paranoianovel Chapter 414 [Nightmare of the Underworld], Taming the Harpy
Chapter 414 [Nightmare of the Underworld], Taming the Harpy
Chapter 414 [Nightmare of the Underworld], Taming the Harpy
Then, Fangzhou grabbed the unicorn with one hand and pressed it down with overwhelming force, while his other hand quickly pinched the head of the skeletal warhorse.
Then, he lifted it gently.
This incredibly massive skeletal warhorse was lifted into the air by Ark, who held its head with one hand!
The skeletal warhorse struggled desperately, its hooves kicking wildly in the air, but its strength was far inferior to that of the Ark, and it could not break free from the Ark's grip.
And so, the skeletal warhorse was pitifully hanging in mid-air, unable to move.
"The Skeleton King!"
Ignoring the resistance of the skeletal warhorse, a continuous stream of unknown energy surged from the Ark's body, beginning to erode its soulfire core.
This energy, like an invisible chain, gradually seeped into every corner of the skeletal warhorse, attempting to completely control it.
Time passed little by little.
As soon as the unknown energy surged into the skeletal warhorse's body, it seemed to realize something, and its rebellious emotions surged!
Its body trembled violently, its four hooves kicked wildly in the air, emitting a silent, soul-wrenching cry.
However, as more and more soul wills poured into its body, the skeletal warhorse's resistance weakened.
Its body gradually stiffened, and the wildness and resistance in its soul fire were gradually replaced by docility and obedience.
A satisfied smile appeared on Fangzhou's face as he sensed the skeletal warhorse's will gradually crumbling.
This mutated skeletal warhorse has enormous potential; once fully tamed, it will become one of his most powerful allies.
He continued to increase the input of his spiritual will, ensuring that the skeletal warhorse was completely under his control.
Finally, when the soul's will completely consumed the skeletal warhorse's body and surged into its head, the skeletal warhorse finally quieted down.
This means that this skeletal warhorse with immense potential has officially become one of the servants under the Ark's command.
Ark commanded the mutated skeletal warhorse to crouch on the ground via a soul link, and then stepped onto it. Relying on the skeletal warhorse's own physique, it was able to easily support Ark's current weight.
As Ark rode on the back of the skeletal warhorse, feeling its sturdy frame and stable balance, he softly commanded the skeletal warhorse to rise.
Immediately, a powerful force came from beneath the horse's hooves, and the skeletal warhorse charged forward like an arrow released from a bow.
The ark, man and horse as one, moved back and forth, running and leaping through the hills.
Judging from its speed, the skeletal warhorse possesses exceptional agility.
For a mount, agility is naturally of paramount importance.
The Ark attempted to perform various complex movements while running, and the skeletal warhorse responded quickly, demonstrating extremely high flexibility and coordination.
Fang Zhou secretly admired the warhorse, thinking that it was not only fast but also extremely easy to handle, making it a perfect mount.
Fang Zhou brandished the skeletal spear, testing his mounted combat skills.
He was very satisfied with the result.
The effects of advanced weapon specialization are not only that it makes him suitable for foot combat; in fact, the spear, a long-handled weapon, is best suited for mounted combat.
However, Ark had never encountered a suitable mount in the Netherworld, which is why it had to fight on foot.
Now that we have this mutated skeletal warhorse, at least at the Black Iron rank, the Ark can finally engage in cavalry warfare.
Fangzhou estimated that, based on his current riding state, his combat power was at least 30% higher than when he was on foot.
This was before the skeletal warhorse had undergone special training or developed a fixed combat synergy.
With a period of training, their teamwork will become more seamless, and their combat effectiveness will be significantly enhanced.
Unfortunately, as his servant, the skeletal warhorse could not grow and advance along with him like the skeletal armor on the Ark.
Fang Zhou placed his bony hand on the head of the skeletal warhorse, and a whimsical idea suddenly popped into his head.
I wonder if I can find an opportunity to erase the soul and will of this skeletal warhorse and then refine it into my third piece of skeletal weaponry.
If this can truly be achieved, then the skeletal clones can truly transform from infantry into cavalry.
Only then will the charging skills truly be considered heroic charges!
