"Whoosh!"
The moment a green head peeked out from the bushes,
Chen Bugu pulled the trigger of his Crossbow.
The Crossbow hit its mark precisely.
After being shot, the green head disappeared back into the bushes.
Chen Bugu felt a warmth spread through his body as a surge of energy flowed into him.
It's dead!
But Chen Bugu showed no sign of joy; instead, he moved without pause, continuing to draw out another Crossbow and string it.
"It didn't die?"
Yan Kuan, with his hands pressed to the ground, saw Chen Bugu re-stringing his Crossbow and remained vigilant.
"One is dead."
Chen Bugu replied while quickly raising his Lian Xin Nu again to aim.
He knew too well that those creatures always moved in groups.
One is dead?
Yan Kuan was startled, then immediately understood Chen Bugu's meaning.
Sure enough, the next second, a great deal of rustling sounds came from the surrounding bushes.
Following that, one after another, Green-skinned monsters emerged from the bushes, surrounding them.
They were Green-skinned monsters, about one meter tall, with entirely green skin and no hair on their bodies.
Their eyes were wide, ears pointed, and fangs sharp. They stood on two feet like humans, but their backs were hunched, making them just over a meter tall and slightly thin.
Most unsettling was that each Green-skinned monsters carried a "weapon"—a large wooden club.
Their ability to use tools and utilize vegetation and their own camouflage for cover indicated that these monsters possessed a certain level of intelligence.
If Chen Bugu hadn't been so perceptive, they might have been caught off guard.
"There are 7 more!"
"Lin Lin, hide in the middle!"
No sooner had Chen Bugu finished speaking than the monsters roared and charged forward.
Chen Bugu quickly pulled the trigger, and an arrow flew from the string.
However, this time, the arrow did not have the desired effect.
The Green-skinned monsters facing Chen Bugu seemed to be prepared; it swung the large wooden club in its hand to guard its face.
"Clang!"
It sounded like hitting an iron plate, even though it was just a wooden club.
The wooden club in the monster's hand was dislodged by the immense force, and the Green-skinned monsters staggered back three steps.
The Crossbow deeply embedded itself into the wooden club but did not penetrate through it.
There was no time to re-string. The moment the monster retreated, Chen Bugu had already closed in.
The distance of two or three meters was instantly covered.
The monster had just steadied itself when Chen Bugu arrived in front of it.
At this moment, the air temperature in Chen Bugu's right palm instantly rose, and a grapefruit-sized Fireball appeared out of thin air.
"Fireball!"
Chen Bugu swung his right palm, pushing the Fireball directly into its face.
The Fireball instantly exploded on the Green-skinned monsters's face.
The green head was instantly Ignited.
In that final moment, Chen Bugu saw fear in the monster's eyes.
Then, that fear, along with the high temperature, turned into charcoal.
Chen Bugu quickly finished his fight.
He looked back and saw that Bai Ting and the others were already engaged with their own Green-skinned monsters.
Black Iron Three Stars Bai Ting was basically overwhelming the monster, which was yelping from the electric shocks.
Although Bai Ting didn't have Chen Bugu's combat awareness, with his level and Thunder Sprite, he could probably end the fight within thirty seconds.
Yan Kuan's Rock Barrier could now be transformed into "Earth Spikes" for attack, though the generated spikes weren't sharp enough and grew slowly, making it easy for enemies to dodge.
However, combined with the creation of some simple and crude stone pillars, it effectively prevented the Green-skinned monsters from approaching.
Wang Bin, that kid, was unsparing with his mental energy, constantly generating and throwing Fireball. Although the Fireball were repeatedly batted away by the Green-skinned monsters with its wooden club, the club itself was Ignited.
Lin Ye used a fixed summon and had previously summoned a "Animal Taming skill."
This was a new magical beast Lin Ye had summoned when he tried the Sheep Family before leaving the tunnel.
Animal Taming skill: Deer antlers, sheep face, horse body, ox hooves. A Black Iron Grade Low-Rank Sheep Attribute magical beast. Legend has it that the Animal Taming skill possesses a trace of the mythical beast "Si Bu Xiang" bloodline. Its half-meter long antlers and iron-hard ox hooves are its most powerful weapons. It specializes in using the skill "Brute Force" to heavily strike the ground, stunning enemies.
Lin Ye had tried several times, and currently, the Sheep Family could primarily summon Unicorn Rock Sheep, Snow Mystic Antelope, and Animal Taming skill.
He didn't know if it was due to his level, but he hadn't summoned a fourth type of summoned beast yet.
But it was enough.
Unicorn Rock Sheep are relatively balanced, and their "Horn Strike" initiated by charging is quite lethal.
