The Giant-Winged Bat Leader

Under the relentless assault of the Giant-Winged Bats, the interceptor net did not last very long.

Within seconds, the sharp bone spurs protruding from the bat monsters' wing membranes sliced the entire net apart!

Fortunately, the interceptor net had bought the adventurers enough time.

Of the original flock of over twenty Giant-Winged Bats, only a dozen or so remained by the time they finally burst out of the cave, thanks to several rounds of volleys from Aguda and Lynn.

At this number, they no longer posed much of a threat to the adventurers.

After a flurry of flapping, the monsters adjusted their formation in the air. Because they flew too high, even Aguda's hundred-and-sixty-pound longbow could not reach them.

However, driven by hatred, the bats did not choose to flee. Instead, they dove in unison, rushing straight toward Aguda, who had dealt them the heaviest blows.

Although Lupa had quickly blocked the front of Aguda, her tower shield was not a magical shield after all and could not block every angle.

Five or six Giant-Winged Bats still managed to slip past Lupa's defense and reached Aguda.

Foul-smelling saliva dripped from their fangs as the Giant-Winged Bats shrieked, opening their pointed mouths to leap onto Aguda and bite him viciously.

But while Aguda was clumsy with words and a bit slow on the uptake, he was no fool.

With a physique like his, there was no way he would go completely unarmored.

On the contrary, the armor he wore was the heaviest in this temporary party, second only to Lupa's.

The Monk and Lynn wore ordinary leather armor, at most studded with a few rivets, but Aguda wore splint mail!

Beneath the thick leather, overlapping steel plates were riveted together.

This set of armor alone weighed at least ten kilograms!

No matter how sharp the Giant-Winged Bats' teeth were, they could at most pierce the outer leather layer of Aguda's armor. They would chip their teeth before they could ever bite through his inner plates!

The burly man rolled on the ground in silence, scattering the Giant-Winged Bats clinging to him.

Some that failed to dodge in time were crushed beneath him, unable to get back up!

The tide of battle tilted even further in the adventurers' favor.

Yet the leader of the Giant-Winged Bats seemed blinded by resentment. Even in the face of such a disadvantage, it still did not lead its pack to flee, but instead circled above the adventurers, waiting for a chance to strike back.

Lynn was also biding his time.

The moment the leader exposed itself, his Magic Missile would fly out instantly.

However, the bat leader was clever enough not to give him that opportunity.

Soon, the bats circling in the sky gradually lowered their altitude, entering Aguda's range.

But they certainly did not do this to become sitting ducks for him.

Realizing the flock's intention, Lynn immediately shouted a warning.

“Watch out for the sound waves! Aguda, get ready to strike!”

The bear-like brute nodded, drawing his longbow once more.

The Giant-Winged Bats opened their pointed mouths in unison, and invisible sound waves instantly blasted away the surrounding smoke and dust.

Sound waves rippled from their throats, overlapping and merging in midair to form a near-tangible energy pulse.

Then, a Giant-Winged Bat suddenly broke away from the flock, positioning itself directly above the energy pulse.

Without a doubt, this was the leader of the Giant-Winged Bat pack.

The bat leader's wing membranes vibrated rapidly, releasing a surge of magic power that guided the energy pulse down toward the adventurers below.

Though the bat leader did not cast a spell directly, it possessed spellcasting abilities!

The primary target of this sound wave was Aguda, who had already raised his longbow and was aiming at the bat leader.

For monsters, Giant-Winged Bats were not considered low-intelligence creatures.

They had long realized that among this group of adventurers, only this giant with the longbow posed a significant threat to them.

As long as they disabled him, the other three would be nothing to fear.

Unfortunately, their judgment was flawed.

They had completely ignored Lynn, who had not yet made a move but possessed the ability to instantly kill an unranked monster.

Buzz—

As the sound waves rippled outward, even those who were not directly hit felt a metallic sweetness in their throats and a wave of discomfort wash over their bodies.

Hit head-on, Aguda coughed up blood from the corner of his mouth, clearly suffering a significant injury.

This was thanks to Lupa, who used her tower shield to weaken some of the sound wave's impact.

Otherwise, he might have been knocked unconscious on the spot.

By now, the bat flock had already reorganized their formation, preparing for another assault.

Naturally, Lynn would not give the now-exposed bat leader a second chance.

“Aguda!”

At the call, Aguda released his tab, the bowstring snapping with a sharp twang.

The broadhead hunting arrow, already aimed, flew straight toward the target.

Even though he was injured and in pain from the sound wave, Aguda's superb marksmanship ensured the arrow flew straight for the bat leader's chest.

The bat leader noticed the incoming arrow, but a fraction of a second was enough for it to react.

With a sharp shriek, the surrounding bats immediately closed in, spreading their wing membranes to form a meat shield for their leader.

Squelch—

The hunting arrow sank in, instantly piercing through one of the Giant-Winged Bats shielding the leader.

But by the time it emerged from the bat's back, it had lost its momentum, posing no further threat to the leader.

The struck bat flapped weakly a couple of times before plummeting straight down.

The bat leader let out an angry shriek, as if mourning the casualty of its kin.

But the adventurers' assault was far from over.

At the critical moment, Lynn's spell construction was complete.

“Vas!”

As Lynn pointed his finger, a cyan missile of light shot through a gap in the bat shields, directly striking the unsuspecting bat leader.

Pure magical energy tore through the bat leader, shredding its flesh into a bloody pulp.

It was an incredibly gory sight.

“Magic Missile proficiency +1. Current: Lv. 1 (6/10).”

Before the rest of the flock could react, the leader's headless corpse plummeted from the sky.

“Killed the Giant-Winged Bat Leader. Obtained Bloodline Point (Giant-Winged Bat) * 5.”

A light rain of blood fell from the sky, intercepted by the dense leaves.

Yet, even after witnessing the death of their leader, the Giant-Winged Bats showed no intention of fleeing.

Instead, they charged frantically at the adventurers, desperate to avenge their leader.

Unfortunately, without their leader, no matter how frenzied they were, they posed no real threat.

Within a few minutes, Lynn and his companions had completely wiped them out.

With that, the Giant-Winged Bat nest was successfully cleared.

A few Giant-Winged Bats had only had their wing membranes torn by arrows, losing their ability to fly but not yet completely dead.

Lynn volunteered to deliver the final blows to these lingering bats.

“Killed one Giant-Winged Bat. Obtained Bloodline Point (Giant-Winged Bat) * 0.5 (50% assist penalty).”

“Killed one Giant-Winged Bat. Obtained Bloodline Point (Giant-Winged Bat) * 1.”

...

Opening his Monster Identification Manual, another entry lit up—