Chapter 9

The school bus swayed all the way west, driving out of Rain Alley City.

Lu Ran hugged the Xia Guang blade, his shoulder against the glass window, quietly watching the rainy scenery outside the window.

"Lord Witch Crow!"

"Ah, I saw it." The students in the car were chattering, very noisy.

Lu Ran looked up and saw a huge statue appearing and disappearing in the misty rain.

The deity, the Witch Crow!

This is a beast deity, pitch-black all over, with an appearance similar to a crow.

It stands on a huge stone pillar tens of meters high, in the shape of raising its head to cry and spreading its wings to fly.

That pair of giant wings spread out can be said to cover the sky and the sun, with great momentum!

The Witch Crow's ranking is not high, just a Seventh-Class Deity, but Witch Crow believers are all popular.

Because the divine techniques of the Witch Crow faction are mainly based on reconnaissance, harassment, and illusion, no team would refuse an excellent scout.

The weakness of Witch Crow believers is also very obvious: insufficient output, and very serious partiality.

"Finally here." Wu Shanshan reached her small hand toward the front seat and tugged at the red kerchief wrapped around Deng Yutang's head.

"What?" Deng Yutang turned his head to look at the girl.

Wu Shanshan said: "After we enter the Evil Dog Village in a while, you have to shout a few more times to fill our fighting spirit."

Deng Yutang laughed: "We haven't even entered the Demon Cave yet, and you're already afraid?"

Wu Shanshan snorted, secretly slandering: I'm worried that someone will be afraid and flee in the face of battle.

Lu Ran being able to advance ahead of everyone is due to talent, but how he will perform in actual combat is another matter.

Lu Ran did indeed go head-to-head with the Prisoner Demon believer, Kou Yingquan, but in Wu Shanshan's heart, Kou Yingquan is a human after all, not an evil spirit that takes lives.

"Beep~ Beep~"

The school bus convoy passed through layers of checkpoints and drove into a military camp; as the vehicles stopped, the students filed off the bus.

Many students stood still, looking up at the huge deity statue.

Wherever a deity statue is located, the area within a hundred miles is a military stronghold; usually, it is difficult for people to see the true face of the deity up close.

"Number 91!"

"Number 95!"

"Number 98!" In the rain curtain, voices rang out one after another.

"Calling us." Deng Yutang spotted a soldier and immediately walked over.

"I am your accompanying instructor for this training, Dou Zhiqiang." The male soldier looked solemn, looked at the four students who came to report, and continued:

"After entering the Evil Dog Village, you have 3 hours of free time.

Under normal circumstances, I will not interfere with any of your actions.

However, once I give an order, you must execute it unconditionally; if there are violators, the whole team will be sent back immediately..."

The four-person group listened to the rules one by one, and only after a few minutes were they led into the building by Instructor Dou.

The students were like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, finding everything novel.

Lu Ran was very sure that the huge stone pillar in the center of the hall was the pillar that Lord Witch Crow stepped on.

The stone pillar also had a spiral staircase built on it, winding downward to the underground.

Led by Instructor Dou, the squad stepped onto the spiral staircase and went down all the way; as everyone went deep underground, the divine power around them became more concentrated.

"Demon Cave Gate." Lu Ran held the handrail of the spiral staircase and leaned out to look down.

"So beautiful." Wu Shanshan poked her head around, muttering to herself.

Pictures on the internet are naturally not as good as seeing it with one's own eyes!

I saw that deeper below, there was a huge different-dimensional space gate.

It was as deep and beautiful as the vast starry sky, and like an oval dark curtain, laid flat on the ground.

Such a mysterious and strange scene is enough to make anyone dumbfounded.

And the stone pillar that the deity, the Witch Crow, stepped on was inserted straight into the starry sky curtain.

Dou Zhiqiang ordered: "Everyone be quiet! Follow closely; if you are afraid of heights, close your eyes and hold onto the shoulders of the teammate in front!"

Everyone was as quiet as a cicada, not daring to speak again.

And as the few stepped into the starry sky curtain step by step...

"Whoosh!!"

The night wind rose suddenly, blowing Lu Ran's clothes wildly.

The surrounding scene changed suddenly; the day turned into night, and the deep underground turned into a hundred-meter-high sky.

The four stepped on the stairs, appeared above the night sky, and looked down along the stone pillar; a full hundred meters away was the real ground.

Standing high, seeing far.

In the pitch-black night, Lu Ran looked down and saw a stone city!

