My Misfortune Crushed Instances-Chapter 261: Lure the Monsters, Then Clear the Field

Zhao Jia and a group of Soldier Cultivators waited outside the Crow Forest. If Li Rui encountered danger and retreated, they would spring into action to cover his withdrawal.

No one dared to make a sound, fearing exposure, and simultaneously remained vigilant against any enemies sneaking around for an ambush.

The area around Crow Forest was very quiet at night. Since the armies of both sides were nearby, the wild beasts of the mountains had been scared away during the day, leaving not even a roar or bird call now.

In such an environment, a loud booming sound was exceptionally jarring.

"Warrior Zhao, wh-what's happening?"

Gathering intelligence on the enemy should be done covertly, without causing a lot of commotion.

Even encountering an enemy sentry should be resolved quietly, yet this commotion was undoubtedly excessive.

They had not seen Li Rui's Thunder Shocking Earth earlier because, by the time they arrived at the mountain pass during the day, Li Rui had already led the Rift Fire Clan in routing the enemy army.

However, Zhao Jia had seen it, remembering vividly when Li Rui used Thunder Shocking Earth to instantly kill an Elite Monster while capturing the last scout during the day.

Familiar with the sound, Zhao Jia knew it was Li Rui's skill but was unsure what was happening inside.

Seeing his silence, a Soldier Cultivator asked, "Should we go in and check?"

Zhao Jia pondered for a moment.

"Li Rui's strength is likely not inferior to Nan Jiumei's. Regardless, he should have no problem escaping if needed. If we rashly go in, we might just cause more chaos."

He shook his head and said, "No hurry, let's wait and see."

"Look, over there."

At this moment, a Soldier Cultivator said, "There's fog rising in the forest."

...

The name of Crow Forest has no direct connection with the Black Crow Race of Dangkong Mountain.

This elite clan in Dangkong Mountain boasts many Demon Cultivators, rumored that their ancestors were once ordinary crows, but after listening to Buddhist scripture at a Daoist temple near Liangting, they transformed into demons.

Their cultivated technique is an ancestral Fast Sword Skill; being of crow descent, they are agile and swift, often coordinating with Dangkong Mountain's military formation to ambush enemy rear.

Dangkong Mountain has a strict hierarchy from Emperor down, unlike the self-proclaimed mountain kings of Demon Dragon Valley.

To ensure the safety of the grain route, two Demon Kings guarding Cyan Cloud Plateau and the Barbarian General of Golden Scale Marsh discussed and specially sent the formidable Rift Fire Clan to guard the pass, instructing that no matter who challenged them, they must only hold and not engage.

Although stubborn and self-willed, under the oppressive aura of higher-ups, the Rift Fire Clan dared not utter a word and repeatedly agreed.

The battle initially seemed uneventful, with the two kings and one general feeling assured, only for unexpected news from the front that the pass had been breached.

It's said that a division of the Human Race army launched a surprise attack on Kaiping Road, heading directly to Cyan Cloud Plateau.

The three leaders dared not be reckless. To guard against Liangting's lure-the-tiger strategy, they refrained from leaving the granary but dispatched a squad of elite Black Crow Swordsmen, leading many Demon Race members from Dangkong Mountain to ambush in the woods.

This isn't an intrigue, it's just a transparent strategy.

Anyway, they informed Liangting's army that they would intercept in Crow Forest. If you attacked my rear defensive position, you'd be ambushed by Crow Forest's forces, and vice versa.

Liangting's army traveled from afar, bypassed the main force of the Demon Beast army and entered here, surely lacking in supplies. Even if ignored, they would surely retreat; if not, the front line would send reinforcements from the rear to encircle them, making escape impossible. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Yet the Black Crow Race leader Ya Zheng in Crow Forest didn't anticipate someone daring enough to traverse these woods.

Of course, scouts coming to gather intel is normal, but from the recent disturbance, the intruder is evidently an expert, possibly even a main force Soldier Cultivator of Liangting's army. Having such a person perish here would certainly be a great achievement.

Thinking of taking this head back for a reward, Ya Zheng felt a bit delighted, casually forgiving the cowardly behavior of a spineless underling's plea.

Right when he was ready to order the ambush on the Human Cultivator causing the disturbance, the situation suddenly changed.

Thick fog obscured the view.

"Form the formation, no one is allowed to move recklessly."

He quickly issued the order, but before he finished speaking, he saw two scarlet points appear in the fog.

Boom!!!

Thunder Shocking Earth hit empty space.

Ya Zheng's body technique was much faster than the seven Black Crow Swordsmen, managing to evade the strike even with blurred vision.

Even Li Rui was a bit surprised. Having studied strategies thoroughly, he knew that among the three paths, the Black Crow Race had no minor bosses, meaning Ya Zheng was at best an Elite Monster level.

"This guy's truly fast."

Li Rui wasn't one to dawdle; if it's hard to catch due to speed, then simply ignore it and eliminate the lesser monsters first.

As he turned to focus on the bewildered subordinates, numerous prompts appeared.

[Trigger random event: Thirteen Protectors of Sheep Peak.]

[Trigger random event: Tyrant of Shallow Water Pool.]

[Trigger random event...]

Seeing these prompts, he was not surprised but pleased.

"Indeed, the early stages were not intense, with few random events. Now, it's normal."

For him, a task list filled with pending items was familiar.

After the prior pass, the terrain was open, with many Demon Race members, and the Rift Fire Clan's Barbaric Beasts were known for Fire Magic, making Mist Control less effective.

But now night had fallen, the forest terrain was complex, fog harder to disperse.

Under the fog's concealment, the enemy's numerical advantage was significantly reduced.

Li Rui began to roam through the forest, starting by eliminating those few enemies with means to breach obstacles.

Dangkong Mountain has several Demon Monarchs with cunning methods, passing many unconventional spells to the mountain's Demon Race; this is one of them.

Yet it's futile; all fancy tricks mean nothing before absolute power, as long as he avoids being encircled by the army, he's invincible.

Even if there are a few challengers, they must surrender in the face of Flying Dragon Cavalry. If that fails, then Thunder Shocking Earth comes next.

Li Rui relied on Mist Control to cloak his presence, quickly taking out all enemies capable of seeing amidst the fog, leaving the Demon Beast troops in disarray, continuing to use fog to conceal his location, even finding time to use Spirit Recovery Potion.

In the Secret Realm World, Foggy Evil Ghost is akin to the Demon King.

The Demon Race troops wanted to retreat, yet dared not run out carelessly, forced into slaughter by Li Rui.

Until most Demon Beasts became cowardly, on the brink of collapse, the long-absent Ya Zheng finally made his move.

He wielded a string of iron bells, shaking them vigorously, assisted by several Demon Race Mages, summoning a fierce gust.

Woo—

The fog was blown away, revealing the figure holding a black umbrella under the moonlight.

"Kill him."

Ya Zheng's face turned grim, having realized that his troops suffered considerable losses in just a short while, with remnants retreating together trembling and morale evidently low.

Yet it didn't matter; as long as they could slay the mastermind here, the troops' inner demons would be dispelled. Losing some men was insignificant.

He failed to notice that while his Demon Beast troops were fleeing, the original encirclement was broken, most Demon Beasts clustering together, with him as the apex forming a fan shape pointing at the Human Cultivator.

And the opponent had already formed a Dharma Seal with one hand, clearly prepared.

Li Rui smiled faintly, everything was under control.

Whoosh—

A sea of fire began to spread through the forest.

First, exploiting the terror from lost vision to gather them together, then using a large-scale spell for clearing, was the true aim of unleashing Mist Control.