Chapter 571: Encountering a Demon

Finding the real excavation site didn't take much effort, but when they were still a few kilometers away, the residual pulses of Magic rushed toward them, choking them. Du Zhengyi glanced nonchalantly at the time displayed on the vehicle and suddenly recalled the words of Xiang Qian. Perhaps she was right; he was a little different from before. In the past, when he smelled intense Magic, he would instantly be relieved of his boredom and become exceptionally spirited, but now this matter was becoming less and less attractive.

He sent a Communication Magic to the vehicle behind, "Leave one person to watch the Execution Mage, everyone else get out of the vehicle and approach on foot."

They were Mages, not humans. Humans would hide in the metal shells of cars when encountering danger, but to Magic, such metal was vulnerable, and sitting inside was restrictive. Therefore, when Mages encountered danger, they should instead try their best to get out of such places.

When Du Zhengyi got out of the car, he lit another cigarette. The valley was quiet; all movement of animals had disappeared, except for that bird overhead. He quickly crossed the dried-up small river in the valley; this should be a tributary of that He Gu, and the dried riverbed was piled with broken branches of wild grass and shrubs. In the deathly silent valley, there was only the sound of the wind and the sound of them crushing dead branches under their feet; over a dozen Mages walked quietly through the valley. He could feel Majiang skillfully restraining his magical aura, mixing among the dozen Battle Mages, making it difficult for others to discover that he was a Mind Mage.

Luo Qi couldn't do this at all at such times. He wasn't blaming Luo Qi; Luo Qi hadn't even finished his schooling, he lacked extensive systematic training, and he didn't know how to protect himself. He was smart enough to find many ways to solve problems, but he suffered because these methods were already written in the academy's textbooks and didn't actually require him to explore them himself. Countless experiences and lessons from predecessors had been accumulated into volumes, but he had no time to master them; he could be smart for a moment, but he would definitely step on the minefields that his predecessors had stepped on. In this world, there had never been a Mind Mage who could withstand the huge negative effects of Telepathy alone without guidance. Majiang had explained to him that this was like the process of humans exploring radioactive materials; the first people to discover them died unprepared from radiation damage, which was an unavoidable loss, but those who came later did not need to rely on themselves to discover that nuclear Radiation could kill.

So Luo Qi had better learn more from those monks in the Highland. Those monks were all damn weirdos, and Du Zhengyi had never liked them. They provided shelter to everyone, regardless of good or evil, regardless of right or wrong; they were simply a bunch of saints. But now he had to admit that he was glad they were a bunch of saints; their attitude toward accepting Luo Qi was much better than others. Not to mention that Luo Qi was only slightly different, Du Zhengyi believed that even if Luo Qi were a mutant with twenty heads, the Highland Mage would still accept him. This tolerant attitude was exceptionally trustworthy, and this was probably the only thing Luo Qi could learn.

But he had better go back early; every time he left Luo Qi, nothing good happened. However, at the moment, the camp of the Highland Mage was really the safest place in the world, especially since Pei Shu was also there, so there was nothing to worry about. There should be a time, when he went back, that he would find Luo Qi could behave himself and study with his teacher without being coerced by force, right? It should be his turn once, right?

However, talking to Pei Shu alone yesterday, the words Pei Shu said kept circling in his heart. Regarding the Hearing, regarding the Sandbox Test, Pei Shu heard a lot, but in the end, the words he said were only one sentence, an emotionless question. "Luo Qi, this child, has many valuable qualities, but he is too cunning; have you seen it?"

He didn't know what this sentence meant, or how many layers of meaning it had. It was as if a breeze had brushed over the surface of the water, and only a ripple had drifted away. This sentence was not a serious condemnation, and he couldn't stand on Luo Qi's side to argue. It wasn't even a question, so he didn't need to answer. But precisely because it was as light as a feather, it was impossible to measure, and this sentence always remained there.

A shrill cry overhead woke him from his deep thoughts. He could already see the shadows of machinery; the excavation site was ahead, and the smell of rot was more intense. The excavation site backed against a high mountain, and on the slope was dirty ice and snow, like aged cotton wool. This was the melting glacier.

Du Zhengyi stopped his steps and stared at that mountain. The Battle Mages at the back of the team stopped immediately; they didn't look in the direction Du Zhengyi was looking, but instead all looked at Du Zhengyi. Yan Hao's nerves were pulled tight, and he rashly released a large dose of Detection Magic. Du Zhengyi suddenly turned his head to look at him, startling him.

"Are you planning to be detected by the magical pulse first?" Du Zhengyi asked.

Yan Hao stood straight, blinking nervously, at a loss.

Du Zhengyi turned his gaze away, "Compress your magical defenses; there are people by the mountain. Agile types move to the front, other magic types keep a ten-meter distance, Doctor, you stand in the middle of the rear team."

After he finished speaking, he walked forward. Yan Hao followed immediately, surprised to find that Mage Xiang Qian had actually walked to the rear team. The other front-team Mages actually also kept a one-meter distance from Du Zhengyi; only Yan Hao was inserted in the middle of the meter, making the formation look not particularly ugly.

Yan Hao observed Du Zhengyi nervously; he had long since given up self-detection and changed his observation method to visually measuring the muscle lines of Du Zhengyi's back. When Du Zhengyi stopped abruptly, he was so scared he almost released a Fireball. But then Du Zhengyi suddenly started running, and he hurriedly followed, his spirit becoming excited; he heard Du Zhengyi curse a dirty word. His ears also heard more sounds: the footsteps of the other side, the friction of clothing zippers, and heavy breathing. There were several people on the other side, and now the distance was so close that both sides had already discovered each other, and there was no need for concealment anymore; he secretly gathered power in his right hand, preparing to attack.

A protruding rock blocked their line of sight; Yan Hao's heart was pounding wildly; as long as they went around this rock, they would almost be face to face. The moment of engagement happened within a single breath; he violently released the power in his right hand, and at the same time saw Du Zhengyi violently grab the person opposite him, as if waving his left hand in annoyance. A Force Shield appeared silently in the air; Yan Hao screamed and was knocked to the ground by the rebound of the force field.

At this moment, he began to understand why other Mages insisted on being more than a meter away.

On the other hand, he saw Du Zhengyi grab a little brat who was coming toward him and shove him against the rock. That kid must have bumped his head, "Wah" he screamed, very delicate. But this was not the attitude of an enemy, although Du Zhengyi's anger was burning fiercely, looking as if he really had a deep hatred.

(End of chapter)