Chapter 40

Right as the Earth Rhinoceros was about to achieve its goal, the other Middle Order demons engaged in heated combat immediately sensed something was wrong. Collectively, they changed their target and launched a full-scale attack on the Earth Rhinoceros.

The Two-Winged Frost Centipede retracted its wings furiously. The moment it did so, icy-blue energy began to coalesce, consolidating finally into two gigantic Ice Blades that measured over ten feet. The Centipede sent them slashing toward the Earth Rhinoceros.

Chirp~

In the sky, the Heaven’s Fowl gave a resonant cry, and its entire body gave off an immensely bright light. The dazzling luster consolidated into countless solid Arrows of Light that were sent flying toward the Earth Rhinoceros below.

As time was too rushed, the two Middle Order demons used only their Basic Skills. Their main objective was to stop the Earth Rhinoceros.

In the blink of an eye, the Ice Blades and Arrows of Light appeared in front of the Earth Rhinoceros. Unexpectedly, the Earth Rhinoceros neither dodged the attacks nor launched its own skills in retaliation. While it used its body as forceful resistance, it simultaneously opened its mouth to bite down on the Bloodline Fruit.

Boom boom boom boom~

Thunderous explosions sounded, and the Rock Armor on the Earth Rhinoceros was practically shattered to pieces. Countless wounds appeared on its solid skin. Upon close observation, one would notice that none of the wounds reached deep enough to cause too much harm to the Earth Rhinoceros.

The Rock Armor had buffered most of the damage, so had the Earth Rhinoceros’ naturally thick skin and ample flesh. With defense as its forte, naturally, it was difficult to cause much damage to an Earth Rhinoceros.

Almost simultaneously, the Thunder Leopard pounced forward and leaped up, using the Earth Rhinoceros’ back as its stepping stone. This took the Earth Rhinoceros by surprise momentarily, and the Thunder Leopard bit straight at the Bloodline Fruit.

Given the Thunder Leopard’s speed, it could potentially bite into the Bloodline Fruit first.

Watching its prize slip from its grasp, the Earth Rhinoceros naturally flew into a rage. It quickly consolidated ochre energy into rocks the size of millstones and sent them smashing toward the Thunder Leopard.

Despite its swift reaction, the Earth Rhinoceros’ speed was still slower by a hair. It could only watch as the Thunder Leopard prepared to devour the Bloodline Fruit.

At this key moment, many vines sprouted furiously from the ground below the Thunder Leopard, entangling its limbs in a sneak attack.

These vines were Galen’s work!

In the chaotic battle, more than half the Lower Order demons were killed in merely two to three minutes. The other Lower Order demons that were left did not pose any great threat. Meanwhile, among the Middle Order demons, there were remained only the Thunder Leopard, the Earth Rhinoceros, the Two-Winged Frost Centipede, and the Heaven’s Fowl.

Due to the disparity in levels, Galen’s vines were not tough enough to restrain the Thunder Leopard, and it broke free of its bonds easily enough. However, it had already missed its chance, and it had now become the target of everyone’s collective attacks.

Therefore, the moment the Thunder Leopard broke away from the vines, several millstone-sized rocks hit it in the face.

Howl~

With a despairing shriek, the Leopard was sent crashing hard onto the ground.

Before the Thunder Leopard could stand up again, the attacks from the Heaven’s Fowl and the Two-Winged Frost Centipede found their mark, completely overwhelming it.

After the luster had dissipated, the Thunder Leopard lay immobile on the ground, devoid of any further signs of life.

The Thunder Leopard had been defeated!

With the Thunder Leopard out of the way, the Earth Rhinoceros started lumbering toward the Bloodline Fruit once more.

“Gopher, move! Ai Xi, go!” At this crucial moment, Li Changsheng chose to reveal his true intentions. At his command, Ai Xi leaped at the Bloodline Fruit vigorously.

Li Changsheng did not have much of a choice. He would have preferred to let these Middle Order demons kill each other, but the Bloodline Fruit could only last for a limited time. If this dragged out any longer, the effects of the Bloodline Fruit would be reduced.

Suddenly, the ground where the Earth Rhinoceros stood split open. The Earth Rhinoceros only felt emptiness beneath its feet, before it instantly fell into a huge pit that was several meters deep.

The truth was that the Gopher had long since made its preparations from start to finish beneath the willow tree. Once it received Li Changsheng’s order, it would activate the trap instantly.

At this moment, the Gopher popped out from the ground, all four of its limbs glowing with a bright yellow luster that continuously surged into the ground.

