A Small Body, but She Spoke Like an Adult

Dongfang Chen nodded.

With his strength, he should have been able to come and go freely here, but having Lingling direct him would save him a lot of time and trouble.

Then Dongfang Chen took a bottle of pills from his Storage Ring and handed it to Lingling.

"This is the Dongfang Family's latest Fifth-grade pill, the Dragon Power Pill. After taking it, you can unleash your muscles' potential for a short time and bring out tremendous physical strength. If you run into danger, take one, understood?"

The Dragon Power Pill's boost had nothing to do with Dou Qi.

It was purely physical strength.

After taking one, even a Beginner Mage could immediately unleash enough power to contend with a Commander Level Demon.

To Mages, this was a genuine life-saving treasure, far more practical than any Shield Magic Tool or Armor Magic Tool!

What was more, the two could even be used at the same time!

Most importantly, even ordinary people could take it. Although their constitutions might not withstand the pill's effects, causing some side effects, that did nothing to change the fact that the Dragon Power Pill could save their lives.

So as soon as the Dragon Power Pill hit the market, it became one of the Dongfang Family's best-selling products.

"Got it. This thing won't turn me into some musclebound woman after I take it, will it?"

"No. At most, your muscles will feel sore."

Lingling's words were full of disdain, but she dutifully accepted the pill.

She knew Dongfang Chen was looking out for her safety.

She'd heard of the Dongfang Family's latest Dragon Power Pill, too. It was a very unusual pill.

"You..." The haughty Lingling fidgeted for a long while before finally managing to utter a few words.

"You be careful, too. If you make it back alive, I'll tell you my name."

Having said that, Lingling haughtily turned her head away, leaving Dongfang Chen with a view of her pretty twin ponytails.

"That rascal! He already knows my name from Grandpa, but he still wants me to tell him myself. Hmph!"

Hearing Lingling grumble with a laugh, Dongfang Chen smiled.

What could he do? The system didn't recognize it otherwise.

"Dongfang Chen, you've entered Jinlin City's territory. Don't go any farther. The entire city has been occupied by the Lizard Skull Giant Demon tribe."

Lingling's sweet voice came through Dongfang Chen's earpiece.

All along the way, Dongfang Chen had followed the safe route Lingling mapped out, and had rarely encountered Demons.

Even when he did, they were only Servant Level.

As long as an ordinary Intermediate Level Mage didn't go looking for trouble, it would be very hard for them to encounter danger on a "safe route" like this.

Dongfang Chen wasn't an ordinary Intermediate Level Mage, but he had to admit that with Lingling, his "strategist," directing him from the rear, the journey had indeed become much safer and more convenient.

"I'm so much older than you. Can't you call me 'big brother' for once?"

Dongfang Chen teased her through the earpiece.

"Hmph! Dongfang Chen, Dongfang Chen, Dongfang Chen! I'm going to call you by your name. Want me to call you big brother? No chance!"

Lingling's haughty voice rang out.

"Enough. Don't keep trying to provoke me. I may have mapped out a safe route for you, but you still need to stay alert to your surroundings.

"Out in the wilderness, the environment can change at any moment. That's advice from me, a Hunter Master, to you, a Hunter rookie."

Dongfang Chen nodded with a smile.

Lingling was so small, yet she spoke like an adult. It was rather amusing.

"But back to the point. You're lucky Mo Yu Grass doesn't grow in Jinlin City. Without an Archmage to protect you, you wouldn't be able to bring any back.

"Keep following the route I gave you earlier. You'll pass through a tunnel several hundred meters long. Don't worry, it's too short for large numbers of Demons to settle in there for now."

Dongfang Chen continued along the route Lingling had given him.

Generally, once Demons occupied a city, they made their homes in some of its buildings.

These human structures stayed warm in winter and cool in summer, making them good shelters for Demons as well.

Even out in the wilderness, tunnels and overpasses were common Demon haunts.

However, the tunnel in front of Dongfang Chen was too short to attract many Demons. On top of that, poor quality control during construction had left it badly built.

As soon as he entered the cold, damp tunnel, the light around Dongfang Chen dimmed.

The tunnel wasn't long, and he could see the exit at the far end.

But it had been abandoned for years, and weeds and vines growing along the walls blocked much of the light from reaching inside.

Dongfang Chen didn't use the Light Magic spell Blinding Light to illuminate the tunnel.

His eyesight alone was enough for him to make out the tunnel in the darkness.

"Hmm, just a few Servant Level Cave Demon Slaves. With the surroundings like this, it really does count as a safe route for an Intermediate Level Mage."

Once inside the tunnel, Dongfang Chen didn't bother showing these few Servant Level Cave Demon Slaves any courtesy.

He crushed their skulls with his bare hands.

To avoid making any noise, he didn't even use magic.

A tunnel several hundred meters long wasn't very long, but an ordinary Mage might take half an hour to get through it.

After all, it was exceptionally dark inside, and they had to stay alert for Demons lurking in the shadows.

But Dongfang Chen wasn't worried. The darkness didn't affect him at all. And as for the Demons hiding in the shadows? One sweep of his Soul Power would leave them nowhere to hide.

If he wanted to be more aggressive, he could even use a Soul Attack on the Demons lurking in the dark, killing them before they could make a sound.

It took Dongfang Chen just a few minutes to cross from one end of the tunnel to the other.

Even Lingling couldn't help exclaiming, "You're really lucky. I thought you'd run into quite a few Demons, but apart from the first two, you haven't encountered a single one."

Dongfang Chen only smiled and said nothing.

To save power, he and Lingling had only started an audio call.

So Lingling on the other end of the earpiece had no idea that Dongfang Chen had secretly killed quite a few Cave Demon Slaves with Soul Attacks.

Just as Dongfang Chen emerged from the tunnel, he paused for a moment. Then a playful smile appeared on his face, and he said to Lingling,

"Lingling, I guess your experience didn't help you predict everything after all. There's no Demon Lair in this tunnel, but there is a Commander Level Cave Demon General."

At the tunnel's exit, a hunched creature resembling a Hobgoblin had already fixed its gaze on Dongfang Chen.

The Cave Demon General was the Commander Level form of the Cave Demon Slave, and its kind loved to eat people.

Now that the Cave Demon General had finally come across a fresh human, it naturally had no intention of letting him get away.

"A Cave Demon General?!"

Lingling's voice grew urgent on the other end of the earpiece.

"Turn on the Remote Video right away so I can analyze your surroundings. I'll work out a new escape route for you."

Lingling knew Dongfang Chen was only an Intermediate Level Mage.

Under normal circumstances, Mages were no match for Demons.

It might take several Intermediate Level Mages working together to bring down a Commander Level Demon. In a one-on-one fight, an ordinary Intermediate Level Mage would be utterly torn apart.

And she meant that literally.

Cave Demon Generals loved to eat people, and they were especially fond of human skin.

Before they ate, the first thing they enjoyed was stripping off their prey's skin.

"No need. It's just a single Commander Level Demon."

Afraid Lingling wouldn't believe him, Dongfang Chen immediately turned on the Remote Video.

The earpiece Lingling had given him had a live video feature, but only Lingling could see the footage, and using it drained the battery faster. So Dongfang Chen hadn't turned it on earlier, to save power.

"Dongfang Chen, don't be reckless! You may not have faced a Commander Level Demon before, but I swear on my title as a Hunter Master, a Commander Level Demon is absolutely—"

The next moment, Lingling's eyes widened.

She hadn't even finished speaking, yet the battle on Dongfang Chen's end was already over!

The Commander Level Cave Demon General had been completely crushed!