Chapter 670: Poison Flame Fire Fox
After spending a peaceful night, Lolan Hill woke up from her slumber.
She opened her eyes, lying on the blanket, gazing at the few sparse light spots above her head. The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the plants, casting light into the cave.
Last night was quite comfortable, perhaps because she felt more secure within the warm cave. She thought to herself as she moved her feet, feeling the two little creatures still pressing against her legs.
It’s time to get up; I need to cross this volcano early, or else I’ll go hungry.
The acorns in the box yesterday had been eaten, and there were few plants inside the volcano. Most of them were grass growing on the mountain body. These grasses were mainly gramineous plants.
As we all know, the leaves of gramineous plants are rough like glass sand, and they indeed contain silica (glass), making them difficult to swallow. Humans should not easily attempt to eat them.
It is worth noting that gramineous plants are also the main source of food, such as rice, wheat, and corn, but these are the results of long-term selection. Wild gramineous plants, such as bamboo, reeds, and foxtail, have extremely small seeds, and their leaves are rough. Most of them are not edible by humans (except for ruminants with a cleft stomach, such as cattle, sheep, and deer, other animals rarely eat gramineous leaves, after all, they are too difficult to eat).
Lolan Hill’s movements woke up the two sleeping birds. They chirped and spread their wings, jumping a few steps on Lolan Hill’s blanket before tilting their heads to look at this ‘big bird’ getting up.
Lolan Hill put on her boots, tied the laces, stood up, and turned around to prepare to tidy up the blanket.
She pulled one side of the blanket, shook it in her hand, and the two little birds jumped away, then landed back on the blanket.
“All right, all right, get up. I need to fold the blanket.”
After hearing what Lolan Hill said, they stood quietly aside, no longer causing trouble, watching the young lady pack up the blanket and cups and put them back into the wicker box.
With both hands, she pushed aside the wicker net and grass leaves at the entrance of the cave, looking out at the outside world.
The pale golden morning sun slanted across the hills, bringing a sense of peace to this volcano. Clear bird songs came from afar, and a cool breeze carried a slight chill.
Picking up the wicker box, Lolan Hill set off again, but she couldn’t fly today. This place was in a volcano, where there were few birds, making it difficult for her to take off smoothly. Moreover, compared to the forest, there were more demonic beasts here. Flying high would make her too conspicuous and could attract attacks from some extraordinary birds of prey.
Her light-colored boots stepped on the basalt, using the air to support part of the wooden box’s weight. Lolan Hill briskly walked through the canyons and slopes between the volcanoes, crossing this hot black earth.
Half a day later, the sun gradually rose to noon, and the temperature in the mountains became exceptionally hot. Even though Lolan Hill relied on the breeze to circulate and cool down, she still felt somewhat stifled.
White smoke still rose from the distant volcano. Even from afar, the black soil emitted a suffocating heat.
After passing another foot of the mountain, Lolan Hill paused and walked to a shaded spot, preparing to rest momentarily. The two birds in mid-air saw her stop and also landed beside her.
She placed the wooden box horizontally and sat on it, looking up at the scorching sun and beginning to close her eyes to rest, easing her fatigue.
Time slowly passed, and half an hour later, a red figure over ten meters long suddenly appeared, quickly crossing the opposite slope, seemingly trying to avoid something. Lolan Hill also opened her eyes and looked at the scene hundreds of meters away.
A fire fox with black stripes ran through the mountains, gracefully catching up to the long black snake and biting its neck, then dragging the snake’s body along the hillside.
This enormous fire fox, as large as a cow, had black stripes on its cheeks and forehead, appearing very eerie. Its strength was formidable, reaching Sequence 5.
As it ran, the long snake struggled, its belly and body rolling, creating a rather frightening appearance. Lolan Hill and the two little birds beside her remained silent, not daring to make a sound, fearing they might attract the attention of both creatures.
Finally, the strange fire fox bit through the snake’s neck in the struggle, throwing the snake’s head aside, its mouth dripping blood that wetted some of its fur.
Although its neck was severed, the ten-meter-long red snake’s body continued to twist. The fire fox pinned it down with one claw and tore open its belly, then peeled off the snake skin and began to gnaw on its flesh.
Once it had eaten enough, it licked its lips and finally turned its gaze towards Lolan Hill.
It had discovered the presence of this person and the two birds earlier, but had ignored them before, not wanting to alert them prematurely and wanting to enjoy the snake first.
Now that the snake was finished, its hunger wasn’t yet satisfied, so it naturally targeted
On the body of this young lady.
