Crack!

The two other withered trees reacted to the kangaroo's attack like exploding durians almost instantly . Their gnarled branches swung out like demonic claws .

Shadows crisscrossed the kangaroo's line of sight in an instant, plunging it into darkness .

With the crows crowing atop the trees, the scene immediately turned into something straight out of a horror movie .

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo seemed to have antic.i.p.ated this . Its ears twitched, then it bobbed and wove, expertly dodging the trees' attacks .

Branches lashed out like snakes from the trees . Some of them barely grazed the kangaroo's ear . On the other hand, the kangaroo's fists shot out like comets at the trees .

Bam, bam, bam .

The kangaroo intercepted the incoming branches with a flurry of punches . It was now moving so fast that it had turned into a mere s.h.i.+mmer to the naked eye . It wove around the branches and landed multiple blows on both trees with its feet, fists, and even its tail .

At that moment, blinding golden light flooded the area .

Sounds of cracking wood reverberated in the air .

Shards of wood sprayed out as the black branches were snapped off of the trees . The crow's feathers floated slowly in the air as if frozen there .

Bam, bam .

The kangaroo landed two final punches on the trees with a pause between them for added effect . It relaxed its fists and began walking towards the Flames of Darkness calmly .

Behind it lay what remained of the two withered trees and the crows on the cold, dark ground .

The kangaroo's tail swished about behind it, spreading the blood stains on the ground .

The Flames of Darkness seemed to have sensed the approaching kangaroo . Flickering in the air for a moment, they released a small blue flame that floated waveringly towards the Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo . The small blue flame approached the kangaroo, shaking like a doddering old man .

It looked simply beautiful . There was something hypnotizing about the way it danced about in the air . . .

The kangaroo's face remained as indifferent as ever . It stopped in its tracks for a moment before walking around the small blue flame and towards the Flames of Darkness .

The small blue flame paused in the air . Am I not cute enough for you? it seemed to be thinking .

After struggling for a while, it squeezed out two smaller b.a.l.l.s of fire . A high-pitched whistling sound could be heard in the air .

However, no one seemed to pay it any mind . . .

A golden aura began to radiate from the Golden Dazzling Light Kangaroo's body . In a split second, it propelled itself forward, pierced through the Flames of Darkness' periphery and closed its hand around the fire's core .

It was as if the kangaroo had grabbed fate itself by the neck .

The Flames of Darkness struggled for a moment, but after realizing that there was no point in resisting its captor, it finally gave up . The flames grew smaller and smaller until finally, a prune-sized azure rock rested in the kangaroo's palm . The rock was riddled with tiny holes and stained varying shades of blue .

This was the only way to collect the Flames of Darkness without damaging the source .

The problem with it was that one would have to risk being burned by the Flames . The Flames of Darkness could easily burn right through a Commander-tier monster's arm . Only a Lord-tier monster could resist the Flames' heat .

"That's one down," said the high-level combat officer with a sigh of relief . This looked almost simple .

There are still two more materials left . It would be great if the other two were just as easy to collect as this one, he thought .

The party of three continued moving forward, the air around them gradually growing colder .

Crack .

The sound of breaking ice echoed in the air .

A thin layer of ice had formed beneath their feet without them noticing . Even the plants on the ground were frozen over .

An ash-colored building with black tiles stood approximately 300 feet ahead . Its walls were almost completely hidden behind a couple of trees .

"Is anyone still living there?"

"According to our sources, the inhabitants of Changping village have long moved out since the Cataclysm . "

"But it looks like someone recently hung those corn cobs on the wall," said Lin Xinrui, pointing at the wall .

" . . . "

All three of them looked at each other . This was getting stranger by the minute .

Who could possibly be living in a place like this? More importantly, who could possibly still be alive while living in a place like this?

There was also the possibility that the building's current occupant was not even human .

Suddenly, a human silhouette came out of the house and began taking the corn cobs down from the wall .

Xu Heti frowned . That's definitely a human being, he thought . A walking, breathing human being .

While gathering the corn cobs from the wall, the human figure caught sight of Xu Heti and company . They weren't hard to miss, considering how big some of their familiars were . He or she then threw the corncobs to the ground and frantically ran back into the building .

After a while, two human villagers appeared from the village with two familiars behind them .

The two familiars were of the same species and stood approximately 10 feet tall . Both of them looked as pale as if they hadn't seen the sun for a long time . They were wearing red-black leather armor . Strands of withering yellow hair fell from their helmets . Their dark yellow eyes gazed at Lin Xinrui and the others lifelessly .

The two familiars were holding swords in their left hands and s.h.i.+elds in their right . Despite their rigid movements, they were able to cover a lot of ground with each step .

