Chapter 40: Blue Lock Dragon

Boom!

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the vast forest below before plunging it back into darkness.

Soon after, the heavy rain poured down.

Countless droplets hit the leaves, blending into a continuous sound of rain, like a symphony between heaven and earth, masking all other noises.

The forest animals and monsters instinctively hid in their dens to escape the rain, mostly staying inside.

Yet, four figures were advancing through the darkness.

Before nightfall, Ji Xinghuo and his three companions took the chance to rest for a few hours as their enemies hadn’t caught up. Though not fully recovered, they were re-energized and ready for a full-fledged battle.

The team retraced their steps, searching for traces of the Forest Patrol clan.

A large leaf, similar to a lotus leaf, sheltered Ji Xinghuo’s head from most of the rain, keeping his upper body dry.

He sensed the magnetic field changes within almost four hundred meters—raindrops, water flow, forest, wild beasts… All matter was emitting magnetic fields that intertwined in his mind into a complex and endless array of magnetic lines, abstract like discerning unique patterns on a snowy screen.

Fortunately, he was accustomed to this sensation.

With a bit of focus, his brain could filter out those small, stationary, minuscule magnetic fields, using them as a backdrop.

His three teammates followed closely behind Ji Xinghuo, each drenched, stepping unevenly through the decayed leaves on the ground, splattering rainwater.

They advanced with difficulty for over two hours.

The rain intensified, resembling a waterfall, forming large puddles and deep pits on the ground.

Ji Xinghuo suddenly stopped and signaled his teammates.

“Found them.”

Ren Mian activated his mind necklace and immediately heard Ji Xinghuo’s voice in his mind, pointing to the left front where, behind the pitch-dark curtain of rain, were ten members of the Forest Patrol clan.

In reality, Ji Xinghuo had spotted them two or three minutes earlier.

He waited until they were within three hundred meters to alert his teammates. He had been doing this for the past few days to avoid revealing his true sensory range.

“About 290 meters away.”

“Ten members of the Forest Patrol clan.”

“Six are warriors, the remaining four are hunters.”

“They set up a makeshift camp to avoid the rain on the top of a slope; seven are lying down, presumably resting, two are standing guard outside the camp, and one is in a tree acting as a lookout.”

Ji Xinghuo’s magnetic field sensing clearly conveyed the situation to his teammates.

Ren Mian pondered briefly. “Let’s move closer to them.”

The four cautiously approached the Forest Patrol clan’s camp. Despite the masking sound of heavy rain, the clan’s keen hearing posed a risk of exposure.

When they closed in to two hundred meters, Ren Mian said, “Caiyi, use the Phantom Orb.”

Jiangnan Caiyi pulled out a white orb from around her neck, gave it a gentle squeeze, and an invisible light spread out, cloaking all four of them and masking their figures.

The effect of the Phantom Orb was akin to the core ability of a Phantom Sound Master, “Silent Phantom.”

It created soundless illusions, useful for disguise or invisibility.

However, the orb consumed a lot of star power and Jiangnan Caiyi could only maintain it for about eight minutes, so she rarely used it.

Ren Mian waved forward.

Two minutes later.

A low hill appeared in their view. Ji Xinghuo could see it clearly, but he wasn’t sure if his teammates could.

A hundred meters away, on the hilltop, several towering trees grew densely together. The Forest Patrol clan had set up their camp in the space between the trees, using local materials to break off plenty of branches and set them high in the tree forks to block the rain, keeping the camp relatively dry and even starting a bonfire.

At the moment, seven members of the Forest Patrol clan were gathered around the bonfire.

Their upper bodies were humanoid, and their lower bodies resembled that of a horse, so they couldn’t lie down completely; most were kneeling or crouching, maintaining high alertness, ready to leap up at any moment.

Outside the camp, two Forest Patrol warriors were on guard duty, each sheltering under trees from the rain.

But their eyes constantly scanned the surroundings.

There was also a female Forest Patrol hunter who had climbed a large tree directly above the camp, ten meters up in the dark, motionless, her sizable silhouette blending with the tree shadow.

