A month later.
After traversing through rugged hills and mountain ranges, Grimm's group of six finally arrived at the legendary Burning Steppes.
Just as they traversed a steep hill, the world in front of them suddenly changed.
The sun in the sky was covered by a layer of dusky fog, and they could only vaguely see a dark red light.
However, what attracted people's attention wasn't the sky and the omnipresent heat waves, but the landscape and terrain.
Gazing into the distance, all they could see was the dark red earth and scarlet rocks. There were no other colours. The once magnificent mountain peaks and continuous mountain ranges had been distorted by a strange force, turning into a burning land where all life was extinguished.
Cracks and lava pools of various sizes could be seen on the ground. The large scale eruptions of the underground volcanoes had caused the rocks here to melt into lava, permanently changing the landscape and terrain. The majestic volcanoes and shattered mountains, as well as the rugged and sharp lava regions, made every visitor sigh inwardly. The destructive power of nature was actually so great!
At the end of their line of sight, a huge volcanic cone was still spitting out thick black smoke and volcanic ash. Every now and then, some fiercely burning lava would fly out, dragging a long tail of black smoke as they tumbled and fell to a random place.
At the foot of the volcano, there was a meandering river formed by churning lava. Along the way, they could see the figures of many strange elemental creatures playing around.
Grimm retracted his gaze from the distance and looked at the ground below him.
His thick leather boots lightly stepped on the ground. This could no longer be called ground, as there was not even the slightest bit of moist soil to be seen. All that was left were fragmented rock fragments.
[Beep. Environmental inspection data completed …]
[Air composition as follows: Nitrogen 63%, Oxygen 24%, Carbon Dioxide 12%, Methane 0,8% …]
[Air temperature: 46 degrees Celsius …]
[The air contains large amounts of poisonous substances that will cause great harm to the human body …]
[Host's physique is compatible with this environment. Cell activity has increased, elemental sensitivity has increased, recovery rate of spiritual force and stamina has increased slightly …]
… …
Silently inspecting the A.I. Chip's statistics, Grimm could not help but sigh inwardly. This was only the outer regions of the Burning Steppes, and the temperature was already as high as 46 degrees Celsius. If they advanced to the center of the Burning Steppes, the temperature there would probably be off the charts in minutes!
If he was still an ordinary person, this environment alone would be enough to kill him a hundred times over. Not to mention slaying the dragon, he wouldn't even be able to see the dragon's hair before he died.
However, now that Grimm had suddenly come to such a world, he could feel relaxed and unrestrained from the bottom of his heart. That scorching wind, that scorching heat that could make one go crazy, not only did it not threaten him, but it also made his spirit rise. The blood in his body also began to slowly move restlessly.
With a soft crashing sound, the rock fragments beside Grimm's feet rolled to the side. A small Fire Lizard about half a meter long drilled out and stared blankly at them for a long time. Then, it hurriedly ran away on all fours.
"Let's go. There are still over four hundred li from here to the Fire Dragon's lair. We have to hurry!" Grimm quickly scanned his surroundings before leading the way towards the tall volcano in the distance.
Mary, Olivia and Bliss were all wrapped in thick black cloaks that covered all their physical features. They silently followed behind Grimm into the distance.
The goblin Tigu was too short, and a small portion of his long robe dragged behind him, making a 'hua hua' sound as he walked. Draconian Zacha's enormous body could not be concealed, so he simply threw off his cloak and wore a shiny wind spirit armour. He held a lightning spear in one hand and a frost hammer in the other, swaying as he followed at the back of the group.
At this point, their previous concealment methods were no longer useful.
In any case, with the strength of the small group, even if they were to face the rank 2 Fire Dragon head-on, they would not be the slightest bit weaker. Hence, they did not waste any effort to conceal themselves, and instead swaggered towards the majestic volcano.
After all, this was the place where they had agreed to meet the old fox, Venlier!
Although the Burning Steppes looked harsh and barren on the outside, there were still many fire and elemental creatures hiding in various places.
When Grimm and his team strode forward on the rustling gravel, scorching and greedy eyes were staring at them from the gaps between the dark red rocks, from the shadows of the broken lava boulders, from the thick gray clouds in the sky, and from all the dark and gloomy clouds in the sky.
Instinctively, these strange creatures could sense the cold and cruel aura of Grimm and his group, so they did not dare to attack recklessly. However, due to their instincts as bloodthirsty creatures, they were not willing to give up on such a rare meal.
