Chapter 125
Compared to the Underground World at the Underground Cave region, the volcanic cave in this place was more dangerous and frightening.
All the tunnels were created by the violent geologic activity of the volcano, they were actually cracks and channels made for lava to flow freely. Thus, it was a place filled with uncertainty.
Perhaps, when you were walking in the middle of a red-hot tunnel, a sudden burst of hot air from a crack in the wall could bake you into a pile of charred bones. You might also take a wrong step and fall into a bottomless valley, eventually diving into a lava pool that could melt you entirely in seconds.
Though the volcano had gradually entered its resting period, at some random areas, violent geologic activity still existed. And if the sudden sinking of strata happened right next you, it was most probable that you would be crushed into meat paste by the cave that suddenly closed up or by the shifting of the stratum.
Therefore, when walking around in a place like this, one would really have to pay extra attention to the stability of the surrounding rock strata.
Absolute safety never existed here, each and every single apprentice had to be extreme cautious, so that they could avoid getting themselves dragged into sudden changes of the terrain.
However, danger not only came from the shifting of terrain in this volcano, most of it were actually coming from the unique creatures that inhabited this region – Fire Spirits, Lava Hounds, Fire Lizards, Flame Imps, Guardian of Flames… one could easily find more than dozens of Fire element creatures that were named here, yet, there were still countless unnamed creatures hiding in every corner of the place.
These Fire element creatures who lived by fire and feasted on fire had called this volcano their home, constructing a unique food chain in this world of lava. Of course, the ones who stood on top of the food chain would certainly be the dreadful Molten Giants. They were like a group of flaming giants who possessed a high intelligence, and owned some frightful element abilities that were not weaker than human Adepts.
Greem frowned. It looked like the Fire Shield of Beginner Apprentice level could hardly help in the current battle of such magnitude. Even an ordinary Lava Hound could break it with just two rounds of attack. Presumably, if he was facing with stronger Fire element creature, this Fire Shield wouldn’t be stronger than a soap bubble.
Yet, the Inferno Shield had proved itself to be the upgraded version of Fire Shield, as its defensive strength was at least five to six times stronger. Greem remained standing where he was, letting the Lava Hound continuously launch attack after attack. The Inferno Shield took nearly ten rounds of attacks before its energy was depleted to a stage of near collapse.
Through his experiences from the battle, Greem modified some necessary parameters of his strategy. After that, he had no mood to keep ‘playing’ with this Lava Hound anymore. An element core was tossed out, and a gigantic Rock Snake, nearly occupied half of the space in this cave, immediately poked its head out from the ground.
Looking at this new intruder who appeared out of nowhere, the Lava Hound still leaped forward without caring about its own safety, wanting to defend its own territory to the last drop of its blood. But too bad, when facing against the Rock Snake, who had the advantage of a bigger body, the offensive ability which the Lava Hound was proud of was just a joke. Before it could bite off a few chunks of rock from the Rock Snake’s body, its body had fallen by the brutal bite of the Rock Snake, resulting in total disintegration of its body.
After the Lava Hound’s body fell apart, from the lava rocks that scattered around, Greem picked up a Fire Stone that was still burning violently. This, was the only valuable thing he could find from the body of this Lava Hound!
Greem stayed at where he was and examining the Fire Stone, while the Rock Snake continued its way and slithered towards the remaining Flame Imps.
A shower of Fire Arrows fell onto the grayish green head of the Rock Snake, only managing to leave behind holes the size of a chicken egg. For the Rock Snake whose entire body made from hard rock, a damage like this could even be compared to a gentle tickle. It slithered in front of them, using its huge mouth to chomp, its long tail to slam, and its body to crush. Very soon, most of the Flame Imps were eliminated.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the rest of the Flame Imps quickly dove into the scorching flame dancing above the boiling lava pool, disappeared without a trace. Soon, the entire cave had finally become quiet!