"Good day," said the man on the left . His voice sounded hoa.r.s.e .

Xu Heti looked the man over . He seemed normal . Xu Heti was able to deduce from the brand and newness of the man's clothing that he had visited a nearby base city maybe a month ago .

"Good day . I would just like to ask . . . Are you locals of this place?"

The two men looked at each other, then they shook their heads at the same time . "No, we're not . "

The two men sounded unsure, as if there was something they wanted to say, but couldn't .

"The general would like to see you three," said the man on the left .

"What general?"

"General Zhao Kuo . "

Lin Xinrui's face twitched, as if she had just thought of something . After closely observing the two villagers before them, she said, "Then we had better get a move on . Who knows what that man has up his sleeve?"

"Why is it Zhao Kuo?" asked the high-level combat officer . "Isn't the G.o.d of Murder, Bai Qi, the victor of the Battle of Changping? I really respect that guy . "

Xu Heti looked at him out of the corner of his eye . "Did Bai Qi die here?"

" . . . " The combat officers fell silent .

Xu Heti looked at Lin Xinrui, who nodded back at him resolutely, for confirmation . Unable to come to a decision himself, Xu Heti decided to simply follow Lin Xinrui into the village .

Most of the buildings in the village looked old but well-preserved . There were almost no signs of renovation on any of them .

After walking along a couple of winding roads, they finally reached the center of the village .

At the center of the village was a s.p.a.cious compound with a building in the middle of it . Twenty ghostly soldiers stood guard around the perimeter . Judging by their uniforms, they didn't seem to be from the same camp as the two villagers' familiars .

When the gates were flung open, a cold biting wind blew past the threshold from the inside .

Ghost soldiers filled the place . All eyes were now on the three trainers who had entered .

Xu Heti was now screaming on the inside . This was bad; there was no way they could take on that many ghost soldiers by themselves . With 100 or so ghost soldiers patrolling the streets of the village outside, they were now caught between a rock and a hard place .

As they drew closer to the building, Xu Heti could feel the ghost soldiers' collective gaze weighing on them more and more .

The building's door opened . A tall and imperious figure clad in a blood-red suit of armor with straggly black hair sat before them . His face was completely black . A bronze longsword was next to his left hand .

"Greetings, General Zhao," said Lin Xinrui, looking straight at the huge figure sitting in the middle of the room without any trace of fear on her face .

Upon hearing Lin Xinrui's voice, the huge figure clapped his hand on his forehead and began laughing uproariously . "Hahaha, now that's something I haven't heard in a while!"