Countless torches illuminated the city in a fiery red.

Outside the city, there were paths made of torches, like fire dragons winding and twisting, stretching to the end of the night.

Looking down from high altitude, Lu Ran could still see several other brightly lit stone cities a few kilometers away.

Mysterious, beautiful, magnificent, and spectacular.

There should be BGM here!

Lu Ran had already imagined the opening theme of "Game of Thrones"~

Demon Cave Number 386, Evil Dog Village!

"Maintain marching speed, continue downward!" Dou Zhiqiang reminded the students, not intending to let them stop and admire.

A hundred-meter height, converted into the residential buildings of human society, would be at least 30 stories high.

"Flap flap flap~"

"Flap flap flap!" While everyone was walking down the stairs, they happened to meet a group of crows flying upward along the stone pillar.

There are only evil spirits of the Evil Dog clan in the Evil Dog Village, which means that the crow group is transformed by human soldiers.

Thinking about it, they should be returning to Earth to rotate shifts?

Lu Ran looked envious, looking up at the crows flying wantonly.

Flying is secondary; the key is that transforming into a crow has a high style!

Especially since it often rains in Rain Alley City,

crows and the overcast sky, cold rainy night, and other scenes are simply a perfect match!

After a long time, the four-person group finally went down to the ground and stepped on the land of the Evil Dog Village.

"Follow closely, speed up!" The Iron-Faced Instructor ordered loudly, leading the four straight to the West City Gate.

Lu Ran was full of praise, looking around while moving forward.

These stone houses, towers, city walls, and other buildings were naturally built by human legions.

It is said that in the early 1980s, when human soldiers attacked this Demon Cave, the casualties were extremely heavy!

That was a tragic history of blood and tears.

In the end, people built a dilapidated small stronghold in the sea of blood and corpses.

It was like a small boat swaying in the stormy waves, resisting wave after wave of charges from the evil spirits, the Evil Dogs.

And that small stronghold was the famous Evil Dog Village, which is the magnificent stone city where Lu Ran is now.

Decades have passed, the small village is gone, and high walls have been built, but the name "Evil Dog Village" has continued.

"It's 10:03 now." Dou Zhiqiang led the team to the city gate. "Three hours later, I will take you away from the Evil Dog Village.

You can explore in the city, it's relatively safe.

If you want to go out of the city to hunt Evil Dogs, you can search around the city walls, or search along the torch paths; you are not allowed to leave the lighting range.

Now, you can move freely."

As the words fell, a burst of energy surged on Dou Zhiqiang's body.

"Flap flap~"

Right under everyone's gaze, the instructor suddenly transformed into a crow and flew high into the sky.

Making Lu Ran even more envious.

Following the figure of the black crow, he saw the stars twinkling in the night sky, which was very beautiful.

And in the direction everyone came from, that huge stone pillar seemed to have poked a hole in the night sky at a hundred meters.

The picture was quite strange!

"Let's go out of the city." Wu Shanshan suggested first.

The team's ranking points are obtained by killing Evil Dogs.

The accompanying instructor is the invigilator, who will record the performance of the few.

"Go!" Deng Yutang was very excited, striding straight to the city gate.

"Deng Yutang, why don't you shout a few times?" Wu Shanshan followed.

Deng Yutang refused: "There are other classmates around."

A person's mental will can naturally affect combat effectiveness.

Everyone came from a modern city to this night stone city with swaying torches; who wouldn't be afraid in their hearts?

Not to mention that there are Evil Dogs wandering in the village!

"You..." Wu Shanshan felt anxious and couldn't say it directly, subconsciously glancing at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran showed no fear at all; where was there any intention of retreating?

"What?" Lu Ran happened to meet the girl's eyes, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"No, nothing." Wu Shanshan shook her head repeatedly.

Jiang Ruyi frowned, and she, with her delicate mind, seemed to have sensed something.

However, now is not the time to say these things; she patted Lu Ran on the shoulder: "Let's go, let's go further away; time is tight."

"Oh." Lu Ran immediately quickened his pace.

Starting from the West City Gate, more than twenty torch paths extended, like fire snakes, crawling toward the boundless wilderness and barren hills.

Everyone observed for a moment and chose a route that no one had stepped on, so as not to collide with other student squads.

While marching, the few could still hear bursts of barking coming from under the night sky, sounding very fierce!

"Over there!" Deng Yutang picked up the Heavenly Star spear. "Is that it?"