This time it’s troublesome, Lolan Hill took a few steps back, and an acorn fell from her sleeve, sinking into the soft ground.
This seed quickly grew, its branches seemingly specialized to only grow in the center, with very few leaves. Under Lolan Hill’s manipulation, a flat main branch nearly one meter long gradually formed.
The fire fox, seeing the fluctuations of magic power emanating from Lolan Hill, leaped down from the mountain, rushing over like lightning, its red fur shimmering like flames.
The young oak sapling rapidly absorbed nutrients and materials from the earth, growing under Lolan Hill’s catalysis. Seeing the fire fox approach, she grabbed the top of the branch, green light swirling as a wooden sword materialized in her hand. The sword was long and light, though made of wood, it was as resilient as metal due to the tightly packed fibers.
Recalling the sword techniques she had learned, Lolan Hill lightly stepped forward, quickly advancing. Since they were going to fight, she needed to take the initiative; staying in place to be attacked would only make it easier for the enemy to strike.
Just as the two small birds were about to take flight, a white and red figure flashed across each other in the mountain area.
The sword light was agile, cutting through the air in a swift arc, its trajectory resembling a dragon in motion, aiming at the fire fox and leaving a slender cut on its side, blood trickling out. The fire fox’s bite was avoided by the young lady, landing on empty space.
After landing, the enormous fire fox, as big as a bull, bared its teeth, emitting a cry like a baby’s wail, its bloodshot eyes fixated on the young lady, filled with ferocity.
Black-red flames rose from the black-striped fur on both cheeks, spreading backward to cover its body, distorting the surrounding air and exuding a scorching, dangerous aura.
The black-red fire fox stared at Lolan Hill, slowly circling around, searching for a weakness.
The young lady held her sword, standing still, slowly turning her body to face the fire fox directly. Her wooden sword gradually glowed with a faint blue-green hue, and a gentle breeze swirled around her feet, lifting some grass leaves to form a small vortex enveloping her.
The two birds in the sky called out anxiously, flapping their wings. Two differently colored crescents shot out, directly targeting the fire fox below.
Although such an attack couldn’t break through, it broke the calm. The fire fox charged again, its extremely fast movement like a flash, sweeping across the ground and suddenly attacking Lolan Hill, stirring up dust and pebbles rolling down the mountainside.
Sss—
Sharp claws scratched the sword, producing a shrill sound. The young lady raised her sword blade to block the sudden attack, then the sword light turned back, ready to strike again. At that moment, the black flames on the fire fox suddenly surged toward Lolan Hill, the heat wave suffocating.
Even though she tried to dodge, using the warm wind to separate the flames, she could not completely avoid them. Some fell on the edges of her dress, burning several black and yellow holes.
After the interweaving of sword light and black flames, they scattered again. Lolan Hill looked at her tattered sleeves and hem, feeling a slight worry. It wasn’t that she couldn’t defeat this fox, but if it dragged on, her clothes would be ruined. With few clothes left in the box and needing to change along the way, this was indeed a bad situation.
As she pondered carefully, the fire fox attacked again, its mouth open, revealing sharp teeth, its flames seeming to reach their peak, dyeing its red body with an eerie black.
“Kasumi Wind!”
Gentle airflow rolled back, though unable to stop the fox, it slowed it down, allowing Lolan Hill to respond calmly. The resilient wooden sword drifted like willow catkins in the kasumi wind, separating the black flames, and slicing the fire fox’s fur, leaving bloody marks.
They engaged in close combat once more, but this time it was even more perilous.
The black flames on the fire fox seemed to contain some kind of deadly poison. After breathing in for a while, Lolan Hill felt dizzy and sluggish.
However, the fire fox was even more surprised. It couldn’t express itself verbally. This human had not fallen despite being exposed to its poisonous flames for so long, which was rare. Even similarly venomous demonic beasts would convulse and eventually die under such flames.
Seeing her body gradually weakening, Lolan Hill quickly jumped away, creating distance between herself and the fox. Then she leaped, stepping on the back of the dark-crowned blue magpie, soaring back into the air. She used the dark-crowned blue magpie again, ascending over a hundred meters high.
A spherical air current formed beneath her, enveloping her, floating slowly in the sky. Taking this opportunity, she closed her eyes and began to expel the toxins from her body.
Seeing the opponent’s cowardly behavior of retreating mid-battle to heal, the fox was furious but helpless. It couldn’t fly and couldn’t jump so high, so it could only lie on the ground, baring its teeth.
Seconds later, the black flame transformed into a slender cone and spewed out from the fox’s mouth, surging toward the young lady in the sky.
