Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 603 - 415: Drow Half-Blood, the Bear Monster’s Treasure Cave! (2)

She could attack enemy creatures with a Poisonous Claw Strike that applied a mild poison effect. This skill not only increased her single-target output but also weakened an enemy’s combat effectiveness to a certain degree. Although the toxin from the Poisonous Claw Strike wasn’t particularly strong, it was enough to slow an enemy down for a short period.

However, they also had their disadvantages. Fang Zhou had previously observed that these Harpies possessed weaker physical Attributes and a low carrying capacity. To maintain their mobility and flight, they couldn’t wear any armor besides cloth, nor could they use heavy cold weapons like War Axes, Warhammers, or Two-Handed Greatswords. At first glance, the Harpies’ various Attributes didn’t seem powerful. Aside from their Agility Attribute, the rest were quite poor, making them seem like little more than upgraded Flower Butterfly Girls. But when their Skills were factored in, their actual combat strength wasn’t weak at all.

Unfortunately, their equipment was still lacking. They couldn’t wear armor and had low physical Attributes, which made them fragile in direct combat and unsuited for prolonged melee engagements. However, even when facing an enemy they couldn’t defeat, they could use their Air Charge Skill to retreat smoothly and avoid unnecessary losses.

Overall, compared to the Flower Butterfly Girls, these Harpies were very qualified scouts—at least, when they were flying. Once the Harpies landed, their combat effectiveness would plummet. This decline wasn’t a result of weakened Attributes, but rather limitations in their methods of attack. Due to their physiological structure, it was difficult for them to generate sufficient power and explosiveness while on their feet. Their wings and talons, which could execute all sorts of techniques in the air, became clumsy on the ground, preventing them from moving or attacking with speed and precision. This made them rather passive in ground combat, unable to display the same agility and efficiency they possessed in the air.

Shaking his head slightly, Fang Zhou decided not to dwell on these trivial matters for now. For him and the Calamity Squad, these three Harpies were merely a welcome addition to their forces. They were much like the Moonlight Deer they rode and the Flower Butterfly Girls who flew alongside them, watching the new Harpies with caution. Although each of these creatures had its unique traits, the most reliable assets were still Fang Zhou himself and his summoned Undead Army.

「...」

After continuing eastward for over an hour, a dense, lush forest came into view. According to the information relayed by the Harpy scouts, they had arrived at their destination. However, plans rarely keep up with reality. When Fang Zhou and his team arrived, they found that someone had already beaten them to it.

Appearing before them was a Sea City Military Academy Team dressed similarly to Ye Yinzhu’s Thunderfire Squad. They were engaged in fierce combat with a troop of twenty-some Bear Monsters that stood three to four meters tall and had a roughly humanoid shape. The skin of these Bear Monsters was covered in a faint black mist, giving them a somber hue as if they had been corrupted by darkness. Their bodies were muscular, their limbs thick and powerful, and they were covered in dense black fur, making them look extraordinarily ferocious. Their heads were bear-like, but their faces were more savage, with a pair of short horns sprouting from their foreheads that made them seem even more menacing. Seeing this, Fang Zhou immediately frowned.

He was confident in the Calamity Squad’s marching speed. Even after resting for an entire night at the Flower Elf tribe’s camp, they should have been far faster than the cadets who had just entered the Forest of Nature in response to the War Summon Order. To encounter others who had already arrived this deep in the forest could only mean one thing: like the Thunderfire Squad, this team had entered on a prior exploration mission. To have the confidence to venture this far, the average strength of this Sea City Military Academy Team must be a notch above the Thunderfire Squad’s.

And this was precisely what gave Fang Zhou pause. If they were fighting any other evil race, he would attack without hesitation. But they were all comrades from Sea City Military Academy, so it was naturally impossible to use violence to snatch the spoils of their victory. Fang Zhou silently shook his head and signaled the Calamity Squad to halt their advance outside the danger zone, already preparing himself to abandon the mission.

Then again, it was no surprise. While most of the Forest of Nature was just that—a forest—this particular section of woods emanated a distinctly eerie and dark aura. Any passing team from the Sea City Military Academy would naturally be curious enough to investigate.

At this moment, Liu Diewu asked from his side, "Fang Zhou, could the Eagle Mother have called others to help exterminate these fallen Bear Monsters?"

Fang Zhou waved a hand, whispering, "Don’t be hasty. Let’s observe first. Eagle Mother Destiny wouldn’t deceive us about something like this. It’s more likely she never even saw any other cadets from Sea City Military Academy. Besides, judging by the look of things, it seems they only just started fighting."

"Gu Yueyuan, take the Harpies and the Flower Butterfly Girls to scout the perimeter of this forest and check for any other anomalies," Fang Zhou instructed calmly. "Everyone else, remain here on high alert, ready for battle at a moment’s notice."

Gu Yueyuan immediately complied, leading the flying units toward the flank of the woods. The other team members took the opportunity to rest while observing the battle ahead.

The Eagle Mother’s attitude had made them cautious about this mission, so this was a good opportunity to observe the enemy’s fighting style and overall strength.

As it turned out, the Bear Monsters were indeed incredibly tough, with thick hides and dense flesh. Fang Zhou watched as the ten-person Sea City Military Academy Team attacked with great excitement, shouting vigorously as they fought. However, even after several minutes of combat, most of the Bear Monsters had suffered little more than superficial wounds and minor bleeding. Only two had actually fallen.

Those two had been killed only after a few of the team’s mages combined their powerful skills to take them down. As for the ordinary Combat Professionals, their regular attacks with metal weapons could hardly inflict any effective damage on the Bear Monsters unless they unleashed their Battle Qi or used Skills.

These Bear Monsters’ defenses are truly extraordinary, Fang Zhou thought as he watched the scene unfold. The archers, in particular, were completely unable to penetrate the monsters’ thick hides. When their arrows struck their targets, they would produce a dull thud before falling uselessly to the ground, as if they had struck an invisible wall. This level of Defense Power is far beyond that of an ordinary Lower Black Iron Demon.

From what Fang Zhou could see, the Bear Monsters’ defense against Physical Attacks was in no way inferior to that of the Magma Demon Heavy Armor Warriors the Calamity Squad had annihilated the previous day.

As for their offense, though the Bear Monsters wielded no weapons, their bodies were weapons in themselves. They would swing their brawny arms—each over a meter long and more than half a foot thick—like giant hammers, forcing the Combat Professional cadets back again and again. Each swing sent the air whistling, and the sheer force was stunning.

A few of the taller Bear Monsters with darker fur seemed even more formidable. They were often able to send any Combat Professional in their path flying back several meters. Some cadets were knocked clean off their feet, landing so heavily they couldn’t get back up right away.

Clearly, these Bear Monsters possessed an exceptionally high Combat Power Coefficient. If not for the few Magic Professionals and Support Professionals on the ten-person team providing healing and aid, their fate would have been grim. The cadets were lucky that the Bear Monsters’ attack and movement speeds were relatively slow, and they didn’t pursue those they knocked back.

Even so, Fang Zhou felt the situation was not optimistic. The cadets’ Mana and Battle Qi would eventually run out.