Luke Race Stalker

"My mount companion is still in its infancy, so its combat strength isn't much at this stage," Yue Shen lied without batting an eye. "You don't need to factor it in."

Lin Jialu said nothing more. She simply nodded and returned to her spot to rest.

"So this is Haoyue?" Yue Shen leaned closer and smiled. "I never expected you to grow this big in just half a year."

Long Haochen looked helpless as well. "It's certainly a good thing that Haoyue has grown so big, but feeding Haoyue has left me broke."

Hearing Long Haochen's complaint gave Yue Shen an inexplicable surge of secret satisfaction.

Although raising Sol offered him none of the joys of being a pet owner, compared with Long Haochen, he still felt that not having to spend a single coin on Sol was far more satisfying.

To Yue Shen's surprise, Haoyue seemed quite fond of him and even let him stroke both heads.

"Haoyue still remembers you, Brother Yue," Long Haochen said with feeling. "If you hadn't helped me out several times back on the Knight Sacred Mountain, Haoyue and I probably wouldn't be where we are today."

"I was just lending a hand." Yue Shen shook his head slightly. After giving Haoyue's heads a few strokes, he found a spot to rest as well.

With a mage like Lin Jialu in their party, things were much easier for them now.

After all, Lin Jialu could cast the Eagle Eye Technique to scout their surroundings, allowing everyone else to rest for a while.

Since they could encounter demons at any moment, Yue Shen took out Holy Fire and Blazing Sun, his two Spirit-Magic Grade Knight Light Swords, and strapped them to his back, ready to enter combat at any time.

To their surprise, however, they lay in wait there all night without seeing even a single Zelin Race Dual-Blade Demon, which should have been roaming the border frequently, let alone a border patrol led by a fifth-tier demon.

"Don't these demons send anyone out on patrol?" Li Xin rubbed her eyes, unable to hold back the question.

"I heard quite a few people are taking the assessment this time. Maybe contestants from other cities got here first," Chen Si suggested cautiously. "Why don't we try heading a little deeper? After all, we still have Yue..."

"Watch out! We're under attack!" Yue Shen and Long Haochen suddenly shouted in unison.

The moment they finished speaking, both cast Spirit Light Shield, enclosing the companions beside them.

An instant later, the ground beneath their feet burst open. Several thick spikes shot out of the earth, piercing Long Haochen's hastily cast Spirit Light Shield in the blink of an eye.

But the instant the spikes pierced the Spirit Light Shield, Haoyue's light-attribute head let out a low growl beside Long Haochen's feet, and another Spirit Light Shield blocked the incoming spikes.

On Yue Shen's side, by contrast, only cracks appeared across the surface of his Spirit Light Shield. It had yet to be pierced.

That was because he had already reached the fifth tier, converting all the gaseous spiritual power in his body into liquid spiritual power. The skills he cast were several levels stronger than before.

Still, Spirit Light Shield was only a third-tier knight skill. Under the spikes' relentless assault, it finally shattered.

As Yue Shen's Spirit Light Shield broke, flashes of fire and golden light swept past, severing all the black spikes.

"Luke Race Stalkers," Yue Shen warned.

Knowing that Yue Shen's warning was meant for her, Lin Jialu immediately raised her staff and cast Ice Seal Technique on the ground beneath their feet.

A streak of blue light fell from Lin Jialu's staff, freezing the earth beneath them solid.

Seeing their ambush fail, the dozens of Luke Race Stalkers underground had been about to scatter and flee to report back, only to discover that the once-soft soil had turned into solid ice that was difficult to dig through.

At the sight, Long Haochen and Li Xin immediately moved to Yue Shen's side.

"These Luke Race Stalkers aren't my targets." Yue Shen held his twin swords ready. "You can handle them."

As soon as he finished speaking, several more spikes thrust out of the ice. Then purplish-black figures crawled out from beneath it, surrounding Yue Shen and the others.

This was Yue Shen's first time seeing demons. He studied the humanoid creatures before him with some curiosity.

Their faces were twisted with savagery. Their upper bodies were bare, while their lower bodies were covered in a layer of fine black scales.

The Luke Race Stalkers had purplish-black skin on their upper bodies, and each had four long, slender arms.

Yue Shen was somewhat surprised. He had initially thought those purplish-black spikes were their weapons, but they were actually their arms.

A quick glance revealed several members of the Luke Race whose arms he had just severed.

They had one or two fewer arms than the others, and the clean cuts of their wounds gave off traces of scorching heat and light.

Counting them up, there were roughly twenty Luke Race Stalkers in the group.

Even if they killed every last one, Long Haochen and the others would still be a little short of their assessment quota.

With the ground frozen solid, these Luke Race warriors had no chance to escape. They could only crawl to the surface and face Long Haochen and the others.

But how could members of the Luke Race, whose strength averaged only the third tier, possibly stand against Long Haochen and his companions?

Before long, Long Haochen and the others had killed every last Luke Race warrior.

"Thank you," Lin Jialu said beside Yue Shen.

"You're welcome." Yue Shen waved a hand. "Besides, if you weren't an ice mage, we probably wouldn't have managed to keep more than a few of them here."

Yue Shen glanced down at the Luke Race corpses on the ground. "You only need five more demons to complete your assessment now."

"Mm." Lin Jialu nodded, then left Yue Shen's side and stepped forward to inspect the corpses of the demonic Luke Race warriors up close.

"Watch out!" Long Haochen, who was clearing the battlefield, suddenly turned and shouted at Lin Jialu.

As he warned her, golden light shone from Long Haochen once more, and he cast a Spirit Light Shield in front of her.

This time, however, Long Haochen's Spirit Light Shield shattered the instant it appeared.

A demon assassin!

After smashing the Spirit Light Shield, the barely visible figure charged straight toward Lin Jialu.

The demon assassin was terrifyingly fast, reaching Lin Jialu in the blink of an eye. The blades in both hands crossed, poised to slice her in half at the waist.

Lin Jialu had not reacted at all. She was still bent over, examining a Luke Race Stalker's corpse. The only change was that her face had turned deathly pale the instant the demon assassin appeared.

Clang!

Just as Lin Jialu squeezed her eyes shut in terror, certain she was about to die, a piercing metallic clash rang out beside her ears.

Not far away, Long Haochen had been about to use his Spirit Furnace to save Lin Jialu. At the sight, he could not help breathing a sigh of relief and stopped what he was doing.

Naturally, it was Yue Shen who stood in front of Lin Jialu. He held Holy Fire and Blazing Sun, his two Spirit-Magic Grade Knight Light Swords, horizontally across her, blocking the demon assassin's attack.

"A Di Ke Clan Invisible One?"