A mountain spirit climbed a tree and, upon seeing a soldier, leaped down, gripping its wooden club tightly and attacking the soldier.
The soldier had encountered many mountain spirits. They surrounded him, but he was powerful. Each swing of his sword felled several mountain spirits.
He paid no attention to the mountain spirit above him.
"Thump!"
The wooden club landed on the soldier's head with a dull thud.
The mountain spirit, thinking it had killed the soldier, happily boasted to its companions upon landing, "See? You're no match for them. I'm the厉害 one!"
But seeing the terrified eyes of its companions, the mountain spirit looked back.
It saw the soldier, unharmed, looking at it with a strange expression.
It understood.
It was a look of contempt.
Mountain Spirit: "ヾ(｡ꏿ﹏ꏿ)ﾉﾞ"
"Splat!"
The mountain spirit was cleaved in two.
There were many such instances. The attacks of these mountain spirits couldn't even break their armor; the soldiers had grown accustomed to ignoring them.
...
The reconnaissance drone transmitted footage. Zhou Yan saw many mountain spirits heading his way.
"The main force is coming? Huh, these mountain spirits seem different from the ones before."
These mountain spirits were low-level and weak, wielding wooden clubs, posing no threat to them.
However, the images transmitted showed that the mountain spirits following behind were armed with iron weapons, wore leather armor, and were taller than the ones in front. They looked more like warriors.
"Could it be that these mountain spirits also have different troop types?"
Zhou Yan mused.
These mountain spirits were more like logistical troops searching for food.
The mountain spirits behind them seemed to be the actual combat units.
"There's quite a number of them."
The footage showed a vast number of mountain spirits, their movement causing large swathes of the forest to shake. He suspected the entire mountainside was their territory.
"Woooo~~~"
A series of horn blasts echoed from afar.
The mountain spirit buglers here heard the sound and responded with their own horns.
They were pinpointing their location and rushing towards them at full speed.
"Engage at full speed and prepare to face the enemy behind!" Zhou Yan ordered.
"Yes!"
The soldiers accelerated their combat pace, annihilating the mountain spirits with the speed of a whirlwind, leaving none alive.
The mountain spirits began to rout. Zhou Yan ordered a brief pursuit before halting it, collecting treasure chests, and preparing an ambush.
They still had time to set up simple traps and await the mountain spirits' attack.
An hour later, the fleeing mountain spirits returned with the main force.
Zhou Yan inspected these newly appeared monsters.
[Monster: Mountain Spirit Warrior]
[Quality: Elite]
[Race: Goblin]
[Level: 35]
[Special: None]
[Description: A robust mountain spirit, the soldier of the entire mountain spirit race.]
These mountain spirit warriors were five levels higher than the regular mountain spirits, and they were armed with weapons and leather armor, making them considerably stronger.
However, these mountain spirit warriors still lacked any semblance of formation, charging towards the soldiers in a chaotic swarm.
Suddenly, the mountain spirits in front fell into traps, tripping and being trampled to death by the ones behind them.
A massive log fell from the sky, crushing several mountain spirits.
Many mountain spirits fell into pits and were then trampled to death by those behind them.
These traps were limited. Facing the overwhelming numbers of mountain spirits, they were still too few.
Suddenly, arrows rained down from the sky, striking the mountain spirits.
The soldiers had already climbed into the trees, armed with bows and arrows, raining down a volley upon the mountain spirits.
Zhou Yan himself unleashed his spiritual energy, forming a field of sword qi around him. This sword qi was tangible, gleaming sharply and exuding an unparalleled sharpness.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!!"
Zhou Yan guided his sword qi with his mind, unleashing it towards the main body of mountain spirits.
The sword qi transformed into a storm, a terrifying force that shot straight ahead. The towering trees were unable to block the sword qi; they were pierced, shattered, and felled.
Row upon row of ancient trees toppled, their trunks destroyed by this fearsome sword qi.
The sword qi, like a tornado, like a colossal dragon, swept through the forest.
Where the sword qi passed, everything was obliterated, leaving nothing behind.
A circular path formed on the ground, as if a giant serpent had slithered through.
The sword qi storm traveled a full kilometer before dissipating.
This was the SSS-grade skill "Imperial Sword Technique," and this was merely one of its sword qi attack methods.
High-quality skills required immense spiritual power to master and learn.
With Zhou Yan's current cultivation at the thirty-ninth level of the martial path, he could not unleash its full power.
The mountain spirit warriors were numerous, covering the entire mountainside. What Zhou Yan had eliminated was only a fraction.
He had over a thousand soldiers. Each volley of arrows could kill a large number of enemies, and the soldiers' attack speed was rapid. The mountain spirit warriors suffered countless casualties. Relying on their numerical advantage, they finally reached the base of the trees where the soldiers were.
Then, they froze.
The soldiers had chosen very tall trees. Their small bodies would require a long climb to reach the top.
By the time they managed to climb up, it would be a simple matter for the soldiers to dispatch them with a single sword strike.
Thus, the soldiers waited for the mountain spirit warriors to climb up and meet their doom. Mountain spirit warriors fell from the trees one after another, while more constantly climbed up.
Some mountain spirits tried to chop down the trees, but that would take a considerable amount of time.
The soldiers in the trees could continue their archery attacks, specifically targeting the mountain spirits trying to chop down the trees.
Even if they succeeded in felling a giant tree, the soldiers, with their agility, would easily leap to another giant tree as it fell.
These mountain spirit warriors were dumbfounded. How were they supposed to fight like this?
They simply couldn't reach the enemy.
The mountain spirit warriors were incredibly numerous, but for the soldiers, it was merely a matter of attacking more times.
The soldiers even grew bored of fighting in the trees. They gathered a group, leaped down collectively, formed battle formations, and swept through the dense ranks of mountain spirit warriors.
The mountain spirit warriors were unable to withstand the terrifying might of the soldiers and were quickly cut down.
Then, more and more soldiers began to descend from the trees, launching a counterattack against the mountain spirits.
Despite the vast numbers of mountain spirit warriors, they were no match for the soldiers.
Zhou Yan alone could annihilate a large number of mountain spirits with each strike.
These mountain spirit warriors were still relying on their numbers to try and defeat them, but in the end, they were always the ones being annihilated.
After an hour, the mountain spirit warriors had suffered over half their casualties.
The soldiers proactively charged at the mountain spirit warriors, eventually causing them to rout.
Seeing that night was approaching, Zhou Yan decided to have his soldiers collect the spoils and leave, continuing to eliminate the remaining mountain spirits the next day.
Given the sheer numbers of these mountain spirits, he believed their main camp would hold many valuable items.
He released his reconnaissance drone to search for the precise location of the mountain spirits' main camp.
Today's haul was good, yielding tens of thousands of weapons. Although these weapons were of low quality, they could be reforged into better equipment.