Celeste acted as if she had eyes in the back of her head.
She didn't even turn around, locking onto the opponent's position based solely on the sound of the wind and the killing intent, and struck back with a sudden counter-strike with her staff!
The pink staff traced a sharp arc through the air, whistling with such force that it seemed to tear the air, and landed with pinpoint precision on the joint of the ambushing poisonous wolf's front leg!
"Click!"
The crisp sound of bone breaking was enough to set one's teeth on edge.
The poisonous wolf let out a short, shrill howl, its front leg twisted at an unnatural angle as it tumbled and fell to the ground.
Almost at the same instant, Celeste spun her staff, tracing a smooth semicircle in front of her.
"Clang!"
The staff body precisely parried the fangs of the poisonous wolf lunging from the front.
The sound of metal clashing against stone rang out.
With a flick of her wrist, she skillfully guided the staff to deflect the force of the poisonous wolf's lunge, causing it to lose its balance and expose its vulnerable neck.
Celeste didn't hesitate for a second; she stepped forward, raised her staff high, and brought it down heavily like a war hammer!
"Bang!"
The last poisonous wolf's head made intimate contact with the ground, and it collapsed on cue.
The battle lasted no more than a dozen seconds from start to finish.
The three level 18 jungle poisonous wolves couldn't even force Celeste to use a basic Healing Spell.
Selene stared blankly as her sister calmly retracted her staff, the pink shaft still pristine, without a single drop of wolf blood on it.
She couldn't help but mutter to herself: "Sister, I seriously suspect that you were a general who destroyed nations in your past life..."
Celeste ignored her sister's teasing, walked over to the poisonous wolf that had been knocked away and was still struggling on the ground, pressed the tip of her staff down, and delivered one final blow to end its suffering.
The points on her wristband jumped to 45.
"Wolves are pack animals. The smell of blood will attract more trouble. We shouldn't stay here long," she analyzed calmly, her gaze sweeping over the wolf corpses with a hint of regret.
The system inventory cannot store loot not produced by the system; otherwise, these wolf fangs and pelts could have been traded for something.
Just as they were preparing to leave, the faint sounds of weapons clashing and human shouts drifted from deep within the mist to their front-left.
Judging by the commotion, the battle seemed quite intense.
Selene looked at Celeste, her eyes asking: Should we go take a look?
Celeste tapped her fingertip lightly on the pink staff, pondered for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
Understanding the strength of other teams and the true nature of the monsters in this Domain is essential intelligence work.
The two immediately restrained their aura and, like two agile cats, crept forward silently, using the tangled giant trees as cover.
Pushing aside a fern leaf the size of a water vat, the scene before them made the scalps of The two sisters tingle instantly.
They were not ordinary monsters.
It was a surging black tide composed of countless giant killer bees the size of an adult's fist!
Their wings vibrated at an ultra-high frequency, converging into a scalp-tingling buzzing sound, and the poisonous stingers at their tails glinted with a metallic cold light in the dimness.
The wristband information flashed frantically:
[Gloomy Poison Bee Lv.16]
[Points: 10/each]
[Traits: Swarm, Highly Poisonous, Paralysis, Hive Mind.]
"Wait, isn't that Zhang Xuchu's team?" Selene suddenly exclaimed in a lowered voice.
Celeste took a closer look, and sure enough, it was.
Struggling in that black tide were several familiar faces from the same school.
The shield warrior at the very front was Zhang Xuchu, known as the "Immovable Rampart."
At this moment, his prized enchanted giant shield was densely covered with bee stingers, looking like a hedgehog.
The armor's Khvarena on the surface of the shield flickered, ready to go out at any moment.
Zhang Ming, the fire mage in the team, had his Fireball incantations constantly interrupted by the fearless, suicidal attacks of the poisonous bees.
Ranger Li Jun's arrows shot into the swarm and vanished without a trace, failing to stir up even the slightest ripple.
The most miserable one was the priest girl, Wang Lin, at the back of the team.
Her face was pale, covered in cold sweat, and the healing light from the staff in her hand was as faint as a candle in the wind.
What was even more desperate was that behind the swarm, in the hollow of a withered giant tree, a writhing, disgustingly large beehive was continuously spewing out more poisonous bees!
"It's the hive! If we don't destroy the hive, we'll never be able to kill all of these things!" Zhang Xuchu roared angrily, his voice filled with despair.
His left arm had swollen abnormally, clearly poisoned by the bees.
"Their priest is running out of mana! Zhang Xuchu can't hold on much longer either!"
Selene nervously grabbed Celeste's arm, her tone anxious: "Sister, what should we do? Should we help? We're all from the same school; we can't just stand by and watch them die!"
Just then, the struggling Zhang Xuchu also noticed The two sisters in the shadows of the trees.
A glimmer of hope for survival flashed in his eyes, but it was immediately suppressed by his pride as a strong person.
However, when another wave of bee attacks nearly knocked him to the ground, that pride was finally completely shattered by the fear of failure.
He shouted with all his might:
"Celeste! Selene! Do us a favor!"
While struggling to push back a wave of bees with his shield, he shouted hoarsely:
"We are willing to pay 200 points as a Reward!"
"As long as you help us destroy the hive, we'll transfer the points to you immediately! If we use the life-saving talisman to withdraw, this martial arts exam will be a complete failure!"
Before Celeste could answer, the familiar system notification sound rang in her mind.
[Ding! Emergency joy value quest issued: Hive Rescue Operation]
[Quest Requirements: Serious combat does not fit this system's style. Host, please complete the rescue in an unconventional way and create a joyful scene.]
[Quest Reward: joy value will be awarded based on the joy effect; base Reward is 100 points.]
Celeste's mouth twitched slightly. Unconventional way?
At such a life-or-death moment? Create a joyful scene?
Her gaze fell on Zhang Xuchu's swollen arm and the priest girl's pale face, then glanced at the eye-catchingly pink bottle of "Highly Effective Insect-Repelling Love Fragrance" in her system inventory.
An absurd, outrageous, yet strangely fitting idea for the system's perverse sense of humor emerged in her mind.
"Sister?" Selene looked at her sister, who had suddenly fallen silent, with confusion.
Celeste took a long, deep breath and tightened her grip on the pink staff in her hand.
"Selene, prepare Sacred Shield Impact."
Her voice was terrifyingly calm.
"Aim for the hive and clear a path for me."
"Ah? Sister, what are you doing? Charging in alone?" Selene was shocked.
Celeste didn't answer.
She simply took out the pink spray with its extremely girlish packaging and heart-shaped bottle from her equipment inventory in silence.
Her eyes were a mix of the tragic solemnity of heading into battle and the despair of about to suffer social death in public.
"I hope... that auntie didn't lie to me..."