Chapter 1629: Intersecting caves

Yangos couldn’t use his abilities, but he could still fly.

While Ye Zhongming drew the attention of all the slime monsters, and the disabled war beasts were left unattended, the vicious dragon quietly took to the skies.

Here, the battle revolved solely between the level nine slime and the King of Cloud Peak. No one paid attention to anything else—not the other areas, not the other lives. Not even the Cloud Peak fighters already engaged in combat were of concern to the slime monsters, let alone Yangos, who had been lingering on the battlefield’s periphery.

The only thing they cared about was protecting their king.

So Yangos not only took off into the sky but did so completely unnoticed.

The cunning creature flew high, making it difficult to spot amid the chaos of battle unless someone deliberately looked for him.

While the slime monsters failed to notice, Ye Zhongming certainly did. Yangos was his war beast, and the two shared an extremely close bond. The moment the dragon successfully positioned himself above the level nine slime monster, Ye Zhongming immediately adjusted his strategy. He, Xia Bai, and Red Hair appeared to be frantically closing in, but their true purpose was to monopolize the slime monsters’ attention—all to ensure Yangos could deliver the final blow at the critical moment.

Had this been any other level nine life form, Ye Zhongming would never have attempted this. Relying solely on physical strength, Yangos—despite being of the dragon race—stood no chance against an opponent a level higher.

But this slime monster was different. It wasn’t a complete life form to begin with, fighting mostly on instinct like ordinary mutated creatures. It might have possessed a sliver of intelligence, but not much.

Its defenses were weak, and its offensive methods were limited. As long as Yangos could get close, Ye Zhongming was confident the dragon could at least severely wound it, creating an opportunity for him.

And indeed, Yangos dealt the slime a fatal strike. Cursing nonstop, he lashed out with his tail and claws, tearing chunks of mud from the creature’s body. The level nine king, despite its higher rank, was powerless to resist.

The surrounding slime monsters, afraid of harming their king, didn’t dare attack, allowing the vicious dragon to rampage unchecked.

Between his foul-mouthed insults—which the slime couldn’t understand anyway (or it might have died of rage)—and his relentless assault, the nearby evolved could only watch helplessly as Yangos pummeled their king, one claw strike after another. With no enemies attacking them, they had gathered around the level nine slime but hesitated to strike the dragon for fear of collateral damage.

Ye Zhongming signaled, and the Cloud Peak forces resumed their attacks. Enemies that didn’t fight back were nothing but living target practice. If Yangos killed the level nine slime, there was no guarantee the lower-level ones wouldn’t revert to aggression, which would spell trouble.

The battle ended when Yangos’ wing strike scattered the last remnants of the level nine slime’s body. Despite his outwardly furious demeanor—as if he’d annihilate the creature any second—the dragon had actually been holding back, only delivering the killing blow after Cloud Peak’s forces had nearly wiped out the other slime monsters.

"Stinky mudball, now you know your Dragon Grandpa’s power!"

Yangos planted his front claws on his hips like a shrew, his face twisted into a fierce scowl. He even spat at the defeated slime monster, leaving everyone’s faces twitching in disbelief. No one knew where the dragon had picked up such vulgar mannerisms—it was downright… baffling.

"It seems things went as we expected."

During the team’s rest, Xiao Min observed the flame stone golem and stone cavalry, which had grown to roughly level six strength.

These two puppets, created by Ye Zhongming, had been killed early in the battle—their strength was no match for so many slime monsters.

However, they soon began reforming, merging from ten into one and gaining a significant power boost.

Though the remaining flame stone golem and stone cavalry were now battered and heavily injured, they weren’t dead. Even more astonishingly, their bodies were slowly repairing themselves.

It might take many hours for them to fully recover, but such an ability was rare among puppets.

Facing the unknown trials ahead, Ye Zhongming began crafting more of these puppets after tending to his own injuries. Materials from his spatial equipment were consumed like flowing water.

He used up almost everything usable, leaving only a small reserve. He planned to see if rewards would appear after the third trial. If so, they’d likely be slime monsters—he intended to create some of those as well. Their defenses might be lacking, but their ranged attacks were quite effective.

After a brief rest, the team pressed forward. Without the slime monsters, they suddenly found the swamp’s scenery rather pleasant.

Once they left the area, the anticipated rewards appeared.

……………………………………

While the Cloud Peak team was distributing their rewards, something was happening outside—unseen by them or any other evolved who had entered the Mountain King’s Wheel space.

The black passageways in the now-empty camps had retracted toward the mountain. Some had vanished entirely, while others remained, moving irregularly and intersecting haphazardly. Each passage rose, crisscrossing with others and stretching into the sky.

From a distance, it resembled a head of tangled, unruly hair.

No one could discern the purpose of these interwoven passages.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that all the passages originated from the mountain’s peak, where an inconspicuous wheel had appeared. Its surface was obscured by a layer of grayish material, making it hard to see clearly.

Then, at a certain moment, the material suddenly glowed. A crack formed, shedding fragments and revealing a jade-smooth wheel beneath.

……………………………………

The rewards for the third trial numbered four—one more than before.

There were no stones this time, only a box of wet mud. No statue, but a soft, gummy candy-like mud sculpture.

In addition, there were two other rewards: an exquisite makeup box and a bizarre, root-like object of unknown origin.

The moment Ye Zhongming and the Cloud Peak team received their rewards—before they could examine them closely—the space trembled violently. Then, about a hundred meters away, a black energy gate appeared, identical to the one they’d entered through earlier.

They exchanged glances, unsure whether to approach it or wait.

Fortunately, the choice was soon made for them.

A figure emerged from the black void.

Google seaʀᴄh novel⁂fire.net