At this very moment, the prince's squad, the Class Hunter Society's elite monster squad, and Yu Xian's group were all inside Dali Forest. The prince's squad was in the woods on the left, while the Class Hunter Society's elite monster squad was slightly toward the left and advancing directly toward them. Further to their right, Yu Xian was also steadily pushing forward.
The members of the prince's squad proceeded with immense caution. Shewanji walked at the front, constantly using Yingji to survey the surroundings. However, the Class Hunter Society's elite monster squad was exceptionally skilled at camouflage, and with most of Shewanji's attention fixed on Yu Xian's skeletal army, he failed entirely to realize that enemies had already drawn near.
Several dozen meters away, Wufentang stood beneath a tree and signaled to the members behind him. Everyone froze in place instantly.
Wufentang was an elite member of the Class Hunter Society at Level 50, as well as a rare mechanical monster. His hands could freely transform from hands into revolvers, or merge together into a hyper-light cannon.
Upon spotting the prince's squad, he made a swift decision to wipe them out completely. Silently standing beneath the tree, he shifted his left hand into a pistol and cocked it without a sound.
Behind Wufentang, a plant-type monster also allowed the blossom atop its head to slowly unfurl.
Named Jasmine Bladeflower, it was likewise a Level 50 elite monster. The petals on its head were as sharp as razor blades; once in full bloom, they could scatter and slice through enemies under its total command.
The prince's squad moved slowly ahead. A distance of ten-odd meters vanished in the blink of an eye, bringing them straight into the ambush zone set by Wufentang's group. The moment the last member stepped inside, Wufentang raised his hand, aiming the muzzle directly at the pig-headed beastman.
This pig-headed beastman was clearly the mage of the squad. In fighting class users, targeting the mage first was common knowledge among all monsters in the Class Hunter Society.
The blond youth walked just ahead of the pig-headed beastman, frequently checking their right flank and paying particular attention to Mary's surroundings. The moment Wufentang's muzzle locked onto her, the youth's inner simp was triggered instantly.
"Mary, look out!" the blond youth roared.
Even as he shouted, he pulled a shield from his inventory and thrust it in front of the pig-headed beastman. A gunshot rang out a fraction of a second later.
*Bang!*
The bullet tore through the air and struck the shield in the blink of an eye. The terrifying kinetic force blasted the blond youth and his shield backward through the air. A sharp crack sounded from his arm, clearly indicating a broken bone.
"Prince Sixteen!" the pig-headed beastman cried out in terror at the sight.
Shewanji's face turned grim as he shouted, "Enemy attack! Defensive formation! Healer, cast healing spells!"
He had barely finished his shout when countless razor-sharp petals swept over like a storm, instantly slitting his throat. His single eye flew wide open, and in the next second, his head was sliced into pieces by the swirling petals.
"Fuck, elite monsters!" swinging a greatsword to deflect a stray petal, the kobold screamed in terror upon seeing Shewanji killed in a single strike.
Without a second thought, it wheeled around and bolted. Any monster capable of one-shotting Shewanji could just as easily one-shot him. Without a team of at least thirty members, taking on elite monsters was impossible; staying meant certain death.
Yet before it could sprint even five meters, a dark silhouette flashed past. A demonic tail thrust straight through its heart, after which a bat landed on the ground with a mocking laugh. "And where do you think you're going?"
"Mary, run! I'll hold them off!" The blond youth scrambled to his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Clutching her staff, the pig-headed beastman declared with resolute emotion, "No! I will advance and retreat alongside Prince Sixteen! Even if we must die, we die together!"
"Mary!"
"Prince Sixteen!"
In that instant, the two locked eyes, overflowing with affection, as though the very air was filled with fluttering heart-shaped bubbles.
A split second later, Wufentang's bullet shattered the romantic atmosphere. In a flash, the pig-headed beastman's arm was blown apart. The blond youth rushed forward in panic, calling out, "Mary, are you all right?!"
"It hurts so much... but as long as Prince Sixteen is by my side, I am not afraid of pain," the pig-headed beastman whimpered softly.
*Flirting on the verge of death? You have a death wish!*
Wufentang would never admit he was envious. The partner he had pursued with all his might had been snatched away by that bastard Bafentang. He was still single to this day, so by what right did these class users get to flaunt their love in front of him?
*Die!*
Wufentang raised both arms, shifting them into pistols that locked onto the blond youth's head and the pig-headed beastman's snout.
Just as his fingers were about to pull the triggers, a dual-colored missile of red and blue came streaking toward him at tremendous speed. He scrambled backward to dodge, only to see the projectile crash into the large tree to his left. In an instant, the tree became a world of ice and fire—one half completely frozen solid, while the other was engulfed in raging flames.
A moment later, an enormous skeleton army surged out of the woods. Wufentang frowned slightly and barked, "Jasmine, deal with these bothersome traitors!"
"Understood!" Jasmine Bladeflower responded.
The rest of the elite monsters sprang into action as well. Yet before they could even kill ten skeleton soldiers, one of the elite monsters suddenly felt its body go numb, unable to move a muscle.
Sensing an alien energy invading the area, Jasmine Bladeflower retreated rapidly, warning in alarm, "Not good! A domain-type enemy is approaching! Fall back!"
Her warning came far too late. A three-eyed elite monster resembling a giant spider slowly developed a splitting maw across its abdomen. In the next breath, it brandished its spear-like limbs and attacked the two teammates beside it. Taken completely off guard and crippled by paralysis and poison debuffs, the two elite monsters were severely wounded in an instant.
Following that, mouths split open on the injured monsters—one across its belly, the other lining both sides of its arms. They dragged themselves up from the ground with bizarre, grotesque expressions, their new jaws peeling back into horrific, mocking grins.
"What the hell?!" Wufentang exclaimed in utter shock.
Equally dumbfounded were the blond youth and the pig-headed beastman, both paralyzed with disbelief at this sudden, gruesome turn of events.
All around them, more and more skeleton soldiers emerged, sealing off the makeshift battlefield in layer upon layer of encirclement. Wufentang and Jasmine Bladeflower had no choice but to retreat continuously until there was nowhere left to run.
Behind them, their path was already blocked by their former comrades-in-arms.
Both Wufentang and Jasmine Bladeflower were high-tier elite monsters with exceptionally high resistance stats. Although enveloped by the Chaos Evil Beast's radiation, they remained immune to its mutating damage.
The other elite monsters, however, were only mid-tier elites; the Chaos Evil Beast's radiation was far too overwhelming for them.
In the blink of an eye, what had once been a six-on-two advantage had flipped into an inescapable dead end, besieged on all sides.
Still, Wufentang was no Hegemon-King Xiang Yu, nor was Jasmine Bladeflower his Consort Yu. They both possessed spare resurrection counts. Realizing that death was inevitable, they exchanged a glance, their resolve hardening.
If death was certain, then before dying, they had to gather as much intelligence for the Class Hunter Society as possible. These skeletons were clearly being controlled from the shadows by a class user.
Whoever was pulling the strings behind the scenes had to be investigated thoroughly.
In the days to come, that person would undoubtedly become a grave threat to the Class Hunter Society.
Chapter 474