Humanoid Bombardment

Luo Qing and the others decided to head east, forming a hunting party as they slowly advanced in that direction.

Gu Yue stayed in the center, while Luo Qing took the lead, occasionally flying into the sky to survey the surroundings.

Xie Xie guarded the side of the group, staying alert for soul beasts that might attack at any moment.

Tang Wulin held the rear while using Breath of Nature to synchronize with the surrounding plants, gathering information and providing her companions with a general sense of the nearby soul beasts' movements.

This unusual party quickly encountered a new opponent, and Luo Qing was the first to react.

"Up ahead by the river, there's a group of Swamp Crocodiles!"

Everyone immediately turned to look. By the river lay a group of crocodiles, lazily basking in the sun.

Perhaps because they were ambush predators, they retained a relatively peaceful nature even during the Ascension Platform's unrest.

They did not seem hungry at the moment and were merely lounging by the river in the sunlight.

Their bodies were covered in thick mud, a trait specifically noted in the soul beast guide.

They ambushed passing soul beasts and soul masters in waterways and swampy terrain.

Their specialty was using soul power to affect the surrounding terrain, restricting the movements of soul masters and soul beasts before ending the battle with a death roll in the mud.

They did not rank particularly high among soul beasts, but a pack of crocodiles was still a troublesome opponent for low-level soul masters.

"Should we go for it?"

Xie Xie was visibly excited. Even the hands clutching his daggers trembled slightly as he stared fixedly at those mud-covered hulks.

"I took a look just now. Even the biggest crocodile among them is only around eight meters long."

"The highest cultivation is a hundred years. They're worth a try."

Luo Qing had seen everything clearly from the sky. This group of enemies was not particularly troublesome for them.

"Then let's do it!"

Two hammers appeared in Tang Wulin's hands again, her eyes brimming with fighting spirit.

Gu Yue said nothing, merely gathering elemental energy in her hands once more.

"Wait a second, I think I have an idea!"

Having just descended from the sky, Luo Qing suddenly seemed to remember something and raised a finger.

"Xie Xie, don't you have a skill that lets you teleport a short distance through the Shadow Dragon Dagger?"

Xie Xie nodded. "Yes, but the farther I go, the more soul power it consumes."

"What's your limit right now?"

"About forty meters. Why?"

Luo Qing smiled.

"Forty meters is perfect. Go provoke that biggest crocodile. It'd be best if you could make all of them charge at you together."

Xie Xie's eyes widened at once.

"That one? I can do it, but can we really deal with that many crocodiles at once?"

"Won't we get overwhelmed?"

"Just do it. Watch what I do in a moment."

He then turned to Tang Wulin.

"When Xie Xie teleports back with the Shadow Dragon Dagger, work with him and use vines to pull him farther back."

"And try to lure them into open ground. Leave the harvesting to Gu Yue and me."

Tang Wulin nodded, but Gu Yue looked utterly confused.

"You and me? How are we supposed to do that?"

Luo Qing spread his enormous wings and held out a hand to her.

"Do you remember when I took you flying?"

Gu Yue's face reddened slightly. Flying in the sky with him had indeed felt warm, and she remembered it clearly.

"I'll use flight to keep you a certain distance from the crocodiles, while you continuously unleash elemental attacks downward with your soul skills."

"I call it Precision Bombardment!"

Gu Yue froze. This tactic might not work well against ordinary soul masters.

But against massive crocodiles lured away from the water, it would be incredibly effective.

Crocodiles were not particularly fast on land. After all, their bodies had evolved around ambush hunting.

On land, especially in open terrain, facing the kind of bombardment he had just described would likely mean certain death.

And this kind of attack seemed as though it could work differently against other soul beasts as well.

"Luo Qing, you're a genius!"

Gu Yue's eyes shone with admiration as she placed her hand in his.

Luo Qing took Gu Yue's hand, supported her by the waist, and carried her into the air.

Tang Wulin clearly grew anxious when she saw this.

"Isn't this wrong? Shouldn't Big Brother have taken me flying first?"

"I was clearly here first..."

Tang Wulin carried out her task with a miserable expression.

Naturally, Xie Xie could not interfere in their situation. He could only plant his daggers in the ground with a grim expression before swaggering into the crocodile pack.

Though he appeared to be swaggering, Xie Xie's heart had risen to his throat. He was terrified that one of the crocodiles might suddenly open its jaws and take a huge bite out of him.

But strangely enough, the crocodiles did not seem interested in him at all.

In their eyes, this little skinny monkey had obviously lost his mind. There was barely any meat on him, not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.

Rather than waste the effort fighting their crocodile brothers over him, they might as well stay where they were and bask in the sun.

And so, after all the other crocodiles chose to ignore this foolish little skinny monkey, Xie Xie actually made it all the way to the crocodile leader without obstruction.

As the leader of the Swamp Crocodiles, it was the largest among them all, whether in terms of its powerful tail or its eyes, which were clearly far sharper than those of the other crocodiles.

But its attitude toward Xie Xie was the same—indifference.

It had just eaten a Triangular Horse and was currently digesting it. It did not even want to move, much less waste the effort catching the skinny little monkey in front of it.

He'll leave on his own... the crocodile leader thought.

But Xie Xie clearly did not think so.

The Light Dragon Dagger in his hand suddenly stabbed toward the crocodile leader's backside.

The crocodile leader had never expected this hateful little monkey to dare poke it with such a sharp dagger.

It immediately opened its jaws and let out an angry roar. The surrounding crocodiles erupted into motion, pouncing toward Xie Xie one after another.

The instant they lunged at him, Xie Xie activated his soul skill, his figure abruptly appearing forty meters away.

Seeing the little monkey suddenly vanish, the crocodile leader searched around. It seemed to spot him, then roared and charged in Xie Xie's direction.

The other crocodiles followed closely behind their leader. The sight of the entire crocodile pack charging forward was quite spectacular, but Xie Xie, their target, certainly did not think so.

"Tang Wulin, pull me back!"

"Got it!"

Tang Wulin abruptly exerted force with both hands. The vines that had been tied in advance transmitted a tremendous pull, yanking Xie Xie back as the crocodiles chased after him.

They moved farther and farther away from the water, yet they could not catch the two people fleeing ahead. Then, at that very moment, the two stopped.

Just as the crocodile leader was baffled but still prepared to rush forward and tear the two apart, a massive shadow suddenly spread across the sky.

The crocodiles looked up in disbelief. It was Luo Qing and Gu Yue!

Gu Yue wielded the elements, throwing compressed fireballs down one after another like bombs.

Feeling Luo Qing's arm around her waist, she endured the embarrassment and turmoil in her heart, but her hands never stopped moving as fireballs flew out one after another.

The crocodile pack looked desperately toward the sky as the fireballs grew larger and larger in their eyes.

Boom—

A string of explosions rang out, heralding the beginning of the bombardment!