Zhao Feng's shout seemed to enrage the gargoyle, which flapped its wings violently, creating a gust of wind that struck Zhao Feng.

The gale was like a knife, accompanied by a series of whistling sounds. Zhao Feng sensed the danger and hurriedly rolled to the side to avoid it. The gale struck the ground, sending up pebbles and dust, leaving Zhao Feng in a rather disheveled state.

The gargoyle seized the opportunity and swooped down, intending to press its advantage, but suddenly an iron arrow appeared in front of it. The gargoyle hurriedly folded its wings to protect its body.

The iron arrow struck the gargoyle, producing a metallic clang. The iron arrowhead sparked as it grazed its wings before being deflected.

Gargoyles are different from wild beasts, so the bone bow's effect is greatly reduced. Zhang Shi's strength was also boosted to 24 points, but he still couldn't break through the gargoyle's defense.

Nevertheless, Zhang Shi could only grit his teeth and continue firing, hoping to buy some time for his teammates.

The gargoyle's momentum stopped, and it landed on the ground.

Zhao Feng had been waiting for this moment, gripping his iron hammer tightly, and unleashed a sweeping strike. The iron hammer arced through Zhao Feng's path as it swung towards the gargoyle.

The gargoyle couldn't dodge in time and was struck by the hammer, its body flying backward with a series of roars.

Zhang Shi seized upon its weakness and, taking advantage of its weakness, unleashed a triple attack, aiming straight for the gargoyle's brow.

The gargoyle was extremely sensitive to danger, so it spread its wings and wrapped itself up like a dumpling.

The iron arrow struck its wing and was unsurprisingly deflected, while the two arrow phantoms exploded in front of it, the shockwave from the explosion knocking the gargoyle over once again, and the entire area was filled with billowing dust.

Zhang Shi himself was startled; he hadn't expected that the triple strike would be so much more powerful after his strength increased.

Seeing that Zhao Feng and Zhang Shi's attack had been effective, Wu Qing and Ge Dalong also switched to iron weapons and moved closer to the gargoyle, working together with Zhao Feng to surround it.

As the dust settled, the gargoyle's figure appeared before everyone. At this moment, its wings were charred black from the explosion, and a trace of bright red blood seeped from the surface, but the damage was not serious.

Its scarlet eyes were filled with hatred, and it roared at Zhao Feng and the other two with its mouth full of fangs open.

"Damn it, die!"

Undeterred, Zhao Feng led the way with his hammer, followed by Ge Dalong and Wu Qing, charging towards the gargoyle.

Zhang Shi cooperated with them, firing one iron arrow after another, not intending to give the gargoyle a chance to breathe.

Enraged, the gargoyle flapped its wings and swung them forward. A powerful gust of air appeared in front of it, not only deflecting all the arrows but also lifting Zhao Feng and his companions into the air, where they landed in the bushes not far away.

Seeing his teammate injured and the bone bow having no effect, Zhang Shi became anxious. He gritted his teeth and rushed forward with Lao Duan in his arms.

The gargoyle, not one to back down, suddenly unleashed a torrent of fire from its horns, which glowed like red-hot irons. After a brief moment of charging, a fireball the size of a human head condensed between its horns, and with a swing of its body, it hurtled towards Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng was still lying on the ground, dazed, and did not react to the fireball.

At the critical moment, Ge Dalong and Wu Qing each used one hand to drag Zhao Feng behind them. Ge Dalong's magic wand appeared and erected a blue light barrier in front of him, blocking all the aftershocks from the fireball explosion.

At that moment, Zhang Shi also rushed to the gargoyle, holding the old Duan sword, and unleashed a triple strike, cleaving down at the gargoyle with force.

The gargoyle still held its wings horizontally above its head, attempting to block Zhang Shi's attack with its toughness that could deflect metal.

The gargoyle clearly underestimated Zhang Shi, or rather, it underestimated Lao Duan.

Three beams of light, one real and two illusory, cleaved the gargoyle's once-sturdy wing in two, and a large amount of blood gushed from the wound.

