Chapter 132: Chapter 54: Lucia’s Terrifying Strength! Are You Satisfied Now~?
"We’re here," Lucia said softly as the golden lotus descended, bringing them to a wasteland ravaged by fire.
Su Xuan stood upon the lotus, his gaze slowly sweeping across the surroundings.
As far as the eye could see, the wasteland was littered with the charred corpses of demons. A hot breeze swept past, carrying the acrid, sickening stench of blood.
"Let’s go down."
Lucia’s delicate feet stepped gracefully onto the golden ripples, and she landed as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water. Her flawless, bare feet glinted with a healthy sheen in the sunlight, making it impossible to look away.
A flash of worry crossed Su Xuan’s eyes again. He was afraid that Lucia’s pure, flawless feet would be sullied by the filth of the wasteland. However, whenever this concern arose, reality always seemed to prove his worries were for naught.
He watched closely and discovered that her soles maintained a subtle distance from the ground—about two centimeters—as if her feet weren’t actually touching the earth but were hovering just above it.
’Incredible!’
’My utmost respect for those feet that never touch the dust!’
Ahem.
’I was staring a bit too intently!’
Su Xuan quickly averted his gaze, scanning the surroundings. He noticed that soldiers were garrisoned here, while Adventurers delved deeper into the wasteland, searching for traces of demons.
Lucia, of course, noticed Su Xuan’s admiring gaze. It caught her attention, as very few people dared to look at her that way.
Compared to the people in the Bright Church Court who knelt before her in reverent submission every day, Lucia preferred this feeling of closeness. However, she would only permit Su Xuan to look at her with such eyes.
"Is that the Demon Cave?"
After scanning his surroundings, Su Xuan locked onto the Demon Cave’s location.
It stood in the middle of the wasteland like a massive cavern that had appeared out of nowhere. The entrance was pitch-black, over ten meters high, and from it emanated strange noises and a bone-chilling Demonic Qi. And this was just a small Demon Cave; larger ones were far more complex.
Hundreds of soldiers from the Red Maple Territory were stationed around the Demon Cave. They remained constantly vigilant, guarding against the appearance of the Demon Race to protect their homeland from invasion.
However, even such a tight defense couldn’t stop all of the Demon Race. A few demons had already broken through the defensive line, requiring Adventurers to step up and eliminate them.
Some demons had fled deeper into the wasteland, while others had escaped toward the towns.
"There’s a fairly strong insect inside," Lucia said nonchalantly.
"’A fairly strong insect?’" Su Xuan turned to Lucia, curious. He didn’t quite understand just how powerful a "fairly strong insect" was.
"Yes. It’s strong enough to kill everyone here. But something seems to be making it fearful, so it’s hesitant to act," Lucia explained.
"’Kill everyone here?’" Su Xuan was stunned. He glanced around at the hundreds of soldiers and the crowd of Adventurers gathered. Their combined strength was nothing to scoff at. ’By a rough estimate, you’d need to be at least Level 45 to take care of everyone here, right?’
However, it seemed the "everyone" Lucia mentioned did not include herself.
"There’s too little intel on this Demon Cave. We should be cautious and not rush in," Su Xuan said to Lucia, maintaining a wary attitude toward the unknown.
"Mm, I’ll listen to you," Lucia nodded, agreeing with his assessment.
"Help! Save my Adventurers!"
As they were talking, a Player stumbled out of the Demon Cave, heavily wounded.
"What happened?"
The soldiers stationed there immediately surrounded him, while the other Players also turned their attention to the injured man.
"I... We ran into a Flame Demon! Please, I’m begging you, save my Adventurers!"
The Player knelt before the soldiers, screaming for help. However, the soldiers just looked at each other, not taking immediate action.
After all, their duty was to guard this spot. The Demon Cave was exceptionally dangerous—how could they dare to rush in recklessly?
Seeing the soldiers’ reluctance, the Player immediately turned to the surrounding Players for help. "Everyone! Whoever is willing to go in and save my Adventurers, I’ll give them half of my Guild’s assets! My word is my bond!"
"Who knows how much your Guild is even worth, or if it’s worth the risk," one Player sneered.
"My Player Rating has been D-Level for a while now, and I’m only a few quests away from D+ Level! My Guild is worth at least 20 Gold Coins! If you rescue my Adventurers, I’ll give you 10 Gold Coins!" the Player shouted.
"10 Gold Coins? Now that’s worth the risk!"
"But the Demon Cave is treacherous, and he said it’s a High Level Flame Demon. Are we any match for it?"
"Hmph! Just a Flame Demon? You think I’m scared of it?" At that moment, a bald man walked over. He laughed loudly and slapped the Player on the back. "Remember, once I rescue your Adventurers, don’t forget to give me those 10 Gold Coins. If you dare to stiff me, I’ll kill you!"
"Of course, of course!"
"Let’s go!" The bald man immediately led his Adventurers and charged into the Demon Cave.
The very instant they went inside, Lucia said softly, "It’s coming out."
"?" Su Xuan looked at Lucia in confusion. But just as her words faded, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from within the Demon Cave.
"ARGH!"
Following the scream, the ground began to tremble.
It wasn’t the sign of an earthquake, but the tread of something massive walking out of the Demon Cave.
"What’s going on?"
