Chapter 95

“Undead Mirage is the ultimate advanced skill of the C-level undead manipulation skill Skeleton Ghost that Ellen possesses. Its appearance is extremely rare, and Mu Huiyue had only seen descriptions of this skill in the investigation reports from the Bureau.

Undead Mirage undoubtedly resembles the scene before them.

However, this is a rare high-level undead skill. In a wood and earth realm, who could be using this skill?

If it’s the Night Demon Scarecrow…

Mu Huiyue immediately dismissed the thought. The Night Demon Scarecrow does not have undead attributes, and an extraordinary creature that was born with an A-level skill and can use it proficiently shouldn’t be just a monarch-level species.

She glanced at the Investigator’s handband, and in just a short time, the Night Demon Scarecrow’s rank had once again increased, reaching the 9th tier of its youth stage. Its regular hidden energy value was almost breaking through into the maturation stage.

What kind of power is causing it to increase so rapidly?!

Undead puppets surged out from the night fog, swooping toward them like a pitch-black flock of birds. More shadows poured in from all directions, with many heading toward the forest where they had originally been.

“Chilian Turtle, use magma spray!”

“Leading Fungus, Huahua, use lash!”

“Little Charcoal, use hot wind!”

The Chilian Turtle opened its shell and sprayed out high-temperature magma, while Han Ruoyun’s Fire Charcoal vehicle blew out scorching hot winds.”

The Forget-Me-Not grass beside Lin Lin reverted to the form of the Forget-Me-Not King flower, swinging its vines to strike down the approaching black shadows.

The Beastmasters who had first discovered the giant deer skeleton also commanded their pets to fight against the suddenly emerging undead puppets.

The black shadows that fell to the ground transformed into various extraordinary creatures. They lost their original attributes and abilities, becoming mindless monsters controlled by instinct, tearing and destroying everything in their path.

“White Fang, use Dark Strike!” Mu Huiyue ordered.

The little cloud dog swiftly pounced on a black shadow ahead, then darted back, its cold-cracking claws blocking another black shadow puppet attempting to attack Mu Huiyue.

Surrounded by the black shadows, everyone gathered together, their backs to each other, forming a defensive stance.

This was the most dangerous moment in the wilderness; the black shadow puppets followed no battle rules and showed no mercy to weaker human Beastmasters.

“Little servant!” Seeing more black shadows approaching, Han Ruoyun looked at her main pet.

The Hammer Soldier swung its hammer down onto the ground, and the energy shield that rose blocked the black shadow charging towards the Beastmaster.”

“These black shadows weren’t too strong; after being defeated, they dissolved into black mist at the spot. However, the sheer number of them kept increasing, and the group’s ability to respond began to grow more strained.

Mu Huiyue looked toward the vague outline in the night mist. From the moment the first black shadow appeared, Ellen had already infiltrated the shadows, trying to find the source controlling these puppets with [Undead Illusion].

Based on the distance here, he should be getting closer to the position of the giant deer skeleton.

Just as he was thinking this, the Night Demon Scarecrow, which had remained silent until now, suddenly made a rustling sound. The crow on its arm shot forward like an arrow from a bow.

B-Class Dark Attack Skill: Crow Feather Storm!

The crows’ feathers whipped up a violent storm, churning the night mist into a chaotic vortex. The Paya Soldier emerged from the shadows, and with a snap of its fingers, it ignited the Infernal Fire, dissolving the pitch-black crow feathers trying to ensnare it.

The high-tier Dark skill, [Crow Feather Storm], not only caused massive physical damage but also affected the shadow space.

This was the first high-level skill Ellen encountered that could directly attack the shadow space.

The Night Demon Scarecrow had clearly noticed his infiltration. It locked onto the Paya Soldier’s position and unleashed the Crow Feather Storm once again.”

“Ellen slipped back into the shadows and quickly returned to the Beastmaster’s side.

The dark-colored storm blew away some of the mist, allowing everyone to see the colossal figure shrouded in fog behind the Night Demon Scarecrow—the giant deer skeleton was wrapped in layers of thick death mist, forming a massive cocoon from which new black shadow puppets were constantly being birthed.

A few strands of death mist seeped from the skeleton and into the Night Demon Scarecrow’s feet.

Rustle—

Once again, everyone heard the sound of the night wind blowing, and a faint, smooth light emanated from the Night Demon Scarecrow. It had broken through its juvenile stage and officially entered its growth phase.

Mu Huiyue’s heart suddenly sank, and in the next moment, the crows on the Night Demon Scarecrow’s arms let out a sharp, eerie cry, the screeching sound of metal being scraped echoing in everyone’s ears.

The pets, who were each fighting their own battles, all turned in unison toward the Night Demon Scarecrow, as if they had heard some unbearable insult or provocation, each showing an expression of extreme anger.

They defied their Beastmasters’ commands, abandoning their current opponents, and threw their rage-fueled skills entirely at the Night Demon Scarecrow.

B-Class Dark Control Skill: Malicious Taunt!

This was a rare control skill that forcibly altered the target of the battle, redirecting all attention to the caster. It came with an anger effect, causing the taunted target to lose its rationality and focus solely on attacking.

“Since that’s the case, let’s concentrate our forces and deal with that scarecrow first!” Researcher Lin Lin had clearly recognized this obscure but dangerous skill and said to the group.

Han Ruoyun and Xu Chenglu both nodded. Both had fire-type pets, which gave them an absolute advantage in terms of attributes against the wood-type Night Demon Scarecrow.”

