The night was as dark as ink, and the wind in the wilderness carried the scent of blood and decay.

The moonlight was cut into mottled fragments by the dense branches and leaves, scattered across the rapidly moving forest.

Yasuo carried Gandalf on his back, his figure transforming into a blurry blue electric light between the trees.

Every one of his landings was incredibly precise, and every movement was elegant and unrestrained.

Behind them, sharp, piercing screeches pursued them relentlessly.

More than a dozen flying beasts circled like vultures, continuously spewing various energy projectiles and wind blades from the sky.

Boom! Boom!

Energy projectiles exploded behind Yasuo, kicking up large amounts of dirt and debris.

Sharp wind blades grazed past his side, severing trees as thick as a man's embrace, emitting a grating 'crack' sound.

In the forest, several agile, wolf-like beasts had abandoned their direct pursuit and were now flanking, attempting to cut off Yasuo's escape route.

"Seeking death."

Zhou Huai's intention was cold.

Yasuo's rushing figure suddenly veered, and the long sword in his hand spun out a sharp Sword Intent.

Pfft!

A pouncing wolf's head flew off in response, hot blood splattering onto the cold ground.

The sharp lightning power of the Sword Intent conducted along the blade, instantly causing the other wolves to convulse and their movements to halt.

Yasuo didn't look back, accelerating again and leaving them far behind.

The threats on the ground were not worth mentioning.

But those guys in the sky were too annoying.

Although they couldn't cause him substantial harm for now, they were like a swarm of buzzing flies, greatly affecting his movements.

"Yasuo has no long-range attack methods."

"Gandalf's Meteor Fire Rain could work, but using it to deal with these dozen small monsters would be a bit wasteful."

"Moreover, at such high-speed movement, it might not even hit accurately."

Zhou Huai's thoughts raced, considering a countermeasure.

Just then, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

"Wait!"

"Gandalf has reached level fifteen!"

"He should have comprehended a new skill!"

He had been so {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} excited about absorbing the Strange Fire that he had forgotten such an important matter.

He immediately focused part of his mind on Gandalf's attribute panel.

Sure enough, at the bottom of the skill list, a brand new skill icon was flashing with a deep, earthy yellow light.

【Forbidden Spell: Gravitational Field LV1】

【Effect: Consumes 1000 Mana points, distorts gravity in the designated area, forming a ten-times Geocentric Gravity Field within a hundred-meter radius. All targets entering this force field will have their movements greatly restricted. This effect is also valid for thrown objects and flying projectiles. Duration 10 seconds, Cooldown 120 seconds.】

Zhou Huai's eyes instantly lit up.

Another powerful and unreasonable crowd control skill!

"But using it just to deal with these dozen little birds overhead is still too extravagant."

An even bolder, and crazier plan, quickly formed in his mind.

"In that case..."

Zhou Huai's lips curved into an imperceptible arc.

"Let you all witness what a true natural disaster is!"

He immediately gave the order.

Yasuo's direction of travel sharply turned, no longer hiding in the dense forest, but instead charging at full speed directly towards the direction of the surging beast tide!

As the distance to the main force of the beast tide continuously shortened, the scattered beasts around them also became more and more numerous.

All kinds of long-range attacks poured down on the two of them like dense raindrops.

"【Lightning Rush】!"

Yasuo's figure transformed into a zigzagging electric light, narrowly moving through the gaps in the barrage.

At the same time, Gandalf, on his back, had already silently raised his staff.

Ancient incantations began to be chanted.

"【Forbidden Spell: Thousand-Mile Ice Seal】!"

An extreme chill, centered on the two of them, spread out with a roar!

Crack! Crack!

In the fan-shaped area ahead, hundreds of beasts, along with the skills they released, were instantly frozen into crystal-clear ice sculptures.

A death passage leading to the core of the beast tide was forcibly cleared.

Yasuo did not stop, continuing to rush along the frozen path.

The tremor of the earth grew more intense, and the roaring sound, like mountains collapsing and tsunamis raging, seemed to explode right beside their ears.

"The distance is about right!"

Zhou Huai judged calmly.

Any closer, and even these two Clones might get trapped.

At this moment, the flying beasts in the sky had also caught up.

