Chapter 70
The Chase
After collecting the Spirit Seed - Demon Wood, it was already late, so Lin Chen and the others set up tents in the valley to spend the night.
The next morning, Lin Chen and the others packed their things and began their return journey.
Compared to the way there, there were far fewer demons encountered on the return journey. They only encountered two groups in total, and both were dealt with by Mu Nujiao alone, who had just obtained the spirit seed.
Back in Wuyuan Town, the Tianhuo Squad initially intended not to collect the remaining balance, but Mu Nujiao directly transferred the remaining 450,000 yuan to the Tianhuo Squad.
This inevitably made the Skyfire Squad somewhat frustrated. Although it was a good thing that the mission was successfully completed, they felt that apart from driving away the War Bear Squad, they hadn't really played a significant role in the mission.
"Brother Zhang, we've achieved our goal and are now preparing to return to Shanghai. What about you guys?" Lin Chen asked Zhang Tian after packing his things.
"We plan to go out into the wilderness again. Luckily, we have Master Lingling's topographical map, which will save us a lot of trouble. After we finish this job, we won't have to leave Anjie for quite a while," Zhang Tian replied.
"I hope Brother Zhang's Skyfire Squad has a great harvest!" Lin Chen sincerely congratulated him.
"Thank you for your kind words!" Zhang Tian said.
After watching Lin Chen and the others leave Wuyuan Town by bus, the members of the Skyfire Squad replenished their supplies and then left the town again to enter the wilderness.
……
After the Tianhuo Squad exited Wuyuan Town through the entrance facing the wilderness, a figure dialed a phone number in an inconspicuous corner near the entrance.
As soon as the call was connected, the man immediately said, "Boss, all members of the Skyfire Squad have just gone back into the wilderness."
"Send someone to follow him, I'll be there right away!" A sinister voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Got it, boss!"
After hanging up the phone, a figure emerged from the corner; it was none other than the bearded captain of the War Bear Squad.
"Skyfire Squad, you think you're so tough? Let's see how you die this time!"
……
Deep in the primeval forest, a small warrior-level demonic wolf lay low on the ground, its eyes scanning its surroundings with ferocity. Around it, five figures surrounded it; they were none other than the five members of the Skyfire Squad.
"roar!"
The demonic wolf let out a low growl, opened its blood-red maw, and unleashed a wind blade. Then, with a swift movement, it transformed into a black shadow and pounced on Wang Min, who was closest to it.
"Ice Lock - Vast Wilderness!"
With several loud "crack" sounds, several ice chains shot up from the ground and flew towards the demon wolf.
The demon wolf, already seriously injured, was no longer as agile as before. Before it could even reach Wang Min, it was bound by the ice chains that surrounded it.
The ice chains lifted the demonic wolf higher and higher into the sky, releasing icy energy that rapidly eroded its body. When it reached a certain height, Liu Lin suddenly released the ice chains, and the demonic wolf fell heavily to the ground, unconscious.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Tian unleashed the second-level intermediate-tier fire magic, Earth Shatter.
After suffering heavy blows from two mid-level spells, the wolf's life finally came to an end. After letting out a mournful howl, it fell silent.
"Awesome! It's been almost a year since I've had such a satisfying battle!" Liu Meng shouted. "In the previous battles, Miss Mu's fighting spirit was truly strong; she basically took care of all the demons she encountered."
"Yes, if Miss Ai and Master Lingling didn't need protection, Miss Mu wouldn't have needed to ask us. She and Xiao Chengzi could have acted on their own," Wang Min replied.
Liu Lin glared at Liu Meng and Wang Min, and said irritably, "You're really being hypocritical, getting a good deal and then complaining. Isn't it nice to make hundreds of thousands so easily? Do you really want it to end up like that time with the Battle Axe Squad, where you almost lost your life!"
"Of course not!" Liu Meng shook his head. "But we're all wild hunter mages now, so the battles need to have some excitement, right?"
As soon as Liu Meng finished speaking, a powerful energy fluctuation came from underground, and then the ground began to crack.
"You jinx! Your damn passion!" Liu Lin cursed angrily, while simultaneously manipulating the stars with her mind to draw a star map.
"Ice Lock - Bone Crusher!"
"Bang!"
With a deafening roar, the energy contained beneath the earth finally reached its peak. In an instant, nine towering pillars of fire erupted within a radius of tens of meters, shattering the frost created by Liu Lin.
"Storm Wave - Exterminate!"
A terrifying wave surged from the sky, rushing towards the nine pillars of fire like a burst dam. However, it was no match for the intense heat of the flames and was soon evaporated into a mist. But this gave the Skyfire Squad a chance to escape from the nine pillars of fire.
When the five members of the Skyfire Squad reappeared, they not only looked extremely disheveled, but also had burns of varying degrees on their bodies.
"Damn it, who ambushed me!" Liu Meng cursed, staring at the mist that filled the air in front of him.
"You guys were so arrogant, how come you're like stray dogs now?"
As the mist that had permeated the forest dissipated, six figures emerged from the surrounding trees, five of whom were members of the War Bear Squad.
"It's you guys!" Zhang Tian and the others were somewhat incredulous that the War Bear Squad had retaliated against them so quickly.
"It's me, but the person you've offended isn't me," the captain of the War Bear Squad said, stepping aside the people standing behind him.
This was a burly middle-aged man they had never seen before, but for some reason the members of the Skyfire Squad felt that he looked somewhat familiar.
"Who are you? When did our Skyfire Squad offend you?" Zhang Tian asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Six months ago, in Bocheng, the Battle Axe Squad!" the burly middle-aged man said succinctly.
"What do you mean? What does it have to do with us if the Battle Axe Squad offends you?" Zhang Tian continued.
"It seems you still want to keep this a secret. Half a year ago, all the members of the Battle Axe Squad disappeared in the wild, and the only ones who have a grudge against them and can deal with them are your Skyfire Squad." The burly middle-aged man's tone was somewhat gloomy.
"Who exactly are you? What's your relationship with the Battle Axe Squad? The disappearance of the Battle Axe Squad has nothing to do with us!" Zhang Tian retorted.
"My name is Chen Zhan, and Chen Fu is my younger brother," the burly middle-aged man said. "Whether we're related or not is irrelevant now. If you have a grudge against him, then go down with him!"
"You are the high-ranking mage behind him!" Zhang Tian exclaimed in shock.
"You got it right! Go to hell!" After Chen Zhan finished speaking, magical fluctuations began to emanate from his body, and a dazzling star map quickly took shape beneath him.
At the same time, an extremely cold aura surged up from behind Zhang Tian...