The team of four had been making their way through the dense forest for roughly an hour. The trees around them grew ever taller, and a scorched scent hung in the air.
"Stop!" Gu Yue suddenly raised her hand, a trace of gravity flashing through her purple eyes. She tilted her head slightly, her long silver hair drifting in the breeze. "Two hundred meters ahead, there are strong fire-element fluctuations. A lot of them. It's a pride of Flame Demon Lions."
"Flame Demon Lions?" Xu Xiaoyan tightened her grip on the Star Wheel Ice Staff, her face paling. These soul beasts were notorious for their ferocity and for moving in groups, making them extremely difficult to deal with.
"Let's take a look." Tang Wulin made the decision at once.
Using the dense shrubs and vines as cover, they silently approached the edge of the battlefield.
The sight through the layers of overlapping leaves made them all suck in a sharp breath.
In a nearby forest clearing, a seven-person team stood clustered back-to-back, struggling to hold on. Surrounding them were fifteen or sixteen powerfully built Flame Demon Lions! Their leader was an enormous male lion, his entire body blazing with searing flames—clearly a thousand-year Flame Lion King.
"Are we saving them?" Xie Xie lowered his voice, eagerness gleaming in his eyes. He turned to Tang Wulin, a sly smile curling his lips. "Wulin, I have an idea."
Tang Wulin frowned slightly. "It's too dangerous. There are too many lions."
"No, hear me out..." Xie Xie leaned close to Tang Wulin's ear and whispered a few words.
After hearing him out, hesitation flashed through Tang Wulin's golden eyes. But he looked at Xie Xie's supremely confident expression, then at the team on the verge of collapse in the clearing, and finally nodded.