"Rock Barrier: Crag!!"
Nangong Pei stood to the side, a thick, curved barrier of craggy stone shielding the five of them. The tongue slammed into the craggy stone with a heavy crash.
"Croak!!"
The two Heavenly Horned Toad Demons cried out in pain.
"Not good, that lesser Warrior is coming over," Lu Wu shouted.
They had not even had time to celebrate seeing Nangong Pei block the two Heavenly Horned Toad Demons' attacks.
Then a stronger presence appeared within his perception range.
It seemed the Heavenly Horned Toad Demons' cries had drawn it over after all.
"I can take one person away," Wang Chong said. Things never went as planned.
After they successfully killed one Heavenly Horned Toad Demon, not only had the situation eased, but they even had a chance of killing the remaining two.
Although Nangong Pei was an Intermediate Mage, he specialized in the Earth Element and was the team's only defender.
Wang Chong specialized in the Wind Element and had the strongest offensive power on the team. Lu Wu's Fire Element was powerful, but it was only at the Basic Level.
Without Zu Yanzhi's attack, Lu Wu's magic probably would not have broken through so easily.
Retreat was still the best course now.
"I can take one too," Nangong Pei said gravely as well. Earth Element Beginner Magic was movement magic.
They were now proficient enough with their magic to take someone away with them.
"Go with them!" Lu Wu looked at Mu Nujiao, then shouted to the others, "I'll buy you time."
"I'll take you," Nangong Pei said, looking at Lu Wu.
This was a chance to ease the tension between himself and Lu Wu, and also a chance to ease his relationship with Master Shen.
"No, take Jiaojiao," Lu Wu said, shaking his head.
Zu Yanzhi was already standing with Wang Chong. That left him and Mu Nujiao, and Nangong Pei could only take one.
"If we can't get away, we'll fight them to the death," Nangong Pei said.
The two Heavenly Horned Toad Demons had not continued attacking. Instead, they backed off and came together, blocking the path ahead of the group.
They kept croaking all the while.
The lesser Warrior Heavenly Horned Toad Demon was extremely fast. Lu Wu even saw it leap several meters into the air.
They were among aquatic grasses. Without hesitating, Lu Wu had Little Fire hide in the grass.
Unfortunately, Little Fire could now use Shadow Escape in the darkness, but he still could not.
Otherwise, they could all have escaped.
"We have to hurry," Wang Chong said anxiously. "Otherwise, none of us will get away."
"Go. I'll try taking both of them." Nangong Pei gritted his teeth and came beside Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao. "Grab on to me!"
Without hesitation, Lu Wu grabbed Nangong Pei's shoulder. Seeing this, Mu Nujiao did the same.
The earth beneath their feet became very soft, and Lu Wu felt an immense force pushing against his feet.
Their bodies kept moving forward. Nangong Pei found that moving with two people was still too strenuous for him.
Sweat had already broken out on his forehead. His magical energy drained continuously as he clenched his teeth.
Seeing this, Wang Chong also cast his magic, racing along a Wind Track with Zu Yanzhi.
"Croak!!"
But the lesser Warrior Heavenly Horned Toad Demon was simply too fast. Its cry made everyone's heart tighten.
Lu Wu knew Little Fire would have to be exposed.
But then he seemed to remember something. With a mental command from Lu Wu, Little Fire slipped toward the hollow.
"Roar!!"
Shadow Escape was extremely fast. Behind the Heavenly Horned Toad Demon, Little Fire let out a roar.
The sound was extremely loud, and with his burly frame standing over three meters tall, Little Fire was conspicuous among the aquatic grasses.
The lesser Warrior Heavenly Horned Toad Demon had been charging toward Lu Wu and the others, but when it noticed an outside demon beast approaching the hollow, it turned straight around.
Even though it was only twenty-odd meters from Lu Wu's group, it went no farther.
"Croak, croak, croak!!!"