The gargoyle screamed in pain, its other wing sweeping across, which Zhang Shi parried with his sword. The wing collided with Old Duan's, and the resulting gust of wind blew Zhang Shi away.

Zhang Shi fell to the ground, feeling his stomach churning and his consciousness becoming somewhat blurred. His strength was rapidly declining, like a leaky pool.

Zhang Shi quickly stuffed a plum into his mouth, forced himself to stay awake, picked up Lao Duan, and looked up ahead. As soon as he looked up, he saw a flash of fire rushing towards him. Zhang Shi was so startled that he quickly dodged to the side and fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack.

The gargoyle, having failed in its first attack, quickly ran towards Zhang Shi. One of its wings was broken in two, and large amounts of blood flowed onto the ground, creating a particularly gruesome scene.

As soon as Zhang Shi stood up, the gargoyle pounced on him, one of its sharp claws aimed straight at Zhang Shi's face like a bayonet.

In the nick of time, a hammer flew from afar, striking the gargoyle and causing it to stagger, its claws veering off course, but its momentum undiminished. The man and the monster were now pressed tightly together.

"Stone, get him!"

Zhao Feng shouted, and the strong smell of blood from the gargoyle filled Zhang Shi's nostrils, which immediately cleared his mind. He gripped the old Duan sword tightly and unleashed the triple strike once more.

"Go to hell!"

Zhang Shi roared angrily.

Old Duan slashed upwards, the blade flashing and staining the gargoyle blood. The gargoyle stood frozen, a long, bloody gash running from bottom to top, splitting it in two. The afterimage of the blade struck again, the terrifying force cleaving the gargoyle's body into pieces of varying sizes.

"Ding, team kill"

Gargoyle (Green) x1

"Gained 200 experience points"

"Obtained [Firestone Great Axe (Green) x1: A refined-grade weapon. When equipped, it increases Strength by 5 points. It will ignite enemies upon impact.]"

"Gained [Skill Card - Ice Spike (Blue) x1: Spell Skill, can conjure three ice spikes and launch them at the target area, each ice spike dealing 60% damage and inflicting a slowing effect.]"

Congratulations to the team for obtaining [Medal of Courage x1]

Finally, after killing the elite gargoyle, Zhang Shi was sore all over. Ignoring the filth all over his body, he collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.

Looking at his own stats, with the scholar's experience boost, his experience bar jumped to 50%.

Zhao Feng and the others also came over and checked Zhang Shi's injuries. They were relieved to find that he was not seriously injured.

Ge Dalong looked guilty.

"I didn't expect this green elite monster to be so powerful. I dragged everyone down and almost got them injured."

Wu Qing shook her head and comforted her.

"It's not your fault. This monster has high magic resistance, which is exactly what you're good at."

Zhao Feng also came over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Old Ge, don't blame yourself. None of us were seriously injured, and we even got promoted. We should be happy."

Zhang Shi also recovered and glanced at the progress bar. After finishing the altar, it suddenly increased to nearly 20%.

"Fortune favors the bold. This altar can greatly accelerate the progress, so even if we get injured, it's worth it."

Zhang Shi took out the [Firestone Giant Axe] and tossed it to Zhao Feng.

"Brother Feng, this equipment works great, it's perfect for you, you should take it."

They were the two who contributed the most to killing the gargoyle, and none of the others objected to Zhang Shi's decision.

Zhao Feng had his eye on this weapon for a while, and happily replaced the iron hammer with it. At this moment, the buff from the Blue Seal Incense disappeared, and Zhao Feng's strength attribute was still as high as 20 points.

Zhao Feng weighed the giant axe in his hand, feeling its weight, and his confidence increased greatly.

"A weapon of exquisite quality is just different. I feel like if I encounter that thing again, I can chop it in half with one axe."

Zhang Shi then handed the skill card to Ge Dalong.

"Among us, Lao Ge, you have the highest magic power, so this skill can only be given to you."

Ge Dalong took the skill card, a hint of joy in his eyes.