Their numbers, at some point, had increased to twenty or thirty.

They circled above Yasuo and Gandalf, like dark clouds pressing down, and launched another dense diving attack.

However, what awaited them was no longer evasion.

Gandalf again raised his staff high.

A more obscure, ancient incantation than any before slowly emanated from his mouth.

A heavy and majestic mysterious power, originating from the depths of the earth, was instantly activated.

"【Forbidden Spell: Gravitational Field】!"

Buzz—!

An invisible force field suddenly descended!

Within a hundred-meter radius centered on Gandalf, the ground suddenly sank!

Those beasts that were rushing towards them were as if held down by an invisible large hand, their limbs sinking into the soft mud, unable to move.

In the sky, the twenty or thirty diving flying beasts let out terrified wails.

Their wings felt as if they were filled with lead, and their bodies uncontrollably plummeted towards the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Like dumplings falling into a pot, one after another, the flying beasts crashed awkwardly onto the ground, disoriented and battered.

This was not the end.

Gandalf's chanting did not stop for a moment.

The space above his head was torn open, and a burning, Dark green flame portal opened again!

"【Forbidden Spell - Meteor Shower】!"

Below, the beast horde, held down by the Geocentric Gravity Field, raised their heads in despair.

Their eyes reflected a doomsday-like scene.

One by one, meteors burning with Soul-Devouring Underworld Flame, trailing long green tails, whistled down.

They wanted to run, to hide.

But their bodies were like being stuck in a quagmire, making it incredibly difficult to even move a single step.

They could only watch death descend from the sky.

Boom—!

The first green meteor slammed into the densest part of the beast horde.

A world-destroying shockwave, mixed with the Soul-burning green flames, exploded with a roar!

Countless beasts were torn to shreds in an instant, and then ignited by the Nether Flame in the next second.

Piercing screams echoed through the night sky, but were quickly drowned out by the subsequent explosions.

This was a one-sided slaughter.

A merciless baptism of Hellfire upon mortal creatures.

【Killed Shadow Leopard LV17, gained 310 experience points!】

【Killed Berserk Demon Ape LV18, gained 350 experience points!】

...

A series of System prompts formed a spectacular waterfall in Zhou Huai's mind.

This wave of combo skills had killed nearly five hundred beasts!

Brilliant golden light of leveling up shone almost simultaneously from Yasuo and Gandalf.

Both of them had reached LV16!

"This leveling speed..."

Zhou Huai's heart was ablaze.

He seemed to have found a brand new, broad path to rapid power.

However, just as he was rejoicing.

An incredibly fast, huge azure wind blade, without warning, swept in from above the depths of the beast tide!

The wind blade was dozens of meters long, and wherever it passed, space seemed to be cut open with a rift!

"Not good!"

Yasuo, controlled by the Smart Core AI, detected the fatal danger immediately.

But the range covered by this wind blade was too vast, and its speed was incredibly fast, making it almost impossible to avoid!

In the nick of time!

Gandalf's figure actually leaped from Yasuo's back, actively blocking in front of him.

The light of the Arcane Barrier was instantly pushed to its maximum!

Boom!!!

The azure wind blade fiercely struck the seemingly fragile Mana shield!

-33134!

A shocking damage number exploded above Gandalf's head!

The Thunder Armor on Yasuo's body instantly shattered, and although Gandalf was blocking in front, the scattered strong wind still scraped his health bar down to a sliver.

The two of them were like being hit head-on by a high-speed train, uncontrollably flying back dozens of meters.

Large areas of trees along the way were shattered by this immense force.

Bang!

Yasuo fell heavily to the ground, struggling to stand up.

He looked up, and through his perspective, Zhou Huai finally saw the attacker.

Above the beast tide, a giant eagle with a wingspan exceeding fifty meters hovered in the air.

Its feathers presented a sharp azure-gold color, as if cast from metal.

Its eyes, like two burning suns, were cold and violent.

Even under the influence of the ten-times Geocentric Gravity Field, it could still freely hover in the air, seemingly unaffected.

"Screech—!"

It stared intently at the disheveled Yasuo and Gandalf below, letting out an angry cry that echoed through the clouds.