He peered forward from behind his shield.

The sound of beating wings rushed past his ears, and he could clearly tell the creatures were massing in front of the shield wall.

Colin undid the strap on his Shield, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a sweetcake and a feather.

He braced himself against his Shield and took a deep breath.

Three shadows dove from the sky, their bodies twisting and contorting in midair as three explosions rang out simultaneously.

Their Speed undiminished, the shadows were clearly about to launch a diving attack!

Several Bone Spikes flew at him. The immense force sent Colin’s Shield flying, and he was only saved by Kase, who quickly tilted his Insect Shell Shield to cover him.

Just then.

A feather danced lightly before Colin as he recited the harsh words of a Spell.

He could clearly feel his own mind enveloping his opponent’s will, binding it tight.

"Hahahahaha..."

The lead Scorpion-tailed Lion let out an exaggerated laugh. The creature’s four claws and the pair of wings on its back trembled with mirth as its four-hundred-kilogram body carved an arc through the sky, crashing heavily onto a nearby gentle slope.

The other two Scorpion-tailed Lions continued their original attack, charging the flanks of the shield wall.

Battle cries and screams suddenly erupted from all sides.

It seemed that when the other two monsters saw their companion get knocked out of the sky, they landed as well, intending to cover for it.

Bait them into an opening, then counter with Control Magic. That was Colin’s plan.

He’d had the plan from the start, but there was no way he could have told the others beforehand. ’They would have almost certainly been against it.’

But without a risky move like that, any halfway intelligent Scorpion-tailed Lion would have just kept them pinned down with Bone Spikes, creating the exact stalemate they had just been stuck in.

"I can’t hold it for long!" he yelled, drawing his sword and charging the Scorpion-tailed Lion on the slope. Kase, shield raised, followed right behind him.

He could clearly feel a tenuous connection between himself and the monster, a link as fragile as a spider’s thread.

As he charged forward, a Light Ball streaked past him.

It was Orelia’s Guiding Bolt. It pierced through the kicked-up dust and struck the Scorpion-tailed Lion squarely in the chest. The scattered motes of light quickly coalesced into a cluster, converging just in front of the monster’s wound.

The moment the Divine Art struck the Scorpion-tailed Lion, Colin felt the connection between them shudder violently before snapping completely.

The Scorpion-tailed Lion, which had carved a small crater in the ground, let out a low growl.

"Vermin, I will disembowel you..." it snarled, watching the two of them approach before charging forward itself.

Kase, having better stamina, rushed to the front.

His Ice Short Spear, already at the ready, stabbed directly toward the ball of light left by the Guiding Bolt. The frost-wreathed spearhead slid effortlessly into the monster’s wound.

The Scorpion-tailed Lion flapped its wings and, like a true lion, leaped high and pounced on the Half-Orc. Its claws, larger than a man’s face, slammed into the Insect Shell Shield with a deafening crash.

The two-meter-tall Half-Orc giant was sent sprawling to the ground.

Colin quickly halted and launched a Flaming Arrow at the monster’s human-like face.

The creature turned to look at him instead, its tail held high. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Seeing this, Colin quickly turned sideways, presenting his shoulder.

CRACK!

With the sound of a whip, the Chain Armor Plates on his shoulder rattled.

He looked down to see one of the creature’s Bone Spikes lodged in his shoulder.

Colin’s shoulder felt as if it had taken a heavy punch, and waves of sharp pain immediately followed.

The Scorpion-tailed Lion was about to press its attack when Kase, still on the ground, thrust his spear into its neck.

Its lion-like foreclaws swatted at the prone Half-Orc once more.

However, the Insect Shell Shield moved nimbly, blocking left and right to parry every one of the claw strikes. Lying down, Kase was perfectly positioned to brace the shield’s edge against the ground and disperse the force.

Seeing it couldn’t finish him off quickly.

The Scorpion-tailed Lion simply hooked its foreclaws over the shield’s edge. Its wings began to beat furiously as it attempted to lift him away.

Its Power was astonishing, and the Half-Orc was on the verge of being lifted off the ground.

Colin quickly gasped for breath.

He gripped his sword in one hand and used Attack Prediction to discern the rhythm of its flapping wings. Then, seizing his chance, he lunged forward and slashed viciously at the creature’s wing membrane.

A large gash was torn in the Scorpion-tailed Lion’s wing membrane, and the finger-like bone within was bent at a strange angle.

Its ascent stalled. The Scorpion-tailed Lion slammed the Half-Orc back to the ground with a THUD, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Kase roared, heaved up his Shield, and took advantage of the momentary slackening in the creature’s grip to roll free. He even managed to get in another spear thrust before scrambling away.

"Damn you! Damn you, you piec—"

The Scorpion-tailed Lion was cut off mid-curse as Orelia’s Divine Art struck.

Glimmering motes of light bloomed around the Scorpion-tailed Lion. A shaft of searing golden light shot out like a sharp sword, striking the creature’s wing and searing the membrane with a HISS, instantly burning a small hole through it.

The intense pain made the Scorpion-tailed Lion’s face twist into a surprisingly human-like frown, and it clutched at the hole in its wing with one claw.

Colin took a quick glance at the entire battlefield.

Nearby.

Kase, Short Spear in one hand, drew a Javelin with the other, looking full of fight. Orelia held her Shield, poised and ready.

In the distance.

The other two squads were holding their own. They had the other two Scorpion-tailed Lions completely tied up. Though many of the Adventurers were wounded, there was almost no chance the other creatures could interfere over here.

It was clear their confidence hadn’t been baseless.

"Come on! Face me!"

The Scorpion-tailed Lion before them roared, its tail held high.

Just as they thought the creature was about to shoot its Bone Spikes and were scrambling to dodge, it suddenly darted backward. Reaching the slope, it leaped into the air and flew unsteadily toward the sky on its tattered wings.

The little feint-and-flee combo left them all stunned.

None of them had expected the thing could still fly with a broken wing bone.

At the same time, angry curses rang out from the other fights.

The other two Scorpion-tailed Lions were also flapping their wings and taking to the air again.

They all flew unsteadily, and the gaping holes and bloodstains on their wing membranes were plain to see. Clearly, the other Adventurers had also made the creatures’ wings their primary targets.

Once the Scorpion-tailed Lions were far away.

Orelia ran to Colin’s side and supported his arm. "Colin, are you all right?"

"It’s a good thing I added an extra Armor Plate to the shoulder. The wound isn’t too deep," Colin said, catching his breath.

Orelia untied the straps on the Chain Armor Plate.

The Scorpion-tailed Lion’s Bone Spike had punched straight through two layers of Chain Armor and even pierced a small hole in the Cotton Armor underneath. Fortunately, the barbed part of the spike hadn’t entered his flesh, or it would have been a real mess.

She carefully examined the area around the wound. "Kase, could you help me pull out the Bone Spike?"