Crack! The two other withered trees reacted to the kangaroos attack like exploding durians almost instantly . Their gnarled branches swung out like demonic claws . Shadows crisscrossed the kangaroos line of sight in an instant, plunging it into darkness . With the crows crowing atop the trees, the scene immediately turned into something straight out of a horror movie . The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo seemed to have antic.i.p.ated this . Its ears twitched, then it bobbed and wove, expertly dodging the trees attacks . Branches lashed out like snakes from the trees . Some of them barely grazed the kangaroos ear . On the other hand, the kangaroos fists shot out like comets at the trees . Bam, bam, bam . The kangaroo intercepted the incoming branches with a flurry of punches . It was now moving so fast that it had turned into a mere s.h.i.+mmer to the naked eye . It wove around the branches and landed multiple blows on both trees with its feet, fists, and even its tail . At that moment, blinding golden light flooded the area . Sounds of cracking wood reverberated in the air . Shards of wood sprayed out as the black branches were snapped off of the trees . The crows feathers floated slowly in the air as if frozen there . Bam, bam . The kangaroo landed two final punches on the trees with a pause between them for added effect . It relaxed its fists and began walking towards the Flames of Darkness calmly . Behind it lay what remained of the two withered trees and the crows on the cold, dark ground . The kangaroos tail swished about behind it, spreading the blood stains on the ground . The Flames of Darkness seemed to have sensed the approaching kangaroo . Flickering in the air for a moment, they released a small blue flame that floated waveringly towards the Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo . The small blue flame approached the kangaroo, shaking like a doddering old man . It looked simply beautiful . There was something hypnotizing about the way it danced about in the air . The kangaroos face remained as indifferent as ever . It stopped in its tracks for a moment before walking around the small blue flame and towards the Flames of Darkness . The small blue flame paused in the air . Am I not cute enough for you? it seemed to be thinking . After struggling for a while, it squeezed out two smaller b.a.l.l.s of fire . A high-pitched whistling sound could be heard in the air . However, no one seemed to pay it any mind . A golden aura began to radiate from the Golden Dazzling Light Kangaroos body . In a split second, it propelled itself forward, pierced through the Flames of Darkness periphery and closed its hand around the fires core . It was as if the kangaroo had grabbed fate itself by the neck . The Flames of Darkness struggled for a moment, but after realizing that there was no point in resisting its captor, it finally gave up . The flames grew smaller and smaller until finally, a prune-sized azure rock rested in the kangaroos palm . The rock was riddled with tiny holes and stained varying shades of blue This was the only way to collect the Flames of Darkness without damaging the source . The problem with it was that one would have to risk being burned by the Flames . The Flames of Darkness could easily burn right through a Commander-tier monsters arm . Only a Lord-tier monster could resist the Flames heat . Thats one down, said the high-level combat officer with a sigh of relief . This looked almost simple . There are still two more materials left . It would be great if the other two were just as easy to collect as this one, he thought . The party of three continued moving forward, the air around them gradually growing colder . Crack . The sound of breaking ice echoed in the air . A thin layer of ice had formed beneath their feet without them noticing . Even the plants on the ground were frozen over . An ash-colored building with black tiles stood approximately 300 feet ahead . Its walls were almost completely hidden behind a couple of trees . Is anyone still living there? According to our sources, the inhabitants of Changping village have long moved out since the Cataclysm . But it looks like someone recently hung those corn cobs on the wall, said Lin Xinrui, pointing at the wall . . All three of them looked at each other . This was getting stranger by the minute . Who could possibly be living in a place like this? More importantly, who could possibly still be alive while living in a place like this? There was also the possibility that the buildings current occupant was not even human . Suddenly, a human silhouette came out of the house and began taking the corn cobs down from the wall . Xu Heti frowned . Thats definitely a human being, he thought . A walking, breathing human being . While gathering the corn cobs from the wall, the human figure caught sight of Xu Heti and company . They werent hard to miss, considering how big some of their familiars were . He or she then threw the corncobs to the ground and frantically ran back into the building . After a while, two human villagers appeared from the village with two familiars behind them . The two familiars were of the same species and stood approximately 10 feet tall . Both of them looked as pale as if they hadnt seen the sun for a long time . They were wearing red-black leather armor . Strands of withering yellow hair fell from their helmets . Their dark yellow eyes gazed at Lin Xinrui and the others lifelessly . The two familiars were holding swords in their left hands and s.h.i.+elds in their right . Despite their rigid movements, they were able to cover a lot of ground with each step . Good day, said the man on the left . His voice sounded hoa.r.s.e . Xu Heti looked the man over . He seemed normal . Xu Heti was able to deduce from the brand and newness of the mans clothing that he had visited a nearby base city maybe a month ago . Good day . I would just like to ask . Are you locals of this place? The two men looked at each other, then they shook their heads at the same time . No, were not . The two men sounded unsure, as if there was something they wanted to say, but couldnt . The general would like to see you three, said the man on the left . What general? General Zhao Kuo . Lin Xinruis face twitched, as if she had just thought of something . After closely observing the two villagers before them, she said, Then we had better get a move on . Who knows what that man has up his sleeve? Why is it Zhao Kuo? asked the high-level combat officer . Isnt the G.o.d of Murder, Bai Qi, the victor of the Battle of Changping? I really respect that guy . Xu Heti looked at him out of the corner of his eye . Did Bai Qi die here? . The combat officers fell silent . Xu Heti looked at Lin Xinrui, who nodded back at him resolutely, for confirmation . Unable to come to a decision himself, Xu Heti decided to simply follow Lin Xinrui into the village . Most of the buildings in the village looked old but well-preserved . There were almost no signs of renovation on any of them . After walking along a couple of winding roads, they finally reached the center of the village . At the center of the village was a s.p.a.cious compound with a building in the middle of it . Twenty ghostly soldiers stood guard around the perimeter . Judging by their uniforms, they didnt seem to be from the same camp as the two villagers familiars . When the gates were flung open, a cold biting wind blew past the threshold from the inside . Ghost soldiers filled the place . All eyes were now on the three trainers who had entered . Xu Heti was now screaming on the inside . This was bad; there was no way they could take on that many ghost soldiers by themselves . With 100 or so ghost soldiers patrolling the streets of the village outside, they were now caught between a rock and a hard place . As they drew closer to the building, Xu Heti could feel the ghost soldiers collective gaze weighing on them more and more . The buildings door opened . A tall and imperious figure clad in a blood-red suit of armor with straggly black hair sat before them . His face was completely black . A bronze longsword was next to his left hand . Greetings, General Zhao, said Lin Xinrui, looking straight at the huge figure sitting in the middle of the room without any trace of fear on her face . Upon hearing Lin Xinruis voice, the huge figure clapped his hand on his forehead and began laughing uproariously . Hahaha, now thats something I havent heard in a while!