Chapter 30: The Terrifying Power of the Burning Flame Tornado!

On the neck of the Dark Guardian, the human head once again shone brightly, a chill enveloping its surface. It tried to extinguish the blazing tongues of fire by this means.

But the flames of the Burning Flame Tornado were exceptionally difficult to quench; otherwise, its energy structure would not have been worthy of its gold-tier classification. The searing fire, fueled by the tornado’s wild dance, was fed with even more oxygen, raising the temperature higher still—the heart of the blaze now nearly azure in hue.

The frost that appeared on the Dark Guardian’s body was instantly melted into bubbling, scalding water, which then rose as vapor. The high-temperature vapor itself was lethally dangerous.

Both Dark Guardians inhaled the scorching air, and their lungs suffered severe burns. Even though their lungs were fused from the organs of fierce beasts rather than human anatomy, they could not withstand the destructive power of the heated mist.

A harsh cough erupted from the Dark Guardian whose right hand was severed, dark blood mist spraying from its mouth.

The Frost Dark Guardian seemed unaware that its spell could not salvage the situation—in fact, it only intensified the Tornado’s devastation. Or perhaps it did realize this, but apart from relying on the frost forming on its skin, it had no better way to resist the Burning Tornado.

Even if its efforts were futile, it persisted—would it still attempt to save this fire?

Next, the bodies of the two Dark Guardians began to separate, transforming toward stealthy masses of flesh. Apparently, they thought that even if stealth would expose them to greater harm, it was preferable to waiting for death.

But Wang Chen would not let them succeed.

“Windstride Spell! (Silver-tier)”

A furious gale swept in! The two Dark Guardians were caught up in the whirlwind, lifted high into the air! The Fire Tornado blazed even more fiercely, tongues of flame raging, as if a tower of fire soared up to the heavens.

The Dark Guardians struggled to escape the cyclone! But the violent tongues of fire turned the once harmless wind into a prison of blazing flames.

With wind feeding fire, their only chance to escape by stealth vanished.

Wang Chen stood on the rocky wall, watching the raging Fire Tornado. Its radiance illuminated hundreds of meters around. Anyone unaware, seeing from afar, would think a bonfire party was underway.

...

“It really does look like a bonfire party!” remarked one scavenger.

They hid in the distant mire, spying on Wang Chen’s situation. They’d been watching him since he summoned the rocky wall.

Faced with the soft, sticky mud,

They had their own methods to cope.

Beneath their feet were long poles, like stilts, enabling them to easily stand in the mire. The material of the poles was unknown, but they were so smooth that when stepping and pulling them out, the sticky mud could not cling to them at all.

Along the poles, at regular intervals, were wedge joints—clearly designed to be disassembled. So even if someone stepped into a bottomless pit, they could immediately abandon a segment and, with help from teammates, escape. Afterwards, they could quickly assemble a new pole.

Thus, their efficiency traversing the mire was greatly improved.

This gear had been snatched by the scavenger squad from an adventurer team that came to the Dark Highlands for resources. The adventurer team had a life-class professional, skilled in mechanical structures, though not the sort that could imbue machines with supernatural power.

Originally, he could only be a toy maker or repairman. But the adventurer squad recruited him to craft mire-conquering poles—putting his talents to good use.

Sadly, his work ended up in someone else’s hands.

“That kid’s rich—filthy rich! Using magic scrolls as skills, I’ve never seen him use his own abilities,” Fu Yunsheng marveled, especially when he saw Wang Chen use an extravagant silver-tier magic scroll just as a stepping stone.

“If we had all those scrolls, we’d slay a pile of monsters and loot a mountain of gear!” a minion sighed.

“You’re a real genius—a born fool. With those scrolls, who needs gear? Just sell them off and the Tianlong coins will pour in!” Fu Yunsheng retorted.

“Heh, boss, you’re the smart one!” The minion wasn’t offended, and instead suggested, “Boss, let’s strike while he’s distracted—before he can use a scroll, rob him! Otherwise, all his good stuff will soon be wasted!”

Fu Yunsheng narrowed his triangular eyes, “No rush. His class still isn’t revealed, and we don’t know his trump cards. Keep following at a distance.”

At this,

“Keep following? Skinny Monkey died because we tracked him! What if he heads deeper in?” Bald Tiger pressed anxiously.

He moved closer, propping himself on his pole. “Boss, the further into the core, the more dangerous it gets. What if more brothers die?”

Fu Yunsheng glanced sidelong at him, “Are you the boss, or am I?”

Bald Tiger was stunned, lowering his head. “That’s not what I meant, but we really can’t keep following.”

“We can’t let the brothers die for nothing, right?”

Fu Yunsheng snorted, “If we confront him without figuring him out, that’s the real waste of life!”

“I never said we should attack, just follow from afar. With him clearing the path, we only run into trouble now and then.”

Bald Tiger’s eyes widened, “Trouble? Skinny Monkey is dead!”

“I know he’s dead! How many times do you have to mention it? Are you going to make it your catchphrase?” Fu Yunsheng shouted.

“If he died, it’s because he was useless. We’ve crossed that dry land countless times, always fine—so why trouble with him?”

Fu Yunsheng declared, “Either keep following, or quit the crew. Your choice.”

Bald Tiger’s face darkened, and he walked off without a word. The other scavengers, seeing this, dared not speak further, focusing instead on Wang Chen’s distant battle, as if watching a dazzling fireworks display.

...

The fire gradually subsided.

A prompt sounded in Wang Chen’s ear:

[You have successfully slain the Dark Guardian. Current state prevents experience gain. Please complete your second class advancement quest promptly.]

[...]

With two prompts, Wang Chen inferred both Dark Guardians had been slain.

The flames and wind dispersed.

A sphere of light, suffused with oppressive aura, floated toward him.

“Only one Dark Heart? Where’s the other?” Wang Chen frowned.

Crunch!

At that moment, a shadow slammed into the mire.

Wang Chen, wary, shone his headlamp over—and was stunned.

In the mire lay a massive clay-like object, charred black.

Wang Chen pondered and seemed to understand.

He prodded the clay figure with the tail of the Forest Tempest staff. With little force, it shattered into pieces, and a sphere of light floated out.

He picked it up and checked.

Indeed, it was another Dark Heart.