Chapter 75 - 57: Steel-backed Porcupine Burrow
Chapter 75: Chapter 57: Steel-backed Porcupine Burrow
THUD~ THUD~ THUD~
A barrage of Magic slammed into the backs of the upright porcupines.
Flames struck, flared for a moment, and then died out. Wind Blades slashed down, leaving white gashes that were immediately obscured by the barrage of Magic that followed.
The endless barrage of Magic had no effect on the porcupines whatsoever.
With every attack they absorbed, the short quills on the porcupines’ backs grew longer. Finally, they reached a critical point. With a sharp THWIP, the long quills launched from their backs, shooting toward their attackers.
"AWOOOO—"
The tanks, already riddled with quills, saw another volley flying their way. They had no choice but to get up and position themselves in the projectiles’ path, absorbing the attack.
The price was that their cries grew even more wretched.
The quills didn’t do much damage, but their piercing power was extraordinary, rendering the tanks’ defenses useless. The pain was immense; each quill was barbed, and pulling one out meant tearing out a chunk of flesh.
Standing among his troops, Lin Yu observed the porcupines’ attack patterns. The way the upright ones stood with their backs to the group felt strangely familiar, and a theory began to form in his mind.
Bypassing Kirkland, he issued orders directly. "Sharp Claw Druids, stealth your way over. Do not attack the backs of the upright porcupines—hit them from the front."
"Elemental Druids, summon your Elemental Servants. Have them circle around the sides to attack the regular porcupines in the back, then hit the upright ones from the front."
"Once that’s in motion, keep up the assault on the upright porcupines, but don’t hit them too hard—just go through the motions. If they turn to face you, hit them with everything you’ve got."
"Rock Druids, be ready to defend against the quills."
"Healing Druids, stay on top of the healing."
At Lin Yu’s command, the Druid units sprang into action.
Faced with a frontal assault, the upright porcupines were not nearly as composed.
They brandished their claws, parrying left and right, and even counter-attacked the enemies before them.
When faced with what they perceived as a powerful attack, they would turn to absorb the damage with their backs. After taking a certain amount of punishment, new quills would sprout and launch suddenly.
The regular porcupines, on the other hand, had no defense against close-range enemies and could only take the punishment passively.
However, the quills on their backs grew rapidly, and they fired off another volley just as the Elemental Servants closed in.
More than half the Elemental Servants were skewered to death. The survivors, coordinating with the Sharp Claw Druids, finished surrounding and annihilating the regular porcupines.
With the regular porcupines dead, the upright ones had to face a two-front assault. Since their backs could only face one direction at a time, they began to accumulate more and more wounds.
Some of the Rock Druids, once healed, even joined the assault on the upright porcupines.
They didn’t attack directly. Instead, they worked in pairs to grab hold of an upright porcupine, preventing it from turning. The allies facing its front then ramped up their damage, quickly finishing it off.
Under Lin Yu’s tactical command, the Druid team finished clearing the burrow.
"My Lord, you are truly sharp-eyed! You saw the porcupines’ weakness at a glance."
Wraith, standing behind Lin Yu, praised him sincerely as she watched the victorious Druid team return.
"Hahaha, just a lucky guess, that’s all!"
"Wraith, in future wars between territories, I can’t always be on the front lines. I’ll be counting on all of you. You must learn more, think more. The battlefield is constantly changing and demands flexibility..."
"My Lord, I will do my absolute best!"
...
After encouraging Wraith, Lin Yu walked to the entrance of the burrow and, full of anticipation, inspected its properties.
[Name]: Steel-backed Porcupine Burrow
[Category]: Natural Recruitment Office
[Grade]: Legendary (Gold)
[Description]: The dwelling of the Steel-backed Porcupine clan. The Steel-backed Porcupine is the king of its kind, blessed with exceptional talent. They typically live alongside lower-grade members of their species.