After riding the skeletal warhorse across the hills of corpses for quite a while, Ark finally got a taste of being a cavalryman.
After patting his mount, Fangzhou thought for a moment and decided to name it "Yellow Springs Nightmare".
The skeletal warhorse was merely the initial mount for the skeletal clone; one day he would surely enslave the skeletal dragon and become a true dragon knight.
After a period of contemplation, Ark identified a direction and directed the skeletal bat Bruce to fly forward and explore.
He, meanwhile, led nearly a hundred skeleton servants to expand the hunting area in a fan shape.
Several hours later, after the Ark had sucked a massive zombie to dust, Bruce finally sent word from the sky.
In the due south direction, another long-lost skeletal cluster of thousands of people has appeared.
The Ark split open its bloody maw and grinned menacingly.
From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.
For the past few days, he has been hunting scattered, small-scale wandering skeletons all day long, and he is very dissatisfied with the efficiency of his killing and leveling up.
After several days of trekking, they finally encountered a new cluster of skeletons.
This also means he's not far from becoming the Skeleton Lord.
After directing Bruce to quickly scout the area from high above and finding no ambush, Ark rode on the back of the Nightmare of the Underworld, leading his skeleton minions and charging forward.
With his current terrifying combat power, he could wipe out this entire skeleton horde single-handedly, not to mention with the help of his skeleton servants.
The Nightmare of the Underworld moved with the speed of wind, like a black lightning bolt streaking across the desolate hills.
The skeletal spear in Fang Zhou's hand gleamed with a cold light under the blood-red moonlight.
The skeleton servants followed closely behind, forming a tight battle formation as they rushed towards the cluster of skeletons ahead.
As the distance decreased, the Ark was able to clearly see the cluster of skeletons ahead.
These skeleton soldiers were not arranged in a neat order, but there were so many of them that they filled the entire valley.
A cold smile curled at the corner of Fang Zhou's lips. He brandished his spear and issued a low command: "Attack!"
The Nightmare of the Underworld charged into the enemy ranks like an arrow released from a bow.
The spear in Fang Zhou's hand drew deadly trajectories in the air, each swing taking away the soul fire of several skeletons.
Skeleton servants followed closely behind, wielding various weapons and defeating the enemy skeletons one by one.
The hunting feast has begun!
The next morning, at the Nature Forest camp.
After packing up, Fangzhou and Ye Yinzhu's Thunderfire Squad temporarily said goodbye.
Ye Yinzhu and his team have been fighting and exploring the Forest of Nature for a long time, and are now exhausted and in dire need of rest.
Therefore, they decided to stay at the camp to recover, while Ark continued eastward to explore the Forest of Nature.
Last night, Ark received a new mission from the Flower Fairy Sentinels: to clear the only route to the Queen's Village for them.
This perfectly aligns with Ark's plan to visit the Flower Fairy Queen, as their mission objectives coincide.
Ark led the four members of the Disaster Squad, riding Moon Deer, heading due east.
The moon deer moved with light and swift steps, galloping through the forest. They encountered no battles along the way, as this was still the territory of the flower fairies and their natural allies. Any dangers were eliminated one by one.
However, according to the map provided by the flower fairy sentinels, the area ahead is unexplored.
Seeing that the flower and butterfly maidens who had been fluttering with them all along looked a little tired, Fangzhou signaled everyone to stop and rest for a while.
He shook his head inwardly. These four Butterfly Maidens, carefully selected by the Disaster Squad, were all elite members of the lower-tier Black Iron rank.
They were able to break through to the Black Iron rank thanks to the energy level leap of the Forest of Nature.
However, their overall qualities are still far inferior to those of the members of the Disaster Squad.
While everyone rested, Gu Yueyuan, whose strength was second only to Fangzhou, took a flower and butterfly maiden to scout the vicinity.
A dozen minutes later, the flower butterfly suddenly rushed back to report: "Lord Ark, we have discovered a huge treehouse ahead."
From a distance, it looks like there are some figures moving around inside!
Fangzhou raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Treehouse? Let's go take a look."
Something unusual must be going on.