"Yes!" Jiang Ruyi held a sword in one hand, and her other hand hung naturally, with wisps of divine power rising from her fingertips, lightly depicting something.

Divine techniques also have quality levels, which are divided into Mist, Stream, River, Estuary, Sea, and other words, just like divine power levels.

Jiang Ruyi's divine technique, the Lightning Lock Talisman, is the lowest grade, Mist Grade; the runes cannot last for a long time, nor can they enchant weapons.

So, she can only draw them on the spot.

Compared to Class Wu Ban Zhang Jiang, Class Wu Ban Zhang Wu's casting speed is much faster.

Wu Shanshan had long since taken off the hunting bow slung across her body; she pinched the tendon string with two fingers, and the moment she drew the bow, a water mist arrow had already taken shape.

"Whoosh~"

The blue water arrow shuttled through, heading straight for the Evil Dog exposed on the barren hill.

"Woof!" The Evil Dog barked and quickly dodged.

Unexpectedly, it didn't charge forward at the first time, but kept barking.

Jiang Ruyi looked solemn: "Does it have teammates?"

The four-person group looked around vigilantly, and Lu Ran suddenly said: "Front left, that small mound!"

Sure enough, another Evil Dog popped its head out.

The evil spirit clan, the Evil Dog, is pitch-black all over, with an appearance similar to a thin dog breed.

Their shoulder height can reach more than 1.2 meters, with thin bodies, thin heads, thin legs, thin tails...

In short, everything is thin!

"Here it comes!" Deng Yutang clenched the Heavenly Star spear with both hands.

The location where everyone is is equivalent to the vicinity of the human base camp.

These two Evil Dogs being able to cross the city walls and appear here were naturally deliberately let in by soldiers for students to practice.

Therefore, the two Evil Dogs must be weak, and should be like the students, all small fries at the Mist Stage.

It is precisely this weakest evil spirit that brought a huge psychological impact to everyone!

The terrifying speed of the Evil Dogs, their fierce eyes, and the violent aura rushing toward them...

You can watch videos a thousand times on the internet, but it's not as good as facing an evil spirit once in person!

"Ha!" Deng Yutang roared, no longer hiding his strength.

Divine Technique, Red Kerchief Order!

In an instant, the four-person squad was greatly encouraged, and the desire to fight pushed back the fear in their hearts, rushing straight to their brains.

"You two don't move!" Jiang Ruyi flicked her long fingers forward, and a bolt of lightning darted forward.

The little lightning snake passed by the sides of Lu and Deng one after another; in the process of flying forward, an illusory jade plaque appeared and disappeared, carrying lightning runes, piercing straight at the Evil Dog.

"Woof!"

The number one Evil Dog attacking from the front right was not only fast enough, but also flexible and agile.

It used only one turn to dodge the Lightning Lock Talisman and the Water Mist Arrow, and pounced straight at Deng Yutang.

"The wailing of weak creatures can also attract the greed of hunters."

Suddenly, a sound transmission was imprinted in Lu Ran's mind.

"Ha!" Deng Yutang roared again, injecting divine power into the Heavenly Star spear, stabbing fiercely at the Evil Dog's bloody mouth.

However, this strike didn't pierce the dog's mouth; the Evil Dog actually used its sharp teeth to bite the tip of the spear tightly.

"Up!" Deng Yutang took a step back, then suddenly raised the Heavenly Star red-tasseled spear, intending to throw the Evil Dog into the air.

This plan was quite clever.

The Evil Dog clan has no ability to fly; once thrown into the high air, it is a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

The dream was beautiful, but the Evil Dog's bite force was extremely amazing, and it wasn't thrown away at all!

"Hold on!" Wu Shanshan shouted, having already drawn her bow and aimed at the Evil Dog biting the spearhead.

"Whoosh~" The water mist arrow shot out again.

"Lu!" The combat instinct of the Evil Dog clan was particularly amazing; it clearly felt the danger coming.

I saw it step on the spear shaft with its two front legs, then let go and kick, turning its head to pounce on the ground.

Lu Ran thus became a decoration.

The Evil Dog used the Heavenly Star spear as a vaulting pole, jumping directly over Lu Ran...

Lu Ran was stunned!

Damn, this thin dog!

Showing off its operations?

The key is that it even showed off in my face, heading straight for the back row!

These days, even dogs know they need to cut the back row?

"Bad." Deng Yutang's face was livid; the second Evil Dog had already pounced, and he was unable to separate himself, so how could he have time to chase?

Lu Ran immediately chased with the blade, and even shouted:

"Baa~~~"

Divine Technique, Sound of Compassion!

