Chapter 1289: The Grassland

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It did not take long to reconnect the torn limbs with the help of Healing Magic. The Intermediate Healing Spell was quite efficient at healing bones. Liu Xiaojia did not expect to have so many chances to practice her Healing Spells at Mount Kunyu. She was still a little intimidated whenever she thought about how brutal the Hillmen were.

“I saw a three-meter-tall Hillman with brown hair like an ape and slightly longer copper fangs,” Mo Fan informed the others when they caught up to him.

“A Bronze-Fang Hillman, it’s a Commander-level creature. These Hillmen use their fangs to assert superiority among themselves. The low-level Hillmen are slaves to the high-level Hillmen,” Lingling confirmed.

“There’s even a Commander-level Hillman here? That means ninety percent of the groups that came in here are going to end up in misfortune!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Mm, I don’t think the government can send reinforcements in time,” Chen Yi said.

“By the way, I also found these,” Mo Fan handed some demon crests to Lingling and said, “These Hillmen seem to be using the demon crests as a bait. Those three that I just killed had fifteen demon crests! They might have taken them from the people they killed. I think they know they can use the demon crests to bait people!”

“It’s like the bait for fishing!” Still a little girl, Lingling was seriously speechless at how brainless grown-ups could be. She said, “I never thought that human Mages would be treated like this one day. Too many people are blinded by their greed! We’ll be taking these demon crests to compensate us the huge amount of effort we’re putting in.”

Mo Fan grinned when he heard that Lingling had no intention to give the demon crests back.

“I’ve tagged the Bronze-Fang Hillman with my Shadow Element. I have decided to pay their den a visit after escorting you all to safety,” Mo Fan said.

The Wind Maga looked at Mo Fan and opened her mouth; she had something to say. “Our group wasn’t even that weak. We wouldn’t have ended up like this if we didn’t step into their trap… count me in if you’re planning to hunt the Hillmen down,” the Wind Maga said.

“Yeah, we can help too,” Liu Xiaojia and the others said.

“I don’t need too many people. I believe there would be a lot of Hillmen at their den. Zhao Manyan and I will have difficulty protecting everyone if too many of you came along. Liu Xiaojia, you will come with us. Is anyone a Shadow Mage here? I just need one. The rest of you, get to safety as soon as possible,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan noticed that the Hillmen could not sense the Shadow Element. The Fleeing Shadow, the Giant Shadow Spikes, and the Shadow Imprisonment had proven to be very useful.

A Shadow Mage had the ability to look after themselves, so Mo Fan only allowed students with the Shadow Element to stay, and the Healer, Liu Xiaojia.

The beautiful lady with the Wind Element was not bad, either. She was most likely an Advanced Mage, but she was not yet skilled at casting Advanced Spells. It was likely that the Bronze-Fang Hillman was the one that had knocked her unconscious.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

——

The two Hunters that had recovered were in charge of escorting the students. They should not have much problem making it to safety. Mo Fan also realized that the Hillmen did not dare take on a group of people. There were many groups that had fallen into their traps in pursuit of the demon crests, so they had not had to risk their lives taking on the intact groups.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Lingling, and the rest went after the Bronze-Fang Hillman, following the mark that Mo Fan had left on it previously.

“I was wondering why you let the Commander-level Hillman run away. It turns out that you’re only releasing the fish back to the pond so you can get them all,” Zhao Manyan smiled.

Mo Fan was clearly more cunning than the Hillmen!

“Huh? Did you really let it go on purpose? Didn’t it manage to run away from you?” Liu Xiaojia asked, blinking her eyes.

Liu Xiaojia was like a curious little kid, asking whatever question that crossed her mind. Mo Fan was a little scared to answer her question. Speaking of which, Mo Fan was speechless when he realized who was with him.

Chen Yi, Guan Xixi, Liu Xiaojia, the Wind Maga Lan Luo, and the gorgeous little Lingling; why was he with a bunch of girls again!?

To be honest, Mo Fan was more used to doing cruel things like this with vicious and merciless blokes, someone like Ai Jiangtu…

The Seal of Darkness had left a trail that only the Mage that had implanted it could sense. Mo Fan just needed to follow the trail to locate the Bronze-Fang Hillman. Since Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was at the Advanced Level, the Seal of Darkness could last for quite a long time. It would still be around after three days!

——

“Seriously, how far did that creature run? We’ve already crossed a few ridges,” Zhao Manyan complained, a little worn out from the journey.

It was not suitable to fly around the mountain, or Zhao Manyan would have long taken out his flashy golden wings.

“I’ll give you all a little help.” Lan Luo drew a Star Pattern, laying a trail of wind on the path the group was taking, making it easier for them to traverse the difficult terrain.

Mo Fan did not dare Summon the Flying Creek Snow Wolf either, since his level was relatively high among the demon creatures. His presence would easily scare the Hillmen away.