Lolan Hill suddenly opened her eyes, watching the flames rushing towards her as she spread her palms. The fierce airflow danced in the air, swirling around and tearing apart the flames.
Although fighting this Sequence 5 fox on the ground was somewhat difficult for her, things were different in the sky—it was her domain after all.
Seeing her attack fail, the cunning fox did not linger and quickly sped away, preparing to escape from the young lady.
But it was too late now; Lolan Hill had no intention of letting it go.
Gales swirled beside her as she dived down from the sky, like a streak of light.
The fleeing fox came closer and closer into her view, its toxic flames spreading their pungent scent in the wind. The airflow compressed and flowed along the edge of her blade, forming sharp sword-like threads.
The wooden sword bent in mid-air, like a swallow flipping, slashing at the fox.
Seemingly sensing danger, the fox suddenly jumped, twisting its body and biting down with its long fangs at the descending sword.
Suddenly, the fangs broke, the wooden sword shattered, and the black flames surged along the sword.
Lolan Hill twisted her right hand, driving the broken sword into the fox’s blood-filled mouth, then leaped high into the air, stepping on its body.
After the broken wooden sword entered the blood-filled mouth, it grew rapidly, briefly supporting itself, while the other fragments of the wooden sword were swept up by the wind, flying into the sky with the young lady.
Lolan Hill spread her arms, the wooden sword fragments in the air shattered again, turning into fine fibers, like tiny needles, dancing in the air.
When she swung her hands down, these fine wooden needles pierced the fox’s mouth, raising a mist of blood.
A shrill scream echoed, followed by the fox falling to the ground, struggling to rise.
Seeing this, Lolan Hill sighed inwardly. It’s better to put it out of its misery.
A long crescent-shaped moon of blue gradually formed beside her. This extremely sharp blade accelerated continuously, becoming faster and faster until it resembled a glowing blue thread circling her.
With a slight press of her fingertips, the sharp blue thread lightly sliced through the air, entering below. A red mark appeared on the fox’s neck, cutting it cleanly in two.
After killing the fox, Lolan Hill slowly descended, her feet gently landing on the ground. She walked forward, wisps of magic power rising from the remains of the fox, slowly condensing in her hands until a black-red gem gradually took shape.
【Toxic Flame Fox Gem】(Golden Grade, Perfect): A gem formed from the death of a Sequence 5 Demon, Toxic Flame Fox. It greatly aids in practicing the Demon Sequence and can be used to create extraordinary items. (Due to complete preservation of its magic during condensation, its quality reached its maximum value.)
Once the magic was completely extracted and condensed, she summoned blue flames, which engulfed the remains of the fox, burning it.
This area was abundant with demonic beasts. Leaving it unattended might attract more enemies due to the smell of blood.
The flames burned, emitting a savory meat aroma. Two birds fell from the sky, watching the burning carcass. They did not practice the Demon Sequence and were not particularly interested in the gem, but they were quite eager to eat cooked meat.
As the flames burned, the flesh gradually cooked and even carbonized, but the fur remained vivid. At this point, the dark patterns faded, turning bright red.
Lolan Hill seemed to sense something, waving her hand, and a gale sliced through the body, stripping off the fur, leaving well-cooked ribs and meat.
“Go ahead and eat if you want, I’ll pass,” she said to the two little creatures beside her, then examined the wide, fiery fur in her hands.
【Fox Fur】(Golden Grade, Rare): Fur from a Sequence 5 Extraordinary Fox, incredibly resilient, capable of withstanding most attacks and extremely heat-resistant. If one is skilled in related crafts, it can be used to make clothing, with three enchantment effects: [Fire Resistance Lv. 5], [Fire Condensation Lv. 3], [Resilience Lv. 4].
Though the process was arduous and she ruined a dress, she still felt it was worth it. In the future, when she joined a faction, she could seek out the crafting techniques of the Eastern Continent and combine them with what she had learned before, surely creating something good.
Rolling up the fur and binding it to a box with vines, Lolan Hill looked at the sun, no longer scorching, and decided to continue her journey.
“Let’s go, or you won’t be able to fly anymore,” she said, turning to look at the two birds feasting joyfully, with a hint of annoyance.
Then, a series of cheerful chirping sounds rang out, and the two birds took flight again, following the young lady back to the Huilu Continent.
PS: An Easter egg will be added later in this chapter, featuring the map of the Eastern Continent version 0.5 (still under development).
Also, today is the last day of the month. Please vote for next month’s ranking, aiming to stay within the top 100 so that I can get a fan title. Thanks!
(End of Chapter)
