Armor Crab Swarm

Roland had not joined the battle. On the surface, he naturally needed to coordinate the overall situation.

But before the situation became clear, how could Roland possibly risk himself in secret?

So he naturally stood at the very rear of the battlefield, quietly watching the desperate battle between humans and magical beasts.

Once the hundred-plus mercenaries of the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group joined the fight, the Armor Crab swarm immediately suffered heavy casualties.

Armor Crabs were herd-dwelling magical beasts of the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands. A swarm usually consisted of around a hundred Armor Crabs. They were quite powerful, and a Level 2 Armor Crab often possessed strength no weaker than a Level 3 Warrior. However, they had no innate spells, so they were classified as Level 2 Magical Beasts.

Their true strength lay in underwater combat rather than on land. Their two massive crab claws were tremendously powerful, but also extremely heavy, and they could not be swung for long on land.

O'Neal clearly understood this as well. Under his command, the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group simply refused to clash head-on with the Armor Crabs.

Seven or eight small squads, each centered around several professional mercenaries, moved around the Armor Crabs and continuously harassed them. Only after the Armor Crabs grew exhausted did they swarm in and kill them.

In less than a moment, half of the seventy or eighty Armor Crabs that had originally rushed ashore had been slain.

Even the remaining Armor Crabs had been forced back again and again, nearly retreating into the sea.

Under O'Neal's command, not a single member of the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group had died. Only a few overly aggressive mercenaries had suffered minor injuries.

This result was undoubtedly brilliant, and Roland nodded repeatedly as he watched.

Just as the battle was becoming increasingly clear and seemed likely to end soon—

Artur, on the other side of the battlefield, darkened when he saw this scene.

After spending so long on Rising Light Island, he could naturally sense Roland's attitude toward him growing colder and colder, while Roland's attitude toward O'Neal had become increasingly friendly.

This change naturally gave him a sense of crisis. Although he belonged to Leslie, he was only an Intermediate Warrior and was dispensable in Leslie's eyes.

If Roland became dissatisfied with him and sent him back to Leslie, he could fully imagine what would happen to him.

He had originally thought that, relying on the strength of himself and his squad members, they would certainly be able to suppress the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group on the battlefield and regain Roland's favor.

But he had not expected that under O'Neal's command, even mercenaries who had once been ordinary people could kill Armor Crabs. How was he supposed to keep his place at Roland's side now?

If an Intermediate Warrior was inferior even to ordinary mercenaries, his standing in Roland's mind would likely decline even further.

At that thought, a vicious glint flashed through Artur's eyes. Yet he did not use this chance to stab the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group in the back. Roland was watching from the edge of the battlefield, after all. Even with three times the courage, he would not dare.

The battle aura around Artur surged once more. Taking the lead, he actually charged straight into the Armor Crab swarm with his other nine team members.

Though their pressure increased sharply for a time, with Armor Crab attacks coming from every direction, they also threw the Armor Crab formation into chaos. Seizing the opportunity, O'Neal waved his hand, and over a hundred mercenaries immediately surged forward.

In an instant, more than a dozen Armor Crabs fell to the ground.

"Something's wrong. Everyone, fall back." Roland's brows tightened at the sight, and he hurriedly gave the order to Artur and O'Neal.

Although Roland was only a Level 5 Mage at present, his Mental Power far surpassed everyone else present. Thus, he was the first to sense danger coming from the sea.

But his command had clearly come a little too late.

Another twenty or thirty Armor Crabs suddenly emerged from the seawater. Not only were these Armor Crabs a full size larger, but their shells were also much darker.

Led by a gigantic Armor Crab the size of a calf, they charged through the seawater and fiercely attacked Artur's group of ten.

"The Armor Crab King! Retreat, quickly!" Artur was immediately alarmed.

Armor Crabs were herd-dwelling magical beasts, so naturally they had a swarm leader. A leader capable of commanding more than a hundred Armor Crabs generally possessed the strength of a Level 5 Magical Beast.

Moreover, the Armor Crab Leader was accompanied by over twenty Armor Crabs that had clearly reached Level 3 or Level 4 Magical Beast strength.

Even at their peak, Artur's squad could not contend with such strength, much less now, when more than half their battle aura had been consumed.

More importantly, they were currently trapped within the Armor Crabs' encirclement. How could Artur not be horrified?

But it was clearly already too late for him to retreat. Sensing the appearance of the Armor Crab Leader, the Armor Crabs around Artur desperately attacked his squad, preventing them from breaking free from the battle.

Pfft.

Finally, under the Armor Crabs' pincer attack from front and rear, one Intermediate Warrior on the outermost edge of Artur's squad could no longer hold on. With one careless move, he was smashed directly into the sea by an Armor Crab.

As he fell into the sea, he immediately drew several Armor Crabs toward him. Already severely injured, the Intermediate Warrior had no power to resist and was reduced to a pool of blood in an instant.

