Marcus tilted his head back to observe the Giant Winged Bat.

The creature was now just circling cautiously in the air, letting out low, threatening growls, not daring to dive again.

From its posture, it even seemed to be showing signs of retreat.

"It’s not going to run, is it? That would be a pain," Marcus frowned.

"Ahem..."

Gray scrambled up from the ground, dusting himself off. He looked a little disheveled, but thankfully, he wasn’t seriously injured.

"A normal Giant Winged Bat would have bolted by now, but one that’s breeding and nursing is a different story."

Gray looked around, his gaze finally locking onto a spot. He pointed.

"See that? That’s its nest."

Sure enough, nestled in the dense canopy high above, was a huge, tumor-like black shadow.

It was a Giant Winged Bat’s nest, a disgusting-looking structure made of branches and animal bones, all stuck together with copious amounts of saliva.

If it weren’t for the brightness of Zelir’s Lighting Skill, they probably would have had trouble spotting it even with him pointing it out.

"Alright, Zelir. Aim for its nest and fire."

Gray sneered. "Let’s see if it’s willing to part with its little Magical Beast cubs."

"You got it!"

Zelir replied cheerfully.

Hitting a stationary target like this was no challenge for him. After a brief charge-up, Zelir launched a Fireball Skill straight at the Giant Winged Bat’s nest.

"BOOM!"

The moment the Fireball Skill hit, brilliant flames erupted, instantly igniting the branches and leaves!

However, because the kindling was rather damp, the fire didn’t spread immediately. Instead, it produced even more thick smoke.

Zelir’s Fireball Skill was like poking a hornet’s nest. Sharp "SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" cries immediately echoed from within, which must have been the Giant Winged Bat’s young.

"Nice one!" Gray’s face lit up.

This move completely enraged the Giant Winged Bat. The creature, which had been circling high above, immediately became extremely aggressive.

"SKREEEEEEEEEE!!!"

The Giant Winged Bat spread its wings to their full extent, its shadow blotting out the sky.

An invisible Power swirled around it, and the Bone Spikes on its wingtips began to tremble and loosen.

"Watch out! It’s about to fire its Bone Spikes!" Marcus raised his Shield and assumed a defensive stance.

Zelir and Gray also immediately hid behind a tree.

But at that very moment, Valles dropped the ball.

He just stood there, staring blankly at the Giant Winged Bat in the sky, completely frozen.

"Valles! What the fuck are you doing standing there? Move!" Gray yelled.

Valles seemed to snap out of a trance, finally realizing the danger.

But it was too late. A storm of Wind Blade Bone Spikes tore through the air, hurtling straight down!

A tremendous force suddenly slammed into him from the side. In the nick of time, Gray had charged in, tackling the frozen Valles out of the way and sending them both tumbling uncontrollably to the ground.

"THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!"

Dozens of Bone Spikes embedded themselves deep into the spot where Valles had just been standing. The immense force drove them straight through the ground, burying them more than ten centimeters deep and kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt.

The two of them rolled several times on the ground before coming to a stop.

Valles was completely unscathed. Gray had only suffered a scratch on his calf from a Bone Spike; it was nothing serious.

Gray gasped for breath, still shaken from the close call. He immediately laid into Valles with a torrent of curses.

"What the hell were you doing? Are you sleepwalking?!"

It was a good thing the Bone Spikes hadn’t hit his body. With the power behind them, the resulting piercing wound would have likely meant instant death.

"Sorry... It won’t happen again."

Valles shook his head hard, trying to pull himself together.

After firing a volley of Bone Spikes, the Giant Winged Bat high above continued to circle, showing no sign of descending.

Its wings quivered, and a new set of ghastly white Bone Spikes slowly grew from its wingtips.

The Bone Spikes couldn’t be grown indefinitely. Each volley would slightly reduce the Giant Winged Bat’s bone density—a permanent injury.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, a Giant Winged Bat wouldn’t keep firing its Wind Blade Bone Spikes.

But today, it was ready to go all out to kill these humans who dared to attack its nest!

"SKREEEEEEEEEE!!!"

The ear-piercing screech erupted once more. With a flap of its wings, the Giant Winged Bat’s flight speed suddenly increased, its form blurring.

It banked sharply in a dive, instantly circling to the team’s blind spot and unleashing its sharp Bone Spikes mid-flight!

"Look out!" Marcus yelled.

A sharp, ear-piercing "CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" rang out from the surface of the Shield.

Many of the Bone Spikes pierced it directly. One even nearly penetrated the Shield completely; its white tip was visible on the other side.

Zelir dove to the ground, not daring to move his head an inch.

The "WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!" of things tearing through the air made his scalp tingle, as if he were caught in a hail of gunfire.

After the second round of ranged attacks, the Giant Winged Bat’s killing intent hadn’t faded. It continued to grow new Bone Spikes.

It looked as if it planned to use this tactic to slowly wear the team down to death.

"Damn it, this beast is getting smarter..."

Marcus scraped his Battle Saber along the face of his Shield, shearing off all the embedded Bone Spikes.

"Zelir, keep firing at its nest! I’d like to see if its little cubs can withstand being smoked and roasted!"

"No problem!"

Zelir rolled behind a tree, charged up another Fireball Skill, and scored a direct hit on the Giant Winged Bat’s nest!

"BOOM!"

The nest, where the flames had been dying down, once again burst into a roaring blaze. The "SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" sounds from inside grew louder, now filled with mournful cries.

Seeing this, the Giant Winged Bat went completely berserk.

Its entire body trembled frantically, its shrill screams almost piercing their eardrums.

’If this keeps up, my nest will be destroyed by that damned Human Mage!’

’I have to kill him first!’

"Marcus!" Zelir shouted.

"Got it!"

Just as the Giant Winged Bat locked onto Zelir and dove straight for him, Marcus executed a shield Charge!

The Giant Winged Bat was sent tumbling across the ground. The team members immediately seized the opportunity to launch an all-out assault!

Once it was on the ground, the Giant Winged Bat’s advantages vanished completely.

A rapid-fire volley—five Feathered Arrows!

Every one of Valles’s Arrows pierced the Giant Winged Bat’s abdomen, pinning it to the ground.

Gray strode forward, sword in hand, and leaped into the air.

A cold gleam of light flashed down from above, slicing off half of the Giant Winged Bat’s Wing Membrane!

The final blow came from Zelir. He aimed for the wound on the Giant Winged Bat’s compound eye and released another Wind Blade Technique.

The already exposed tissues of its head suffered another heavy blow. Unable to withstand it, half of the Giant Winged Bat’s head was sheared clean off.

The top of its skull went spinning through the air before landing in the grass.

The Giant Winged Bat’s body twitched a few times before it collapsed with a heavy thud, gradually falling silent.