Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 599 - 413: [Yellow Springs Nightmare], Training Harpies_2

After commanding Bruce to swiftly scout the skies and finding no ambushes, Fang Zhou rode the Yellow Springs Nightmare, charging ahead with his skeletal servants. With his current terrifying combat power, he could have eliminated the entire Thousand Bone Cluster single-handedly, let alone with the aid of his undead followers.

The Yellow Springs Nightmare’s four hooves moved like the wind, resembling a black streak of lightning slicing through the desolate hills. Under the blood-red moonlight, the Corpse Long Spear in Fang Zhou’s hand gleamed with a cold luster. The skeletal servants followed closely behind, forming a tight battle formation as they rushed toward the horde of bones ahead.

As the distance closed, Fang Zhou could clearly see the enemy cluster. These skeleton soldiers were not arranged in any neat order, but their numbers were vast, densely filling the entire valley. A cold smile touched Fang Zhou’s lips as he swung his long spear and issued a low command, "Attack!"

Like an arrow released from its bowstring, the Yellow Springs Nightmare shot into the enemy’s formation. The long spear in Fang Zhou’s hand traced deadly arcs through the air, extinguishing the Soul Fires of several skeletons with every swing. The skeletal servants followed close behind, wielding a variety of weapons to shatter the enemy skeletons one by one.

The hunting feast had begun.

***

「Early the next morning, at the Forest of Nature camp.」

After getting his things in order, Fang Zhou temporarily bid farewell to Ye Yinzhu’s Thunderfire Squad. Ye Yinzhu and his team had been fighting and exploring in the Forest of Nature for a long time. They were now mentally and physically exhausted and desperately needed to rest. Therefore, they decided to stay at the camp to recover, while Fang Zhou continued to explore deeper eastward into the forest.

The previous night, Fang Zhou had received a new mission from the Flower Elf sentries: to clear the path leading to the Queen’s Tribe. This aligned perfectly with Fang Zhou’s own plan to visit the Flower Elf Queen, so their objectives coincided.

Leading the four members of the Calamity Squad, Fang Zhou rode onward in an eastward direction on a Moonlight Deer. The deer’s steps were light and swift. They made a forced march through the forest, encountering no battles along the way. After all, this was still the territory of the Flower Elves and their Natural Allies, so any potential dangers had already been eliminated.

But according to the map provided by the Flower Elf sentries, the area ahead was unexplored.

Noticing that the Flower Butterfly Girls accompanying them looked somewhat fatigued, Fang Zhou signaled for everyone to stop and rest for a while.

He shook his head inwardly. These four Butterfly Girls, carefully chosen by the Calamity Squad, were all elites of the lower Black Iron Tier. They had managed to break through to the Black Iron Tier only by benefiting from the Forest of Nature’s energy level transition. However, their overall qualities were still a far cry from the members of the Calamity Squad.

While everyone was resting, Gu Yueyuan, whose strength was second only to Fang Zhou’s, took one of the Flower Butterfly Girls to scout the vicinity.

About ten minutes later, the Flower Butterfly Girl flew back in a hurry and reported, "Lord Ark, we’ve discovered a giant treehouse ahead! From a distance, it looks like there are figures moving inside!"

Fang Zhou raised an eyebrow. "Treehouse? Let’s go take a look."

Something this unusual couldn’t be normal. Encountering a treehouse in this unexplored, unknown land could mean the presence of Demons or similar entities. The members of the Calamity Squad quickly readied their equipment and followed Fang Zhou and Gu Yueyuan toward the structure.

Just as the Flower Butterfly Girl had described, a truly enormous treehouse stood amidst a low-lying forest and a sea of flowers. More accurately, it was a colossal bird’s nest supported by a dozen large trees. Its diameter exceeded twenty meters. Numerous large birds, each about a meter long, flew around the nest, their pleasant chirps adding a touch of vitality to the tranquil forest.

The "figures" the Flower Butterfly Girl had mentioned were bird-like people covered in bristly, black-and-yellow feathers—a hybrid of humans and large birds. Unlike ordinary birds, they had human faces, human-like arms, and the torsos of human females. More importantly, though somewhat slender, each stood over one and a half meters tall and possessed a pair of wings covered in gray feathers.

They were all flying units, and they didn’t look particularly weak.

Thanks to his mastery of the Mythical World Monster Girl Bestiary—er, no, the *biological* bestiary—Fang Zhou immediately recognized them as Harpies.

Like the Flower Butterfly Girls at his side, Harpies were a weak species, generally at the Apprentice level, with their elites capable of reaching the Black Iron Tier. Their alignment was usually Chaotic Neutral. They often used their singing, dancing, and service skills to seek protection from more powerful Sky Spirit Beasts. Furthermore, they often leveraged their aerial combat abilities and decent birth rates to offer their services as mercenaries to various races in exchange for resources for survival and development.

Judging by the size of this nest, it could probably house one or two hundred Harpies along with the ordinary large birds without issue.

Below the giant bird’s nest was a small, exquisitely built cabin of a distinct Elven style. Constructed with a large amount of wood and with a roof covered in green vines, it blended seamlessly into the natural surroundings. The fact that it could exist peacefully alongside these Harpies suggested some sort of connection between them.

Fang Zhou shot a sidelong glance at the reckless Flower Butterfly Girl. While her reconnaissance skills were usually decent, she could be truly unreliable at times.

How could anyone confuse a treehouse with a bird’s nest? he thought to himself, but he decided not to blame her. After all, in such a complex natural environment, it was hard to guarantee the accuracy of information.

The Flower Butterfly Girl looked a little embarrassed, knowing she had made a blunder. In her defense, she had been rather frightened. From a distance, she had seen that the creatures could fly, and getting any closer would have made her an obvious target for enemies in the air. That was why she had reported back immediately after spotting them from afar.

"Let’s get closer," Fang Zhou said.

Seeing these Harpies had stirred something within him. Having air units could fundamentally change one’s battle strategies. Flying units could bypass the frontline melee forces and directly strike the more fragile ranged units!

If you asked what ranged units feared the most, different people would give different answers. Backstabbing assassins, cavalry charges, Magic bombardments, or simply an enemy with more, stronger ranged units. But in Fang Zhou’s view, one threat was particularly difficult to counter: a direct assault from an air force!

In a battle, the golden opportunity for archers to be effective was during the brief window of time between the enemy entering their range and closing the distance to the front lines. If an air force ambushed them at the very start of a battle, their own ranged units would be tied up dealing with the threat. Even if they eventually eliminated the attackers, by the time the main melee forces of both sides clashed, the archers would have lost their window of opportunity and struggle to contribute effectively.

Because, with the exception of a few spells that had friendly-fire reduction, most attacks in this world could harm allies. A sword slash would wound them, and an arrow could kill them.

Fang Zhou had considered how to avoid this situation before. After browsing through a vast amount of information in the Sea City Military Academy’s database, he had come to a single conclusion. The best solution was to have his own air units to counter the enemy’s, which would naturally eliminate the problem.

With this in mind, Fang Zhou had always wanted to find a flying unit and a cavalry unit to round out his Undead forces. He had only achieved his preliminary goal when he finally managed to summon Skeleton Bats, a flying Undead unit.

For that same reason, it was no wonder Fang Zhou was so excited to see these renowned mercenary Harpies.