Chapter 274: Monsters in the Tunnel
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by RED
The railway was abandoned fifteen years ago. Normally, it would remain hidden among the weeds, with no chance of seeing the sunlight again…
Surprisingly, it had visitors today. Instead of a railcar, it was a group of students from famous schools, undertaking their training mission.
The path was still usable, as long as demon beasts were not treating the railway as their bed. The journey had been quite smooth until the group reached a tunnel, naturally totally dark, which looked extremely spooky.
“I’ve just taken a look at the map. This tunnel is around a kilometer long. Based on how frequently we were stumbling into demon beasts along the way, this tunnel is most likely used as their lair. I suggest that we find another way around the mountain instead of making any contact with the beasts when we are clueless of their species and number,” Song Xia recommended to the group behind her.
“Aren’t you being too cautious? Who cares what’s inside, we should just kill whatever we see. The tunnel is only a kilometer long. Who knows how much time we would waste looping around the mountain!” Lu Zhenghe reb.u.t.ted.
“Don’t be so scared, let’s use the tunnel,” Zheng Bingxiao agreed, thinking it was a waste of time. There was no guarantee that they would b.u.mp into a strong beast in the mountain, or not b.u.mp into one if they detoured around.
“Alright, we’ll use the tunnel,” Song Xia nodded helplessly.
“I’ll let the Rock Golem take the lead. If anything happens, it will hold the danger off for a while.” Zheng Bingxiao Summoned his Rock Golem while he was speaking.
As Zheng Bingxiao finished his Summoning, Lu Zhenghe glancedat the clumsy creature and said with a hard smile, “It isn’t even an Advanced-level creature. You stingy s.h.i.+t… Well, I guess a solid creature like that is enough to clear the path for us.”
Zheng Bingxiao scratched his head without explaining himself.
The Rock Golem was three meters tall, its entire figure covered with st.u.r.dy rocks. Despite its slow movement, it was like a combination of a s.h.i.+eld and bulldozer as it proceeded forward on the railway, clearing away the thorns and gra.s.s along the path!
“Those who are at the back need to be quite strong too, and it can’t be a Summoned beast. We need someone able to make a rational decision straight away if something happens,” Lu Zhenghe proposed.
“I’ll guard our rear,” Song Xia volunteered.
“You should leave the dangerous tasks to us.” Xu Dalong intervened courteously.
Song Xia did not say anything. Xu Dalong’s primary Element was Earth, and so he was indeed a better candidate.
The ones scouting ahead were Liao Mingxuan and Shen Mingxiao. Their primary Element was Wind, so they could respond quickly if needed. Behind them were Zhao Manting and Song Xia, both were able to use Brilliant Light, illuminating the path ahead…
It was obvious that the cave had seen no sunlight for a very long time. Zhao Manting and Song Xia had to cast a Brilliant Light every ten meters just to light up the place and cleanse the air around them.
They could not tell if the air were poisonous, but it would be idiotic to try and inhale it, since the place was filled with foul odors from rot, dung from the beasts, and lack of ventilation…
“What’s it look like ahead?”
“Nothing, just some strange looking white pieces of rocks.”
“It must be something that was left behind because of the construction. Keep going.”
—
“Jiao jiao, stick closer to me. I can protect you in case of an emergency.” Mo Fan walked in front of Mu Nujiao, as if he were a reliable man looking after a woman in need.
Mu Nujiao was wearing a tight long-sleeve s.h.i.+rt, which wrapped around her upper body closely. The pleasant scent from her body in such a enclosed s.p.a.ce was exceedingly attractive. Each of her breaths felt quite arousing.
Mu Nujiao rolled her eyes at Mo Fan and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to protect your big wife?”
“Uhh….” Mo Fan wore a half-smile. Why didn’t I retain my composure before, saying that in front of Mu Nujiao?
When she saw his reaction, Mu Nujiao found herself asking, “How did you two meet?”
“She used to be my neighbor,” Mo Fan answered honestly.
Her house was like a castle, with its own garden, driveway, and rows of mansions. Meanwhile, his house was a terrace under the mountain, but it could not alter the fact that they were neighbors!
“So she’s from Bo City too… That explains her previous reaction.” Mu Nujiao recalled Mu Ningxue’s att.i.tude toward Luo Song previously and nodded to herself.
“It seems like you are enjoying your time flirting with each other. Please be careful, as you might not even know how you died if something were to happen. I did hear that many Intermediate Magicians died after being ambushed by demon beasts because they a.s.sumed they were strong enough. Some even died to poison. Therefore, as an Intermediate Hunter, I would like to advise you all to stay on alert at all times,” Liao Mingxuan advised, as if he were more experienced than the others.
“Oh, an Intermediate Hunter, absolutely impressive!” Mo Fan laughed.
Liao Mingxuan subtly patted the head of the little hamster sitting in his chest pocket with a proud look. His eyes vaguely glanced at Mu Nujiao, looking for her reaction.
Mo Fan found it quite amusing. He did not tell anyone that he was a Advanced Hunter, and yet this guy was showing off. His partner was even a Master Hunter!
Since he found out that a twelve-year-old loli had already achieved the t.i.tle Master Hunter, Mo Fan no longer had the nerve to mention that he was an Advanced Hunter, since it would be too embarra.s.sing!
“Mo Fan, don’t you feel like something is watching us?” Mu Nujiao asked. She had no interest in the petty compet.i.tion between the boys.
“Mistress Mu, don’t you worry. Based on my many years of experience hunting down beasts, there’s nothing nearby at the time being,” Liao Mingxuan said with squinted eyes.
He finally had the chance to talk to Mu Nujiao, or so he thought…
Suddenly, the little hamster in Liao Mingxuan’s chest pocket straightened its back and let out a cry of alarm.
Liao Mingxuan’s smile froze instantly. His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
“Zhao Manting, shed some light in that direction.” Mo Fan said.
Zhao Manting looked where Mo Fan was pointing. With a quick wave, he aligned the Stars and brought forth a beam of light.
“Forward!”
Zhao Manting directed the light to the area beside Mu Nujiao. The golden ray lit up the walls of the tunnel, revealing the black vines covering above them.
The vines spread across the walls like giant spiderwebs. However, through the gaps, they could see several pairs of eyes staring at Mu Nujiao, who was the closest to them, with great hostility!
“Jiao jiao, stand behind me!” Mo Fan stepped forward.
Mu Nujiao was no little girl. A breeze quickly rose around her, establis.h.i.+ng a wind path allowing her to move faster.
“Fire Burst!” Mo Fan held his palm half-open as a rose-colored flame ignited there.
He hurled the rose-colored Fire Burst at the black vines on the wall. It rapidly burned them into ashes.
The light of the flames lit up the area out of reach of the Brilliant Light, revealing the shadows of several hunchbacked figures who were holding bones stained with dried blood in their hands!