In this unexplored and unknown land ahead, you might encounter a treehouse and perhaps even some kind of monster.
The members of the Disaster Squad quickly packed their gear and followed Ark and Gu Yueyuan to the treehouse.
Just as the flower and butterfly maiden said, there was an enormous treehouse in a low grove of trees and a sea of flowers.
More accurately, it was a colossal bird's nest supported by more than a dozen large trees.
The bird's nest has a diameter of over twenty meters.
Many large birds, about a meter long, were flying around the nest, making melodious calls, adding a touch of vitality to this tranquil forest.
The figures that the Flower and Butterfly Woman was pointing to were bird-men whose bodies were covered in black and yellow stiff hairs, and who looked like a hybrid of humans and large birds.
Compared to ordinary large birds, they not only have a human face, but also a pair of human-like arms and human female secondary sexual characteristics.
More importantly, although they are somewhat thin, each of them is over 1.5 meters tall and has a pair of wings covered with gray feathers.
They are all flying units, and they don't seem particularly weak.
Ark, who was well-versed in the encyclopedia of monster girls in the mythological world—well, I mean the encyclopedia of creatures—naturally recognized it at a glance as a creature called a harpy.
Like the flower and butterfly maidens around him, harpies are a weak race with a common apprentice level, and elites can reach the Black Iron level.
Their alignment is usually chaotic neutral, and they will make full use of their singing, dancing and service abilities to seek refuge with some powerful sky beasts.
Furthermore, they often rely on their aerial combat capabilities and relatively good birth rate to provide mercenary combat services to various races in exchange for resources for survival and development.
Given the size of this nest, it should be able to easily house one or two hundred harpies plus other large birds.
Below the giant bird's nest is a small house that clearly has an elven style.
The cottage is beautifully constructed, using a lot of wood, and its roof is covered with green vines, blending seamlessly with the surrounding natural environment.
The fact that they were able to coexist peacefully with these harpies suggests that there was some connection between them.
Fangzhou couldn't help but glance at the impetuous and reckless flower butterfly.
While this guy is good at reconnaissance most of the time, he can be really unreliable at times.
How can a treehouse and a bird's nest be the same?
He muttered to himself, but did not blame her.
After all, in complex natural environments, the accuracy of information can sometimes be difficult to guarantee.
The Flower and Butterfly Maiden also gave way a little, realizing that she had made a mistake this time.
In fact, she was a little scared just now.
After all, from a distance, the other side also appears to be some kind of creature capable of flight.
If she gets even slightly closer, she will be far too obvious to the enemies in mid-air.
So she spotted the place from afar and immediately reported it.
"Come on, get closer."
When Fangzhou saw these harpies, he was genuinely tempted.
Whether or not there are air units can often completely change the course of a battle.
Because flying units can completely bypass the melee units in front and go straight for the relatively vulnerable ranged units!
When it comes to what ranged units fear most, different people might have different answers.
Assassins backstabbing, cavalry charges, magical bombardments, or simply the enemy having more and stronger ranged units.
However, in Fangzhou's view, there is one situation that is quite unsolvable: the air force rushing in head-on!
In a battle between two armies, the golden time for archers to truly shine is the brief window between when the enemy enters their firing range and when they advance to their own lines.
If the air force launches a surprise attack right at the start of the war, even if they manage to wipe them out, the ranged units that have lost a lot of time will find it difficult to perform effectively when the enemy and friendly forces are locked in close combat.
Because, apart from some spells that have friendly fire reduction, in this real world, most attacks are effective against friendly units.
A knife strike will inevitably cause injury, and an arrow shot will also kill.
Therefore, Ark had previously considered how to avoid this situation.
He later browsed through a lot of information in the archives of the Haicheng Military Academy and finally came to a conclusion.
That would be ideal if our side also had an air force to counter the enemy, and then we wouldn't have all sorts of troubles!
For this reason, when designing combinations of undead units, Ark has always wanted to find a flying unit and a cavalry unit to make up for its shortcomings.
He only achieved the initial success of his plan when he successfully summoned the skeletal bats, a type of flying undead unit.
For the same reason, it's understandable why Ark was so excited when he saw famous mercenaries like the Harpies.