Chapter Sixty: Encountering the "Regular Army"

"Fantastic! The six great lords have finally mobilized!"
"Yes, that Black Demon Sword is doomed!"
"Absolutely, with six third-tier lords and a host of elite troops, it’s nearly impossible for him to escape death!"
"Too bad about those generous rewards, though."
"Brother, don’t bother regretting it—those rewards aren’t worth your life!"
"True enough. No one expected that Black Demon Sword to be so terrifying!"
...

The surviving idle spirits couldn’t help but discuss the situation, all secretly grateful they hadn’t joined the hunt.

At that moment, Qin Chuan remained blissfully unaware of the approaching danger, leisurely 'riding' the Sleepy Bug and singing.

"Report! Black Demon Sword sighted ten miles ahead!"
"Accelerate flight!"
"Yes, sir!"

The first to find Qin Chuan were the elite ‘Air Force’ under the command of the Great Lord—the Swiftfire Birds.

A flock of tier-two, level-19 top-grade Swiftfire Birds, one of the Great Lord’s trump cards.

Leading them was a mutated tier-three, lower-grade Swiftfire Bird, level 20.

Swiftfire Birds specialize in ranged attacks, their mutation focusing on speed, making them a ‘high-speed maneuvering unit’ with formidable offensive skills.

Flame Jet (Active): At stage one, fires a straight flame dealing damage equal to 70% of its sharpness rating, range 24 meters; stage two adds 1 meter per level and 5% additional damage per level. Currently stage one is 3rd level, stage two is 1st level.

Fire Spirit Blessing (Passive): Increases sharpness by 5% per skill level, stacking, currently level 4.

Wind-Fire Rotation (Passive): Increases speed by 10% per skill level, stacking, currently level 8.

Wildfire Spread (Active): Releases flames in a five-meter radius, burning for three seconds, with a release distance of ten meters, currently level 3.

All of the Swiftfire Birds’ abilities are long-range attacks; their aerial advantage can bring devastating blows to their enemies.

As they advanced, Qin Chuan suddenly saw a mass of fire clouds sweeping through the sky, blotting out the sun.

He was startled, thinking, “What kind of bird is that?”

Swiftfire Birds aren’t large, their wingspan only a meter, but their aggression far outstrips the Blackwing Birds.

Three hundred and thirty Swiftfire Birds formed six squads, each with fifty-five birds arranged in triangles. The squads positioned themselves in a 1-2-3 formation, creating a massive triangle.

That huge fire cloud occupied most of the ‘screen’ as it appeared, hovering twenty-five meters above the ground.

"Report—target Black Demon Sword spotted two hundred meters ahead!"
"Prepare Flame Jet!"
The Swiftfire Bird Lord’s gaze was icy-cold; eliminating the target instantly had become second nature.

All the Swiftfire Birds mobilized to deal with a mere three-foot sword—it was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, a bit excessive.

Qin Chuan saw the mass of fire clouds racing toward him, feeling as if the whole ‘screen’ was flashing a red S-alert.

"Damn, this is intense!"

From the sheer momentum, Qin Chuan could tell these enemies wouldn’t be easy; he hastily urged, "Little brother, hide quickly!"

"Okay, big brother, be careful!"

The Sleepy Bug sensed the danger and immediately burrowed underground.

"Flame Jet, fire!"
"Shhhhhh!"

A screenful of flame beams targeted Qin Chuan; three hundred red rays crashed down upon the ground in half a second.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion erupted, leaving a scorched crater where Qin Chuan had stood, wisps of black smoke rising.

"Report—target hit!"

The Swiftfire Birds sneered, "Hmph, there’s no challenge at all. It’s a waste of my time. I truly don’t understand how those others could be so useless!"

"Prepare to return!"

The Swiftfire Bird Lord was confident that the Black Demon Sword had been blasted to dust.

Indeed, under such circumstances, not even a tier-three could have survived.

