Earthbound Spirit, Book of Curses

Meanwhile.

The two detachments ordered to campaign abroad had already successfully wiped out ten Gray Wolf Lair locations along their route.

At this moment.

Below a small hill not far from the Gnoll Tribe.

Christian and his Wolf Hunter subordinates were stationed.

They had arrived here one step ahead of Lilith.

This was because, aside from Christian, every Wolf Hunter under his command had captured a gray wolf.

They had become Wolf Riders with mounts.

Moving through the mountain forests was extremely convenient for them.

Although Christian had arrived outside the Gnoll Tribe ahead of schedule.

He did not rashly approach for reconnaissance.

Instead, he hid beneath the hill first.

Waiting for Lilith to lead her team and rendezvous.

"Where have Lady Lilith and her group reached?"

While vigilantly observing his surroundings, Christian asked his Wolf Hunter squad leader in a low voice.

"My lord, the scouts we sent out have not yet returned."

"However, judging by the time, I fear Lady Lilith and her group are still some distance away."

Christian pondered for a moment.

He thought to himself, Lilith's strength far exceeds my own.

At the same time, her subordinates are all Flame Mage units, and their damage output is formidable.

The enemies along the way were all patrols of gray wolves and gnolls.

Their average strength is around Tier 3 White.

Sending just a few Flame Mage units would be enough to finish them off.

Even if we have mounts and are faster, there is no reason for them to be this slow!

Unless they encountered an emergency!

But what kind of thing could it be?

Just as Christian was speculating.

The Wolf Hunter squad leader responsible for perimeter security came up to report.

"Lady Lilith and her group are here."

Christian looked up.

Sure enough, he saw Lilith leading her people toward them.

As soon as she reached them, Lilith spoke up.

"On the way here, I sent a portion of my Troops ahead to set up ambushes around the perimeter of the Gnoll Tribe."

"This is to prevent the gnolls inside from escaping in all directions once we break through the front."

"That is what delayed us slightly."

Christian did not mind after hearing this.

She quickly said, "As long as Lady Lilith has made proper arrangements, that is fine."

"Next, let us plan how to attack."

"I intend to~"

Unexpectedly, Lilith cut her off.

"It is just a Level 5 tribe; there is no need for any planning."

"You are cavalry, and you lead Wolf Riders."

"Scatter most of them to coordinate with the Flame Mage units I have positioned on the perimeter to finish off any gnolls that try to flee."

"As for the main camp."

"You take five Wolf Hunters as the vanguard."

"I will take five Flame Mage units for fire support."

"We will just smash it open with spells!"

"Why would we need any plans!"

"Back during the Great Calamity, this is how we fought too!"

Christian listened to Lilith's words.

She fell silent in her heart, knowing that this woman was telling the truth.

The simplest tactics, the ultimate enjoyment.

Of course, it was always the mages who enjoyed themselves.

But on the battlefield, mages were kings.

Ultimately resigned, Christian bowed slightly in a salute.

"I shall strictly follow your orders, my lady!"

At this, Lilith nodded with a smile, quite satisfied with Christian's attitude.

She spoke quickly: "Good, I will give you three minutes to prepare. Launch the attack after three minutes."

"Remember, leave no one alive this time. The lord is taking this very seriously!"

Christian was nicknamed the Holy Light Fox, not only because her use of Holy Light Magic was unpredictable and difficult to judge.

It was also because she was very shrewd, unlike most Templar Knights who were rigid and inflexible.

Without a moment's hesitation, she said: "Yes, everything for the lord!"

Lilith nodded in satisfaction.

Very quickly.

Following Lilith's command.

The forty-five Wolf Hunters broke into smaller groups and scattered around the Gnoll Tribe.

They laid traps and, in coordination with the Flame Mages deployed by Lilith, surrounded the area completely.

When everything was ready.

At the foot of the hill.

Lilith patted her small mouth, stretched, and said.

"Ah, I'm so tired. Let's get this work done quickly."

"Come forth!"

"Wrathful Flame!"

In an instant!

As Lilith clapped her hands, ten giant Fire Elementals manifested out of thin air.

Behind her, the Flame Mages also summoned their own Fire Elementals.

As level two mages, they could summon two each, though their strength certainly couldn't compare to those summoned by Lilith.

But they were more than enough to deal with the Gnolls.

Lilith waved her hand.

The ten giant Fire Elementals, accompanied by ten smaller Fire Elementals, lunged toward the Gnoll Tribe.

The Wolf Hunters watching from the side were stunned.

They had never seen such terrifying Fire Elementals before.

Christian, however, was not shocked.

She had seen even stronger ones.

Seeing her subordinates' astonishment.

Christian let out an angry huff.

"Useless!"

"Follow me, quickly!"

The Wolf Hunters suddenly realized and scrambled to catch up with the vanguard.

The location of the Gnoll Tribe was actually quite decent.

With a cliff at its back, there was only one path leading into the tribe.

