Startled awake by birdsong, Xu Kun instantly assumed a defensive stance!
Following the source of the sound and looking up, he saw one fiery-red bird after another spreading its wings and flying out from the towering tree trunks!
Circling above his head, these fiery-red birds kept letting out sharp cries at Xu Kun, seemingly trying to drive him away!
The Myriad Races Bestiary appeared in Xu Kun's palm, and he aimed it at the sky.
That single action seemed to enrage the flock of fiery-red birds circling overhead!
More than a dozen birds lowered their bodies and swooped toward Xu Kun!
Then, long streams of flame shot out from their sharp beaks!
Xu Kun was startled and hurriedly dodged the flames raining down from above. The next moment, he activated Shadow Dash!
His figure gradually faded away. Having lost their target, the dozen or so birds circled about in confusion before flying back toward their flock.
After three seconds of invisibility, Xu Kun had hidden himself atop a towering tree trunk. The flock circling in the sky seemed unwilling to give up on finding him and split up to search for the Xu Kun who had suddenly vanished.
Xu Kun looked at the Myriad Races Bestiary. A brand-new page had already been completed.
Flamingo Bird
Talent: F-rank Fire Spirit (+5% Fire Attribute Attack)
Level: 9
Health: 300-330
Physical Defense: 22-25
Magic Defense: 22-25
Fire Attribute Attack: 100
Fire Attribute Resistance: 20
Dodge: Unable to dodge Kun's attacks
Movement Speed: 10 m/s
Skill: Fire Line: Spits flames from its beak, with an attack range of 3 m, dealing area damage in a 1×1 m area at the endpoint of the attack. Normal attacks carry 100% Fire Attribute damage!
Description: A low-level spirit bird born from flames. It is frail itself, but its mastery over fire, combined with the advantages of a flying race, means that few beings of the same rank can deal with this kind of bird!
As a flocking bird species, they hate all enemies that invade their territory or kill their kind. Once encountered, they will fight to the death!
A flying race! A Fire Attribute race!
Judging purely by its stats, the level 9 Flamingo Bird was even weaker than the level 5 Savage Bull!
But that did not mean this race could be underestimated!
Attribute monsters were special existences. No matter which level of the talent tower they appeared on, this kind of race was absolutely the sort no one wanted to encounter!
With 100 Fire Attribute Attack, 99% of newcomers who had yet to change classes would take true damage!
The Flamingo Bird's skill was more like a passive skill, but what made it terrifying was how it combined with their natural ability to fly. They could attack from above and deal small-scale area damage!
Imagine two hundred Flamingo Birds launching Fire Line at the same time. Even with overlap, they could cover at least half the area. That was a hundred square meters!
Enough to leave enemies nowhere to hide!
As for running... one major trait of flying races was that, unlike huge land beasts that moved slowly due to their bulk, they had a movement speed of 10 m/s. Even Xu Kun's movement speed was only half of theirs!
Under normal circumstances, even SSS-tier Talented Individuals facing this race could only adopt guerrilla tactics—retreat when the enemy advanced, advance when the enemy retreated. They would use their limited means to kill one or two birds, then retreat into the lower-level monster area before the flock's group attacks arrived to protect themselves!
They would have to slowly wear down the Flamingo Bird race bit by bit!
But Xu Kun laughed, baring all his teeth in a wide grin!
Even when several Flamingo Birds above his head spotted him, he was still laughing smugly and wildly.
This was simply heaven helping him!
The Flamingo Birds overhead did not attack immediately. Seeing Xu Kun below acting like a lunatic, they let out a series of bird cries and began calling their companions over!
"So noisy!"
Xu Kun showed them no courtesy. One Explosive Fireball instantly blasted it out of the sky!
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
The flock of Flamingo Birds rushing over let out furious cries one after another at the sight!
Before long, a dark mass was circling above Xu Kun's head. A flock of more than a hundred Flamingo Birds looked from afar like a blazing cloud!
"Come on, attack me!" Xu Kun said, curling a finger at them.
The enraged Flamingo Birds had no intention of being polite. They swooped down in groups, and once they drew close, streams of Fire Line shot toward where Xu Kun stood!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Xu Kun spread his arms wide and accepted the baptism of flames. Scorching fire poured down over his head, yet he felt no discomfort at all. Instead, it felt warm and pleasant, making him let out a satisfied murmur!
