73: Chapter 73 Hunting Ravens

The Qingluan's speed was extremely fast.

In less than ten minutes, Qin Ce saw that overwhelming black cloud.

Although he had been mentally prepared, when he actually witnessed it with his own eyes, he still gasped.

The black torrent formed by tens of thousands of Raven Flock obscured half the sky.

Their wingspans were generally between three and four meters, their bodies were pitch black, and only their eyes were blood-red.

When flying, the countless wings flapping simultaneously created a wind pressure that could be felt from over a thousand meters away.

Wherever they passed, the sky dimmed as if it were night.

The lush mountain forest below, in the instant the Raven Flock swept past, was like being harvested by an invisible sickle—countless birds and beasts darted out from their hiding places in terror, fleeing for their lives.

Those that could not escape in time simply collapsed to the ground and were snatched away by black shadows diving down from the Raven Flock, their screams drowned out by the deafening clamor.

The scent of blood could be smelled from far away.

Four words appeared in Qin Ce's mind.

Not a blade of grass remains.

Any creature blocking the path of this black cloud, whether bird or beast, would be torn to pieces and swallowed into their bellies.

And those Raven Flock's eyes—

Qin Ce looked through the vision of Nine-Star Insight; every pair was blood-red.

Not ordinary red eyes, but a near-pathological scarlet, filled with rage and the desire to kill.

That red burned deep within their pupils, like two unquenchable flames of bloodlust.

This was a sign of being completely eroded by the aura of the beast tide.

These Raven Flock no longer had any fear or reason to speak of.

The only meaning of their existence was to kill.

Qin Ce took a deep breath, suppressing the instinctive trembling in his heart, and pushed Nine-Star Insight to its limit.

[Fierce Beast]: Raven (Adult Stage)

[Rank]: bronze low-grade

[Potential]: Upper Bronze Rank

[Attribute]: Dark/Wind

[Talent]: Ink Feather—Fires special feathers; upon impact, releases graphite dust that can interfere with electrical equipment

[Skills]: Diving Claw Strike, Feather Arrow Scatter, Ink Feather Rapid-Fire, Wind Wing Slash

[Status]: Berserk (Affected by the beast tide aura), Bloodthirsty

[Strengths]: Strong vitality, high defense, strength is considered high among flying fierce beasts

[Weaknesses]: Clumsy flight, poor maneuverability, large turning radius, speed is not as good as agility-type flying fierce beasts of the same rank

[Evolution Opportunity]: Devour high-order Dark/Wind energy, or fuse with the bloodline of the same type of fierce beast

Qin Ce quickly analyzed this data.

High HP, that was certain—the feathers and flesh of the Raven Flock were exceptionally tough, and their defense was definitely among the top tier for fierce beasts of the same rank.

High strength, that was also true—those scaly claws were enough to tear through the bones of any creature below Bronze Rank.

But correspondingly, their weaknesses were also quite obvious.

Clumsy flight meant they couldn't catch up to the Qingluan.

Poor maneuverability meant their aerial mobility was far inferior to a Wind-type Pet Beast known for agility.

Qin Ce's eyes lit up.

Clumsy, inflexible, slow speed—this was practically a living target delivered to his doorstep!

But he wasn't stupid enough to charge in directly.

Taking on ten thousand Bronze Rank fierce beasts alone? That was suicide.

He observed the flight formation of the Raven Flock for a while and discovered that although their numbers were vast, they were not a monolithic block.

There were quite a few straggling Raven Flock on the edges, maintaining a distance of several hundred meters from the main group.

A curve appeared on the corner of Qin Ce's mouth.

"Let's go, circle around to the side."

The Qingluan understood his meaning, carved a huge arc in the sky, and circled to the side and rear of the Raven Flock.

This position was very clever—it wouldn't attract the attention of the main group, and he could clearly see those stray targets on the edge.

Qin Ce locked onto the nearest Raven.

"That's the one."

The Qingluan quietly descended in altitude, silently approaching within a five-hundred-meter range.

Qin Ce held his right hand with fingers together like a sword, energy circulating within his body, communicating with the Qingluan.

A condensed Wind Blade formed in front of the Qingluan, its edges shimmering with a jade-like luster.

Swish—

The Wind Blade tore through the air, fast as lightning!

By the time that Raven noticed the danger, it was already too late—the Wind Blade struck precisely at the base of its left wing, feathers flying and blood spraying!

"Caw—!!!"

A shrill screech pierced the sky.

The Raven's massive body tilted violently, somersaulting in the air, barely managing to stabilize its balance.

Then, its pair of blood-red eyes instantly locked onto Qin Ce's position.

Rage!

Without any hesitation, the Raven flapped its wings violently, like a bolt of black lightning, and charged straight over!

Qin Ce turned and ran.

The Qingluan flapped its wings with all its might, its speed instantly soaring to the limit.

The Raven pursued crazily from behind, its screeching sound getting closer and closer, and closer...

But it just couldn't catch up.

One hundred meters, two hundred meters, three hundred meters...

The distance between the two sides gradually widened.

Qin Ce didn't accelerate to the maximum—what he wanted was this distance where it was "almost able to catch up."

Wind Blade after Wind Blade shot out from behind the Qingluan, each one precisely striking near the Raven's previous wound.

The wound continued to widen, and blood was drawn into a long red line in the air.

The Raven's speed became slower and slower, and its screeching became more and more shrill.

But it refused to give up, staring fixedly at the cyan figure in front, its eyes full of violent killing intent.

After chasing for two kilometers, the Raven finally exhausted its strength, and its speed slowed down significantly.

Now is the time!

Qin Ce had the Qingluan turn suddenly, charging head-on towards the Raven.

The moment they crossed paths, a Wind Blade precisely sliced into the wound on its neck—

Puchi!

The head flew up, blood gushing out.

The Raven's corpse fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground.

[Killed bronze low-grade Raven, Military Merit + 68]

Qin Ce glanced at his squad badge, a corner of his mouth curling up.

Sixty-eight points of military merit, more than he had earned after working hard running to seven villages previously.

But the problem was—the efficiency was too low.

Luring one by one, killing one by one, how long would that take?

He looked up at that dark mass of the Raven Flock, a flash of thought crossing his eyes.

If he could lure a few more...

Thinking it, he did it.

Give it a try.

The Qingluan accelerated again and chased after them.

This time, Qin Ce aimed at three mid-grade bronze Raven flying side by side.

Three Wind Blades, fired simultaneously!

Puchi, puchi, puchi!

The three Raven were hit simultaneously, emitting angry screeches, and all at once left the formation, pouncing towards Qin Ce!

Qin Ce turned and ran.

The three Raven chased relentlessly, their blood-red eyes filled with violent killing intent.

But after chasing for less than a kilometer, Qin Ce realized something was wrong—

These three Raven were not charging blindly like the previous one.

They were actually splitting their forces!

One flanked from the left, one circled from the right, and the middle one continued the straight pursuit!

Moreover, their speed increased significantly after dispersing, compressing the Qingluan's evasion space from three directions!

Qin Ce's pupils contracted sharply.

Surround and Hunt!

This was the Raven's "Surround and Hunt" talent!

The intelligence of the Raven was far beyond his expectations.

They not only knew how to cooperate but also adjusted their formation according to the opponent's movement.

And relying on their high HP and defense, they even dared to take the Qingluan's attacks head-on, just to compress the Qingluan's evasion space.