Chapter 204
Ice Soul Dragon: "Thirty seconds left. Go ahead and grab it, I'll cover your retreat."
Xu Jintang felt a little more confident. "Okay."
Chapter 204
After saying that, Xu Jintang took a deep breath and accelerated, quickly putting a large distance between himself and the lion pride behind him.
Time ticked by, second by second.
The roars of the lions echoed continuously from behind.
Xu Jintang covered his ears as he ran, and every now and then he had to take a break to dodge the Blazing Flame Fireball coming from behind.
Sensing that the time was almost up, Xu Jintang abruptly changed direction and rushed towards the location of the spiritual herb.
The allure of spirit herbs aged over a thousand years is considerable, and many high-level Blazing Flame Lion are already eyeing them with burning desire, ready to snatch them at any moment.
"Humans have trespassed into our territory. Send a few of your men to guard it." The lion king, standing at the head of the pride, suddenly spoke in human language.
The nearby Blazing Flame Lion immediately roared and turned to run away.
More and more Blazing Flame Lion surrounded them, completely blocking Xu Jintang's path.
She was forced to stop.
They only paused for a moment before the pack of Crimson Flame Lion caught up from behind, while the Crimson Flame Lion in front split up and surrounded them.
Xu Jintang's eyes darkened, and he quietly gathered his spiritual power in his hands.
The ice instantly spread from her feet to all around her.
The Ice Blade Storm quickly materialized and charged towards the lion pride.
A loud crash rang out.
Several Crimson Flame Lion in front were immediately bounced away by the storm.
Xu Jintang pushed off the ground with his toes, his body leaping into the air in an instant. He stepped on several Crimson Flame Lion charging from behind, using the momentum to charge forward again.
The lions' roars grew more ferocious, and several male lions angrily stomped the ground and raised their paws to pounce on Xu Jintang.
Xu Jintang dodged to the side, then stepped on the Crimson Flame Lion beneath his feet and charged into the air once more.
After dodging several times, Xu Jintang quickly distanced himself from the lion pride, and the shimmering spirit herb soon came into view.
Sensing the approaching human presence, the dominant lion narrowed its eyes slightly, raised its paw, and angrily slammed it towards the Crimson Flame Lion beside it. "Useless! You couldn't even stop one human."
The Crimson Flame Lion was instantly knocked back dozens of meters.
The other Blazing Flame Lion, witnessing this scene, were terrified and trembled, their bodies constantly prostrating themselves in fear.
At this moment, Xu Jintang had already rushed to the vicinity of the spiritual herb.
The spirit herb, which had been emitting only starlight, suddenly burst into a burst of intense light. A blinding beam of light shot into the sky, and the resulting power fluctuations distorted the surrounding air.
"Grab the spirit herb first!" The lion's attention immediately turned to the spirit herb. It raised its paw and slammed it directly onto the ground, sending a violent shockwave through the surrounding area.
Xu Jintang, who was rushing towards the spirit herb, stumbled.
The surrounding Blazing Flame Lion seized the opportunity to pounce.
"I'll do it." The Ice Soul Dragon's voice rang out, followed by a domineering force bursting out from Xu Jintang's forehead.
The surrounding Crimson Flame Lion were powerless to resist and were all repelled.
Even the dominant lion froze for a moment.
Taking advantage of the opening, Xu Jintang rushed to the spirit herb, grabbed it, and uprooted it.
The light from the spiritual herb that had been pulled from the ground instantly vanished.
Xu Jintang threw the spiritual herb into his storage space and quickly turned around to flee the way he came.
"Grab her!" the lion leader roared angrily after regaining his senses.
The other Blazing Flame Lion also reacted one after another and rushed towards Xu Jintang.
A huge fireball, gleaming with crimson and golden light, spewed from the mouth of the dominant lion.
The strength of this lion-leading creature was at least at the Sixth Tier, Xu Jintang simply couldn't withstand its attacks.
Just as the fireball was about to catch up with Xu Jintang, the Ice Soul Dragon struck again.
A chilling frost descended instantly.
The fireball, which was burning fiercely, was quickly extinguished by the ice.
At the same time, Ice Soul Dragon activated its ultimate skill.
A massive amount of ice energy instantly pressed down on the fireball.
The leading lion, which was in pursuit, keenly sensed the approaching aura of an unfamiliar demonic beast. "Who's there?"
The other Blazing Flame Lion also stopped warily, their eyes scanning the surroundings.
The Ice Soul Dragon directly increases its energy.
His dragon aura intensified, and in an instant, the once menacing leader lion's eyes turned panicked.
He looked up, his eyes wide with terror, and exclaimed, "It's Ice Soul Dragon! How did it get into our tribe?"
The other Blazing Flame Lion, sensing the oppressive aura of the dragon, fared even worse, collapsing to the ground, completely suppressed and unable to lift their heads.
Taking advantage of the situation, Xu Jintang broke through the encirclement and sped away, disappearing from sight in no time.
