Chapter 181: Platoon Leader’s Prowess

Words : 1081 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

"Damn it, Shorty Hao, hold on for a while longer! I’ll come and help after finishing this stupid fox in a few more seconds!" Rocky exclaimed with a glance, quickly shifting his focus back to his squadron’s opponent. The Fell Shadow Fox might have subpar offense, but its speed was no joke. A momentary lapse in concentration could result in the death of one of his squadron members. Only, Hao and his squadron members didn’t seem like they could hold on for long, as a few had already suffered moderate claw wounds that were deep enough to hurt but not enough to kill. They were all gritting their teeth as they desperately struggled to survive, burning through their mana reserves. There were multiple times when they had to repeatedly use their repositioning spells due to the relentless onslaught of the Zephyr Leopard. While a few managed to wound the fierce Fell Beast even as others were being attacked, the damage they dealt could only be considered minor. There was a high chance that someone would die in the next ten seconds if nothing changed. "Damn it, stop running around, you damn critter!" roared Rocky in frustration as he desperately tried to cage the fox with his earth elemental spells. Meanwhile, Yhohan was also desperately trying to slay the Fell Raccoon, shooting all sorts of icy projectiles at it. But the massive critter, while slower, was tougher than the fox and didn’t seem like it would collapse anytime soon, either. ’Damn it... Damn it!’ Hao inwardly cursed as he shifted his body to the right, barely managing to dodge a diagonal, downward swipe that tore a small part of his army uniform, even though he had already used a Zephyr Step spell. The leopard was getting used to his maneuvers and was beginning to predict where he would end up after using the repositioning spell. And yet, he couldn’t allow it to shift its attention to his squadron members, as none of them could survive a series of attacks from the feline beast for more than a few seconds. Even he could barely manage it. But he couldn’t last much longer, and his mind couldn’t come up with any other solutions, either. He was running out of options. To make matters worse, he couldn’t even afford to spare a glance in Hal’s direction to see whether help was coming as promised or not. All Hao could do was steel his heart and mind until his last breath. The Zephyr Leopard, after missing for the fourth time, agilely turned and lunged at the short squadron leader again, but failed to hit its target for the fifth time as Hao disappeared at the last moment, reappearing just a few meters to the side. A dance of claws continued to play out as the bespectacled shorty, already beginning to breathe heavily, showcased immaculate footwork and determination, dodging a wide-open maw one moment, then a wind-elemental claw mark projectile the next. Hao was one accidental slip away from certain death. His squadron members’ spells weren’t hitting their marks much either, as the Fell Zephyr Leopard was, plain and simple, a difficult moving target. "Haah...Haah..." Hao panted in exhaustion, barely dodging another claw swipe with a desperate shoulder roll before Zephyr Stepping backwards to evade the follow-up attack. It was around this time that he heard strange grinding sounds in Hal’s direction, though there wasn’t much he could do to check what was going on. The one-sided assault was so intense that Hao failed to keep watch of his surroundings, and, with another Zephyr Step, his luck finally ran out. The bespectacled squadron leader’s right foot landed awkwardly on a piece of rock that rolled and caused him to slip, unable to make any evasive maneuvers as the Zephyr Leopard’s maw threatened to chomp his entire head off. "HAO!!" exclaimed the squadron members in utter horror. Hao froze at that moment, his life flashing before his eyes. Trying to be as likable as his intelligence allowed finally caught up to him. Hao regretted not mouthing off on Hal and his risky decision. ’I should’ve been more vocal...’ was the final fleeting thought in his mind before the coldness of death gripped his heart. He was dead for sure. Or so Hao thought... Just when he could smell the stinky breath of the Fell Zephyr Leopard, the scenery suddenly changed, and the next thing the squadron leader knew, he was sitting beside the mangled and scattered remains of the Fell Thunder Elk, his right hand sitting on a puddle of viscous purple blood. He was bewildered for a moment before a dull yet loud impact echoed somewhere to the southwest of the direction his body was facing. Hao’s eyes widened. A few dozen meters in front of him, their platoon leader stood in his original position with a cold yet stoic gaze, a thick [Mana Barrier] blocking the leopard beast’s maw right in front of him. "Goddamn, what a stinky breath..." Hal muttered as he stared back at the Zephyr Leopard, performing a grasping motion with his left hand as he did. Dark hands then emerged from the ground, latching onto the feline beast’s hind legs. The Fell Zephyr Leopard immediately broke eye contact and turned to look at what had grabbed it, flailing wildly the next second in a furious attempt to escape. It clawed and bit at the ghostly hands. The beast was powerful enough to destroy the dark elemental restrictions in merely two seconds. However, it still wasn’t fast enough, as before it could fully break free, the leopard felt a conical wave of water wash over its body. The massive feline got [Squirt]ed on... The wet sensation was quickly followed by a destructive wave of lightning that raged and rampaged across its body, the already devastating effects doubled by the water-elemental spell. The next thing the leopard knew, it was already deep within oblivion’s embrace, collapsed on the ground in unconsciousness. Hal fired one last [Piercing Light] at its forehead to finish it off before breathing a sigh of relief as the sweet dinging sound of a notification sounded: [Congratulations! You’ve earned 150 Chaos Points!] Rocky and Yhohan had also finished off the Fell Shadow Fox and Fell Venomfang Raccoon half a moment after Hal slew the leopard beast. Things got a bit out of hand. But ultimately, the Chaos Platoon pulled through without any casualties. ...For now...

Chapter 181: Platoon Leader’s Prowess

Comments (0)