Chapter 154: The Deadly Fire Raven

Xu Wen and his three companions—three seven-star and one six-star cultivators—lacking even the ability to fly through the air, had the audacity to turn and launch an assault against five eight-star masters.

This scene, witnessed by the members of the Pirate King Crew, perfectly embodied two idioms:

“A cornered dog will leap over the wall; a trapped beast will fight to the death!”

“Seeking death!”

One of them raised his hand, ready to strike down the Black Wind Eagle, but was stopped by another beside him.

“They’re probably already engaged over there. Returning now won’t be any fun. Better to capture a few of them and have some real fun.”

“Hmph, fun? You don’t have to hide it from us. You’ve got your eye on the two girls on the flying beast, haven’t you?”

“Heh heh.”

The eight-star masters exchanged knowing smiles, the kind only they understood.

All five were in their sixties or seventies, their strange, lecherous laughter echoing as if emblazoned with two large characters on their faces: “Scoundrels!”

“Take out the swordsman with the gun on the spot, and grab that young boy too. Such a talent—seven-star fire mage at his age, and even skilled in six-star Earth Emperor magic. Such rare talent is hardly found in the world.”

“There are only two girls; whoever catches them gets to warm the bed!”

“Good!”

In a few words, the five confidently sealed the fate of the four on the Black Wind Eagle, then accelerated fiercely, swooping toward the bird.

“Haha! I won’t hold back—I’ll take one down first!”

The black-clad elder laughed heartily, his wind-elemental fighting energy surging wildly. With a burst of speed, he shot ahead of the others, leaving the other four far behind.

“Thought you could just speed away?”

Another struck back without yielding; a powerful gale suddenly rose from nowhere, blowing straight toward the five.

“Cunning!”

“Old Wind, you’re cheating!”

The other four’s expressions changed drastically, feeling the pressure double and their speed drop sharply. Only the wind-element mage casting spells was unaffected, flying headlong into the wind, his speed increasing instead.

“Haha!”

This wind elder was the same one who had proposed capturing the four on the Black Wind Eagle alive earlier. Now speeding ahead, he pulled far ahead of the others.

The events unfolded quickly, and the unfiltered conversation was clearly heard by the four on the Black Wind Eagle. Bi’er’s face darkened with fury, tinged with fear—she had no desire to fall into the hands of these old perverts.

But for Xu Wen and his three companions, the five’s decision brought an unexpected opportunity!

The three all instinctively chose to delay their attack. Ku’er silently and swiftly retracted the silver repeating crossbow hidden within his sleeve... Only when the five old men’s faces were clearly visible did Xu Wen complete his seven-star Earth Emperor magic—‘Fire Raven Sky Flight’!

Four groups of seemingly tangible fire-elemental birds appeared around Xu Wen, transforming into arrow shapes and shooting like bolts toward the wind elder.

“What’s this?”

The wind elder’s expression changed drastically, his figure halting abruptly.

Because he had resolved to capture the four alive, he hadn’t prepared any high-damage magic. Besides, in his eyes, apart from Wang Xiaoshuai, the others posed no real threat.

But Xu Wen’s magic instantly exposed his weakness!

The four fire ravens carried terrifying heat, nearly white-hot!

Before they even got close, the protective barrier began to show signs—glowing faintly red, burning and thinning, slowly melting away.

The four behind were equally shocked!

Such powerful magic, even an eight-star master might not wield so easily.

One after another, they pushed their mental energy and fighting spirit to the limit, heightening their alertness. They quickly transformed their magic, abandoning the idea of capturing the four alive.

Feeling the scorching heat threatening to burn through the barrier, the wind elder broke into a cold sweat! His face flushed red as he gritted his teeth, throwing out several magic spells from his equipment in a desperate attempt to reduce the ravens’ damage.

Alas... the four fire ravens cried out a strange sound simultaneously.

At the moment just before striking the wind elder’s barrier, the fire elemental bodies suddenly split in two, transforming four fire ravens into eight... The wind elder’s spells passed straight through the gap.

His face turned pale as death.

The four companions behind him didn’t even have time to cry out in shock; staring helplessly, they watched as the eight fire ravens bypassed the wind elder’s magic and struck his protective barrier with undeniable force.

Eight intense tremors seemed to strike simultaneously, and no one knew at which blow the barrier was finally shattered.

Onlookers only saw the moment the eight fire ravens hit the barrier, the wind elder’s body rapidly igniting, turning to ashes!

“You brat deserves to die!”

“Kill them! Avenge the wind elder!”

The remaining five, witnessing their comrade’s utter destruction, felt a fleeting sorrow but their eyes hardened, itching to pulverize everyone on the Black Wind Eagle.

But where their gaze fell, the shattered fire ravens didn’t vanish; instead, the torn flames quickly reformed into over a dozen groups of fire ravens in the sky.

The four’s expressions changed instantly as they sensed the equally intense heat and killing power emanating from the newly formed fire ravens. Their faces twisted in horror!

It was too late!

