Chapter 118: The Strategy of Shedding Armor

The Earth-Eating Beast was moving faster than expected. Perhaps it had sensed that it was drawing closer to the sun and, growing increasingly agitated, had accelerated its pace.

This posed little difficulty for Chu Yun and Selina, who were traveling with Flying Wings, but it undoubtedly made things more dangerous for those following behind as reinforcements.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

The Earth-Eating Beast, which had thus far refrained from attacking the sun, finally could not contain its fury. A rain of scales shot toward the sun, blotting out the sky.

“Chu Yun, be careful! Fly higher!” Selina said nervously.

Fortunately, its range of control was limited. Once the scales reached their maximum distance, it recalled them.

The Earth-Eating Beast tried twice more, but both attempts ended in failure. It immediately increased its running speed, attempting to reach the position directly beneath the sun and attack it.

Unfortunately, the Flying Wings were faster. The Earth-Eating Beast could only pursue helplessly from behind.

Selina let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps feeling embarrassed by her earlier nervousness, she turned to Chu Yun and said, “Chu Yun, let’s go a little lower. I want to get a good look at that monster.”

She seemed to want to prove through her actions that she was not afraid. Yet Chu Yun not only refused to lower their altitude—he flew even higher.

“What are you doing?” Selina asked, somewhat displeased.

But she soon understood why.

The Earth-Eating Beast on the ground had changed its tactics. It had originally been sparing its scales and therefore had not attacked with all its strength.

After several failed attempts, however, it had become enraged. It no longer recalled the scales after firing them, instead relying on their momentum and abandoning the effort required to retrieve them. As a result, they could indeed be shot much farther.

One scale grazed past them. Had Chu Yun not reacted in time, he would have been struck.

Selina was not nearly as brave as she had tried to appear. When death truly drew near, she clung to Chu Yun in terror, nearly breaking the Light spell.

“Focus on casting!” Chu Yun hurriedly reminded her.

Selina flushed and steadied the Light spell once more, while inwardly feeling somewhat relieved.

If she had been working with Laisa, Laisa might already have obediently listened to her and lowered their altitude. And with Laisa’s flying skills, she probably would not have been able to evade the scales.

Having once been killed by the Earth-Eating Beast, Chu Yun never dared to let down his guard. Fortunately, the uncontrolled scales possessed no tracking ability. At this distance, evading the attacks through keen perception and anticipation was not difficult.

Moreover, this situation had another advantage.

“The Earth-Eating Beast is losing scales. If we can exhaust all the scales on its body before we reach the Poison Mist Marsh, killing it will become much easier.” Chu Yun used a communication spell to relay the suggestion to the guildmaster, who was casting the Dark Canopy at a higher altitude.

The guildmaster hesitated. The Earth-Eating Beast’s target was the sun—and at that moment, her daughter was the sun.

“Are you certain you can evade those scales?” the guildmaster asked uneasily.

“No. It may have other methods as well, but I’ll do my best to evade them from as high up as possible.” Chu Yun was still fairly confident. He spent the remaining ten skill points on Flying Technique.

After reaching Level 11, Flying Technique advanced by one rank. The difference from Level 10 was enormous. At that moment, the Flying Wings felt to Chu Yun like an extension of his own limbs.

“Grandfather, the Poison Mist Wyvern probably can’t defeat it. Even with our help, it would be difficult. Let Chu Yun try. I have defensive equipment that can save my life. If it breaks, we can stop then,” Selina said.

As the favored daughter of heaven, Selina possessed far more magical equipment than Haig.

Withstanding one or two attacks from scales that had flown such a great distance would not be difficult. The farther the scales traveled, the weaker their impact became.

“All right, but be extremely careful.” Nelson himself had little confidence in the final plan. Being able to lure the monster away was already a blessing.

But after hearing Chu Yun’s proposal, the plan seemed genuinely promising.

If they could truly kill a legendary creature, it would be the highest honor of his life. He would probably never have another opportunity like this.

After informing Haig of the situation, Nelson lowered his altitude slightly. Still uneasy, he had another mage—one who had not yet begun casting the clouds to obscure the sun—assist with the defense.

The journey that followed became increasingly perilous. The Earth-Eating Beast’s mind was clearly not entirely sound. Under Chu Yun’s constant provocation, it launched attack after attack.

Chu Yun soared freely through the sky like a carefree bird, occasionally practicing the new aerial maneuvers he had just mastered. The high-difficulty movements frightened Selina into shrieking, but fortunately, the wind was fierce at such a great height, and the people below could not hear her.

Once she grew accustomed to them, she did not blame Chu Yun. Instead, she became more and more excited. She was naturally fond of adventure and thrills.

“Faster, Chu Yun! I want more!”

“Make two more turns this time!”

Chu Yun was speechless. Even he felt dizzy after being spun around so much. Selina was practically a natural-born pilot.

“The spell is almost over. Get ready to hand it over,” Chu Yun said as he watched the Light spell begin to dim.

By then, the cavalrymen on the ground had been utterly stunned by the sun swaying back and forth across the sky. They had never seen such a method of fighting before. If it could be employed in war, how terrifying would it be?

After receiving Chu Yun’s communication spell, the mage who was to take over from Selina hurriedly began casting.

An equally brilliant sun appeared at low altitude above the ground and began moving under his control. Selina’s sun quickly went out.

After a brief moment of confusion, the Earth-Eating Beast began chasing the low-altitude sun.

This time, it finally displayed a new ability.

“Roar!”

A thunderous bellow erupted, and the ground began to tremble violently. Seismic waves traveled through the earth and spread into the distance in an instant.

Fortunately, these land-running birds were monsters that had undergone rigorous training. Ordinary land-running birds would have collapsed on the spot.

Even so, their speed was greatly affected. The trembling ground and their shaken hearts caused them to slow considerably.

The Earth-Eating Beast suddenly leaped with all its strength. Its enormous body, like that of a colossal dragon, rapidly closed the distance between them.

“Boom!”

The Earth-Eating Beast crashed heavily onto the ground. The powerful shock wave finally knocked the land-running birds to the earth, and the mage casting the Light spell immediately lost his composure. The sun vanished.

“This is bad. We’re in trouble now.”

Everyone was horrified. Fortunately, at the position where the spell was being rotated, the advance party had already prepared food and minerals to lure the Earth-Eating Beast. When it noticed that the sun had disappeared, the beast was drawn toward the provisions.

Compared with humans as tiny as ants, it much preferred the large quantity of pig beasts supplied by the advance party.

The mage had injured his head in the fall and could no longer continue casting. Another mage hurriedly took over, first creating some distance before casting the Light spell once more.

Unfortunately, the earth was the Earth-Eating Beast’s domain. It had far too many ways of dealing with creatures on the ground.

The second mage met an even worse fate. The Earth-Eating Beast came charging over and swallowed both him and the Light spell directly into its belly.

Selina had no choice but to cast the Light spell again.

For mages who drew upon the Magic Network, repeatedly casting the same spell within a short period reduced its effectiveness. Moreover, maintaining a spell for an extended period left her mentally fatigued, which was why the casters needed to rotate.

When the Light spell finally illuminated the sky, everyone’s hearts eased slightly. It was difficult to imagine what this operation would have become without the Flying Wings.