The flock of Swiftfire Birds sped past like fighter jets.

Meanwhile, Qin Chuan was secretly delighted, hiding atop a tall tree. He had just used Flicker and Flow Strike to slip into the dense forest, successfully dodging their attack.

The tree wasn’t very tall, seven or eight meters at most, but it was enough for Qin Chuan.

To maximize speed, the Swiftfire Birds kept their flame jets’ range at only twenty-five meters.

Qin Chuan’s ultimate move had a range of twenty meters; with the tree’s height added, he could comfortably unleash his ultimate.

Purple light flickered overhead—a hundred sword shadows descended from the sky.

As the Swiftfire Bird Lord turned to retreat, he flew straight into the range of Qin Chuan’s ultimate, Falling Sky Strike.

"Ahhh!"
"Enemy attack!"
"What’s happening?!"

Thanks to Qin Chuan’s precise prediction, the ultimate hit five targets squarely.

Within its three-second duration, all formations in the coverage zone suffered immense losses.

A five-meter vacuum appeared in the Swiftfire Bird formation—apart from the Lord, all Swiftfire Birds struck by the attack perished instantly.

"Ding! Elite level-19 Swiftfire Bird slain, gained 900 experience; bonus for cross-tier kill, 100% extra, total 1800 experience."
"Ding! Elite of the Plains of Contest slain, bonus 1800 experience."
"Ding! Mutated skill Slaughter triggered."
...

Within those three seconds, the system chimed like firecrackers, as Qin Chuan’s ultimate decimated nearly six squads, annihilating 110 Swiftfire Birds in one fell swoop.

The Lord’s squad was reduced to ten birds, with only himself remaining at the front; five entire ranks at the back were wiped out.

As the saying goes, speed is both their strength and their downfall.

Had the Swiftfire Bird Lord known this day would come, he’d never have prioritized speed.

"Damn, killing elites gives double experience?"

Qin Chuan was nearly ecstatic atop the tree: "Wahaha, this is incredible!"

"Devour Essence!"

"Ding! Essence devoured, gained 380 evolution points."
...

Meanwhile, the Swiftfire Bird Lord was utterly bewildered; the sudden assault had caught him completely off guard.

"Report! Black Demon Sword spotted twenty meters ahead!"

Hearing his subordinate’s report, the Lord finally turned and saw Qin Chuan showing off atop the tree.

"So the bastard isn’t dead!"

His eyes nearly blazed with fury; he’d taken considerable damage himself, his whole body still aching.

But none of that mattered compared to the devastating loss of his squad—it pained him to the marrow.

"Kill him! Use any means necessary, just make sure he dies!"

His shrill cry echoed for miles.

Meanwhile, another elite force under the Great Lord—the Agile Leopard Corps—was still ten miles from the battle.

"Hey, looks like those Swiftfire Birds are at it."
"Quick, advance. Don’t let them steal all the credit!"
"Yes, sir!"

If Qin Chuan knew another wave of experience was coming soon, he’d be dancing with joy.

He hardly needed to wait, for he was already leaping in delight.

The Swiftfire Bird Lord, furious, launched his ultimate at Qin Chuan with his remaining subordinates.

At this moment, all of Qin Chuan’s skills were on cooldown, so he could only keep jumping through the forest.

"Hey, can you not be so ruthless? So many ultimates—how am I supposed to dodge them?"

Leaping from tree to tree, Qin Chuan’s ‘mouth’ was as busy as ever.

The Lord was beside himself with rage: "You arrogant bastard, still showing off? I will make sure you die!"

Wildfire Spread erupted through the forest, igniting a massive inferno that engulfed the entire core area.

The Lord cared nothing for the destruction; all he wanted now was to kill Qin Chuan at any cost.

One hundred and ten Swiftfire Birds perished in three seconds—almost half his entire force.

Not just him; any spirit would feel the pain of such a loss.