Chapter 97: Fierce Bats

Seeing that everyone had taken their positions, Rilo clapped his hands to draw the attention of the seven squads, then gave a few more instructions:

“Let me say a few more words.”

“The groundpulse creatures we’ll face soon are Fierce Bats, mostly 0-Ring, with some stronger ones reaching 1-Ring.”

“Our task is simple: prevent any 0-Ring Fierce Bats from crossing our stretch of the wall and entering the city.”

“If any 1-Ring Fierce Bats appear, don’t worry—higher-Ring mages will handle them.”

“The intensity of this groundpulse attack is low for Bremen City—it’s just that the number of Fierce Bats is overwhelming. Most city mages have been sent out to protect surrounding villages, so we’re short on manpower, which is why we’ve called on you all to help defend.”

“Try your best to avoid casualties!”

Fierce Bats at most 1-Ring pose little real threat to Bremen City.

But to ordinary people, groundpulse creatures are still immensely powerful.

Especially the villages around Bremen City, which lack any effective defenses against Fierce Bats.

Nearby villages can still evacuate residents into Bremen City.

For more distant villages, only Bremen City’s officials can send out higher-Ring mages for protection.

As a major city, Bremen has an enormous number of affiliated villages, so most of its official mages have been deployed outward—hence the need to recruit non-official mages from within the city to help defend.

“Also, although they’re called bats, Fierce Bats are completely different from the ones we know.”

“They’re large groundpulse creatures, body size comparable to a horse, wingspan over ten feet, covered in dense fur. Their usual attacks are diving from midair to strike with their wings and bite with their teeth.”

“They possess no supernatural abilities, so as long as you’re careful, nothing serious should happen.”

“But beware—Fierce Bats carry deadly diseases. Never let them scratch you, or it’ll be your nightmare!”

“Also, all of you are mage apprentices—you have limited mana and only a few spells. Use your spells conservatively; defense is primarily the city guards’ responsibility.”

“Our role is to fill gaps: target and eliminate any Fierce Bats that slip past the guards and reach the wall.”

“Don’t waste your mana—every spell must land where it counts!”

“Understood?” Rilo shouted.

“Understood!” Everyone nodded.

In essence, this was just a low-level groundpulse attack with minimal threat.

Such low-tier city defense still relies primarily on regular city guards, with mages as support.

It’s cost-effective and practical—trained archers can fire dozens of arrows in one breath; how many spells can mage apprentices cast?

Likewise, 0-Ring groundpulse creatures cannot ignore damage from conventional weapons.

So this Fierce Bat assault, aside from being overwhelming in numbers, has no other notable dangers.

“They’re coming!” After another ten minutes of tense waiting on the wall, Rilo shouted a warning.

He didn’t need to.

Everyone saw it: at the horizon where forest met sky, dark spots had been spilled like ink.

The ink quickly spread, forming wave after wave of black mist.

Tens of thousands of black mists surged from deep within the forest, accompanied by piercing shrieks, like a dark cloud blotting out the sun, rushing toward Bremen City, nestled beside Shenliujie Lake.

Each was a massive bat—too numerous to count.

With the appearance of the Fierce Bats, everyone instantly went on alert.

As the swarm drew nearer, their shrill shrieks echoed, sending chills down spines.

Archers stood in perfect formation behind the fortifications, nocking arrows and drawing bows.

When the bats finally closed in, entering bow range, the archers unleashed their volley.

Arrows rained down like hail.

*Shhh-shhh-shhh!* The sound of arrows leaving bows and slicing through air rang continuously.

Each Fierce Bat, as large as a horse, showed no fear before the arrowstorm.

They flapped their furred wings like shields, sweeping arrows aside.

But such dense arrowfire could not be fully blocked.

Arrows inevitably pierced their bodies—yet even then, their movement was barely slowed.

“These beasts have almost no flesh. A single arrow does negligible damage—it only adds up, or hits a vital spot,” Rilo observed, unsurprised.

Waves of arrows kept pouring down without pause.

Amidst piercing cries, some Fierce Bats finally couldn’t withstand the assault and fell from the sky onto the wall below.

As if a signal, once the first bat fell, more followed—dozens, then hundreds, like rain dropping.

But their comrades’ deaths didn’t frighten them; instead, they ignited their savagery.

They launched even more frenzied, suicide-like charges at the wall.

Despite the arrowstorm, some slipped through, shielded by their fallen kin, barely making it to the wall.

Now it was the mages’ turn.

“Attack!” Rilo roared.

The seven squads’ apprentice mages, ready and waiting, immediately unleashed their signature spells, each targeting a single bat.

With surges of magic, acid, transparent blades, and flames appeared, striking the Fierce Bats.

These escaped bats were few in number, and already wounded from breaking through the arrowstorm—many pierced by dozens of arrows, and low in quality.

Often, just one spell was enough to obliterate them completely.

This was where apprentice mages outperformed organized city guards.

Ten guards couldn’t kill a Fierce Bat in one or two seconds—but an apprentice mage could.

Gao De, among the crowd, immediately activated his spell model.

As his inner mana surged, a brilliant red light erupted from his hand.

【Flame Arrow+】! Under his mental control, the magical energy shot forth as a searing flame, forming a deadly fire arrow aimed straight at a Fierce Bat still pierced by over a dozen arrows.

The fire arrow traced a perfect arc through the air and struck the bat dead-on.

*Boom!* Explosive fire instantly consumed it.

Already wounded, the Fierce Bat let out a sharp cry before plummeting from the sky, now a corpse.

It was that simple! In this suicide-style siege, the Fierce Bats made almost no evasive moves—only charging forward by sheer numbers.

+1 gold coin.

Fierce Bat essence +1/7!

To Gao De, the falling bats weren’t creatures—they were gold and experience. But this batch near the seventh squad’s assigned wall segment was only seven or eight bats.

Some in the seventh squad hadn’t even reacted before this batch was wiped out.

Gao De getting one was already fast.

“Wait for the next batch,” Gao De muttered to himself, focusing intently, ready to snatch the next target.

His current mana was enough for seven spells in a row.

If he could kill one Fierce Bat per spell, he’d perfectly match the essence needed.

But there was no room for error.

So Gao De had to concentrate, choosing only the most wounded bats near the wall to ensure 100% kill rate.

Competition still existed.

For others, killing Fierce Bats didn’t grant essence like him—but the 1-gold bonus was real.

They’d all want to maximize kills with their limited spells.

It came down to speed and sharp eyes.

Fortunately, 【Flame Arrow】 as an evocation cantrip had exceptional damage—and among cantrips, its range was among the best.

A 120-foot range made it stand out clearly among cantrips.

(End of Chapter)