After crossing yet another tall ridge, the trail of the Seal of Darkness led them to a spacious valley.

Most valleys in the mountain had beautiful thick forests, with a strong presence of the ancient times, like those in a drawing. However, this spacious valley was totally different. When they looked down at the valley from the high ground, they were surprised to see a huge grassland. The grass was very tall. The waves flowing across them as they swayed when the wind blew were stunning. It was like the waves on the surface of a green lake…

“There must be a Giant Purple Linden here,” Lingling said confidently.

They followed the path into a canyon, two mountain walls high up on the sides. Their view opened up after they reached the end of the canyon. A spacious grassland entered their vision. They could not even see the end of the valley!

The grass was surprisingly tall, around two to three meters. It felt like they had been shrunk down as they walked through the grass. They had to lift their heads to see the cobs swaying in the wind.

The cobs blocked off vision ahead. They could barely see a distance of six meters around themselves. Even the slightest sound would make them feel uneasy as they were walking through the grass. The Hillmen had indeed found a very remote place to build their den!

The group spread the grass apart and proceeded forward. Zhao Manyan could not help but ask, “Are we getting close?”

“It’s not too far now, but it will be very easy for us to get split up if a fight happens here,” Mo Fan said.

The grassland was too spacious. It would be fine if the grass only reached their ankles, since they could easily see their teammates and any approaching enemy with a quick glance. However, the grass was taller than they were. Their vision was more limited than walking in the woods…

“Give me a second,” Zhao Manyan felt an urge to empty his bladder. He did not say it too obviously since there were more girls in the group.

He split up with the team and went further ahead to make sure he did not ruin Guan Xixi’s impression of him. He made sure he was far enough to prevent the others from hearing him peeing and unzipped his pants…

The sound of him peeing was pretty loud. Zhao Manyan had been holding his bladder for some time. He even had the urge to hum joyfully the moment he turned on the valve.

The stalks nearby suddenly swayed. Zhao Manyan immediately turned around as soon as he heard the sound.

In order to take a closer look, Zhao Manyan used his other hand to spread the grass. He immediately saw a hideous face behind it!

It was a ghastly face with fangs like a boar exposed to the air. The two bloodshot eyes in particular were oddly frightening!

“Screw you!” Zhao Manyan cursed after he was given a great fright. His right hand adeptly moved ‘little Zhao Manyan’ back into his pants before pulling the zip up. Meanwhile, his other hand started casting a Water Barrier between him and the Hillman…

Ideally, Zhao Manyan thought he could set up his defense in time. To his surprise, the zipper somehow caught ‘little Zhao Manyan’ for a brief second. He immediately felt a sharp pain from his lower body. The Star Orbit of the Water Barrier — one of the most basic spells — broke at its sixth Star!

The Hillman raised its sharp paw. It clearly had no intention to go easy on him!

Zhao Manyan cursed under his breath and subconsciously rolled to the side with his years of experience fighting demon creatures. He barely dodged the attack of the disgusting Hillman.

Zhao Manyan rose to his feet and took a deep breath. He quickly sorted out the problem of his lower body, furious now!

“I’m going to pluck your fangs out!” Zhao Manyan snapped. “Sky Waterfall!”

Zhao Manyan cast his spell angrily. White rolling waves suddenly poured down from the sky and descended rapidly on the Hillman. The unstoppable waves struck the creature fiercely!

The white waves rolled more than ten meters away. The Sky Waterfall instantly broke many of the bones in the Hillman’s body. It did not even have a chance to cry out in pain.

The strong waves swept forward. A certain area of the grassland even sank down at the strong impact. Mo Fan and the others quickly came over and heard Zhao Manyan cursing wildly!

—

The Sky Waterfall lasted for half a minute. The Hillman lay still on the ground. Most of its bones were broken by the fierce waves. It was almost dead.

“He’s an Advanced Mage too,” Lan Luo was dumbfounded, seeing the area that had been destroyed by the waves.

Even though Zhao Manyan had only used an Intermediate Spell, the sight of the Sky Waterfall was just too shocking. The spell had killed the Warrior-level Hillman almost instantly! Only an Advanced Mage with a Soul-grade Water Seed could possibly achieve the feat!

“That thing dared to ambush me when I’m trying to empty my bladder,” Zhao Manyan withdrew the huge puddles and went up to the half-dead Hillman. He kicked at the creature’s limp body.

“These things have always been cunning,” Mo Fan agreed.

“This place is a natural hunting ground for them. The grass is just too thick. They can easily sneak up to their targets. Even if a whole team of Mages was here, it would be hard to tell if anyone is missing from the team. Most importantly, it’s extremely difficult to save the people who get dragged away!” Lingling judged after analyzing the situation.