The Pegasus Knights split into two teams, like two open pincers, beginning to exert pressure from both flanks of the monster horde.
The Storm Gryphon let out a high-pitched cry, accelerating sharply like a gray lightning bolt, diving towards the densest concentration of Black Wind Dire Wolves.
The Griffon's talons were like sharp steel, glinting with deadly light in the sunlight.
“Ow-woo!”
An exceptionally robust Black Wind Dire Wolves, clearly the pack leader, sensed the threat from the sky, abruptly stopped, baring its fangs and letting out a threatening roar towards the sky.
But its defiance seemed pale and powerless in the face of absolute strength.
The Storm Gryphon's massive shadow instantly enveloped it; Lei Luo could even see the fleeting terror in the Dire Wolves’s eyes.
The next second, the Griffon's massive talons had already fiercely gripped its spine!
“Crack!”
A bone-shattering crunch echoed.
The Black Wind Dire Wolves leader couldn't even let out a scream; its entire body was torn apart by the immense force, internal organs and blood splattering across the ground.
This bloody and shocking scene instantly stunned the entire wolf pack.
The Dire Wolves let out frightened howls, and their running formation showed a hint of disarray.
Lei Luo seized the opportunity, piloting the Storm Gryphon to skim low over the wolf pack, the gale from the Griffon’s wings lashing the Dire Wolves like a whip.
He used the pressure of a third-tier monster to intimidate the monster horde.
He piloted the Storm Gryphon, not eager to inflict casualties, but rather to create panic, disrupt their rhythm, and force the monster horde to change direction.
At the same time, the Pegasus Knights on both sides also began their actions.
They utilized the Pegasus’s speed and agility to constantly harass the monster horde's flanks.
Some Knights lit the sulfur torches they carried, throwing them in front or to the side of the monster horde.
The pungent smell and leaping flames were a great deterrent for monsters with sensitive noses and a fear of fire.
Some monsters that strayed from the direction and ran wildly were specially targeted by the Pegasus Knights; under a volley of arrows, one or two monsters that broke away from the horde were riddled with arrows.
The herding process was full of peril.
The monsters were not docile lambs; they were extremely ferocious and constantly tried to counterattack.
Several Black Wind Dire Wolves tried to leap and attack the Pegasus flying low, but they were all precisely repelled by the Knights with their long spears.
An enraged Spine Bristle Boar suddenly turned around and charged at a Pegasus Knight on the flank, making the ground tremble.
The Knight remained calm in the face of danger, abruptly pulling up the Pegasus’s height, narrowly avoiding the Boar's horns, which were capable of splitting mountains and rocks, and then threw a short spear, deeply embedding it in the Boar's back.
The pained Boar let out an angry roar but could only helplessly watch its airborne enemy fly away.
Under the continuous harassment, pressure, and fright from the aerial forces, the monster horde began to deviate from its original direction of charging Blackstone Town, gradually being guided towards the Rocky Slope in the northwest.
Time passed bit by bit, and the sun gradually rose higher.
Below, the dust raised by the monster horde billowed, and roars and howls rose and fell.
Finally, a completely different landscape appeared ahead.
The relatively flat plains disappeared, replaced by a slope composed of countless rugged, strange rocks; the terrain was steep, with ravines crisscrossing, it was precisely the Rocky Slope!
“Everyone, attention! Increase the herding effort! Drive them... all in!”
The Storm Gryphon unleashed its power again, diving sharply, its talons continuously tearing apart two Hyenas that had fallen behind.
The Pegasus Knights also increased the frequency of their arrow shots and torches, and a few daring Knights even lowered their altitude, fiercely striking the monsters’ hindquarters with the butts of their long spears.
The monster horde, thoroughly enraged and frightened, surged like a broken dam, losing its last shred of reason, knowing only to madly rush into the entrance of the Rocky Slope ahead!
Looking at the dense mass of monsters pouring into the Rocky Slope below, Lei Luo and the Knights breathed a sigh of relief.
The first step of the plan was successful!
“Eide! It’s up to you guys!”
Lei Luo reined in the Storm Gryphon, letting it circle above the entrance of the Rocky Slope, his gaze fixed on that silent yet murderous expanse of rugged, strange rocks.
The monster horde, like an out-of-control flood, plunged into the rugged entrance of the Rocky Slope.
The fastest Black Wind Dire Wolves and panicked Hyenas were the first to rush in; they were eager to escape the fear from the sky behind them and didn't notice the hidden dangers underfoot at all.
Just as nearly half of the monsters surged into a relatively open area in the center of the Rocky Slope, the ground suddenly collapsed!
Several large pit traps, already dug and meticulously camouflaged with dead branches and leaves, instantly opened their gaping, dark mouths.
A dozen or so Black Wind Dire Wolves and Hyenas at the very front had no time to dodge and screamed as they fell into the deep pits.
The bottom of the pits was already sharpened with countless hard wooden stakes; as the monsters fell, they were immediately impaled, blood splattering, and their wails were utterly shrill.
Immediately after, from behind the rock walls on both sides, a dozen thick trip ropes suddenly rose!
These trip ropes were woven from a mixture of tough vines and animal sinews; they swept across the ground, precisely blocking the legs of the charging monsters.
Many running Hyenas and Dire Wolves were instantly tripped, rolling into a pile, and the monsters behind, unable to dodge in time, immediately crashed into each other, creating a chaotic scene.
“Swish, swish, swish!”
The militiamen, ambushed in the rock crevices on the high ground on both sides, under the command of the Knights, drew their already prepared hard bows.
Although their arrows posed little threat to the thick-skinned Spine Bristle Boar, they were more than sufficient against Hyenas and Black Wind Dire Wolves.
A dense rain of arrows descended, screams rose and fell, and many monsters were impaled with arrows, twitching on the ground.
This sudden series of blows instantly caused heavy losses to the monster horde that rushed into the Rocky Slope; at least a quarter of the monsters were taken down by traps and arrows in just a few breaths.
“Roar!”
The surviving monsters, especially the thick-skinned Spine Bristle Boar, were completely enraged by these constantly triggered traps.
They let out deafening roars, their crimson eyes fixed on the tiny human figures on the high ground, and began to charge madly!
“Everyone! Prepare! Hold the line!”
Eide drew the Knight's longsword from his waist, its blade glinting with a cold light in the sunlight.
He led by example, standing at the very front of the formation.
A dozen Knights of Blackstone Territory were already arrayed and waiting.
They occupied advantageous terrain, forming a tight shield wall, aimed at the monsters charging from below.
Behind the Knights was a line formed by over a hundred well-trained Knight apprentices and squires.
Further back were the militiamen who had climbed the rocks and the organized hunters, continuously firing arrows from their elevated positions.
“For Blackstone Territory!”
Eide roared, spearing the foremost Black Wind Dire Wolves to death.
“For Blackstone Territory!”
The Knights and militiamen shouted in unison, their voices echoing through the Rocky Slope, dispelling fear and consolidating courage.
The battle instantly entered a white-hot stage!