The aura of the Ice Soul Dragon still lingered within the Blazing Flame Lion tribe, even alarming their leader Blazing Flame Lion, who was in seclusion.
At this moment, Xu Jintang had already dashed two miles away.
"We're safe now, they're not chasing us," Ice Soul Dragon reminded them.
Xu Jintang breathed a slight sigh of relief, raising his hand to pat his chest lightly, "That was terrifying."
Ice Soul Dragon: "But there's an unexpected situation. Just now, when my aura was exposed, it seems I was accidentally detected by a nearby advanced satellite."
Xu Jintang: "?"
"Is there a satellite here?"
"It must be that your human army retreated in such a hurry that they forgot to take the satellite with them."
Xu Jintang was silent for two seconds, then asked, "Is the situation urgent now?"
"It's a bit urgent."
No sooner had Ice Soul Dragon finished speaking than a sharp siren blared.
The piercing warning echoed through the clouds, startling many of the demonic beasts within the territory.
The leaders and deputy leaders of each monster tribe's territory were all wondering, "What's going on?"
"Was that the aura and pressure of a dragon just now?"
"Why is the Ice Soul Dragon coming to our area again? Is it trying to take over our territory?"
"It's unlikely. A divine beast of his level probably wouldn't even look at a small territory like ours."
The warnings from advanced satellites hovering in the sky continue to sound.
The warning message was quickly relayed to the Star City border defense forces.
"General, our advanced satellite station in the Demon Beast Forest has issued an alert. After comparing auras, it seems they've detected the oppressive aura of the Ice Soul Dragon."
The general's brow furrowed slightly. "The Ice Soul Dragon? Wasn't it in the Blizzard Forest? How did it get out?"
"This... I'm not quite sure. Should we report this to our superiors as soon as possible?"
The general was silent for a moment, then said, "Hmm. This operation was very successful; we have at least two major pieces of information. I need to report to the Federation General Bureau in person later."
"Yes."
"Click--"
The advanced satellite, suspended in the air, instantly shattered into pieces, turning into mechanical fragments scattered all over the ground.
"It's solved. We need to get going now." The Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx clapped its hands and turned to look at Xu Jintang.
The military must have received the alarm just now, and they likely already know it's the Ice Soul Dragon's aura.
Xu Jintang pursed her lips and decisively decided, "Let's go."
She quickly climbed onto the back of the Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx, grasped its wings with both hands, and said, "Let's go."
The Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx slowly spread its wings, pushed off the ground, and quickly flew into the sky.
However, they hadn't flown far when a new satellite alarm sounded ahead.
"There seems to be satellite surveillance ahead; we need to change our route," the Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx said cautiously, looking ahead.
Xu Jintang's gaze swept across the area below.
They soon found a path. "Let's go down," she said, patting the Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx on the shoulder.
The Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx immediately turned and flew down the path.
This path connects the Demon Beast Forest and the Star City border defense area, and many people who come to the Demon Beast Forest for training will take this path back to the city.
After landing, Xu Jintang dismounted from the back of the Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx.
Just as they were searching for a way back to the city, they suddenly heard footsteps in the distance.
The Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx reacted quickly, transforming itself back into the green-feathered parrot it had been before, flapping its wings and landing on Xu Jintang's shoulder.
Soon, a group of people gradually came into view.
"This Federation is really something, always fighting over nothing. They've brought all the hover trains to a standstill, and now we have to walk back."
"Oh dear, who would have thought this would happen?"
"Let's go, we should be in the city in two more days. Consider it strength training."
Xu Jintang leaned against the tree trunk next to him quite naturally.
When the group approached, he immediately smiled and waved, "What a coincidence, are you also heading back to the city?"
Song Ziqian was leading the group, looked up warily. "Who are you?"
After all, this is an uncontrolled area, so people will be somewhat wary of strangers who suddenly appear.
Xu Jintang smiled and raised his hands, trying to express his goodwill. "I'm a student of Leikedasi. I came to the Demon Beast Forest for training, but all the hover trains stopped running, and I ended up alone again. So I found this path by searching along the way."
Song Ziqian looked Xu Jintang up and down, pondered for a few seconds, and then sheathed her sword. "Why did you come here for training alone? Didn't your military academy instructors lead you?"
Xu Jintang, without batting an eye, began to explain, "I came here on my own. Our teacher didn't assign any training missions, but my strength isn't very good, so I wanted to come to the Demon Beast Forest this holiday to train and try to get good grades at the military academy when school starts."
Song Ziqian frowned. "When did Leikedasi become so unreliable? He didn't even arrange any holiday training."
"Well, maybe my skills are just average, so I'm not highly regarded. You know, our military academy has a great reputation, and many talented students are here. It's inevitable that an ordinary student like me will have a lower profile."
Song Ziqian's brows gradually relaxed, and she gently patted Xu Jintang's shoulder. "It's alright, come with us. It's too dangerous for you to return to the city alone."