The sun shone brightly, and trees surrounded them.
"Do the plants around here always grow this well?" Xu Fang tilted his head back to look at the enormous canopy and the trees stretching all around them.
Bocheng had a subtropical monsoon climate, after all, yet its trees were nowhere near as lush as those in Yangcheng, a temperate city.
"They used to grow pretty well, but it's only been the last month or two that they've started growing like crazy." Liu Xiao wielded a machete, chopping through a branch blocking their way.
Fangfang complained, too. "The Military Mages organized a cleanup once, but it didn't do a thing. The plants grew back in a few days. It's so annoying!"
The Magic Plane had no concept of protecting plants.
In this world, lush vegetation often went hand in hand with thriving Demon Beast habitats. People usually set up a buffer zone between cities and great forests.
Xu Fang grinned. "What if I invented a non-biodegradable substance that stopped plants from growing when their roots touched it, and caused Sea Monsters to die of intestinal blockages if they ate it?"
"Then you'd be a great hero! Every Research and Planning Association would treat you like an honored guest, and people all over the world would thank you for your magnificent contributions!" Fangfang giggled. She thought this Zhang San was pretty interesting—even his daydreams were more ambitious than other people's.
"Enough talking." Qianqian, the Ice Element girl, said coldly, "We're almost there."
Everyone fell silent. Qianqian deliberately slowed down to walk alongside Xu Fang, then spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Empty talk harms the nation; practical action makes it prosper. A mage's duty is to slay Demon Beasts. Stop thinking about all that un-magical science."
With that, she walked on, leaving Xu Fang's mouth twitching.
Had he... just been lectured?
The farther they went, the thicker the vegetation grew. Zhu Wang took out the Demon-Seeking Powder and scattered it into the air. After a few seconds, markings appeared on the surrounding plants, some faint and some distinct.
"Over here."
Zhu Wang called out and walked to a big tree. He pushed aside the weeds, revealing a huge pile of turds on the ground.
He picked up a stick and stirred them. "Not very firm. More like watery porridge. Those Cave Lizards can't have gone far."
Fangfang looked miserable. "Captain, can't you describe it another way?"
"Haha, I'll keep that in mind next time." Zhu Wang set down his backpack and quickly assigned everyone their roles. "Fangfang, lure the Demon Beasts away. Wang Peng, use Earth Wave to sense the cave. Liu Xiao, focus on defense. Qianqian, slow the Demon Beasts down if they try to come back. Zhang San, you're coming down with me to collect the armor!"
"Move out!"
"Wind Track: Swift Advance!" Green star trails formed beneath Fangfang's feet, and she darted off like a hare. They could still faintly hear her shouting, "You ugly freaks! The young lady's here, so get out of the way!"
Wang Peng closed his eyes and pressed both hands to the ground, channeling magic energy into his stardust as he searched for the cave.
"Found it." He opened his eyes. "Over there!"
"Let's go!"
Zhu Wang waved, and Xu Fang quickly followed as the two of them ran in the direction Wang Peng had pointed.
"Fire Spark: Scorching!" Xu Fang sent a burst of flame through the thick vegetation, burning it away and exposing an open cave entrance.
"Wind Track!" Zhu Wang sent a gust of wind into the cave to make sure the air inside was fresh.
"Let's go." The two of them entered the cave one after the other, while Qianqian and Wang Peng immediately took up positions at the entrance.
The cave ran deep. With all the thick vegetation around it, the walls were damp, and water dripped from the ceiling.
"This is a good cave. We're going to make a fortune this time!" Zhu Wang said delightedly.
"There's more to it than that?"
"Of course! Hard armor is only found in Cave Lizard habitats. Caves that have been unused for a long time don't have Cave Lizard droppings, so plants struggle to grow and the cave dries out. The walls aren't damp."
Xu Fang's mouth twitched. "So the damper, the better?"
"The damper, the better!"
Damn, it felt like they were talking about two completely different things...
"Roar!" An angry growl rang through the cave. A head the size of a basketball poked around the corner.
"Zhang—"
"Fire Spark!" A scarlet star trail burst into flames, and the Cave Lizard's head was cooked on the spot.
The scent of barbecue filled the air.
"Uh..." Zhu Wang opened his mouth, caught completely off guard by how things had unfolded.
"What are you standing there for? Let's go." Xu Fang called to him. Only then did Zhu Wang snap out of it and hurry after him, feeling strangely like he was just there to help out.
The three Cave Lizards guarding the cave were all female. They fought desperately against the two uninvited guests to protect their young.
Xu Fang wasn't cruel enough to separate the family. He took the little ones along with the adults, planning to burn their father too once they got back up, so the whole family could stay together.
Before long, the two of them reached the deepest part of the cave.
"So many!" Zhu Wang was thrilled to see the hard armor scattered across the ground. He hurriedly emptied his backpack and packed the armor inside.
Xu Fang looked at the Cave Lizard corpses. "Can't we use the hard armor on their bodies? Does it have to be shed armor?"
"Of course not!" Zhu Wang packed as he answered casually. "The hard armor on a Cave Lizard is the best stuff. It's just a pain to strip off, and if the male Cave Lizard traps us in the cave, we're done for."
"I see..."
Xu Fang considered this.
Soon, Zhu Wang had packed up the hard armor, and the two of them hurried back the way they'd come.
Before they reached the entrance, they felt the fluctuations of magic energy in the air and heard Qianqian and the others chanting spells.
"Ice Vine: Bind!"
"They're charging in! Wang Peng, use Earth Wave to push these beasts back!"
"Got it! Earth Wave: Slow!"
"Fangfang, watch out! Water Barrier: Protect!" Liu Xiao swore. "Damn it, they've got us surrounded! Has the captain still not come up?"
The other members of the team were doing everything they could to hold back the Demon Beasts, but their elemental affinities meant they couldn't even scratch them.
"Roar!"
A Cave Lizard broke free of the Ice Vine and charged at Qianqian with a roar. She had plenty of battle experience, but when a Demon Beast charged straight at her, her mind still went blank for a moment.
"Water Barrier! Water Barrier!" Liu Xiao tried desperately to form a star trail, but he had just used a spell to save Fangfang and was still on cooldown.
Just then—
"Fire Spark: Bone Burning!"
A fireball shot forward at an unbelievable speed and plunged into the Cave Lizard's open mouth. Its charge came to an abrupt halt, and white smoke began to seep from between the gaps in its hard armor.
"It's Zhang San!"
Fangfang cheered.
Qianqian hurriedly took two steps back, gasping in relief as she looked at Xu Fang with a complicated expression.
She hadn't expected the person she'd lectured earlier to save her life at the last possible moment.
As for Xu Fang... he was looking at the Cave Lizard.
"No wonder you can make Armor Magic Tools out of them. They're really tough," Xu Fang said in amazement. He'd used the same trick to feed a Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat once, and that big beauty hadn't left behind so much as a scrap.
Killing these things always made Xu Fang think of buns steaming in an iron pot.
"Everyone, fall back and clear the area." Xu Fang gave the order, and nobody hesitated. They turned and quickly left.
Fire Element mages were best at large-scale attacks. If everyone stayed, they'd only tie his hands.
"Now that they're gone..."
Xu Fang turned around and looked at the Cave Lizards chasing after them, smiling amiably. "It's our turn to have some fun, boys."
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