[Recruitable]: Steel-backed Porcupine (Legendary) x50, Spiny Porcupine (Excellent) x100
[Recruitment Cost]: Steel-backed Porcupine: 1,000 Food, 1,000 Ore, 100 Gold Coins. Spiny Porcupine: 100 Food, 100 Ore, 100 Gold Coins.
[Recruit?]
[This building is compatible with your territory’s attributes. For one million Gold Coins, it can be converted into a Steel-backed Porcupine Burrow blueprint.]
"Hahaha!"
"A Gold Legendary!!"
’My luck is really good.’ Lin Yu’s face lit up. He had only come out to stretch his legs and explore a bit; he never expected such a pleasant surprise.
’It’s just... a little pricey!’
Lin Yu glanced at his remaining balance of over three million Gold Coins. Most of it had been earned by selling resources last month. He was still selling resources on the market this month, but prices had dropped significantly compared to the month before.
On top of that, countless buildings required construction within the territory each day, every one of them costing Gold Coins. If not for his "Verdant Growth" territory trait, he would have gone bankrupt long ago.
Still, at this stage of the game, a gold-grade Recruitment Office was something a lord would sell their soul to the gods for. A million Gold Coins was a bargain.
Lin Yu hesitated for only a second before spending the resources to recruit all 50 Steel-backed Porcupines and 100 Spiny Porcupines. He then converted the Steel-backed Porcupine Burrow into a blueprint.
[Name]: Steel-backed Porcupine
[Grade]: Legendary (Gold)
[Level]: 1
[Attack]: 65
[Magic Power]: 32.5
[Speed]: 97.5
[Defense]: 227.5
[Health]: 390
[Skills]: Energy-Absorbing Steel Back, Charged Quill Volley, Stacking Quill Damage, Blood Quills
[Talent]: Piercing Quills
[Energy-Absorbing Steel Back]: The Steel-backed Porcupine’s back possesses a defense value 10 times higher than its base defense.
The Steel-backed Porcupine’s back reduces all incoming physical and energy damage by 70%. The mitigated damage is converted into energy and stored within its body.
[Charged Quill Volley]: The Steel-backed Porcupine channels stored energy to its back, causing its quills to grow rapidly. Upon reaching a limit, the quills launch out, damaging any enemy units they strike.
[Stacking Quill Damage]: Each enemy wounded by a Steel-backed Porcupine’s quills receives a damage amplification debuff. The next instance of quill damage taken is increased by 20%. Duration: 2 minutes. Stacks infinitely. (The timer for each debuff is tracked individually).
[Blood Quills]: After a quill pierces an enemy, it continuously drains health. Each quill siphons 1% of the target’s current health per minute. The absorbed Life Energy is transferred to the Steel-backed Porcupine, restoring its health.
[Piercing Quills]: The Steel-backed Porcupine’s back is covered in quills that ignore 50% of all physical and energy defense.
-----------------
[Name]: Spiny Porcupine
[Grade]: Excellent (Blue)
[Level]: 1
[Attack]: 30 (20 x Lv)
[Speed]: 45 (20 + 10 x Lv)
[Defense]: 30 (20 x Lv)
[Health]: 150 (50 + 50 x Lv)
[Skills]: Launch Quills, Regenerate Quills
[Talent]: Piercing Quills
[Launch Quills]: The Spiny Porcupine can launch the hundreds of quills on its back to attack its enemies.
[Regenerate Quills]: After the Spiny Porcupine launches its quills, they rapidly regenerate.
[Piercing Quills]: ...
The Steel-backed Porcupine’s high damage reduction would be a devastating weapon on the battlefield. When two sides were locked in a direct confrontation, an enemy couldn’t just choose to ignore it. The Spiny Porcupines were a nice bonus, filling a gap in his territory’s physical ranged forces.
"A great haul!" Lin Yu patted one of the Steel-backed Porcupines beside him, thoroughly satisfied.
"Everyone worked hard today! Now, let’s head back to the territory. There’s a feast waiting for you when we return!"
The group set off toward the vast forest, barely visible in the distance.