Mission Accomplished, Scorpion Lion Chieftain

The crystals covering the three Scorpion Lions were rather dull in color, and they were relatively small. They were probably ordinary adult specimens.

Luo Lin held his breath, his mind racing.

One against three. A direct confrontation was too risky.

Crystallized Scorpion Lions had formidable defenses. His [Acid Spray] would need to hit the same spot several times before it could effectively break through.

And they were not slow, especially when lunging over short distances.

He studied the terrain.

The pass was narrow, making it difficult for the Scorpion Lions to spread out at once.

A preliminary plan formed in his mind.

Luo Lin slowly backed away, took a small detour, and moved behind a huge boulder above the pass.

He took a small glass bottle from his storage pouch. It contained a potion he had concocted himself, one with an intensely pungent smell.

Pulling out the stopper, he calculated the angle and force, then used [Mage Hand] to accurately throw it into the midst of the three feeding Scorpion Lions.

The glass bottle shattered, and the acrid stench instantly spread through the air.

The three Scorpion Lions immediately stopped feeding, letting out furious hisses as they warily looked around.

Two of them anxiously paced in circles, while the other charged toward the source of the smell—the pass.

Now!

Luo Lin's gaze sharpened, and the [Acid Spray] he had prepared was unleashed in an instant.

Pfft!

Dark green acid cut through the air in an arc. Rather than targeting the Scorpion Lion's hard back, it anticipated its charging path and struck the relatively vulnerable joint of its front leg with precision.

Sizzle—

The acid met the crystalline shell with a violent corrosive hiss, accompanied by the Scorpion Lion's agonized roar.

Its charge abruptly stalled. Its injured front leg had clearly affected its movement.

Without pausing, Luo Lin fired a second and third [Acid Spray] in succession, all aimed at the same wounded joint.

Crack!!!

With a crisp snap, the crystal around that Scorpion Lion's front-leg joint was finally corroded through. Acid seeped inside, and it wailed as it collapsed to the ground, struggling to rise.

Hearing their companion's miserable cries, the other two Scorpion Lions grew even more frenzied and charged toward the pass together.

Luo Lin took a deep breath, knowing the crucial moment had arrived.

He had to use the terrain of the pass to finish off the first one quickly before facing the charge of the other two.

He stepped out from behind the boulder and stood above the pass.

From his elevated position, he fired several consecutive [Acid Spray] shots at the Scorpion Lion struggling on the ground, precisely targeting the relatively weak areas where its head and neck connected.

The Scorpion Lion's roars quickly weakened, the glow of the crystals on its body dimmed, and at last, it stopped moving.

By then, the other two Scorpion Lions had reached the bottom of the pass and were angrily climbing upward.

The pass was narrow. They could not spread out side by side and could only advance one behind the other.

Luo Lin calmly watched the one in front without rushing to attack.

He silently calculated the distance and his mana consumption.

Just as the first Scorpion Lion's front claw was about to step onto the edge of the pass, Luo Lin cast [Mage Hand].

This time, instead of pushing, he gathered force and slammed it down hard at the Scorpion Lion's raised body, where a small part of its abdomen was exposed.

Bang!

The invisible force struck the Scorpion Lion's relatively soft abdomen. Though it did not deal much damage, it successfully interrupted its climbing momentum.

This directly caused the Scorpion Lion to slide down a short distance, crashing into the companion behind it and throwing them into confusion.

Seizing the opportunity, Luo Lin hurled down another specially prepared bottle of potent paralysis potion without hesitation.

The potion burst between the two Scorpion Lions, and pale purple mist rapidly spread.

The paralysis potion did not last long. Against magical creatures like Crystallized Scorpion Lions, it might only cause a few seconds of stiffness, but that was enough.

Luo Lin poured out his mana at full force. [Acid Spray] fired like a rapid barrage at the two Scorpion Lions, whose movements had slowed due to the confusion and paralysis, focusing on their eyes, mouths, noses, and joints.

For a time, the sizzling of corrosion and the pained hisses of Scorpion Lions echoed through the valley.

When the paralysis wore off and the two Scorpion Lions struggled to continue attacking, their bodies were already covered in traces of acid corrosion. Their movements had visibly slowed, and one of them had even been blinded in one eye.