On the Black Wind Eagle, Xu Wen’s first wave of fire ravens had fully split. He immediately commanded the sixteen fire ravens to attack two of the remaining four enemies.

“Dodge!”

“Be careful!”

The other two broke into a cold sweat, furiously throwing magic scrolls without holding back, colliding with the fire ravens before they could split further.

Though lacking seven-star or eight-star level advanced scrolls, just ordinary high-grade magic, each collision weakened the flames on the fire ravens.

By the time all sixteen fire ravens struck their targets, the two’s fighting spirit armors and barriers were barely holding on the verge of collapse.

Staring at the young faces clearly visible on the Black Wind Eagle, a chill ran down the four’s backs:

A terrifying youth!

Yet just as the dread began to fade and they prepared to counterattack, the sharp twang of mechanical springs sounded—the harbingers of death.

Two black arrow shafts shot from the Black Wind Eagle’s back, piercing through the fragile fighting spirit armors and barriers of the two spared enemies, embedding deep into their bodies.

The sudden attack caught everyone off guard.

The other two only heard two muffled thuds of the arrows penetrating flesh, then saw the two eight-star masters collapse without even a sound, their fighting spirit armors and barriers shattering simultaneously. Their bodies went limp, pitching headfirst into the sea.

Those paying close attention could see the horrific wounds at the arrow entry points rapidly devouring flesh, spreading outward at an alarming speed.

Ku’er silently drew one of the silver repeating crossbows back into his sleeve.

Though deviating somewhat from the plan, even Xu Wen had to admire Ku’er’s sense of timing—true to his assassin’s reputation.

With a single strike, he eliminated two major threats.

The remaining two eight-star masters still posed a serious threat, but the pressure had lessened significantly. Even if they launched a fierce assault, they could no longer threaten the Black Wind Eagle in the short term.

Xu Wen raised one hand, revealing six dark holes on his wrist.

“Thunk, thunk, thunk...” The sound of mechanical springs echoed as a cloud of powder sprayed toward the last two enemies.

At the same time, Xu Wen’s face turned pale as he gritted his teeth, forcing his remaining mental energy to split open eight more fire ravens. Together with the previously summoned sixteen, the overwhelming force surged forward—an unrelenting, sky-filling attack against the last two.

The biggest advantage of this spell was its ability to multiply magical power through sheer numbers; the only drawback was the equally multiplied consumption of energy.

What once could only support casting twice the number of fire ravens now rapidly drained Xu Wen’s mental energy. Twenty-four fire ravens were already his limit.

Yet, amidst the blazing clouds and crimson-white waves of fire, and the successive fall of comrades, the two remaining eight-star masters’ morale shattered completely.

Losing spirit, they turned and fled, casting magic wildly like mercury pouring over the ground.

“Too late.”

The flight speed of eight-star masters was no match for the rapid-fire mechanisms.

Moreover, the Black Wind Eagle had charged straight at them from the start, never slowing, now closing in behind them.

The phosphorus powder spread behind the two fleeing enemies, quickly ignited by the fire ravens.

Ku’er raised his hand; several black arrow shafts exploded forth!

The massive fire clouds instantly became a sea of flames, engulfing the last two...

The fire ravens, along with armor-piercing metal arrows smeared in poison, silently slipped into the inferno.

The Black Wind Eagle sped forward, flashing beneath the fire sea like lightning. Wang Xiaoshuai deftly snatched two storage rings from the scattered, falling embers.

The fiery waves released by the phosphorus powder vanished instantly; the fire ravens dissipated into basic fire elements in the air.

Panting heavily, Xu Wen collapsed onto the Black Wind Eagle’s back, leaning against Wang Xiaoshuai’s leg. He devoured a stimulant pill, then painfully forced a drop of blue liquid from a transparent bottle into his mouth.

A mana recovery potion.

Now was no time to be frugal... News of slaying five eight-star masters would soon reach the Pirate King Crew. They had to quickly tie up loose ends and flee this sea, lest they fall prey to relentless pursuit.

With his mental energy partially restored, Xu Wen’s complexion improved somewhat.

Meanwhile, above the sea, the battle between Elder Xie and Gou Qian had reached its first phase.

During their fight, Elder Xie secretly poured half a vial of millennium corpse king venom into the sea as they skimmed the surface. Instantly, countless fish carcasses floated up, the stench unbearable.

Even Gou Qian’s massive white tiger shark and the other five tiger shark beasts rose to the surface, their bodies rotting and emitting a foul odor.

With their mounts destroyed, how could Gou Qian not be enraged?

But at that moment, the sky repeatedly rippled with powerful eight-star magic fluctuations. One by one, the five wind elders fell, their mounts vanishing. Gou Qian was stricken with horror.

Only now did he grasp the true reason behind the destruction of his mounts... The Black Wind Eagle and the demonically transformed Elder Xie were in pursuit, the white tiger sharks all poisoned, and the rest of the Pirate King Crew long gone over the horizon.

He was trapped, with nowhere left to turn, heaven or earth!

(To be continued)