"Earth Vein Rat: It resembles a porcupine but is actually a powerful Rat Magical Beast. It naturally possesses the advanced earth magic, Earth Pulse. Standing on the ground, it can absorb earth vein magic power to replenish itself, and has magical abilities to control earth and rocks. It loves to eat various ores, and its defense is excellent. It's a top-tier A-Ranked Magical Beast."
"It has an extremely strong territorial sense, a sensitive and irritable temperament, and is a solitary Magical Beast. Any creature that intrudes into its territory will be considered an enemy attempting to seize its ore veins and will be hunted down to death."
"Its weakness is easy to find: as long as it is kept away from the ground, its strength will be greatly reduced."
Ezreal quickly retrieved the basic information of the Magical Beast before them in his mind and relayed it to Marcus and Cana.
Marcus flipped off the Crimson Feathered Demon Wolf, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "Reliable!"
Cana also dismounted the Demon Wolf, her lips curling into a smile as she said, "It seems you really did learn some things from always being in the library."
Both of them were Mages proficient in both melee and ranged combat, unlike Ezreal, who was very adept at coordinated combat with Summoned Beasts. Riding on the Crimson Feathered Demon Wolf, they couldn't unleash their full strength.
Ezreal raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course, before coming, I specifically read through all the Magical Beast illustrated guides collected by the guild!"
The Earth Vein Rat opened its gaping maw and let out a deafening roar, interrupting the trio's casual chat.
The iron spines on its body stood on end, as if ready to launch at any moment.
Ezreal's expression was grave. "Everyone, be careful, this guy is going all out!"
Before he finished speaking, the iron spines on the Earth Vein Rat's body shot towards the three like a torrential downpour.
Marcus waved his hands, and yellow sand instantly formed a huge vortex, attempting to block the attack of the iron spines, but some iron spines still broke through the defense.
The incredibly powerful iron spines struck the five Blue Warriors in the front row, piercing through their bodies in an instant and continuing their momentum towards the trio.
Cana swiftly threw out the cards in her hand, and a water-sphere shield enveloped the three, blocking the remaining iron spines.
Marcus waved his hands, and sand condensed into sharp longswords that shot towards the Earth Vein Rat.
The Earth Vein Rat dodged agilely, while simultaneously spewing a powerful gust of air from its mouth, blowing the longswords off course.
The Earth Vein Rat stomped its feet fiercely, and the ground instantly cracked, with an earthy-yellow shockwave rushing towards the three.
Ezreal, unhurried, controlled the six Crimson Feathered Demon Wolves to attack with him.
Six fireballs plus a Heavenly Illumination collided head-on with the shockwave, both dissipating.
Seeing its attack nullified, the Earth Vein Rat grew even angrier, its blood-red eyes seemingly spewing fire.
It opened its mouth again, and an earthy-yellow beam of light shot out, heading straight for the three.
Marcus's face changed drastically, and he quickly waved his hands, sand rapidly condensing into a massive shield.
However, when the beam struck the shield, the powerful impact caused Marcus to slide backward, his feet carving two deep grooves in the ground.
Cana's eyes narrowed, and the cards in her hand flew out, transforming into ice spikes that pierced towards the Earth Vein Rat's eyes. The Earth Vein Rat tilted its head, and the ice spikes flew past its cheek, leaving a few shallow white marks on its tough skin.
Ezreal seized this opportunity, commanding the remaining Red and Blue Stone Warriors to charge towards the Earth Vein Rat.
The Stone Warriors advanced with heavy steps, raising their massive stone hammers and axes to smash fiercely at the Earth Vein Rat.
The Earth Vein Rat nimbly spun in place, and with a sweep of the iron spines on its body, it sent several of the surrounding Stone Warriors flying. Immediately afterwards, several more iron spines completely shattered these remaining Stone Warriors into rubble. The rubble fell to the ground, slowly fading until it disappeared, returning to the canyon to await resurrection.
The Rank C Red and Blue Warriors were no match at all for the Earth Vein Rat, which was considered a formidable opponent even among A-Ranked Magical Beasts.
Seeing the Red and Blue Stone Warriors easily defeated, the Earth Vein Rat became even more arrogant, roaring up at the sky.
At this moment, a hint of cunning flashed in Ezreal's eyes.
In the nearby river, two massive shadows had long been lying in wait, silently swimming in the water, slowly approaching the shore.
Just as the Earth Vein Rat was about to attack the trio again, from behind it, two Marsh Frogs suddenly leaped out of the water, opening their mouths and spitting out two blobs of purple venom.
The Earth Vein Rat was caught off guard, and the venom was sprayed directly onto its tail and anus. Immediately, the latter half of the Earth Vein Rat's body emitted wisps of green smoke, and it roared in pain, its body trembling slightly, clearly severely wounded.
Although they were both Rank C Magical Beasts, even Ezreal was unwilling to get any of the Marsh Frog's corrosive venom on him.
Seizing this opportunity, Ezreal controlled the Crimson Feathered Demon Wolf to quickly fly into the sky. The other five Crimson Feathered Demon Wolves followed closely, forming a hexagram attack formation in the air.
Ezreal commanded the Demon Wolves from above to launch their attack, with fireballs raining down on the Earth Vein Rat like meteors.
On the ground, Marcus and Cana were not idle either.
Marcus waved his hands, and sand surged towards the Earth Vein Rat like a tide, attempting to restrict its movements.
Cana, meanwhile, continuously threw cards, which transformed into streaks of purple lightning and azure wind blades, striking the Earth Vein Rat.
The Earth Vein Rat dodged the fireballs while also having to deal with Marcus and Cana's attacks, appearing somewhat flustered.
Under the trio's encirclement, the Earth Vein Rat darted left and right, its wounds increasing, and its aura weakening, but it still resisted with its powerful strength and tenacious will.
Marcus and Cana exchanged glances, understanding each other implicitly.
Marcus slammed his hands onto the ground, and a massive sand wave surged up from the earth, lifting the already sluggish Earth Vein Rat high into the air.
Cana seized the chance to throw six cards. A fierce azure gale howled past, carrying a massive number of wind blades that blew the Earth Vein Rat in the sand wave into the sky.
Ezreal, seeing the opportune moment, commanded the Crimson Feathered Demon Wolves to intensify their attack. The fireballs from the six Crimson Feathered Demon Wolves were like dense artillery fire, continuously bombarding the Earth Vein Rat, which was far from the ground and unable to absorb the earth's magic power.
At the same time, the two Marsh Frogs also attacked again, their venomous projectiles accurately striking the Earth Vein Rat.
The Earth Vein Rat had nowhere to escape in the air, enduring round after round of attacks.
Finally, under the combined efforts of the three and the coordinated attack of the beasts, the Earth Vein Rat could no longer withstand the immense power. Its body exploded into a cloud of blood mist in the air, then fell heavily to the ground, completely losing all signs of life.
Ezreal slowly descended on the Crimson Feathered Demon Wolf, while Marcus and Cana slumped to the ground, exhausted and panting heavily.
"It's finally over… this guy was really tough to deal with." Marcus wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Cana smiled and said, "But we still won. Good teamwork, EZ, Marcus."
Marcus grinned, "Thanks for not calling me a green-headed imp, actually."