The battle that followed became a war of attrition.

Making use of the terrain, Luo Lin constantly shifted position, dodging the scattered energy rays fired from the Scorpion Lions' Tail-Stinger Cores.

At the same time, he continued weakening them with [Acid Spray] and [Mage Hand].

Finally, after more than half his mana had been depleted and his [Weak Force-Field Armor] had become unstable after enduring several claw strikes, the remaining two Crystallized Scorpion Lions also fell dead one after the other.

With the battle over, Luo Lin leaned against a rock and panted lightly.

Sweat had soaked his hair. His mana was heavily depleted, and his mind was somewhat exhausted as well.

But he did not dare let down his guard. He quickly checked the surroundings, and only after confirming there were no other dangers did he begin handling the spoils.

Using a bone dagger, he carefully cut off the crystal cores at the tips of the three Crystallized Scorpion Lions' tails.

The cores felt slightly heavy in his hand and contained unstable yet rather pure energy.

These were the Tail-Stinger Cores required for the mission.

He carefully stored all three cores away.

The mission required ten cores. He had completed less than a third of it so far.

Moreover, these three had only been ordinary Scorpion Lions. He had yet to encounter the Scorpion Lion Chieftain mentioned in the materials, the one whose strength was close to that of a formal wizard.

Luo Lin did not hurry deeper into the mountains.

He found a relatively concealed corner, drank a [Stamina Recovery Potion], then began meditating to restore his depleted mana and mental strength.

In the wilderness, maintaining one's condition was crucial.

This battle had given him a certain understanding of the Crystallized Scorpion Lions' combat capabilities and tested the effectiveness of his spell combinations and tactical application.

[Acid Spray] was clearly effective against targets with high defenses, but its consumption was not insignificant.

The flexible use of [Mage Hand] had produced unexpected results in battle.

[Weak Force-Field Armor] had successfully blocked several potentially fatal claw strikes, proving its value.

After recovering most of his strength, Luo Lin stood and looked deeper into the mountain range.

He knew that more dangerous challenges awaited him ahead.

Collecting ten crystal cores meant he still needed to deal with at least two or three similar Scorpion Lion packs—or perhaps encounter that powerful Scorpion Lion Chieftain.

He adjusted his breathing, his gaze becoming resolute and calm once more, then stepped forward again and headed into the perilous depths of the mountain range.

Before leaving, Luo Lin cleaned up the traces of battle and collected some valuable claws from the Crystallized Scorpion Lions, along with several crystals of relatively high purity.

They could be sold as materials or used himself.

Over the next two days, Luo Lin encountered two more small packs of Crystallized Scorpion Lions.

One pack had four members, while the other had five.

With the experience from his first battle, he dealt with them far more calmly.

He made full use of the terrain, either luring them apart or setting simple traps. Combined with the precise strikes of [Acid Spray] and the support of potions, he successfully eliminated them all at relatively little cost.

By this point, the number of Tail-Stinger Cores he had collected had reached twelve, exceeding the mission's basic requirement.

Yet he had no intention of returning immediately.

On one hand, he wanted to take this opportunity to further hone his practical combat ability.

On the other hand, the Scorpion Lion Chieftain mentioned in the materials kept him wary, while also stirring a faint desire for a challenge.

If he could defeat that magical creature close to a formal wizard on his own, it would undoubtedly be the best proof of his strength, and perhaps he could gain additional rewards as well.

He became even more cautious, moving with increasing silence.

He kept his mental perception extended across a certain range at all times, watching for any unusual energy fluctuations or traces.

On the fifth day after entering the mountains, Luo Lin stopped outside a broad canyon filled with a strong sulfurous odor.

Countless bones of various creatures were scattered around the canyon entrance. Among them were the remains of many huge magical creatures with hard bones.

The rock walls were covered in deep claw marks, and the lingering energy fluctuations in the air were far stronger and more chaotic than those of the Scorpion Lion territories he had encountered before.

This... is very likely the lair of a Scorpion Lion Chieftain!

Luo Lin made his judgment inwardly.

He did not rashly enter. Instead, he circled the outer edge of the canyon, searching for high ground from which to observe.