"Was that scream from the bald guy?"
"Why is the ground shaking?"
The surrounding Players and soldiers were bewildered, unable to comprehend what was happening.
The next second, however, a burly demon wreathed in flames emerged from the Demon Cave, carrying the corpse of the bald man.
Beside it, the bald man’s Adventurers were furiously attacking the demon, trying to save their President.
However, the Flame Demon easily blocked their attacks.
"A swarm of insects, daring to disturb Lord Vigil’s rest. You’re courting death!" the Flame Demon roared. In an instant, flames surged from its body, rippling outward.
The group of Adventurers attacking it were instantly engulfed in flames, scattering in all directions.
"Dammit! It’s a Level 40-plus Flame Demon!" the surrounding soldiers and Players cried out in terror.
"Quick! Inform the commander! The Flame Demon has left the Demon Cave!"
"Stop it! We can’t let it get past us!"
"Behind us are the homes and hearths of our people!"
The soldiers stationed here steeled themselves and raised their weapons. Their hearts were filled with fear, but their duty compelled them to fight this Flame Demon.
Meanwhile, the Players all fell back.
Although the Recommended Level was 40, most of the Players’ adventurer levels were only in the low 30s.
When faced with an actual Level 40-plus Flame Demon, they naturally chose to observe the situation first.
Only if the hundreds of soldiers present could weaken the Flame Demon would they consider taking the risk.
"Foolish insects! All of you, die!"
The Flame Demon roared, its five-to-six-meter-tall body crashing straight into the crowd, shattering the soldiers’ formation. At the same time, it swung its Flaming Blade, burning the weak humans to ash.
Su Xuan didn’t act rashly. His eyes were locked on the Flame Demon’s information.
[Gulas (Elite)]
Level: 40 (0/20,000)
Race: Flame Demon
Power: 600 / Agility: 450 / Magic Power: 450 / Physique: 800
Growth: 8 (Gains 8 points to All Attributes per level up)
Skills: (Expand)
"Is this the ’fairly strong insect’ you were talking about?" Su Xuan asked Lucia, his brows furrowed.
"No."
Lucia shook her head gently, causing Su Xuan’s expression to darken further.
’Does that mean there might be an even higher-level Flame Demon hidden in the Demon Cave?’
And from the Flame Demon’s words just now, they had learned that a demon named Vigil was sleeping inside the cave.
"Do you need me to take care of it? The one inside is a bit troublesome, but this one is relatively easy," Lucia asked Su Xuan.
"Can you? This Flame Demon’s Level is far higher than yours..." Su Xuan asked with some concern. After all, Lucia was only Level 15.
Facing Su Xuan’s worry, Lucia gave a faint smile and said softly, "Please wait a moment."
With that, she slowly took out the half-meter-long Sun Staff and pointed it at the distant Flame Demon.
The next second, two enormous Magic Arrays appeared, one at the Flame Demon’s feet and one above its head. From within the arrays, Golden Chains materialized, binding the Flame Demon’s massive body tightly.
"What is this? Dammit! It’s that accursed Holy Magic!"
The rampaging Flame Demon was suddenly bound by the Golden Chains, unable to move.
This scene shocked every soldier and Player present. The Flame Demon they were powerless against had been so easily restrained?
Everyone’s gaze snapped to Lucia at the rear. The power displayed by the stunningly beautiful woman with her eyes covered by a white veil had deeply shaken them all!
"What are you all gawking at? Kill it!" the leading female officer ordered the soldiers, a look of exasperation on her face.
"Oh! Right!"
The soldiers snapped back to their senses and immediately launched a fierce assault on the Flame Demon.
"Bastards! You despicable insects!"
"You! Let me go if you have any guts!"
"Damn you! Damn you!"
The Flame Demon let out a deafening roar, but it couldn’t break free from the Golden Chains Lucia had created. It could only let the soldiers plunge their magic-infused swords into its massive body.
Although each individual attack wasn’t very effective, the sheer number of them made up for it.
In just a short time, the Flame Demon’s body began to show signs of faltering.
"What a great chance!"
The group of Players naturally sensed the perfect opportunity and prepared to make their move.
However, before they could even act, a Golden Holy Spear suddenly appeared in the sky and plummeted down in an instant!
"ARGH!"
The Flame Demon’s massive body was pierced by the Holy Spear, and its life force vanished in that moment.
At the same time, a notification popped up in Su Xuan’s vision.
[Killed Flame Demon (Level 40). Gained Contribution Points +50, EXP +10,000!]
[Obtained Material—Flame Core (Elite)]
’...’
On the surface, Su Xuan watched the battlefield with calm composure, but inside, his mind was in turmoil.
’Lucia’s combat power is simply astounding! Even though the soldiers had already chipped away at the Flame Demon’s health, I’m sure she could have single-handedly taken down that Level 40 Flame Demon all by herself!’
"Is my strength to your liking?" Lucia asked Su Xuan softly, seeming to care a great deal about his opinion.
"Extremely! It was absolutely perfect!" Su Xuan praised her without holding back.
"I like your answer~"
Lucia revealed a stunning smile and continued, "As a reward, you may kiss the ground beneath my feet..."
Lucia realized something was wrong, and her voice abruptly cut off.
"Huh?"
"Please forget what I just said. I didn’t mean that..."
