86: Chapter 86 The Real Role of the Raven

What Qin Ce had thought of was, in fact, something Fengling City had also anticipated.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have increased the military merit points for Ravens the very moment the Raven Flock was discovered.

And so...

As the Raven Flock drew closer, the atmosphere on the battlefield began to undergo a subtle shift.

The fierce beasts currently storming the city walls suddenly let out even more frenzied roars.

They felt it—they felt that reinforcements were about to arrive, and they felt the scales of victory tipping in their favor.

Meanwhile, the expressions of the Beast Tamers defending the city grew increasingly solemn.

They too had seen that black cloud.

And they had guessed what it signified.

"It's the Raven Flock!"

"Damn it! It's the Ravens! They have Ink Feathers!"

"Quick! Stop them! Don't let them get near the walls!"

Shouts rose one after another as countless flying Pet Beasts took to the sky, attempting to intercept that black cloud.

But it was too late.

The Raven Flock had already entered the city's defense range.

At that very instant—

"ROAR—!!!"

An earth-shattering roar echoed from the western side of the Inner City!

It was the roar of the Lava Bear!

With one claw, it forced back the Jade-Horned Flying Tiger and howled toward the sky, the sound waves rolling across the entire battlefield!

That roar was filled with excitement and command!

Qin Ce couldn't understand the beast language, but he could guess—

It was ordering the Raven King to immediately lead the Raven Flock into the fray!

Targeting all city defense facilities!

Sure enough, in the next moment—

The Raven Flock moved.

Their previously slow, low-altitude advance suddenly accelerated, and like countless black arrows, they dived toward the city walls below!

Simultaneously, under the Raven King's command, they began to split into hundreds of small squads, each with twenty to thirty ravens, pouncing on different targets!

Some lunged at the roaring turrets on the walls, others at the energy emitters atop the fortresses outside the city, and still others at the shimmering towers on the Outer City walls!

They had clear divisions of labor and distinct targets!

...

Qin Ce's pupils constricted slightly.

This wasn't a disorganized charge by a rabble; it was an organized, premeditated tactical assault!

The Raven King's command ability far exceeded his imagination!

He abruptly looked down at the nearest section of the Outer City wall.

On that section of the wall, over a dozen anti-aircraft autocannons and five orange crystal core weapon turrets were deployed.

The anti-aircraft autocannons were the first to open fire!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!—

The dense sound of cannon fire was deafening, as countless tracer rounds wove a fiery net in the sky!

Several bronze low-grade Ravens in the lead were hit, falling with miserable cries!

But even more Ravens broke through the fire net!

The power of those autocannons could indeed cause damage to bronze low-grade Ravens, but it required multiple concentrated hits to bring one down.

And under the Raven Flock's dense charge, the gunners simply didn't have enough time to lock on!

A squad of twenty Ravens braved the cannon fire and reached fifty meters above the crystal core weapon turrets!

And then—

"Caw—!!!"

The lead Raven let out a shrill cry, and all twenty Ravens simultaneously flicked their tail feathers!

Dozens of black feathers detached from their tails, transforming into feathered arrows that shot down toward the crystal core weapon turrets below! The moment the arrows hit the ground, clumps of thick black mist instantly exploded, spreading and enveloping the surroundings!

The defenders on the turrets desperately operated the autocannons, shooting down seven or eight Ravens, but the remaining dozen had already dumped all their Ink Feather Mist down!

The black mist enveloped the crystal core weapon turrets!

Zzzzt, zzzzt—

The piercing sound of electrical current rang out!

Those five orange crystal core weapon turrets had been roaring crazily, spraying out beams of energy.

Now, the light at the muzzles began to flicker and tremble, and finally—

Puff!

Like a deflated balloon, all five turrets went silent simultaneously!

The black mist clung to the barrels, the energy transmission lines, and the crystal core exciters like a layer of insulating coating, completely cutting off the transmission of power!

The firepower of that section of the wall was instantly reduced by half!

Below, the fierce beasts that had been suppressed until they couldn't even lift their heads immediately seized the opportunity, charging frantically toward that section of the wall!

"Damn it! Repair them, quick!"

"It's too late! The fierce beasts are already coming up!"

The shouts of the defenders were desperate and helpless.

Qin Ce stared intently at that section of the wall.

He saw that after dumping their Ink Feathers, the Raven squad immediately pulled up to retreat; they had lost seven or eight, but the remaining dozen successfully escaped.

And on the wall beside them, another new Raven squad was diving—

The target was another section of crystal core weapon turrets.

An exchange.

They were exchanging their lives.

Sacrificing a few Bronze Ravens to paralyze the crystal core weapons of a section of the city wall.

From the perspective of this war, this trade was worthwhile no matter how you calculated it.

Qin Ce's gaze swept across the entire Outer City defense line.

The same scene was playing out simultaneously on countless sections of the wall.

The anti-aircraft autocannons were still roaring, and Ravens were constantly falling, but even more Ravens broke through the fire net, dumping their Ink Mist onto the crystal core weapons.

One section of the wall, two sections, three sections—

The firepower of the Outer City defense line was weakening at a visible rate.

The fierce beasts that had been pinned down were beginning a frenzied counterattack!

In several sectors, gaps had even begun to appear in the defense lines!

However, in areas guarded by powerful Beast Tamer squads, the situation was slightly better.

Qin Ce saw a Gold Rank squad coordinating perfectly; six flying Pet Beasts took to the air simultaneously, engaging in a fierce battle with the Raven squad pouncing toward them.

The light of skills blossomed in the sky, and one Raven after another was shot down.

Ultimately, that Raven squad lost over half its numbers and fled in panic, and that orange-grade turret was saved.

Elsewhere, a Silver Rank squad utilized the terrain, hiding inside a fortress and operating several autocannons to frantically strafe the diving Ravens. With ample ammunition and perfect coordination, they stubbornly held off three waves of attacks.

But such areas were too few.

In more sections of the wall, the Raven squads simply performed a single exchange, sacrificing one or two of their kin to silence a crystal core weapon turret.

The lucky silenced turrets were able to restart after ten or so minutes of cleaning and repair.

The unlucky ones were directly destroyed by the suppressed fierce beasts that charged onto the wall.

The scales of the battle were beginning to tip.

The Outer City defense line, which had been in equilibrium, now showed a clear disadvantage for the human defenders.

Qin Ce gritted his teeth and, riding the Blue Luan, pounced toward a Raven squad that was attacking a certain orange-grade turret.

Spider-Web Wind Blade!

The large green net descended, instantly trapping three bronze low-grade Ravens and dismembering them on the spot.

The squad members on that turret were stunned for a moment before they opened fire frantically, shooting down the other few Ravens that were fleeing in panic.

Qin Ce didn't linger, turning to pounce toward the next location.

But no matter how fast he was, he couldn't be faster than over ten thousand Ravens.

He could save one, two, or three.

But he couldn't save them all.

Qin Ce's hunting became increasingly frenzied.

One Raven after another was netted, fell, and was killed by him.

His military merit points were ticking up wildly.

But his heart sank lower and lower.

His attention had long since ceased to be on military merit; in such an environment, in this war between humans and beasts.

The only thing on his mind was winning, and that humanity must survive!

...