Although Snow Mystic Antelope don't have strong offensive power, they are flexible, agile, and very fast.
While the Animal Taming skill is a bit clumsy when running, its attack power is formidable, making it suitable for close-range combat like this.
Lin Ye stood beside Lin Lin, directing the Animal Taming skill to use its massive antlers to fling a Green-skinned monsters into the air.
As for Lin Xiaoxiao's fight, it looked the most bizarre.
The Green-skinned monsters stood there dumbfounded, its wooden club long since snatched away by Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao stood in front of the monster, repeatedly smashing its head with the club, quickly leaving the monster with a bloody, broken head.
The only tricky situation was Liu Shifu's side; he was Floating in the air and, lacking offensive means, could only lead the monster in circles around a tree.
Fortunately, the Green-skinned monsters didn't seem very good at jumping, and it was frustrated below the tree but couldn't do anything to Liu Shifu.
Seeing that everyone else was temporarily fine, Chen Bugu quickly picked up the wooden club with the Crossbow stuck in it from the ground and tossed it to Liu Shifu.
"Liu Shifu, catch!"
After Liu Shifu caught the wooden club, he swept away his previous disadvantage, using his Floating height to constantly attack downwards from the air.
The tide of the battle instantly turned.
Liu Shifu, wielding the wooden club, chased after the Green-skinned monsters's head, smashing it fiercely.
He put all his strength into each blow, hitting the Green-skinned monsters's head with full force, one after another.
Chen Bugu continued to string his Crossbow, standing in the center of the battlefield, ready to provide support at any moment.
Ten seconds later, as another flash of electricity streaked from Bai Ting's fingertips, the Green-skinned monsters collapsed to the ground and never got up again.
There was a small unexpected incident on Lin Xiaoxiao's side.
Although the Green-skinned monsters were small in stature and their strength didn't seem as formidable as the Scarlet Hound, Lin Xiaoxiao's control time never exceeded three seconds.
She would always quickly retreat a few steps before losing control, and then, as soon as the monster broke free and tried to catch up, she would immediately re-apply her psychic control.
Although her mental energy was consumed quickly, at least she could maintain a safe distance.
At one point, Lin Xiaoxiao, due to exhaustion, failed to maintain her psychic connection, and the Green-skinned monsters broke free of her control.
Unexpectedly, this time it turned and fled, perhaps facing Lin Xiaoxiao's strange situation, coupled with its weapon being taken, made it lose the will to continue fighting.
Chen Bugu dared not let a single one escape and quickly shot an arrow!
The Crossbow accurately struck the Green-skinned monsters's hind leg, causing it to fall to the ground.
Lin Xiaoxiao quickly went forward to "finish the job," taking down this green head.
And with Chen Bugu and Bai Ting holding the line, everyone else also managed to kill their Green-skinned monsters without much trouble.
Bai Ting wanted to act, but Chen Bugu stopped him.
Such opportunities were rare, and everyone needed energy.
Yan Kuan used the generated stone pillars in coordination, cornering the Green-skinned monsters, then pierced the monster's foot with pre-laid Earth Spikes.
Deprived of mobility, the Green-skinned monsters was quickly killed by Yan Kuan.
Lin Ye's side was the most stable. The Animal Taming skill was clearly superior to the Green-skinned monsters, finally crushing the Green-skinned monsters's head with an iron hoof.
Wang Bin successfully "Ignited" his opponent before his mental energy ran out, and by the time he was exhausted and sitting on the ground, the Green-skinned monsters was already burned beyond recognition.
Liu Shifu also fully utilized the advantage of "height," slowly wearing down the Green-skinned monsters he faced.
After this battle, Yan Kuan and Lin Ye both absorbed enough energy and simultaneously broke through to Black Iron Two Star.
After leveling up, Lin Ye's Sheep Family's summoning duration extended to 7 minutes.
Yan Kuan's mental energy also increased, making him more proficient in manipulating Earth Element.
Now, the Earth Spikes he created were sharper and formed faster.
"These monsters, why do they look so much like Goblin?"
Wang Bin, as expected of a seasoned anime/manga fan, instantly recognized the monsters in front of him.
"But, they don't seem very strong, not as scary as that big dog in the tunnel."
He recalled the scene where he was flung by the Scarlet Hound's tail.
Chen Bugu rolled his eyes, muttering inwardly.
That's not necessarily true!
Although ordinary Goblin are at the bottom among Black Iron Grade Low-Rank magical beasts.
The Scarlet Hound, on the contrary, is one of the strongest in the Black Iron Grade Low-Rank.
But it didn't matter if others didn't know; Chen Bugu knew well.
It was precisely these seemingly weak Green-skinned monsters that ruled nearly half of the Starting Forest!