1767: Courting Death!

Courting Death!

Translated by XephiZ1

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was worried about the same thing, but judging from the looks of it, the army should have encountered the Mud Morphing Monsters by now. Hopefully, they were able to perceive the threat these strange elemental creatures posed and eliminate them in time. 

"There are bloodstains here. It should be theirs," Mo Fan was able to pick up a faint scent of blood.

Mo Fan and Zhou Donghao waited for the Mud Morphing Monsters to leave before following the trail of blood.

The Rock Monsters were elemental creatures, so they would never bleed. Therefore, Tao Jing and the others must have left the bloodstains. It seemed like they were only injured by the Rock Monsters, instead of having their bodies being taken over by the creatures.

After passing through the area with stalactites, the path began to narrow; not in terms of its width, but its height. Mo Fan and Zhou Donghao had to bend forward to keep going. They could not help but feel pressured as they ventured deeper.

"Who's there!?" an alert voice suddenly came from ahead.

"It's me, Fan Mo! Tao Jing, is that you?" Mo Fan had already noticed the fragrance of the shampoo which Tao Jing always used. She seemed to be fond of it. Mo Fan's nose was quite sensitive after hanging around the old wolf for so long.

"I'm here too, Tao Jing! I'm Zhou Donghao, I've risked my life to save you!" Zhou Donghao blurted out excitedly.

"Shhh!" Tao Jing immediately stopped him from talking.

Zhou Donghao's voice immediately attracted some attention. A black shadow flickered past in the darkness and smashed the rocks recklessly, as if it was trying to break the short ceiling and make its way over to them.

Mo Fan glanced at the Rock Monster and studied the area. He was impressed by how smart Tao Jing was, hiding in a spot where the Rock Monsters could not reach to guarantee her safety.

"Where are the others?" Mo Fan asked.

"The seniors said they would look for an exit, but they haven't returned," Tao Jing said gloomily.

Tao Jing was touched that Mo Fan had come to save her, her nose tingling as she spoke. She had only met Mo Fan not long ago, yet the guy was willing to risk his life and jump into the cave because of her!

"Was something chasing you?" Mo Fan asked.

"A Rock Monster, the same creature that we encountered on the street previously. We had no choice but to jump into the cave to avoid it. We've been hiding here all along, as the Rock Monster stayed at the entrance. We came up with a plan together. I'd keep the Rock Monster distracted while the others would look for an exit in the other direction. I have no idea if they have reached safety," Tao Jing said. 

"I doubt it. Didn't you notice how many Rock Monsters are in this area?" Mo Fan pointed at a few figures roaming nearby.

"Yeah, there are four of them nearby. If it wasn't for my Shadow Element, we wouldn't even have made it here," Zhou Donghao said. He suddenly realized something and looked at Mo Fan doubtfully. "Strange, I'm able to conceal my presence with my Shadow Element, but why didn't they notice you?"

Mo Fan was seriously speechless, staring at the brainless man.

Did he really think his Shadow Element was enough to conceal his presence from the Warrior-level creatures? If Mo Fan hadn't lent him a hand with his Shadow Element, the four Rock Monsters would have beaten him up by now!

"What were you trying to say? How are the Rock Monsters related to my seniors?" Tao Jing asked when she noticed something.

"Did you encounter something like a mud monster?" Mo Fan asked.

"I did! That thing tried to pounce on me, but I blocked it with my magic," Tao Jing said.

"The Rock Monsters we saw were part of their transformation. They have the ability to take over living humans' bodies. They strike every human they stumble into, regardless of their gender. If they successfully land their attack, they transform the person into a Rock Monster with outstanding strength and a sturdy defense," Mo Fan informed her. 

"Huh?" Tao Jing had never heard of such a strange creature. She subconsciously looked at the violent creatures roaming nearby and said, "So you're saying those Rock Monsters are actually my seniors? Are they going to be alright?"

"Based on the woman whom we saved in the city, these Mud Morphing Monsters are merely Possessing their victims. They will recover after we defeat the Rock Monsters. Their lives aren't in danger, as far as I know," Mo Fan said. 

Cao Juan and Su Jindu were still alive, but they were in a feeble state. In other words, they could rescue the people who had fallen victim to the Mud Morphing Monsters by defeating the Rock Monsters they became!

However, it did not necessarily mean these creatures would never kill a human!

"We'll bring you out of this place first," Zhou Donghao said.

"What about them?" Tao Jing was too kind to leave on her own.

"We have no time for them. We can't afford to fight the Rock Monsters here since we have no idea how many Rock Monsters and Mud Morphing Monsters we would attract. We'll bring you out of here first and tell the military and the Magic Association what we have discovered. They will handle the rest," Mo Fan said.

"Al...alright."

------

The Rock Monsters were not very intelligent. Mo Fan was able to lure them away with a little trick. He then brought Tao Jing away from the area.

When they returned to the area with stalactites, Mo Fan noticed the Mud Morphing Monsters had already left. There was no sign of any Rock Monsters nearby, either. He used the outstanding concealing ability of the Shadow Element and successfully brought Tao Jing to the entrance. 

"Damn it, those unreliable pricks, they actually left us behind after ten minutes. How are we going to get up there now?" Zhou Donghao cursed when he saw no one had stayed to receive them.

"I'll alter the shape of the walls. We'll climb up slowly," Mo Fan said.

"Sure!"

Mo Fan used Earth Wave to create folds along the walls, allowing them to climb up the rocks. Even though the height of two hundred meters was a little tricky, they could still make it by climbing up slowly.

They heard a furious cry from below when they reached a height of fifty meters. They saw a Rock Monster jumping around like an ape while climbing up the walls. It jumped to the opposite wall with a strong kick, approaching them rapidly!

"A...a Rock Monster!" Zhou Donghao screamed. He quickly moved his limbs and sped himself up.

"So eager for his death? Humph!" Mo Fan scoffed when he saw the Rock Monster coming after them.

Mo Fan might have struggled against these Rock Monsters a few days ago, but he had already learned his Star Pattern now. The creature was simply courting death by approaching him directly! 

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