“Xinghuo, take a high position for ranged attacks.”

“Xiaochi, follow me for a frontal assault. I’ll control the battlefield first; Xiaochi, find the right moment to strike.”

“Caiyi, attack from the shadows.”

Ren Mian quickly arranged the tactics and pointed to the clan leader in the camp. “He’s a tier-four Forest Patrol warrior, the strongest. We need to hold him first, kill the rest, then join forces to take him down. Be careful not to engage him directly.”

All three nodded in understanding.

Tier four meant four phases of life evolution, comparable to Earth’s super extrahumans.

Ji Xinghuo had already noticed this member of the Forest Patrol clan.

He was taller and more robust than his tribesmen, with his skin covered in blood-colored war patterns. The pair of black horns on his head were over half a meter long, and he carried a massive, heavy battle blade. The other members seemed to fear him, keeping their distance even within the camp.

Ren Mian glanced at Ji Xinghuo, signaling that they could begin.

Ji Xinghuo scanned his surroundings and chose a large tree to move behind. He took out a bundle of nanoropes with a metal block tied to one end as a counterweight and tossed it lightly upwards. The rope flew up dozens of meters and wrapped around a tree branch. After several coils, it locked tight.

He quickly climbed the rope.

His agility with his hands and occasional light taps on the tree trunk with his feet, avoiding leaves and branches overhead, resembled a monkey’s movements.

In just a few seconds, Ji Xinghuo silently reached his designated spot and stood on a sturdy horizontal branch.

From here, he could overlook the entire camp and shoot down at the enemy from a height.

“I’m ready.”

Following Ji Xinghuo’s signal, the trio below began their approach to the camp at the top of the slope.

The exterior slope of the Forest Patrol clan’s camp was rigged with traps. Ji Xinghuo guided his teammates through the mental link to bypass the traps and slowly reach the top of the slope.

They were now just about ten meters away, almost within reach.

“Hmm…”

One of the Forest Patrol clan members opened his eyes and sniffed twice, confusion flashing in his eyes.

He looked outside and was about to stand up.

“Attack!”

Ren Mian softly shouted in his mind, and his fingertips glowed as he formed a crystal the size of a thumb, vibrant and colorful like a bullet, and shot it into the Forest Patrol clan’s camp.

The Phantom Orb’s masking effect consequently broke.

Bang!

A loud explosion sounded as the crystal burst in the center of the camp, unleashing intense white light, momentarily blinding the just awakened Forest Patrol clan members.

The crystal explosion also generated a powerful shockwave, scattering dozens of shards.

Screams filled the camp.

Immediately, two members of the Forest Patrol clan were severely injured. The blinding and explosive effects combined extinguished the bonfire, plunging the entire camp into darkness and chaos.

Simultaneously, Ji Xinghuo released a pre-prepared arrow.

His target was the lookout in the tree at the camp.

The female Forest Patrol hunter, caught off guard in the tree shadow, was struck through the head by the arrow, her body breaking branches as it crashed into the camp.

He swiftly drew and shot more arrows.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Three arrows, like the grim reaper in the dark, each struck an enemy in the eye, swiftly claiming the lives of three Forest Patrol clan members.

The two guards outside the camp were not blinded and saw the attackers.

But it was too late.

Chi Zhonglin had transformed into a two-meter-tall fungal giant, covered entirely with tungsten dragon scales. He charged at the guard in front, letting the opponent’s spear stab him as he traded injury for injury, impaling the enemy with his own spear. Star power erupted, instantly killing him.

Jiangnan Caiyi circled to another side of the camp and, while remaining invisible, assassinated another outpost guard.

After throwing the explosive crystal, Ren Mian stood still.

Several blue thorns spread from under her feet, growing wildly like a tidal wave. In just a few breaths, they invaded the camp, covering the entire ground.

Hundreds of thorns, like venomous snakes, grew thicker and rapidly wrapped around the Forest Patrol clan members, dragging them to the ground and preventing them from standing, while constricting like pythons seizing prey.

