Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 480: Unknown Demon

The Level 1 Peak Sea Race Warrior swung his trident, summoning a giant waterspout that instantly slaughtered several monsters.

But more monsters immediately lunged forward, their acid and energy attacks leaving him struggling to cope as his companions continued to fall around him.

While Duke was watching the battle, he keenly sensed something was off. Suddenly, the air was faintly filled with a strange, sour, and fishy scent.

"Something’s wrong!" Duke’s expression turned grim as he immediately voiced a warning.

Almost the moment his voice fell, an abrupt change occurred.

"Rustle—Crack!"

The dense bushes and shadows of the forest around them suddenly came alive with a nerve-wracking sound of intensive crawling and an eerie scraping noise.

In the next moment, dozens, even hundreds of sinister-looking dark purple creatures surged in from all sides like a tide, surrounding them completely.

They moved with astonishing speed, completing the encirclement in an instant, sealing off all escape routes.

It seemed that the number of these monsters was even more than anticipated; not only were there many on the Sea Race Warrior’s side, but there were just as many on theirs.

Duke’s eyes were cold. Facing the overwhelming swarm of creatures, he remained unperturbed, slowly raising his right hand.

"Rise."

With a low command, an immense river of yellow sand, appearing as if it had a life of its own, burst forth from the Yellow Sand Crystal, enveloping Duke, Vivian, and the Storm Dragon Eagle, forming a high-speed rotating barrier of flowing sand.

Several monsters that charged forward first were flung away by the immense centrifugal force the moment they crashed into the sand, or were ground to bits by the magic-infused sands.

With another sweep of his hand, Duke conjured a tornado that swept forward.

The fusion of wind and sand resulted in a qualitative transformation in an instant.

The original sand barrier’s power skyrocketed, transforming into an all-encompassing catastrophic sandstorm, its range rapidly expanding.

The sand grains accelerated by the fierce winds became countless tiny bullets, madly battering and slicing all creatures within the area.

The monsters’ hard shells emitted a teeth-gritting scraping noise under the incessant assault of the endless sand grains, sparks flying, soon cracking and ultimately shattering. The acid attacks were mostly blocked by the thick sand walls in advance.

Meanwhile, the Storm Dragon Eagle spread its wings and cried aloud. It did not charge into the sandstorm but circled above, its sharp gaze locked onto the monsters attempting to either skirt the storm’s edge or retreat.

With a powerful flap of its wings, several dazzling blue lightning chains lashed down like the whip of a thunder god, striking precisely.

The chains of lightning leaped among the monster horde, and the struck monsters’ shells turned black as smoke rose, convulsing as they fell, while the powerful electric currents even managed to temporarily paralyze a small area of monsters.

Duke stood at the center of the sandstorm, like a deity wielding the power of sand.

With another thought, several gigantic hands of sand shot out from the sands, precisely grabbing and crushing a few monsters attempting a subterranean assault.

Though these monsters were fierce, under the multi-pronged attack of Duke, who had just ascended to become a Crystalized Wizard, their numbers swiftly dwindled.

Their shells, capable of deflecting energy attacks, were far less effective against the physically powerful impact of the sandstorm and the pure force of natural lightning.

Duke’s ability to deal extensive damage was overwhelmingly potent, and with the Storm Dragon Eagle’s assistance, Vivian hardly had a chance to act before vast swathes of the surrounding monsters were eradicated, leaving behind a vacuum area.

The sandstorm continued to rage, relentlessly exterminating the nearby monsters, which seemed fearless in the face of death, persisting in their charge though it meant certain doom.

Before long, the monsters on Duke’s side were essentially cleared out.

He turned to glance at the situation with the Sea Race Warriors in the distance, where the situation still looked dire.

Without delay, Duke held Vivian in one arm and flew across the yellow sand, bringing with him an endless whirlwind and sand, continuously devouring the surrounding dark purple creatures.

His arrival instantly altered the tide of battle, relieving the pressure on the Sea Race Warrior, who cast a grateful glance toward Duke and Vivian, then roared angrily, leading his remaining men in a counterattack.

While clearing out the monsters, Duke meticulously observed.

He noted these monsters had formidable defense, aggression, and that peculiar ability to deflect energy attacks, making them quite challenging. If Duke hadn’t mainly relied on physical rather than energy attacks, they could’ve been troublesome to handle.

Most of these monsters were below Level 1 in terms of life-form, with only a few reaching early Level 1 life-form status.

Individually, these monsters were quite weak, but their sheer numbers posed a significant problem for any ordinary Level 1 Mage or Level 1 Knight.

If unable to disengage promptly, one might get worn down to death.

"These creatures... aren’t simple." Duke felt a faint unease rise within him.

The battle was swiftly nearing its end. With the coordinated help of Duke, Vivian, and the Storm Dragon Eagle, the beach was cleared of monsters, leaving only acidic-smelling remains and shattered shells littered everywhere.

The Level 1 Peak Sea Race Warrior approached, speaking with a slightly peculiar accent in Morian Language, "Thank you both for your assistance. I am Kasa, the patrol leader of the Deep Blue Song clan. Without you, my teammates and I would have likely perished here today."

"No need for thanks, Captain Kasa. We are Wizards from the West Coast," Duke briefly introduced himself, then pointed at the monster corpses, asking, "What are these creatures? We’ve never seen them before."

Captain Kasa’s expression turned grave, "We don’t know their exact origin either. Recently, these monsters started appearing sporadically on some uninhabited islands in the surrounding sea. They are highly aggressive and devour all live beings and energy. We call them devourer bugs. Our clan elders are very concerned and have sent us to investigate, but we didn’t expect to encounter so many here..."

Devourer bugs? Duke and Vivian exchanged a glance, seeing the confusion and wariness in each other’s eyes.

"Where did they come from?" Vivian pressed on.

Kasa shook his head, "Unclear. They seem to appear out of thin air. We suspect... it might be related to certain unstable spatial rifts."

He didn’t divulge more information, clearly indicating this involved confidential investigations within the Sea Race.

Duke didn’t pursue further. He crouched down, using his Spiritual Power to thoroughly scan a relatively intact Insect Race corpse, committing its appearance, energy responses, and shell structure to memory.

"May I take some corpses as samples for research?" Duke inquired.

Although they were his kills, it was wise to be cautious when dealing with the Sea Race; asking a few extra questions wasn’t a bad thing.

Kasa nodded, "Of course you may. These creatures you defeated are your spoils; feel free to take them."