Winged Demon Bats

The mountain wind suddenly turned bone-chilling, like countless tiny ice needles burrowing into Chen Chuan's collar. It rustled the purple moss in the cracks between the rocks, producing an unsettling whisper.

Chen Chuan raced between the jagged rock walls, the hem of his blue robe tracing sharp arcs behind him as it snapped in the wind.

His toes touched lightly against the rocks, making almost no sound. Only the currents stirred up by Wind of Swiftness formed fleeting eddies behind him.

Twenty minutes later, he stopped in a mountain hollow, his feet making almost no sound as they landed.

The air here had grown heavy and damp, with a viscous quality he could feel with every breath.

The soil beneath his feet had grown soft, mixed with some kind of black particles. When he rubbed it between his fingertips, he felt a faint pull, as if the soil were greedily absorbing his magic power.

The stench of decay in the air grew stronger, carrying an indescribably sickly-sweet smell that rushed straight into his nostrils.

"Something's wrong." Chen Chuan crouched, picked up a pinch of black soil, and brought it to his nose for a light sniff.

This soil is too fertile. It's nothing like the barren ground you'd expect in the wilderness. It's more like farmland that's been deliberately fertilized. No, this should be some kind of Magic Creature's droppings. His brow furrowed as he sensed the magic power fluctuations lingering in the soil. Though faint, they were unusually active.

He instantly grew alert and quietly extended his spiritual power detection, spreading it like ripples through the hundred meters around him.

Aside from the three Magic Mushrooms on his shoulder, there was only the sound of a heartbeat in the earth, slow and steady, as if something lay sleeping deep underground.

Just then, a muffled boom came from the southeast, as if something were moving deep within the earth, making even the rocks beneath his feet tremble slightly.

Chen Chuan jerked his head up. The point of light on his detection amulet began flashing wildly, and its position seemed to have shifted dramatically.

He quickly took out the amulet and touched it with his thumb to activate it. The map showed that the nearest point of light had moved southwest, and the distance had shortened to eight kilometers.

"Is someone in danger?" Chen Chuan frowned deeply, running the pad of his finger across the amulet's cold surface.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to change direction. After all, in an unknown environment, his companions from the academy might be his greatest help.

He adjusted his course and raced southwest, his steps more cautious now.

The three Magic Mushrooms on his shoulder trembled slightly, the light on their caps flickering as if they had sensed some danger.

Ten minutes later, Chen Chuan stopped at the edge of a cliff, his steps as light as a cat's.

The abyss below was bottomless, with gray mist drifting through it. Right at the cliff's edge, however, he saw a twisted corpse. It was an apprentice from the Weapon Wizard Academy, whose bonded weapon was a long staff. The staff had been bent out of shape and flung beneath a nearby rock.

The corpse's face was green, its mouth wide open in an expression of terror, as if it had seen something unimaginably horrifying at the final moment of its life. Chen Chuan noticed faint traces of corrosion remaining on its skin.

He held his breath and extended his spiritual power to its limit.

More unsettling still, he sensed dense magical fluctuations at the bottom of the abyss, as if something were gathering there. The energy fluctuations waxed and waned, as though pulsing in a rhythm.

"Even if this was just some unlucky guy on his own, didn't he die way too fast?"

Chen Chuan couldn't help complaining.

He had no intention of putting himself in danger. After taking one look, he prepared to leave.

Almost at the same time, dozens of shadows lunged out from the shadows along the cliff face, shooting straight at Chen Chuan like black lightning, carrying a foul, bloody stench.

"Oh no!" Chen Chuan cried inwardly, stepping sharply backward. He instantly pushed Wind of Swiftness to its limit, his body sliding across the ground and leaving a shallow mark.

The shadows swept past the hem of his robe, leaving a series of small black holes in the ground with a corrosive hiss.

He looked closely and saw that the creatures resembled bats, but were much smaller. Their wings were covered in fine scales that glinted like metal in the sunlight.

Green saliva dripped from their mouths, producing white smoke the moment it landed on the rocks.

Winged Demon Bats! Chen Chuan's heart tightened. They were intermediate magic beasts, extremely fast, and their venom could corrode flesh. These creatures usually moved in groups, so even ordinary advanced magic beasts and first-rank professional apprentices would not provoke them.

The little red Magic Mushroom on his shoulder suddenly fired several thin red beams, striking a few of the Winged Demon Bats at the front with pinpoint accuracy.

The demon bats let out piercing shrieks and fell to the ground. The venom in their bodies quickly melted them into puddles of green liquid that gave off a pungent smell.

More demon bats swarmed in from every direction, forming a black vortex that trapped Chen Chuan at its center.

Their beating wings stirred up gusts of foul wind that whipped the hem of Chen Chuan's robe violently.

His little yellow Magic Mushroom blazed with golden light. Its cap grew larger and kept shifting angles to block the demon bats' attacks, each impact ringing out with a clear clang.

"There are too many of them. I have to find a way out!" Chen Chuan quickly took out his detection amulet and found that the point of light had moved again. This time it pointed north, about five kilometers away.

He took a deep breath, suddenly bent his knees slightly, and silently recited an incantation.

"Shield of Earth!"

A thick earthen wall rose around Chen Chuan, completely protecting him and the Magic Mushrooms on his shoulder.

Traces of magic power that had yet to dry remained on the surface of the earthen wall, giving off a faint yellow glow.

The demon bats struck the wall with a rapid series of crackles. Corrosion marks quickly spread across its surface, and clouds of white smoke rose from it.

Just as the wall was about to be breached, Chen Chuan abruptly withdrew his magic power, and the wall collapsed into rubble.

Chen Chuan seized the opportunity, tapped his toes against the ground, and leaped into the air.

At the same time, he unleashed the spell he had prepared long ago: "Illumination Spell!"

As the earthen wall broke apart, a blinding light shone out from within, as though daylight had descended.

Carried forward by their momentum, the swarm of demon bats lunged on. The moment the Illumination Spell shone on them, they crashed into one another in a tangled mass, hissing in confusion.

"Plant control, Life Magnetic Field!" he shouted, activating "Life Magnetic Field" at the same time.

The surrounding trees seemed to awaken. Countless vines stretched out like snakes, binding the Winged Demon Bats tightly.

The little red Magic Mushroom on his shoulder fired red beams nonstop in rapid succession, like an automatic turret.

The Winged Demon Bats shrieked and roared, struggling and spitting venom that ate through the vines with a hiss.

Chen Chuan had already shot north like an arrow loosed from a bow, disappearing among the mountains after a few leaps.

Only after he was far from the danger zone did he stop, panting as he checked the Magic Mushrooms on his shoulder.

Several scratches had appeared on the little green Magic Mushroom's cap, and its edges were slightly curled.

The little red Magic Mushroom's light had also dimmed considerably, but there was nothing else wrong with it.

Traces of venom corrosion remained on the little yellow one's cap, but they were not serious.

"These Winged Demon Bats are stronger than the usual records say..." Chen Chuan looked thoughtful. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, then suddenly noticed the detection amulet on his wrist vibrating violently.

The blue light on the amulet flashed rapidly like a heartbeat. The point of light had moved northwest, and the distance had shortened to three kilometers.

"Looks like someone is heading my way too."