The Forest Patrol clan members let out panicked shouts mixed with wails.

The thorns, with sharp barbs, penetrated their flesh, quickly took root, injected toxins, and voraciously drained their life force.

From a tree a hundred meters away, Ji Xinghuo, witnessing the scene, narrowed his eyes.

“Blue Lock Dragon!”

This was a rare yet formidable plant, one of the most perfect specimens of plant witches. It was heat-resistant, corrosion-resistant, tough as iron, and grew quickly. It had multiple functions—control, attack, toxin, defense—and possessed terrifying potential.

It was said that the most powerful Blue Lock Dragon could even bind and kill a real dragon, draining its life force.

Thus, it was named.

Blue Lock Dragon was challenging to cultivate and even harder to control. High demands were placed on plant witches’ abilities; ordinarily, handling a dozen or so Blue Lock Dragons was considered impressive.

But the scene in front of them showed countless, at least a hundred, Blue Lock Dragons, resembling a thorn tsunami.

Ren Mian appeared quite relaxed, seemingly with energy to spare.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Ji Xinghuo continued to draw and release arrows, shooting them into the camp.

The Forest Patrol clan members, struggling against the Blue Lock Dragons and unable to move, didn’t even know the location of the enemy archer. The arrows, precise in the dark, struck them directly in the eyes, one after another becoming corpses.

This was the great advantage of striking first.

In less than ten seconds, the camp’s Forest Patrol clan members were either dead or severely injured, completely overwhelmed by the Blue Lock Dragons.

But Ji Xinghuo did not relax.

There was still one Forest Patrol clan member alive, the strongest tier-four warrior, already entangled by dozens of Blue Lock Dragons, wrapped tightly like a huge dumpling.

The Blue Lock Dragons constricted fiercely, attempting to strangle him.

However, Ji Xinghuo’s magnetic field sensing showed the opponent was still resisting stubbornly!

Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi had already charged into the camp, attacking with a long spear and a samurai sword, respectively.

“Be careful!”

Ren Mian shouted loudly.

Almost simultaneously with her warning, a roar echoed through the camp as the large figure entwined by the Blue Lock Dragons emitted blood light. The thorns breaking around his body, and a blood-flamed light, bright as day, overturned the top layer of the camp, revealing a terrifying figure of the Forest Patrol clan.

With a swing of his massive battle blade, he sent Chi Zhonglin flying.

The blade then swept back toward him.

Jiangnan Caiyi’s body turned into a ghostly form, immune to physical attacks, yet the blade’s blood flame carried energy that could penetrate intangible forms.

“Ah…”

Jiangnan Caiyi was forced to materialize.

She turned pale, a deep, bone-exposing gash across her waist nearly severing her in two, falling powerlessly to the ground.

The Forest Patrol warrior leader lifted his forehoof and stomped down, intending to crush her.

An arrow flew in.

Snap!

The Forest Patrol warrior leader seemed to sense the danger and tilted his head just in time. The arrow didn’t strike his eye but embedded in his forehead, stopped by the bone without penetrating his skull.

Although this arrow wasn’t fatal, it forced him to take a step back.

Several Blue Lock Dragons immediately wrapped around Jiangnan Caiyi’s body, dragging her out of the camp and away from this formidable enemy.

The Forest Patrol clan leader was engulfed in blood-colored flames, his eyes emitting two beams of fiery light. The flames were extremely hot yet did not damage his armor or weapon, greatly enhancing his strength and defense. Additionally, the fiery blood light carried mental scorching effects.

Ji Xinghuo merely looked at the opponent twice and felt a surge of heat in his chest.

As he aimed for another shot, he found his emotions disturbed, inexplicably filled with fear, and hesitated to release the arrow.

The face of the Forest Patrol warrior leader was filled with madness.

Anger, brutality, fearlessness, a thirst for blood and battle!

His gaze locked on Ren Mian outside the camp, as if he had found his favorite prey, and he licked his lips, charging forward at a gallop.