Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

A Magical Beast could already be considered a high-grade one at seventh-grade.

Not only were they astonis.h.i.+ngly intelligent, but they also possessed strong, domineering combat power.

It was very tough for a human to defeat a Magical Beast of the same grade, especially when their numbers increased to form a beast tide. Their level of destructiveness could be said to be terrifying at that point.

Everywhere they pa.s.sed through, lands turned barren, and nothing would be left alive.

That was why the Fire Cloud Mercenaries were scared witless when facing a siege by so many Sixth- and Seventh-Grade Magical Beasts. If it weren't for the fact a “Saint Domain” was standing right next to them, they'd have fled for their lives a long time ago.

Man-Visage Demon Spider, Golden Lightning Python, Iron-Armored Crocodile, Sun-Moon Double-Headed Wolf… The Magical Beasts were savage, bloodthirsty, and vicious. As they stared at the t.i.tanic Dragon-Ape carca.s.s lying on the ground, their snouts constantly twitched, and drool dripped from their jaws, their eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with greed.

Devour it!

Devour the t.i.tanic Dragon-Ape!

Once they devoured the t.i.tanic Dragon-Ape, they'd benefit tremendously! The day where they'd level up and break through… wasn't far off anymore!

All the Magical Beasts became restless and agitated for a while there. They pounced toward the t.i.tanic Dragon-Ape one after another, for fear that other Magical Beasts would get there earlier than them should they be a step too slow.

In this instant, all of them had gone berserk!

“S… Sir, w-what do we do?!”

The mercenaries screamed and shouted in fear as they trembled like leaves in the wind.

“What are you panicking for? Step back!” Meng Lei snorted, displeasure coming over his features.

“Yes, yes!”

The mercenaries hastily hid behind Meng Lei. To their backs were the cliff and precipitous rock walls, as well as the waterfall. The Magical Beasts couldn't launch attacks from there. Thus, the area behind them was safe.

“You just had to seek your own ruin, didn't you?” Meng Lei's voice was loud and sonorous. “Just as well that I round up all of you in one go and turn you into money in my pocket, then!”

Meng Lei moved in the very next instant!

Boom!

The ground suddenly began to shake. It was as if a magnitude 9.0 earthquake had broken out. The ground shook, and the mountains trembled, while trees swayed from side to side. Fissures appeared out of nowhere in the ground, and earth spikes abruptly emerged!

Splurt!

Splurt!

The sudden attack caught the frenzied Magical Beasts off-guard. Some fell into the fissures, while the earth spikes impaled some. For a moment there, they looked somewhat in a pathetic state.

However, they were Sixth- and Seventh-Grade Magical Beasts, after all. A magic attack of this scale evidently couldn't take their lives. After leaping out of the fissures and crus.h.i.+ng the earth spikes, the Magical Beasts charged forward once more.

The nearer they got to the t.i.tanic Dragon-Ape, the stronger the stench of blood became, and the Magical Beasts became increasingly restless, frenzied, and bloodthirsty!

Yet, just as they reached the point ten meters away from the t.i.tanic Dragon-Ape, a mighty and imposing fire dragon suddenly descended from the sky and came cras.h.i.+ng toward them. It exploded with a thunderous boom…

Roar!

Howl!

Sparks flew everywhere, and shrieks and cries rose and fell in succession.

“Great!”

“Fantastic!”

The mercenaries were overjoyed upon the sight of this, and they raised their arms in cheers.

“Sixth-Grade Spell, Fire Dragon Meteor!”

Ol' Amos twisted his beard and broke into a smile. “Pretty impressive might it has! That attack can already cause some damage to Sixth- and Seventh-Grade Magical Beasts. A large-scale spell like this is exceptionally taxing on one's magic power, though. You'd better take it easy!”

“I know that!”

Meng Lei didn't say much about that. Instead, he drew out all the magic power inside him in a furor and gathered it above him. Upon being summoned, all the Fire Elements within a radius of 100 meters came converging toward him.

In a split second, a gigantic fireball of diameter over 60 meters soundlessly formed. Like the scorching sun, it gave off astonis.h.i.+ngly high heat.

“That's…”

When the mercenaries felt the scorching heat above them, they all raised their heads and looked up one by one. Astoundment surfaced in their eyes. The mighty aura of a fireball over 60 meters wide was simply too astounding. However, the even more fearsome thing was that an endless stream of Fire Elements was still converging toward it and strengthening it!

Expand, expand, and expand!

Like the hero of a certain anime rolling something into a ball1, the fireball expanded at an astonis.h.i.+ng speed. In just a few short breaths, its diameter had already exceeded 100 meters!

