Chapter 169: As Long As You Support Me, I Have a Way to Deal With Them

Lan Qingyou had come prepared and knew this perfectly well.

However, what she did not expect was that the moment she was blown away, Steel Wool flew right out of her arms. It grabbed Lan Qingyou's collar with its talons and dragged her straight toward the passageway.

As an Aurora Snowy Owl, Steel Wool's greatest asset was its speed.

Within a mere matter of seconds, Lan Qingyou was dragged into the passageway.

The price, however, was her hair becoming a tangled mess from the few seconds of rapid flight. If her hat didn't have some sort of anti-drop enchantment, it likely would have been blown away by the gale long ago.

"I didn't expect you, kid... no, you little girl, to be quite so clever."

Placed on the ground by Steel Wool, Lan Qingyou rubbed the owl's cheeks with both hands and laughed delightfully.

Being rubbed like this, Steel Wool showed no signs of annoyance. Instead, it narrowed its eyes with a look of pure enjoyment.

Watching from the side, Little Spoon squeaked frantically, even spinning in circles out of sheer anxiety.

"Right, right, and Little Spoon too. If it weren't for you, I never would have found these wonderful treasures."

Lan Qingyou naturally couldn't play favorites. After placing the little creature on her lap, she gave it a thorough petting.

Being petted sent Little Spoon over the moon, and it copied Steel Wool by happily narrowing its eyes.

However, even while narrowing its eyes, the little guy did not forget to cast a sidelong glance at Steel Wool nearby.

Only for Steel Wool to open its beak and playfully swallow half of the little guy.

Seeing the two little rascals messing around, Lan Qingyou didn't bother intervening. This kind of thing had happened more than once or twice, after all.

She had no idea what the situation outside was right now.

But one thing was certain: taking down those four creatures by herself would be extremely difficult. However, that was perfectly fine. She had her omnipotent chat group members.

Although it should be late into the night by now, Lan Qingyou knew full well that the vast majority of them would definitely still be awake.

During a Mana Tide, when venturing outside was impossible, it was the perfect time to conduct research without any distractions.

Moreover, they had just gained some fresh inspiration earlier. If Lan Qingyou were in their shoes, she certainly wouldn't waste time sleeping either.

Sure enough.

After executing a mass summon in the chat, the previously quiet group completely exploded with activity.

Tower: "I encountered four entities in a cave, estimated to be at least S-rank. I'm currently blocked in and need to figure out a way to kill them [Image] [Image] [Image] [Image]"

Having slightly exaggerated her predicament, Lan Qingyou conveniently uploaded the photos she had just taken.

Emperor: "What are these, Giant Treants? You really are running a dungeon, even the bosses are spawning!"

High Priestess: "Shoo, shoo, this isn't the time for jokes."

Death: "What a pity."

And how could it not be? For a battle maniac to miss out on an S-rank monster, it was naturally a great pity.

Magician: "Estimated to be S-rank? Based on what?"

Tower: "Each ancient tree possesses six skills."

Star: "...Six?"

Sun: "If I remember correctly, the magical beast investigation report issued by the Supreme Council stated that D-rank monsters only have two, right?"

Death: "A-ranks only have two as well. I encountered one before."

When Li Huai didn't speak, it was fine, but whenever he surfaced or chimed in, it was always astonishing.

At the very least, everyone besides Lan Qingyou was thoroughly shocked.

An A-rank... you've actually encountered one?

To even know exactly how many skills the creature had left only one possibility: he had defeated it and dragged its corpse home for appraisal.

After a brief moment of shock, Magician sent a message: "In that case, it really might be an S-rank."

Sun: "That's not right. It's at least S-rank."

Magician: "Is there a difference?"

To the vast majority of people who only looked at S-rank, S-rank was the absolute peak. Thus, Magician had just completely glossed over the words "at least" that Lan Qingyou mentioned.

Tower: "World-class."

Sun: "Heh heh, it seems the Witch knows about it too."

High Priestess: "Wait a second, what exactly are you guys talking about? What's world-class?"

Wheel of Fortune: "It refers to existences above S-rank. Items, monsters, and the like that are recognized by the world's will are all called world-class. In a way, those of us who have received a Title granted by the world's will could also be considered world-class."

Sun: "It seems Wheel of Fortune understands this quite well, so I won't elaborate further. But if these four ancient trees are all world-class existences, then we really need to have a serious discussion."

Anything recognized by the world's will could collectively be called world-class?

This brand-new concept thoroughly blew the minds of the remaining group members.

High Priestess: "Does that mean the three of you already knew about world-class existences?"

Tower: "I picked up a few defective world-class items shortly after I transmigrated."

Sun: "You're so lucky. Unlike me, who can only make them myself."

Wheel of Fortune: "I guessed it through Divination."

High Priestess and Magician fell silent on the spot.

Just listen, listen to what they were saying!

Picked up? Made them yourself? Guessed through Divination?

Please, could the three of you speak in terms mere mortals can understand? You're making the rest of us look like idiots.

Sun: "It goes without saying—attack! Offense is the best defense!"

High Priestess: "Defense is important too, isn't it? Judging by the height, they must be at least seventy or eighty meters tall. A single swat from behemoths like that would be lethal."

Star: "Regarding this, I think we should first ask Death, who has the most combat experience."

Death: "Without clear data, I can't offer any proper reference."

Tower: "The saws on the Rolling Blade Beasts that Chariot and I built probably won't be able to break their defenses. Earlier, when facing a treant, one went up and broke its saw just cutting off a single branch. As for their height, they are roughly a hundred meters tall."

Tower: "I used fire attacks against the C-rank treants earlier, but it doesn't seem like that will be very effective right now."

Standing at the entrance to the passageway, Lan Qingyou replied after glancing at the burning ancient war tree in the distance, along with the other three ancient trees clustered behind the flames.

Star: "Even fire attacks are useless? Doesn't that mean they defy the laws of nature?"

High Priestess: "...Although I don't know the exact durability of the Rolling Blade Beasts' saws, anything made by Chariot shouldn't be of poor quality. From the looks of it, even breaking their defenses will be somewhat difficult."

Because she frequently bickered with Chariot, High Priestess was well aware of his true capabilities.

Since it was a magical puppet created through their joint efforts, its structural integrity was unquestionably solid.

But right now, it seemed things weren't as simple as she had thought.

Since they were S-rank or world-class existences, after all, defeating them would probably require some extraordinary measures, right?

Death: "If only I were there. Ironically, I'm quite adept at dealing with these tough-to-kill types."

Li Huai remarked with a hint of regret.

Wind-elemental magic was arguably the best at breaking through defenses. Against plant-type enemies especially, wind blades functioned perfectly as saws without any concern for material durability.

Following that, everyone discussed exactly what actions to take.

Whether it was Rune Stones, magic stones, or Potions, they deliberated for quite some time without arriving at a single effective solution.

Right at that moment, Chariot—who was either still awake pulling overtime or had just woken up from a nap—sent a message.

"This is simple enough. As long as everyone in the group supports me, I have a way to deal with them."