Seeing a member of his squad suffer casualties, Artur was overcome with grief and rage. His two-handed sword forced back several Armor Crabs as he swung it, and he was just about to open a gap.

But at that moment, the Armor Crab Leader suddenly leaped up, flying directly over Artur's squad before landing heavily in front of them and tightly surrounding them once more.

At this sight, despair appeared on Artur's face. Against a magical beast of the same level—and the leader of a swarm at that—he was no match at all, to say nothing of the dozens of Level 2 and Level 3 Armor Crabs around them.

However, Roland obviously could not sit by and watch Artur's entire squad be wiped out. Although Artur's choice when facing Scarface Henry had left Roland somewhat dissatisfied, Artur was still Leslie's man. Moreover, Roland currently had nothing, and ten Intermediate Warriors were an important foundation for him.

"O'Neal, take your men and support Artur's squad." Having said that, Roland finally stepped forward into the battlefield.

"As you command, Apothecary Roland." Under Roland's order, O'Neal did not dare disobey. He immediately led his mercenaries in a fierce attack from one side of the Armor Crab Leader.

Sensing the threat behind it, the Armor Crab Leader let out a long screech. The twenty-odd larger Armor Crabs at its side immediately blocked the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group's path.

Roland's eyes lit up at the sight. He quickly ordered Artur, "Artur, hold your ground and keep that Armor Crab Leader on the beach for me."

Artur was stunned for a moment upon hearing Roland's order, but then he understood. Roland intended to wipe out this entire Armor Crab swarm.

However, with O'Neal's support, Artur's squad was in a much better situation now. He immediately formed a defensive formation, preparing to fight the Armor Crab Leader to the death.

But Artur's squad had already fought bitterly for a long time and was clearly no match for the Armor Crab Leader.

Relying on its hard shell, the Armor Crab Leader rampaged about. Artur's greatsword could only leave shallow dents when it struck the Armor Crab Leader's body, unable to affect it in the slightest.

The Armor Crab Leader seemed to sense the weakness in Artur's attacks. Its two giant claws, like enormous hammers, smashed viciously toward him.

Facing such a powerful blow, Artur did not dare block it and hurriedly rolled to the side to evade.

But this single evasion instantly created a gap in their previously tight defensive formation.

In the blink of an eye, the Armor Crab Leader scattered it completely.

Artur's scattered squad fell into danger once more. Under the Armor Crab Leader's two massive claws, two Level 4 Warriors were sent flying in an instant. They fell into the encirclement of the other Armor Crabs and were swiftly devoured clean by several of them.

At the same time, after seeing that every Armor Crab had been drawn toward the Loyal Lion Mercenary Group and Artur's squad, Roland finally made his next move.

From beneath his loose Mage Robe, he casually drew a black-and-red magic staff and began chanting softly.

In an instant, powerful Mana spread from Roland's body like a tide, making the surrounding air increasingly scorching. Dense fire elements gathered from all around, forming a red tide of magical power that flowed toward the magic staff in Roland's hand.

As Roland continued chanting, the fire elements gathered atop his magic staff grew increasingly powerful until they formed five dark-red fireballs the size of watermelons, radiating a heart-palpitating heat.

Suddenly, a gleam flashed in Roland's eyes. He swung his magic staff heavily forward, and the five dark-red fireballs traced brilliant arcs through the air, dragging long tails of flame as they shot straight at the Armor Crab Leader.

Intermediate Fire Magic: Chain Fireball Technique.

It was the most powerful spell Roland currently possessed.

The five scorching fireballs in the sky immediately stirred the Armor Crab swarm into unrest. As Water-element Magical Beasts, they instinctively loathed all fire elements, let alone these five fiercely burning fireballs.

But after sensing the terrifying threat brought by the five fireballs, the Armor Crabs no longer had any thought for their enemies and fled into the sea.

The Armor Crab Leader in particular, after sensing the threat from above, directly abandoned Artur's squad. It leaped again and rapidly rushed back toward the sea.

But at that moment, Artur suddenly charged out from nowhere. The last of his battle aura erupted from his body as he viciously slashed one of the Armor Crab Leader's thick legs with his sword.

Compared to its hard shell, the crab leg's defense was undoubtedly much weaker. Artur's sword severed it directly, causing the Armor Crab Leader to instantly lose its balance and stumble onto the beach. But the loss of one leg did not affect its ability to move. Just as it angrily rose—

The five fireballs carrying a violent aura arrived from the sky, ruthlessly slamming into the Armor Crab Leader one after another.

Boom... boom.

After several loud explosions, the thick smoke produced by the fireballs' detonation completely engulfed the Armor Crab Leader's body.

As the smoke dispersed, the Armor Crab Leader's appearance filled the surrounding people with shock and fear.

The previously majestic Armor Crab Leader had been blasted into a miserable state by the successive bombardment of five fireballs. Its once-hard shell was now completely blackened and shattered, while the tender flesh beneath was covered in large burn wounds, giving off a pungent scorched smell.