The Flamingo Birds' relentless attacks could not even inflict forced -1 damage on Xu Kun!
Even under their full-force assault, it was as if they were striking empty air!
Xu Kun could not even be bothered to activate Fire Dragon Barrier!
Xu Kun was not being reckless. He simply had absolute confidence!
Zenith Blazing Spirit Armor
Fire Attribute Resistance: +30
Trait: Dragon Body—Negates 20% of physical/magic/fire-element attacks
Two-piece set effect: 50% immunity to Fire Attribute attacks; Health +20%
Dragon Body and the set effect's 50% Fire Attribute immunity stacked, causing the Flamingo Birds' attacks to be reduced by 70%!
Of the remaining 30%, based on the Flamingo Birds' 100 points of Fire Attribute Attack, the result was exactly 30. Not one point more, not one point less!
Thirty points of Fire Attribute Resistance against thirty points of Fire Attribute Attack meant there was no issue of spear versus shield. They simply canceled each other out. Your attack was ineffective, and my defense was irrelevant!
Attribute attacks were unlike physical or magic attacks. Even when they failed to break defense, physical and magic attacks could still deal forced -1 damage or result in a Miss. Attribute attack calculations were more straightforward: attack minus resistance equaled damage!
30 - 30 = 0!
Not to mention the 100% Fire Resistance bonus after using the Blazing God's Heart item!
Xu Kun's displayed Fire Resistance had reached 60, enough to block all of the Flamingo Birds' Fire Attribute attacks!
The Flamingo Birds could not understand it. Ever since their flock had been forcibly absorbed by the Haotian Pagoda, they had occupied Mist Island for hundreds of years and encountered many races. Yet someone like the one below, who could ignore the damage of their entire flock, had never existed...
With their underdeveloped brains, they could not calculate the conversion between attack and defense like humans could!
They only knew to follow the rules branded into them by the Haotian Pagoda: kill, kill, kill!
Exterminate every invading enemy!
If one batch was not enough, send another. Seeing that Xu Kun was not fighting back, the Flamingo Birds grew bolder. One after another, they descended, spewing Fire Line without breath, until even the vegetation around Xu Kun had been burned clean!
Even the ground beneath his feet showed signs of cracking!
"Feel good after all that spitting? Then it's my turn!"
With attributes completely countering them, these Flamingo Birds that made others flee at the mere sight of them were no different from a flock of chirping sparrows in Xu Kun's eyes!
To maintain their attack range, these Flamingo Birds had to descend to within three meters above Xu Kun's head, which greatly facilitated Xu Kun's actions!
He tossed out a handful of seeds with his left hand, scattering them everywhere without caring how many birds they reached!
Empowered by the energy of Fire Line, the Blue Silver Grass quickly grew!
How could the frail Flamingo Birds have expected grass to grow above their heads? In a short time, their bodies were pressed down by Blue Silver Grass larger than themselves!
Seeing this, Xu Kun swung his sword and slashed!
As the sword tip swept past, these thin-skinned Flamingo Birds were utterly unable to withstand a single blow. While they were still dealing with the Blue Silver Grass crushing their bodies, their kin were cut down one sword strike after another!
"You can breathe fire, and so can I!"
Seeing the birds preparing to fly higher and avoid his blade, Xu Kun immediately raised a hand. A rain of fire fell from the sky!
The Flamingo Birds were the only race Xu Kun had encountered so far that could withstand part of Wildfire Scorches the Plains' damage, but unfortunately, their 20 points of Fire Attribute Resistance could not even support them for a second amid the flames!
They had clustered together to launch group attacks, but now that only made things easier for Xu Kun!
After one Wildfire Scorches the Plains, densely packed bird corpses rained down. The rapid notification sounds in his ears seemed to be taking credit for the skill!
The hot-tempered Flamingo Birds were shocked by the sight. Having just finished dealing with the grass on their backs, they did not dare hesitate and hurriedly flew upward!
But how could Xu Kun let them have their way? Locking his gaze onto one of them, he used Charge!
Using a scorched tree trunk nearby, Xu Kun burst forth at a speed beyond the Flamingo Birds' flight, leaped into the air, stunned the bird he had targeted, and pulled off a move like an immortal descending from the heavens, sending feathers flying as he slashed in midair!
