Chapter 71: Black Crow

Feeling the howling wind above their heads, the members of the adventurer party looked up.

They saw something surging deep within the thick darkness above.

The wind was coming from its movement.

“What is that?!”

Grey’s sharp eyes caught the abnormality in the darkness above.

A strong fear surged in his heart, and he asked tremblingly.

“How should I know?!”

Rom was also terrified, but he still tried to force calmness in this situation.

Facing an unknown danger, it was a big taboo to start internal chaos before figuring out what the enemy was.

At the very least, they needed to stabilize everyone’s mindset and prevent a breakdown from excessive mental pressure.

If they did something irrational due to low team morale at a time like this, that would be the real trouble.

“Don’t argue. Quiet down. Let’s get out of here quickly!”

Tao Lani held the Holy Staff and said calmly.

Then she grabbed Jiu and ran in the opposite direction of the wind source she had remembered earlier.

Seeing Tao Lani move quickly, Grey and Rom didn’t dare linger and immediately sprinted after her.

But they soon realized the harder they ran, the stronger the wind blew, nearly knocking them to the ground.

Tao Lani could feel that the thing in the darkness above was getting closer and closer.

“Tao Lani, cast that Lighting Spell again. I’ll try to locate the target!”

Rom, who was panting heavily, suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, Tao Lani didn’t waste time.

She raised the Holy Staff and pointed it directly upward.

As mana poured in, the entire darkness was once again illuminated brightly by the fluorescent light.

And as the darkness was dispelled, everyone saw clearly what was above them.

It was an enormous black bird, circling right above their heads.

And the violent wind was caused by the flapping of its wings.

“What is this thing?!”

After the light dimmed again, Grey couldn’t help but complain.

The others had varied expressions on their faces.

The one who couldn’t hold on first was Jiu.

She had already been scared badly back in the Skeleton Land, and now seeing such a huge crow, the fact that she could still walk was her limit.

Jiu could clearly feel her calves trembling now.

Every step was extremely difficult.

A heavily suppressed sob finally burst out uncontrollably, growing from small to loud, echoing in the darkness.

“Jiu, don’t be afraid.”

Seeing this, Tao Lani gripped Jiu’s cold hand and gently comforted her.

“O-okay.”

Jiu sniffled, realizing now was not the time to cry.

She swallowed hard and wiped the tears from her eyes.

As they sprinted, the wind suddenly intensified.

A huge dark shadow landed not far ahead of them.

A strong stench of blood and rot rushed into their noses.

When Tao Lani smelled it, a violent feeling of nausea surged up.

The discomfort in her stomach made her cover her mouth and try hard to suppress the urge to vomit.

Looking at the others’ faces, they were clearly not much better.

Especially Jiu, whose face was pale, legs weak, and she had already bent over to throw up to the side.

At that moment, Rom, who had been mostly silent, raised his Magic Wand and stared intently at the crow ahead.

“My wand’s charge is done. I’m ready for this strike.”

He said confidently.

As mana surged, a small red orb appeared at the tip of the wand.

“Fifth Order: Lava Spear!”

A spear made entirely of lava materialized at the wand’s tip.

The lava flowed and churned on it.

Terrifying high temperatures radiated outward, and the heat slightly lifted the hems of their clothes.

Then Rom directed the spear toward the giant bird ahead.

A brilliant trail of flame crossed the air, leaving a wisp of smoke.

The black bird seemed to sense the threat and quickly folded its wings in front of its body, trying to block the lava spear.

Seeing this, a slight smile curled at the corner of Rom’s mouth.

This was a Fifth Order spell.

For this bird to block it with just its flesh was sheer fantasy.

As long as the bird didn’t dodge, he was confident he could pierce through it.

Sure enough, what happened next didn’t surprise him.

The lava spear effortlessly pierced through the black bird’s wing, burning a large patch of feathers.

Blood flowed from the wound, and through it, the muscle tissue underneath was visible.

But soon, when the lava spear struck the bird’s body, it seemed to hit an invisible wall.

The spear instantly turned into a pool of magma, dripping from the bird’s feathers to the ground.

In an instant, Rom’s expression changed.

He knew exactly how powerful this spell was.

He had been completely confident he could kill the black bird with it.

But now, something had happened.

The lava spear hit the bird’s body and simply failed.

It had just pierced through the wing, so why couldn’t it now?

But Rom didn’t have time to think about that.

The injured black bird was now shrieking madly.

A piercing, screeching noise like static continuously assaulted their ears.

“Caw caw caw—!!!”

Stimulated by the pain, the bird went into a furious rage.

It flapped its wings wildly, splattering foul blood in all directions.

Gusts of wind blasted toward Tao Lani.

And at this moment, Tao Lani’s condition was clearly not good.

She had only just recovered from the severe nausea when the bird went completely berserk.

Grey now stood at the front of the group, holding his axe, blocking most of the wind.

“What do we do now?!”

Grey shouted loudly.

Even with his physique, he found it very difficult to withstand this gale.

Hearing Grey’s question, Rom snapped out of it and spoke.

“Hold it off! I’ll try again! Since the spell didn’t work, I’ll use a different one!”

“Alright!”

Grey responded, then gripped his axe with both hands and moved forward against the wind.

Jiu, who had just finished throwing up, now stood beside Tao Lani, supported by her.

Her legs were shaking, and her weak, powerless hand still held the longbow.

“Here, drink this.”

Tao Lani took out a Recovery Potion from her pocket and pressed it into Jiu’s hand.

“Mm…”

Jiu wanted to refuse at first.

But when she met Tao Lani’s serious gaze, she changed her mind.

Now was not the time to be modest.

What mattered most was recovering her condition first.

Besides, the other party was the team’s Doctor.

It was her duty to restore the team’s state.

After uncapping the bottle, Jiu downed the potion in one gulp.

Seeing Jiu finish the potion, Tao Lani turned around, her eyes becoming serious.

No matter what, she had to buy time for Rom to cast a powerful spell.

That was the most likely way to solve the current problem.

“Blood Art: Withered Shadow!”

Tao Lani chanted the incantation and swung the Holy Staff.

Instantly, nineteen shadows shot out of the darkness, rushing toward the black bird.

Sensing more than one enemy, the black bird beat its wings fiercely.

A powerful air current rushed at them, forcing everyone to squint.

Then, a hail of black feathers shot toward them like arrows.

Seeing this, Tao Lani immediately activated a defensive spell.

Just before the feathers landed, she deployed a mana shield covering everyone.

The next moment, a feather sliced past Tao Lani’s eyes and slammed into the ground, quivering.

Looking at the still-trembling feather, Tao Lani shouted a warning to her companions.

“Don’t let those feathers stab you! They’re incredibly sharp!”

The others also realized the danger of those feathers.

Seeing the feathers deeply embedded in the ground all around, they broke out in a cold sweat.

If Tao Lani hadn’t deployed the defensive spell just in time, they would have been riddled with holes by now.

At that moment, Withered Shadow had already attached itself to the black bird.

Visibly, the bird’s movements began to slow, as if greatly affected.

Just as Withered Shadow took effect, Rom, who had been chanting and channeling mana, suddenly roared.

“Fifth Order Summon: Dead Knight!”