

Gao De, standing to the side, calmly observed the Vikings before him, secretly marveling at what they ate to grow up so robust.

Sunafa was already extremely tall; when she stood next to him, she was almost shoulder to shoulder with him.

But standing in front of Roger at this moment, she actually appeared slender and petite.

"It's me." In response to the question, Sunafa nodded slightly, her voice cool and clear.

The moment he received a definite answer, Roger's expression turned solemn, and all the remaining murderous aura around him vanished.

He suddenly clenched his right fist and pounded it heavily on his left chest, near his heart. He spoke to Sunefa in a particularly rough, hoarse, and powerful voice: "I am Roger."

"Today we were in dire straits, and you saved our lives. Vikings are not good at empty words and pleasantries, but the debt of saving our lives is heavier than the snow of the far north. I, Rogge, will remember this. No matter who you are, the Vikings will repay you!"