At the foot of the hill, there was also a wall piled up from earth.

Outside the wall, there was a small stream acting as a moat.

If one were to build a fortress here, it could be considered a natural stronghold.

Even with the Gnoll Tribe's defense made of piled earth.

For ordinary infantry attacking head-on.

Without several times the Troops, and without losing a significant number of soldiers, I fear they would never be able to take this place.

And clearly, the Gnolls knew their camp had excellent terrain, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.

That was why they hadn't dispatched many Gnoll soldiers to patrol outside the camp.

They were so oblivious that they didn't even notice when their patrol was wiped out and the enemy had already closed in.

By the time they realized it, it was already too late.

At this moment!

Outside the Gnoll Tribe camp.

The sudden appearance of twenty Fire Elementals stunned all the gnolls.

The arrival of the ten giant Fire Elementals, in particular.

Caused massive panic.

"Wolf God above, what is this?"

"Are the gods descending?"

"The Wolf God... has sent down divine punishment!!!"

One gnoll after another knelt to the ground.

Although these creatures had their souls extracted by the Ten Thousand Realms Battlefield and new souls molded from the War Mist infused into their bodies.

The ignorance and stupidity stemming from their instincts could not be replaced.

And this scene alerted Glimu, the commander within the Gnoll Tribe camp.

He was a high-tier BOSS unit.

Compared to the foolish common gnolls, he saw through the ruse at a glance: this was an enemy attack.

Glimu let out a howl.

The booming sound jolted the shocked gnolls back to their senses.

"Idiots!"

"These are enemies!"

"The Wolf God is above the mist and only blesses us."

"These are terrifying invaders from another world."

"For the Wolf God!"

"Kill!"

Hearing these words.

The gnolls who had just been prostrate on the ground were immediately emboldened.

Each of them bared a ferocious expression.

"For the Wolf God!"

"Kill~"

But before they could finish their cry.

A voice abruptly rang out across the battlefield, instantly drowning them out.

"Noisy!"

"Chain Fireball!"

"Fire!"

As the words fell, the entire battlefield was instantly blanketed by fireballs.

The density was comparable to a torrential downpour.

When the rain of fireballs ceased.

Not a single living soul remained in the entire Gnoll Tribe.

This highly efficient method of slaughter once again left the Wolf Hunters behind them stunned.

"Is... is this a forbidden spell of a mage?"

A Wolf Hunter squad leader asked in a murmur.

"No, this is merely a minor trick of a mage!"

"A forbidden spell?"

"That is a power that changes the heavens and the earth!"

Christian replied calmly.

And in the brief moment they were speaking.

Lilith had somehow flown into the main tent of the Gnoll Tribe.

She kicked aside the charred head of the gnoll leader.

And retrieved a book from his body.

"It seems this must be the Earthbound Spirit."

"Someone, come here!"

Hearing the shout, Christian rushed forward in a hurry.

"Lady Lilith, what are your orders?"

Lilith tossed the book over and said.

"Give this to the lord and tell him it's a great victory!"

"Yes!"

"My lady, should I go now?"

"I see the battlefield hasn't been cleared yet, and many spoils of war haven't been collected!"

Lilith cast a glance.

"None of the others are as valuable as this item."

"Return and report immediately."

"As you command!"

Meanwhile, inside the main city of the Wilderness Territory.

Fang Yuan was still brooding over the bounty placed on his head.

Suddenly, a notification sound rang in his ears.

"Ding, the Gnoll Tribe has been annihilated, the request for aid from Winter Spring Village has been completed, and rewards are being calculated."

"Ding, the Gnoll Tribe has been successfully cleared, and the spoils of war are being sorted."

"Ding, the Gnoll Tribe leader has been killed, dropping the special qualityless item: Book of Curses."

Hearing the notification, the displeasure in Fang Yuan's heart vanished instantly.

"It's a pity I don't know what the rewards are, and I'll have to wait for Lilith to return for the spoils."

"Huh, this qualityless item, the Book of Curses—what on earth is this!"

Out of curiosity, Fang Yuan clicked to view the item.

[Name]: Book of Curses

[Quality]: Qualityless

[Usage 1]: Cursed item; using it generates a random curse on the target.

[Usage 2]: An Earthbound Spirit has merged into the Book of Curses; resolving its obsession may yield unexpected gains.

"So the Earthbound Spirit in the Gnoll Tribe was actually inside the book!"

"Then this must be the item that triggers the Golden Flower Family quest."

"However, judging by the usage of this book, the second function must have formed later, while the first is the primary one."

"A curse!"

"I wonder what the effect will be!"

"Curses are usually particularly troublesome, so the effect definitely won't be bad!"

Just at that moment, a voice came from outside.

"Report, Lord."

"Christian requests an audience; she has brought back the Book of Curses!"

Almost the very instant this voice rang out.

A thought immediately rose in Fang Yuan's mind.

"A gentleman takes his revenge!"

"From morning till night!!!"

"Quick, bring it up immediately!!!"