In an instant, the ground of the surrounding area began to change. The dirt was rapidly transforming into sand and was slowly starting to swirl, trapping the Earth Rhinoceros and several Lower Order demons in quicksand.

The range, depth, and restrictive power of the Gopher’s Quicksand Hell had seen a significant increase after it had become a Middle Order demon.

In the swirling quicksand, the Earth Rhinoceros’ movements were obviously affected. It was too heavy and too clumsy as well. Even if it struggled with all its might, it would not be able to break free from the quicksand any time soon.

At the same time, Ai Xi stepped on the Earth Rhinoceros’ head and used it conveniently to jump up. It opened its mouth to bite into the Bloodline Fruit.

The Heaven’s Fowl and the Two-Winged Frost Centipede were not about to let Ai Xi have its way. They launched a collective close-range attack at it.

From the sky, the Heaven’s Fowl swooped down, its sharp beak glittering with a cold gleam. It spun its body around violently, pecking at Ai Xi’s waist.

On the other side, the Two-Winged Frost Centipede flapped its wings and opened up its horrifying mouthparts to reveal fangs that radiated a dense, cold gleam. It wanted to bite down on Ai Xi from the other side.

It was at this crucial moment that a lot of Cotton Spores appeared around Ai Xi’s body as if wrapping it in thick cotton.

No matter if it was the Heaven’s Fowl or the Two-Winged Frost Centipede—their movement speed and strength were obstructed by the Cotton Spores to some degree and were reduced to a certain extent.

However, they were Middle Order demons, after all. Although Galen was of a far higher grade than the two demons, her disparity in terms of level was too great in comparison. Therefore, the Cotton Spores could only reduce their attacks slightly.

Even so, thanks to the Cotton Spores, Ai Xi did not suffer severe injuries from the two demons’ attacks. Its wounds were only moderate.

Without further ado, Ai Xi opened its mouth and bit into the Bloodline Fruit that was hanging on a branch. There was an obvious rise and fall in its throat as it swallowed the Bloodline Fruit.

The instant Ai Xi swallowed, the Bloodline Fruit’s effects were immediate. Ai Xi’s body began to expand, and the muscles underneath its fur started to tremble as if countless bugs were continuously wriggling to and fro.

Agony that was marrow-deep turned Ai Xi’s eyes bloodshot. The power from the Bloodline Fruit was so brutal that Ai Xi could only lie, dispirited, on the ground, temporarily losing its mobility.

Alright, Ai Xi could not be counted on now!

Chirp~ Squeak~

After Ai Xi swallowed the Bloodline Fruit, the Heaven’s Fowl and the Two-Winged Frost Centipede could not prevent their embarrassment from turning into rage. They started to launch powerful attacks at Ai Xi.

Before the energy from the Bloodline Fruit was completely digested, Ai Xi’s flesh would naturally be full of its effects. The demons could still absolutely devour Ai Xi’s flesh; although the effects would not be as great as before, it was still better than nothing.

After all, Ai Xi had blatantly snatched the prize from them, so of course, it had become the object of the two demons’ anger.

Unfortunately, before their attacks could strike home, Ai Xi transformed into a purple flash of light that flew swiftly toward Li Changsheng. The moment the purple light came into contact with Li Changsheng, it disappeared without a trace.

What happened was that while Ai Xi was on the move, Li Changsheng had made preparations to recall it.

“Lightning Zebras, Thunder Strike!” The second Li Changsheng recalled Ai Xi, he issued another command to attack.

At Li Changsheng’s command, the single horns on the five Lightning Zebras were wreathed once more in dense lightning that consolidated into five electric currents. They shot toward the Heaven’s Fowl simultaneously.

In comparison with the Two-Winged Frost Centipede, the Heaven’s Fowl posed a greater threat.

The reactions of the Heaven’s Fowl were extremely fast. It did not dodge hastily. Instead, it opened its beak to shoot out a bright beam of light and began turning its head. The light beam kept moving and came into contact with the five rays of electricity one after the other.

Boom~

Following the sounds of continuous explosion, the light beam eventually annihilated the five electric currents.

“Lightning Zebras, Thunder Dash!” The fight was in his opponent’s favor and Li Changsheng had absolutely no intention of using force against force. Therefore, he immediately chose a strategic retreat.

As it retreated, the Gopher leaped up and landed on the back of one of the Lightning Zebras.

Pow~

The pack of five Lightning Zebras quickly snapped their heads around. The sound of hooves trampling the ground rose into the air, and they swiftly galloped out of the valley.