The Heavenly Horned Toad Demon's cries were urgent. The two Servant Level Heavenly Horned Toad Demons that had been about to pursue Lu Wu's group stopped and chased after Little Fire.
Sensing the Heavenly Horned Toad Demons' presences, Lu Wu was overjoyed.
The idea had suddenly surfaced in his mind just now: these Heavenly Horned Toad Demons placed great importance on the Earth Element Spirit Seed that was about to mature.
That was why the lesser Warrior Heavenly Horned Toad Demon had not chased them from the start.
It had some intelligence and was worried someone would steal its most important possession.
Later, it had probably realized its underlings were not up to the task and decided to act itself.
Lu Wu found that using Little Fire to force them back worked even better than he had imagined.
He had thought only the lesser Warrior Heavenly Horned Toad Demon would return, but it had called the other two back as well.
"Why did a Dark Fire Ape suddenly appear?" Nangong Pei did not dare stop, his pace clearly much slower than Wang Chong's.
"Ignore it. Just keep going," Lu Wu said.
Little Fire would not get caught up fighting them. This way, although Little Fire's existence had been exposed, no one knew he belonged to him.
Wang Chong had already traveled nearly a hundred meters with Zu Yanzhi.
He specialized in the Wind Element to begin with, so with only Zu Yanzhi to bring along, he was extremely fast.
The five of them pressed on without stopping, all wanting to get far away from this place.
Lu Wu had intended to have Little Fire leave straightaway, but when Little Fire realized he could not win, he headed straight for the hollow...
"Wait, that thing isn't ripe yet!!"
Lu Wu noticed Little Fire suddenly becoming very excited and thought, This fellow certainly knows what to take.
If it was picked now, before it matured, the earth elemental energy it contained would dissipate in a few minutes.
"Eat it yourself! Don't come over!!" To Lu Wu's headache, Little Fire headed straight toward him after snatching it.
Didn't you even eat the internal organs before? Why are you coming straight to me after grabbing something good this time?
If my connection to Little Fire gets exposed, it'll be hard to explain.
"You two go ahead, then come back for me. This is too slow," Lu Wu told Nangong Pei.
Mu Nujiao gave Lu Wu a worried look. "It's too dangerous."
"My ability to sense demon beasts is stronger than anyone else's here. I can avoid them," Lu Wu reassured her. "If we keep this up, we'll only move slowly."
"Those demon beasts aren't chasing us now. Keep heading forward, and I'll come back for you." Nangong Pei's head was already drenched in sweat.
Thinking about it this way, he really could not keep going for much longer.
With no Heavenly Horned Toad Demons chasing them now, Lu Wu would not be in so much danger even if he did not take him along.
Mu Nujiao said nothing more. "Then be careful. I'll wait for you."
"Don't worry. I'll be fine," Lu Wu replied.
Only after watching Mu Nujiao and Nangong Pei move farther and farther away did Lu Wu have Little Fire reveal himself.
"Roar!"
Little Fire emerged from the aquatic grasses. After seizing the Earth Elemental Seed, he had traveled through the shadowed areas among the grasses, leaving behind the furious lesser Warrior Heavenly Horned Toad Demon.
He held out his ape palm. A clump of earth giving off rich earth elemental energy was constantly losing energy.
"This thing is worth ten million, but you picked it a few days early. What a huge waste," Lu Wu said with a wry smile.
Little Fire looked a little dejected at his words and gave a low, soft growl. "Roar!!"
"But we got through this thanks to you. Just swallow it," Lu Wu reassured him, noticing his state.
"Roar~~~!"
Little Fire did not swallow it, however. Instead, he wanted to give it to Lu Wu, making sounds over and over.
"Don't worry, don't worry. I'll let you stay outside for a few days this time," Lu Wu reassured him.
So you don't want to eat it. You want me to let you out.
Come to think of it, staying in the shadows all the time must be pretty boring.