The middle-aged man leading the team didn''t speak; he just continued to observe the front, ensuring nothing unexpected happened.


    This group of five were a Hunter team on a mission they had taken from the mission board at the Hunter Association in the City of Life. Hunters had legal ess to explore outside Lein''s main ind.


    Ordinary people who wished to explore beyond the ind, whether by flying ship or floating ind, would not be easily permitted. At least a Tier-2 guardian had to be on board, the route must be clear, and strict identity checks had to be passed.


    Lein deliberately made the rules stringent to prevent humans of the Earth race from dying in vain. However, he didn''t want to imprison them on the ind forever, so he allowed Hunters to explore beyond the ind and be responsible for themselves.


    "Mr. Kate, we will lose if we don''t find the light bird today," said the man in ck armor with a frustrated expression.


    The other four team members who heard it felt the same. They had, of course, paid a number of energy crystals to rent the 200-meter floating ind they were on. They paid 500 energy crystals for one day and would pay 5% of the mission''s oue to the floating ind''s owner.


    The price of 500 crystals depends on the size and the number of towers or buildings on the ind. The stronger the ind, the more expensive the rental fee.


    Though it seemed expensive, it was actually much cheaperpared to renting abat ship. Combat ships had a rental cost of at least 5,000 energy crystals per day. However, the advantagey in the speed, which was almost twice that of floating inds, and the well-integrated defense towers. Typically, only high-ranking hunters usedbat ships as their transportation in the void.


    "Everyone, get ready. I sense the presence of a monster not far away," said a woman with a wooden bow slung across her back. She leapt onto the fence and looked ahead with a serious expression.


    "Are you sure, Lina?" asked the team leader, Mr. Kate, with a serious expression.


    "Yes, Mr. Kate, at least an ind with a size of 300 meters," the woman continued, her ears twitching as she tried to catch the sound waves of the monster.


    "Damn... 300 meters. Everyone, charge the towers!"


    Mr. Kate shouted loudly, filled with strong concern.


    Immediately, all team members ran to each tower on the ind. After a brief pause to check the tower''s status panel, they inserted crystals into the energy fill slot. Oncepleted, the towers in front of them lit up with white light, indicating that the towers were now active and ready to fire.


    From one tower to the next, everything was done in just a few minutes. All the towers were now activated.


    The five gathered in front of the wooden fence on the ind. They stood nervously, waiting to see what kind of monster they would face.


    Soon, in the distance, the dark silhouette of a 300-meter ind appeared. The ind moved quickly, and as it got closer, they could see that it was filled with terrifying creatures—Mountain Cobra Race.


    Giant cobras with rocky scales and sharp, poisonous fangs coiled aroundrge rocks in the center of their ind. Their eyes glowed red, and toxic green venom dripped from their mouths.


    "Mountain Cobra Race... This is going to be a tough fight," Mr. Kate muttered as he drew hisrge sword. "Stay focused. We''ve trained for this."


    Their floating ind stopped as the enemy ind approached, only a few dozen meters away. Hissing and roaring sounds filled the air as the cobras began slithering out of their ind, ready to attack.


    "Fire the towers! Now!" shouted Mr. Kate.


    Immediately, the towers on the floating ind unleashed energy bullets that shot toward the cobra ind. Small explosions erupted as the bullets hit the ground and the bodies of the cobras.


    Arrowsced with fire flew swiftly, raining down mercilessly on the mountain cobra monsters. Large cannons filled with energy floated above and fell onto the cobra monster ind, causing massive explosions that turned the monsters into pools of fresh blood.


    Lina quickly shot her arrows at one of the cobras that managed to get close. Her arrow hit its mark, piercing the creature''s eye, causing it to tumble to the ground. "One down!" she shouted.


    "Get ready, activate your equipment!" Mr. Kate yelled loudly. The cobra ind was now close and collided with their ind with great force.


    Boom...


    Crash...


    Following the impact, dozens, even hundreds of mountain cobra monsters rushed toward Mr. Kate''s team.


    Hiss...


    Swoosh...


    The five members of Mr. Kate''s team, with serious expressions, observed the oing horde of mountain cobra monsters. The cobras'' status panels appeared before them all.


    (Mountain Cobra)


    - Level: 12


    - Type: Assassin


    - Attributes: Str 43, Int 21, Ag 32, Res 29.


    - (Bone Poison) Sprays poison in a 10-meter radius forward. Bone Poison causes paralysis on the target for 5 seconds, reducing the RES attribute by 10 for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 minutes.


    (Mountain Cobra)


    - Level: 15


    - Type: Assassin


    - Attributes: Str 63, Int 41, Ag 51, Res 47.


    - (Bone Poison) Sprays poison in a 10-meter radius forward. Bone Poison causes paralysis on the target for 5 seconds, reducing the RES attribute by 10 for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 minutes.


    "Damn... Level 15," said Mr. Kate, who was now leaping high into the air, ready to sh a level 10 cobra monster.


    The other team members also activated their skills. In an instant, their power increased, and various spells of different colors emanated from their weapons.


    However, their expressions turned grim when they saw the level 15 cobra monster. Among them, only Mr. Kate was at level 15, followed by Lina at level 13, while the rest were at level 11.


    "Arrow Rain!"


    Lina, the woman wielding a wooden bow, shouted loudly. Arrow Rain is a skill that all archers gain when they first promote. It''s not without reason—this skill is highly effective against swarming enemies.