Bang!
Xu Kun fell from more than ten meters in the air, losing half his health from the impact!
"Heh, only I can kill myself. You can't!"
Xu Kun climbed up from the ground and did not dare hesitate. He hurriedly ran a short distance before turning back to look!
He saw black mist gradually enveloping the flames that had filled the sky, while the Flamingo Birds let out wave after wave of mournful cries!
Xu Kun had not spent half his health to charge into the air just to kill a few birds. He had delivered ten Viper Snake Glands to them!
By the time he landed, the snake glands had already ruptured. During the time he spent running away, the poisonous mist had spread!
Amid the Fire Lines constantly sprayed by the Flamingo Birds, the poisonous mist evaporated rapidly. Before long, the blazing cloud had turned into a dark cloud!
Ding, you killed 171 Flamingo Birds and gained 68.5% experience. Congratulations, you have reached level 8. Current experience: Level 8, 0%! Ding, the God of Strength's pity... ... Ding, you killed 29 Flamingo Birds and gained 5.8% experience. Current experience: Level 8, 5.8%! Ding, your newcomer trial completion increased by 6%. Current: 54%! Ding, congratulations on killing 100 F-rank Flamingo Birds. The Myriad Races Bestiary has taken effect. Congratulations, you have obtained the F-rank skill Fire Line!
Fire Line
Rank: F-rank Passive
Effect: Normal attacks carry 5% of your Fire Attribute Attack, forming a 3 m Fire Line!
Skill Requirement: Must possess Fire Attribute Attack!
Note: Passive can be turned off!
Whoosh!
Just as he obtained the Fire Line skill, Xu Kun felt heat in his palm. Flames rose from the Flame Spirit Sword and extended into a three-meter-long blaze!
"Gulp!"
Xu Kun swallowed, staring at the Flame Spirit Sword's new appearance with shining eyes!
The Flame Spirit Sword resembled the style of an ancient sword known as a "Han sword," measuring roughly 1.2 meters long. That meant Xu Kun's attack range had been limited to within 1.2 meters around his body!
But now, empowered by the Fire Line passive skill, his attack range had nearly tripled, reaching the terrifying length of 4.2 meters!
Just tell me—if I'm holding a 4.2-meter fire sword, are you scared or not?
This kind of improvement was enormous. Suppose a target had an attack range of three meters. Xu Kun could stand four meters away, where the other party could not touch him, while he could easily deal with them and cut them down from afar!
Even after changing into a melee class later, Xu Kun's attacks would still take a semi-ranged form!
That was only the obvious benefit. There was another advantage especially friendly to Xu Kun at the moment: normal attacks now carried Fire Attribute damage!
Ah, this...
With the Blazing Spirit Set's boost, his Fire Attribute Attack had reached 80, which became 160 after the multiplier!
Five percent of that was nine points!
Though the increase was not much, he had to remember that this was only Xu Kun's current Fire Attribute Attack, and Fire Line was merely an F-rank skill!
Before this, Fire Attribute Attack could only be applied through the three Fire Attribute skills granted by the Blazing God's Heart Shard!
Unlike the previous Wind Wolves and the current Flamingo Birds, whose normal attacks carried attribute bonuses!
If the Myriad Races Bestiary's level rose later on...
Since he was a sword-wielding melee class, his normal attacks calculated physical attack. But with Fire Line, his normal attacks became physical attack plus Fire Attribute Attack!
At the thought of this, Xu Kun trembled with excitement from head to toe.
"Wait, with my maximum Luck bonus, every one of my normal attacks is a critical hit!"
"Then the damage added by Fire Line should count as a critical hit too!"
"If that's the case, then the Blazing God's Heart's 2.5-times critical hit..."
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. This Fire Line passive skill was too suitable for him!
Xu Kun was eager to find a monster to test it on, but unfortunately, all two hundred Flamingo Birds were dead. Bird corpses were scattered everywhere across the ground!
"Forget it, looting the corpses comes first. I'll test it later!"
Turning off the exaggerated passive effect, Xu Kun happily went into the grass to search the corpses.
"A level 10 monster... it should be that one..."
As he looted corpses, Xu Kun thought about the information regarding level 10 monsters in the metal bracelet.
Before you continue