Thus, while Grimm's group was moving forward slowly, they could already see groups of fire elemental creatures around them.
Finally, after Grimm and his group had entered the Burning Steppes for thirty li, they met the first group of 'blind' fellows who dared to block their way.
This was a patrol team made up of ten beastmen from the Blackrock tribe!
The Blackrock tribe was a small branch of the great orc bloodline.
All of them had strong bodies and bulging muscles. They walked with the gait of a bear and a tiger, looking menacing.
Since the Burning Steppes did not have any trees or crops, these orcs were wearing special leather armor made from the fur of fire elemental creatures. Moreover, their weapons were also of all kinds and varieties.
There were crude stone rods, broken bone spikes from giant creatures, and of course, there were also some exaggerated and ferocious looking giant metal hammers or maces.
Each orc warrior was more than two meters tall and had a round waist. Their bodies were filled with muscles that were as hard as iron. It had a huge mouth full of fangs, and a strange rune pattern was painted on its face with red paint. Its huge nose ring vibrated as it panted heavily.
The leader of the orcs smashed the heavy metal hammer in his hand in front of Grimm and his group, blocking their way.
Its ferocious eyes quickly scanned the oddly-shaped party, and finally landed on the tall Drakonid at the back of the party.
"Hey, big guy. Which lord are you serving? Why did you come to our territory? "
The leader of the orcs spoke in the typical orc language. Of course, there were some strange dragon words mixed in, which made it sound very awkward. However, Grimm and his group did not care. Instead, they stared at the orcs coldly through the shadows of their hoods, as if they were looking at dead people.
These orcs were only at the Quasi-Wizard level, but each of them had the physique of a Grade 1 Refinement Wizard. Moreover, they lived in the Burning Steppes all year round, so their bodies naturally formed a resistance to fire that was much stronger than the creatures of other regions.
However, in front of Grimm's group, their 'insignificant' strength was not even worth mentioning!
"Who's up?" Seeing a group of little fellows who weren't even Quasi-Wizards flaunting their prowess in front of him, Grim let out a sinister smile and privately transmitted his voice.
Ollie did not move.
The goblin Tigu grasped the crystal puppet amulet in front of his chest. He was still hesitating whether he should release the goblin ripper. Draconian Zacha stepped forward. Before he could say anything, Mary had already made her move.
A red shadow flashed in the field.
Mary pulled down her hood, revealing her beautiful face. Her right hand, which was sticking out of her robe, was holding a huge heart that was still steaming hot.
The orc leader's eyes widened. He stared in disbelief at the beating heart in Mary's hand. After a long time, he lowered his head and looked at the huge hole in his chest that was still gushing blood. It was empty, and the heart was long gone.
That heart was his …
Before this thought could finish in his mind, the orc leader roared and threw away the weapon in his hand. His powerless body fell heavily to the ground.
Mary raised the orc heart, raised her neck, and took a big gulp as if she was drinking wine. She then spat a few times and threw the heart far away.
"The blood of these orcs is so smelly … Damn it!" Mary's bloody eyes flashed fiercely. "Bliss, I'll leave these guys to you!"
The black-robed insect shaman, Bliss, responded. He took a step forward and waved his wide robe sleeve. A large swarm of black insects swarmed out and turned into ten sharp black arrows in the air. They shot towards each orc in the field.
Seeing this, the Orc Warriors roared and raised their weapons, smashing the black arrows into smithereens. However, the black powder then abruptly dispersed to form balls of black insects that pounced toward the orc's face and body.
Almost instantly, the nine orc warriors and the orc leader who had fallen to the ground were completely overturned by a layer of wriggling black beetles.
The orc warriors threw away their weapons and used their huge fists and fan-like palms to slap the insects on their bodies. With muffled bangs, many of the black beetles were smashed into smelly bloody paste. However, even more beetles burrowed into the orcs' bodies through their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses, as well as some of the wounds that they had bitten open.
Amidst the mournful howls and roars of the orc warriors, the impenetrable black swarm swallowed them whole!
Although they had seen such a scene many times, it was still difficult for them to get used to it.
Killing was the nature of Magi, and they did not reject it. However, making the Massacre Battlefield so bloody and cruel was not something that all Magi could accept. This was especially true for the goblin, Tigule. He felt a wave of discomfort in his stomach and frowned.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