But the Evil Dog falling rapidly to the ground didn't pay attention to Lu Ran at all; it paddled its four legs on the ground and pounced straight at the two girls.

Wu Shanshan and Jiang Ruyi retreated one after another, separating left and right.

Wu Shanshan retreated while shouting: "Hey, Lu Ran! Stop adding to the chaos!"

To be honest, if the Sound of Compassion hadn't worked, Wu Shanshan would have already started cursing.

How could such a cruel and violent Evil Dog have any compassion?

You baa-ing at it can only affect the teammates around you; how could it make the Evil Dog stop for a moment?

"Not weak enough, not desperate enough." The sound transmission was imprinted in Lu Ran's mind again.

"Huh?" Lu Ran chased relentlessly, and the Evil Dog was also very good at picking people, choosing the most beautiful girl in the team.

It was just that when the Evil Dog saw the electric light appearing at Jiang Ruyi's fingertips, it immediately dodged consciously, constantly shaking its head and twisting its body.

Footwork~

Footwork~~~

"Think about your mindset when you were facing the Paper Doll on the deity worship platform."

"Think about your mindset when you looked around and couldn't see any deity appearing."

Lu Ran's brain buzzed, and the low and majestic voice took him back to the first day of the sixth lunar month.

"Die!" At the front of the team, Deng Yutang was furious, stabbing the number two Evil Dog crazily.

The team formation was in chaos, and his teammates were in danger; he, the vanguard, had to take full responsibility.

The team's tactics should have been Deng Yutang resisting the enemy outside, Lu Ran helping on the side, and giving Jiang and Wu a stable output environment.

But now, everything is in chaos!

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~"

The number one Evil Dog was chasing Beauty Jiang; Wu Shanshan, who was temporarily safe, quickly drew her bow and aimed.

That lowest-quality divine technique, the Water Mist Arrow, was forced by her to have the feeling of "rapid fire."

The Evil Dog was extremely agile, chasing and dodging at the same time, giving several humans a solid lesson.

Jiang Ruyi's face was stiff, and she retreated repeatedly, not daring to throw out the Lightning Lock Talisman in her hand easily.

Once she missed, drawing another talisman would take at least 3~5 seconds.

But the Lightning Lock Talisman in her hand couldn't last long either; if she didn't throw it out, it would dissipate.

Left, right, right...

Jiang Ruyi's demeanor was indeed outstanding; at such a critical moment, she remained calm, trying to find the Evil Dog's dodging pattern.

"Baa~"

And at this very moment, a faint sheep cry sounded quietly.

On this chaotic battlefield, the teammates didn't hear it at all; only the two thin dogs with sensitive hearing noticed the wailing of the weak creature!

The Evil Dogs not only heard it, but as if they couldn't control themselves, they suddenly turned their heads to look at the weak creature.

The two dog eyes were full of greed, and drool was flowing from their dog mouths...

For a dog that keeps shaking its head and twisting its body, and keeps sprinting, how can it maintain balance when it suddenly turns its head?

Jiang Ruyi's eyes narrowed, and the Lightning Lock Talisman was thrown out immediately.

"Slap!"

Electric light overflowed, and the jade talisman hit the dog's body squarely.

Jiang Ruyi stopped, and just as she was about to rush forward with her sword, a figure had already crossed paths with the Evil Dog.

"Sizzle!"

The Xia Guang blade was filled with divine power by Lu Ran, and with a sound of breaking the air, it struck rapidly.

The Evil Dog was like tofu, and its dog head was cut off instantly, clean and neat!

At the same time, the battle on Deng Yutang's side also ended, but he was very puzzled: the battle was clearly intense, why did the Evil Dog suddenly look elsewhere?

Deng Yutang looked behind him in confusion, only to see Wu Shanshan with her small mouth open, and Jiang Ruyi with a surprised expression, both looking in the same direction.

His heart tightened immediately!

What happened to Brother Lu, I hope nothing happened to him?

Deng Yutang followed the two girls' line of sight and looked over in a hurry.

But he saw Lu Ran's back standing quietly.

Under the swaying firelight, he held the Xia Guang blade, and drops of blood were dripping from the blade edge.

Hmm... handsome as hell.

Thanks to the Fourth Roman Emperor Lin Dengwan and 'Qing Baobao's Baobao' for the tips and many, many monthly tickets, I am deeply grateful! Thank you!

Wishing you longevity! Ura~





(End of chapter)