Zhou Yan's skills were at least S-grade, with Sword Control Technique being a staggering SS-grade. Each cast of it could wipe out all appearing cat demons.
"Meow~~"
"It's a boss!"
From within the cave, a cat demon twice the size of an elite cat demon emerged. It was incredibly fast, transforming into a shadow and charging towards the soldiers.
A rain of arrows descended from the sky, engulfing all the newly appeared cat demons.
Not a single cat demon could stand.
Including the boss.
Boss: (╯﹏╰)b...
It was merely a level forty bronze boss, unable to withstand such fierce attacks.
There were quite a few cat demons in this cave, and several more bosses appeared later.
However, they were all of the leader type.
Several hours later, they concluded their battle.
They began to clear the battlefield.
This time, they had gained a significant number of treasure chests.
After their soldiers underwent class advancements, they all acquired basic gathering skills, so he didn't need to do it himself.
The corpses of the cat demons could only yield useful materials such as crystal cores, claws, and teeth.
Their bodies held no value.
They busied themselves until daytime. He allowed the soldiers to rest for two hours before setting off again.
While not every monster dropped a dark crystal core, their sheer numbers meant he still acquired quite a few.
These dark crystal cores were relatively rare across the myriad realms compared to other elemental crystal cores, making them pricier.
He had purchased some dark crystal cores from the Treasure Vault, but the quantity was small.
These crystal cores were definitely for his own use.
He might need them someday.
After resting, they set their sights on a mountain peak.
The mountain was visible from afar and quite tall.
They fought monsters all the way until they reached the foot of the mountain.
The soldiers stored their warhorses into their mount space; the mountain paths were treacherous, so they had to proceed on foot.
This mountain undoubtedly harbored monsters, and monsters meant rewards.
They drew their weapons and slowly ascended the mountain. The ground suddenly trembled, and Zhou Yan wondered, "An earthquake?"
"No, it's not an earthquake!"
Zhou Yan quickly warned his soldiers, "Beware of monsters on the ground!"
The soldiers' gazes shifted to the earth. The soil churned and rolled, as if something was emerging from underground.
Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, ready to strike at any moment.
"Whoosh!"
A monster burst from the ground. Zhou Yan glanced at it, and his eyes widened in surprise. (꒪Д꒪)
He quickly commanded, "Wait!"
[Monster: Groundhog]
[Quality: Common]
[Race: Animal]
[Level: 1]
[Special: None]
[Description: A group of groundhogs that love to burrow, completely harmless.]
"Squeak squeak squeak!!!"
One by one, groundhogs emerged from the earth, their dazed, adorable expressions fixed on the people below.
Groundhog: (´△｀)？？？
Soldiers: (o_o)??？
Zhou Yan ordered his soldiers to continue forward, not bothering these little creatures.
Several soldiers took the lead up the mountain. Zhou Yan deployed his intelligent scout drone to reconnoiter ahead, and soon they found a target.
They had discovered monsters.
And quite a lot of them.
They were a group of strangely shaped monsters, entirely green, with ugly faces. Their faces were more triangular with sharp chins and pointed teeth. Their ears were sharp, and they stood about a meter tall, wielding wooden clubs. They wore simple loincloths made from animal hides for modesty.
Crucially, these monsters were holding many groundhogs, and they had been smashed to death.
These monsters preyed on groundhogs.
He suddenly understood why those groundhogs had fled earlier; these monsters were hunting them.
These monsters didn't even spare the level-1 groundhogs. (▼ヘ▼#)
"Prepare for battle!"
Zhou Yan gave the order.
He intended to avenge the adorable groundhogs.
The soldiers immediately began to prepare for battle: shield bearers in the front, followed by spearmen and swordsmen, with archers in the rear.
They all concealed themselves within the dense jungle.
Sounds of movement echoed from the jungle on the mountain. A group of monsters, wielding wooden clubs, searched for groundhogs everywhere, heading down the mountain.
Zhou Yan could now examine the attributes of these monsters.
[Monster: Mountain Sprite]
[Quality: Common]
[Race: Goblin Tribe]
[Level: 30]
[Special: None]
[Description: A group of mountain sprites that enjoy eating small animals.]
So, they were Mountain Sprites, belonging to the goblin race.
Their level was only 30.
Once the Mountain Sprites came within range, Zhou Yan commanded, "Fire!"
A volley of arrows whistled through the air, felling the Mountain Sprites one by one.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the Mountain Sprites suffered heavy casualties and cried out in agony.
They were not cowed by the slaughter; instead, they angrily raised their wooden clubs and charged towards the soldiers.
Their courage was commendable, but their strength was lacking. Such suicidal behavior made them no different from moving targets.
The Mountain Sprites were numerous, covering the mountainside.
Moreover, they could call for reinforcements. One Mountain Sprite produced something resembling a horn and stood on a high point, beginning to blow it.
"Woooo~~"
The sound carried far, startling a flock of birds in the forest.
Soon after, an identical horn sound echoed from the distance. They actually understood how to use such a method for warning.
He could have stopped them from blowing the horn.
But why should he?
Wasn't it better to let them travel all this way only to be slaughtered by them?
These Mountain Sprites fought fearlessly for a long time. Suffered heavy casualties.
Only then did they realize the arrow storm could not be broken and began to retreat.
"Are these Mountain Sprites leaving?"
Zhou Yan directed his flying drone to scout into the distance, to see if the Mountain Sprites were fleeing or preparing to surround them.
He then said to his soldiers, "Collect the treasure chests and advance steadily. Don't spread out too thinly."
They advanced rapidly, gathering all the treasure chests on the ground, then pursued the Mountain Sprites.
These Mountain Sprites indeed did not flee. Upon seeing them pursue, they began to hide, preparing for an ambush.
"Be careful of ambushes from these Mountain Sprites; they've hidden themselves."
These Mountain Sprites were small and difficult to spot when hidden.
But he wasn't worried about the soldiers' safety.
Could wooden clubs penetrate their defenses?
Obviously not. The enemies' wooden clubs couldn't break through the soldiers' defenses.
The archers in the rear switched to short swords, and the spearmen also exchanged their spears for swords more suited for combat.
Zhou Yan had ample wealth; each soldier possessed several weapons, all of gold quality.
As for the heroes' equipment, preparations were underway to upgrade to platinum-quality sets.
The cheapest platinum-quality equipment cost eight million spirit coins, and they were scarce on the market. Acquiring enough equipment would take some time.
The soldiers soon entered the ambush zone of the Mountain Sprites.
But the sprites would never know how formidable this army was.
As soon as they appeared, before they could even make a move, they were already being cut down by the soldiers.
It was a terrible ambush.
Only Mountain Sprites died.