However, Nolan's idea was quite good, but the stinky bird didn't give him a chance.
The Wind Chime Bird, covered in cyan-green feathers, dug its powerful talons into the tree trunk below, flapped its wings, and sent several wind blades slicing toward them.
"What a fast speed!"
Nolan quickly assessed that dodging these attacks would be difficult for the seemingly fragile Sucrose.
Compared to the last time he went to collect materials with Sucrose, she seemed to have grown quite a bit.
But at level twenty-five, she was no match for the level fifty bird. The difference wasn't just numerical; it was a chasm in combat talent and experience.
For most adventurers, facing an enemy far stronger than themselves meant one thing: retreat. Only those with exceptional skills or cheats, like Nolan, could handle such odds. Even a monster's instinctive retaliation could be deadly for those who provoked it.
Don't do too many unnecessary things.
Even if a monster lacked intelligence, its instinctual counterattacks could be overwhelming for anyone foolish enough to provoke it.
Sucrose, being a scholar, often engrossed in her research, lacked extensive combat experience and had not yet reached the level of Miss Lisa.
Thus, facing the Wind Chime Bird's wind blades left her momentarily stunned. She instinctively let out a cry and shielded her head with her hands.
In that critical moment, Nolan moved swiftly. He sidestepped and pulled Sucrose into his embrace, shielding her head with his arm while diving to the ground.
The wind blades grazed Nolan's back, missing him by a hair's breadth.
"Ugh..."
Sucrose's fair face was pressed against Nolan's chest, her round, half-rimmed glasses askew, causing her some discomfort. Her mouth and nose were blocked by his clothes, making it hard for her to breathe and turning her face red.
Instinctively, she raised her hands and patted Nolan's back, her over-the-knee stockings-clad legs kicking the air in mild struggle.
Realizing Sucrose's discomfort, Nolan quickly rolled over, positioning her on top of him.
Sucrose pushed herself up from Nolan's chest with both hands, the first order of business being to adjust her skewed glasses. Only then did she begin to take deep breaths to relieve her feeling of suffocation.
A few seconds later.
It seemed she only then realized she was sitting on Nolan's abdomen. Her face flushed red as she quickly stood up, extending a hand to him with a panicked tone:
"Ah! Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"
Nolan grasped Sucrose's soft hand, even through her gloves, and quickly stood up, shaking his head as he said: "No problem."
"However, it looks like that monster bird doesn't want to let us leave."
He shielded Sucrose behind him, looking up at the monster bird clutching the branch with an innocent expression.
"Thank you. Generally, Wind Chime Birds shouldn't hold grudges once they confirm we're not a threat. This is really strange."
Hearing Nolan say he was fine, Sucrose patted her chest in relief.
She expressed her gratitude, then looked up at the monster bird with some confusion.
[Sucrose Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 350 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (280/400)]
"Whatever."
Nolan noticed the Wind Chime Bird opening its massive beak, visible cyan wind elements gathering inside. His expression grew serious, but he still spoke with bravado:
"Sucrose, move back and protect yourself. Since it insists on bothering us, I'll take the trouble to take it down and see how a monster bird tastes."
"Ah, okay, please be careful!"
Although Sucrose was a bit worried about Nolan's safety, she knew she couldn't help much against such a powerful foe.
Using a scholar's rational judgment, she decisively retreated to avoid causing him any trouble..
Right at this moment,
The Wind Chime Bird launched the massive wind blades projectile it had been gathering towards them.
As the wind blades projectile passed, branches snapped and leaves were torn away, swirling around it like a tornado.
Nolan raised his hand and continuously slashed out wind blades, cutting into the projectile. As he expected, the two wind elements collided and neutralized each other.
Under his relentless assault, the Wind Chime Bird's wind projectile was quickly dispersed.
The effect was just a little bit of fatigue, but then the effect of the racial specialty of "Abundant Life" manifested itself.
Nolan's stamina rapidly recovered, and soon he was back to nearly his pre-attack state.
If it came to an endurance battle, he wasn't afraid of this damm bird!
Seeing its attack dispersed, the innocent-looking Wind Chime Bird tilted its head in confusion.
Then its entire body began to glow with a cyan light, as if it had received some sort of enhancement. It flapped its wings, leaving the branch, and with a slight shake, its golden, powerful claws struck downwards.
Naturally, Nolan had no intention of meeting its attack head-on. He sidestepped, dodging its strike.
Summoning his Dull Blade from his Delusion, he raised it and slashed at the monster bird's neck—one of its weak points.
In the innocent black eyes of the Wind Chime Bird, a flash of silver from the sword was reflected.
Its claws couldn't defend in time. The cyan light around its body flashed, and it suddenly expanded like a balloon.
The expansion pushed away Nolan's Dull Blade, forcing him back.
His durable adventuring boots left two tracks in the dirt. Fortunately, the Wind Chime Bird's cyan light sphere had no offensive power.
Placing his left hand on the surface of the cyan light sphere, he used it as leverage to leap back and propel himself away.
"Mr. Adventurer, are you alright?"
From a distance, Sucrose retrieved a vial containing unstable Anemo energy and threw it at the monster bird—her only effective means of impacting the Wind Chime Bird.
"Bang!"
The sound of breaking glass echoed through the forest.
A cyan-colored wind spirit was released, whipping up a gust that even disrupted the Wind Chime Bird, momentarily halting its attack.
Seizing the opportunity, Nolan summoned fire elements from his Delusion, forming a small fireball and hurling it towards the bird.
The wind spirit turned crimson instantly, and the Wind Chime Bird, caught within it, seemed to falter as its cyan-green light sphere began to waver.
Just as Nolan was about to press his advantage,
The Wind Chime Bird shuddered, and a violent gale erupted from within it, like a shockwave dispersing everything around it. The entire forest trembled!
As expected of a powerful monster that had reached level fifty. Its mastery of wind elements was extraordinary!
(End of Chapter)
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