“That's…” Ol' Amos' lip corners were twitching. “Brat, aren't you afraid of exhausting all your magic power if you cast large-scale spells one after the other?”

“Haha! We'll think about it again when I've exhausted it!”

Meng Lei burst into laughter. Then, he shouted, “Flame Inferno… Land!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoos.h.!.+

Like a meteor plummeting from outer s.p.a.ce, the gigantic fireball crashed forcefully into the horde of Magical Beasts. As a huge, earth-shattering explosion rang out, the area in front of everyone turned into a sea of fire.

Flames raged and blazed, setting everything on fire without any reservations.

Amid shrill and tragic cries, the Magical Beasts turned into fiery beasts. They ran and jumped about in a frenzy in the sea of fire, completely enveloped within the flames.

“Retreat! Hurry, retreat!”

The mercenaries, who also found the blazing heat unbearable, retreated one by one. They retreated all the way until they were right in front of the waterfall. Only then did they feel slightly better.

“I can make the kill now!”

Meng Lei's eyes glinted sharply as he brought out the G.o.ds-Slaying Spear. A seventh-grade spell was certainly astonis.h.i.+ng in terms of might and could burn Sixth- and Seventh-Grade Magical Beasts to death, but time was necessary in order to achieve that.

Would the Magical Beasts stay obediently in the sea of fire and let the flames burn them to death?

Of course not!

They would flee! They would run! And they would move!

Some of the Magical Beasts would escape for sure.

Meng Lei knew this very well, so he wanted to deal an additional blow. Under these circ.u.mstances, the G.o.ds-Slaying Spear was undoubtedly the best weapon for that.

As for whether or not he could use the G.o.ds-Slaying Spear in front of others, Meng Lei had already consulted Ol' Amos beforehand. The old man had a very simple answer to that, which was, “Rest a.s.sured and use it!”

The reason for that was even simpler—even an experienced and knowledgeable top-tier Saint Domain like him didn't recognize that thing, so how would others possibly be able to? Much less recognize its status as a divine weapon?

Therefore, he could rest a.s.sured and use it openly as much as he wanted.

“Go!”

Meng Lei flung his arm out casually, and the G.o.ds-Slaying Spear shot into the sea of fire. What followed closely was the sound of bone and flesh being pierced right through, as well as shrill cries.

It didn't take long before the cries softened and then disappeared. All the Magical Beasts in the sea of fire had been slew by the G.o.ds-Slaying Spear!

“What a great treasure!”

A satisfied Meng Lei nodded as the G.o.ds-Slaying Spear returned to his hand. His eyes then landed outside the sea of fire on the Magical Beasts that had just emerged from the forest.

These Magical Beasts were a step too late, but on the contrary, they were fortunate enough to avoid being struck by Flame Inferno. Currently, their eyes were filled with fear and horror as they stood outside the sea of fire, hesitant to step forward.

The smell of blood from the t.i.tanic Dragon-Ape made them restless, but the sea of fire before their eyes frightened them. What exactly should they do? Should they follow their instincts and continue to rampage, or leave with their tails in between their legs and safeguard their lives?

This was an important question!

The Magical Beasts sank into indecision.

“Not leaving yet? That's great!”

Meng Lei licked his lips. He rode the magic carpet to the area above the Magical Beasts and cast another round of Flame Inferno.

Boom, boom, boom!

A fireball started floating in mid-air, and a sea of fire began to spread. Then, these Magical Beasts also met with tragedy!

The sea of fire engulfed them. As the great fire set them ablaze, their visibility range also became hindered, and they couldn't escape for a while there. Then, one by one, the G.o.ds-Slaying Spear impaled them to death, and their souls returned to h.e.l.l.

With that, the Magical Beasts in the farther distance became badly frightened. Each and every one of them was terrified out of their wits, and they didn't dare to hesitate or harbor any hope of lucking out anymore. Every single one of them fled with their tails in between their legs!

“They're pretty quick at fleeing, huh?”

Meng Lei licked his lips, not quite having had his fill of fun yet.

Ol' Amos reemerged, somewhat dissatisfied. “Don't use the G.o.ds-Slaying Spear so often in the future. Otherwise, there won't be any more meaning to your training.”

“Understood!”

Meng Lei nodded lightly, the picture of someone that had learned his lesson. However, he secretly disagreed.

My purpose in coming to Magical Beast Forest isn't just for training. Earning gold coins is my number one key task instead! 

Of course I'll have to hunt as many Magical Beasts as I can!

Although the sea of fire had engulfed the Magical Beasts just now, there was no way all of them would be annihilated. In a situation like that, was he supposed to just watch as they escaped?