“Mu Huiyue also signaled Ellen to unleash the Infernal Fire, and in an instant, flames of various colors erupted in a massive burst, all heading toward the Night Demon Scarecrow.

No matter how troublesome its skills were, it was still just a wood-type extraordinary creature that had just entered its growth phase. It couldn’t possibly withstand so many fire-based skills at once.

The different fire skills triggered a chain reaction of explosions, wiping out many of the shadow puppets that appeared afterward. Everyone nervously looked toward the center of the explosion.

When the aftermath cleared, the spot where the Night Demon Scarecrow had been was now empty.

“Is it dealt with…?” Xu Chenglu murmured.

Mu Huiyue clenched her fist. Not yet. She remembered that the Night Demon Scarecrow’s core skill should be…

White Fang, using Shadow Step, dashed over and picked up a damaged scarecrow from the center of the explosion.

B-Class Wood-Type Status Skill: Scarecrow Substitute!

This was a race-specific skill unique to the Night Demon Scarecrow clan. Its effect was almost an upgraded version of [Corpse], allowing a pre-formed scarecrow substitute to take fatal damage on behalf of the original, with no usage restrictions.”

“In other words, as long as the Night Demon Scarecrow has any scarecrow substitutes remaining, it will remain unharmed no matter what kind of attack it faces.

The combination of [Scarecrow Substitute] and [Malicious Taunt] makes the Night Demon Scarecrow nearly invincible in group battle environments.

It can use the taunt to redirect all of the pets’ skills onto itself, then safely escape using the scarecrow substitute.

If only its teammates were a bit smarter and focused on full output during the Malicious Taunt, all the pets present might have been wiped out in the previous wave of attacks.

Unfortunately, the shadow puppets were driven solely by instinct and failed to recognize the opportunity created by the Night Demon Scarecrow.

The night wind brushed by, causing the fog of the wilderness to flow gently, and the group heard the rustling sound of the wind. When they regained their senses, the Night Demon Scarecrow had already appeared in another position in front of the giant deer skeleton.

It had indeed remained unscathed during the previous siege.

The dark aura once again coalesced into tangible crows, one by one folding their wings and landing on the scarecrow’s arms.

It had entered the second stage of its growth phase.

“Hey, are you all alright?” A voice came from not far off.

It was the Beastmasters who had stayed behind in the forest. After hearing the commotion, they had rushed toward the giant deer skeleton.

Han Ruoyun briefly explained the situation, and the group once again looked toward the Night Demon Scarecrow.”

“So… is this scarecrow controlling those skeletal puppets?” someone asked nervously.

The wave of shadow puppets that had passed earlier had been dealt with, but their terrifying appearance still left everyone shaken.

“Although I don’t think a Dark-type and Wood-type Night Demon Scarecrow could learn high-level Undead skills…” Han Ruoyun murmured, “It’s true that its skills make these creatures more dangerous.”

No one knew what the upper limit of [Malicious Taunt] was, but once the Night Demon Scarecrow used the taunt skill again, most of the pets’ combat power would be drawn toward it, leaving the remaining Beastmasters to face the increasingly growing number of shadow puppets alone.

The Night Demon Scarecrow stood still, its thorns and shriveled fruits making a faint noise as the night wind blew across it.

Rustle—

Mu Huiyue once again felt that indescribable, strange emotion.

She looked at the Night Demon Scarecrow swaying gently in the night wind. By the standards of ordinary scarecrows, it was very tall, over three meters by her estimate. The wooden stakes behind it were pitch-black and glossy, surrounded by a thick dark aura. The crows’ beaks and claws on its arms were sharp, and its crimson eyes seemed to be tainted with the blood-red light of the moon.

It was a powerful enemy, and its appearance alone could intimidate all the Beastmasters present.

Just like the scarecrows in real fields, which scare off birds with their intimidating appearance.

But Mu Huiyue felt a similar emotion from it.

The tension of facing a strong enemy, the worry of being unable to defeat it, the determination to protect something, the vigilance of closely watching something…

From the Night Demon Scarecrow, Mu Huiyue felt emotions similar to those of the Beastmasters present.

It was even… afraid. Because the human Beastmasters had gained more combat power.

Even if afraid, it couldn’t avoid or flee—it had to protect its… homeland.

The place where it was born.

Mu Huiyue suddenly understood, realizing what the Night Demon Scarecrow was protecting. It was the place where the shadow puppets were being birthed, and it was also its birthplace.

The giant deer skeleton that had fallen onto the wilderness.

Rustle—

The night wind never stopped, and the Night Demon Scarecrow’s straw-like body gently swayed, as if it were slightly trembling.

“Regardless, we need to defeat this thing first,” Han Ruoyun seemed to have reached a consensus with the Beastmasters who had just arrived, preparing for a full-scale assault to take down the Night Demon Scarecrow in one go.

“Wait.” Mu Huiyue stopped her companions’ plan. She clenched her fist tightly and, under the surprised gazes of the others, walked toward the pitch-black scarecrow.

“Perhaps there’s another way.”

The human Beastmaster raised her head, her black hair lifted by the night wind. The Night Demon Scarecrow seemed to sense something and raised its face, hidden beneath the straw hat.

The girl’s dark, calm eyes met the scarecrow’s blood-red eyes, their gazes crossing at that moment.

Mu Huiyue’s perception suddenly changed.