29: subadult wood-eating rat

After about ten minutes, the outside of the cave remained deadly silent; even the sound of the wind had vanished.

Only then did Jiang Donghua dare to pull the crumpled academy map from his embrace, carefully examining it using the faint light from the cave entrance.

"Damn it!"

He cursed under his breath, clenching his teeth, his finger tracing the map repeatedly.

"We are clearly inside the safe zone, not even touching the edge of the red circle!"

Liu Mingyu leaned over, his face paler than paper.

"This map couldn't possibly have been drawn ten years ago, right? A Third-Tier Magical Beast showed up—and they call this a safe zone?"

"That is a fierce creature comparable to a human Great Dou Master!"

Liu Yuting huddled in the corner, clutching her knees, her voice trembling.

"The way that Demonic Condor devoured the Yellow Earth Python just now was simply too easy."

"It was as easy as eating spicy strips."

Jiang Donghua replied with a grim expression, throwing the map onto the ground.

"And the three of us, in its eyes, probably aren't even enough to stick in its teeth. We're nothing more than three maggots!"

The cave instantly fell into a deathly silence, only the heavy breathing of the three people echoing within.

Liu Mingyu picked up the map and, unwilling to give up, checked it again.

"Logically, the academy updates the map every year, so why is this happening?"

Just as the three were packing their belongings, preparing to evacuate, a rustling noise suddenly came from the depths of the cave.

Jiang Donghua reacted extremely fast, drawing his long sword with a *clang*, and crimson Dou Qi instantly flowed over the blade, illuminating the dim cave in a fiery red glow.

"Be careful!"

He shouted softly, holding his sword horizontally to shield Liu Yuting.

Liu Mingyu immediately knelt down, placing his hands on the ground, and earth-yellow Dou Qi seeped from his palms into the rock layer.

A moment later, he scratched his head in confusion and looked up, slightly embarrassed.

"Huh? It seems to be a group of Magical Beasts that haven't even reached the Dou Practitioner level!"

"Are you sure?"

Jiang Donghua narrowed his eyes, the tip of his sword still pointing toward the dark depths of the cavern.

"In this wretched place?"

"The aura is very weak, and there are quite a few of them, but they are all small fry."

Liu Mingyu sensed it carefully again.

Jiang Donghua let out a cold snort.

"I'll go take a look."

Before his voice faded, faint azure cloud patterns appeared beneath his feet, and his figure shot into the depths of the cavern like an arrow released from a bowstring.

"Brother Donghua!"

Liu Yuting called out anxiously, but Jiang Donghua's figure had already vanished into the darkness. She turned and glared at Liu Mingyu.

"Brother! Why didn't you stop him!"

Liu Mingyu spread his hands helplessly.

"You know his temper."

Just then, Jiang Donghua's exaggerated laughter suddenly came from deep inside the cavern.

"Hahaha! Come quickly and look!"

The brother and sister exchanged a look and cautiously followed the sound.

After turning a corner, the sight before them made them both laugh and cry.

Jiang Donghua was squatting on a protruding rock, his long sword stuck into the ground beside him, holding a struggling grayish-brown small beast in his hand.

The little fellow was about a foot long, with a round body and short limbs kicking wildly in the air. Its two large front teeth were particularly striking.

"Wood-Swallowing Rats, and a whole litter of sub-adults!"

Liu Yuting gasped.

They saw over a dozen tiny, pea-sized eyes staring at them in terror from the cracks in the rock wall.

A few bolder young rats were still gnawing on the moss on the cave wall, making *krz-krz* sounds.

Jiang Donghua, holding the struggling small beast, suddenly had his eyes light up.

"Wait a minute! Isn't this exactly the academy's assessment target for this month?"

He turned to look at the brother and sister, a smile playing on his lips.

Liu Mingyu froze upon hearing this, then suddenly realized the truth.

"That's right! These count as Magical Beasts, and Wood-Swallowing Rats are a qualified assessment target!"

Liu Yuting crouched down, carefully observing the little fellows peeking out from the rock crevices.

"Adult Wood-Swallowing Rats can reach the strength of a One-Star Dou Zhe or Two-Star Dou Zhe, but these sub-adults..."

A wisp of Water Attribute Dou Qi condensed on her fingertip as she gently probed them.

"Sure enough, they only have the equivalent of four or five segments of Dou Zhi Qi."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Jiang Donghua sheathed his long sword with a *clang* and instead drew a short dagger from his waist.

"For this kind of trash, one slash per target is too slow."

Liu Mingyu also showed a relieved smile.

"At least we got through this without any major danger."

He clapped his hands together, and earth-yellow Dou Qi circulated in his palms.

"They like to chew on tree roots and Wood Attribute materials. The moss on this cave wall is exactly their food source."

Jiang Donghua was already in action, his figure weaving through the cavern like a phantom.

The small Wood-Swallowing Rats had no time to react; a flash of cold light appeared, and they fell one after another.

Occasionally, a few adults tried to resist, but in front of a Two-Star Dou Zhe, they only managed to hold on for a few extra breaths.

"Seventeen, eighteen..."

Liu Yuting followed behind, counting the numbers and placing the slain Wood-Swallowing Rats into her storage ring.

"We can finally turn in our assessment for this month."

"This was much smoother than we expected."

Liu Mingyu wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at the wood shavings and bite marks covering the floor.

"If these little fellows were left alone, they truly could chew down this entire cave within three years."

Jiang Donghua put away his smile, looking at the results of the battle with satisfaction.

"If we had known, we should have just come straight here, saving us the trouble of running into those deadly big guys."

The three exchanged smiles. After experiencing the terror of the Yellow Earth Python and the Green-Winged Demonic Condor, these weak Wood-Swallowing Rats felt like a gift delivered right to their door.

"Let's go. While it's still early, we should hurry back to the academy to submit the mission."

Liu Mingyu brushed the wood shavings off his body.

Jiang Donghua laughed heartily and led the way toward the entrance.

"Alright, I'll listen to you. In any case, this trip was ultimately safe, and the mission is complete."

Jiang Donghua shook the blood from his sword, then squatted down and sequentially cut open the heads of the Wood-Swallowing Rats.

As the last one was finished being searched, his expression gradually darkened.

"This is bizarre. Over a dozen of them, and not a single Demonic Core!"

He spat.

Liu Mingyu frowned.

"It seems our good luck ran out when we escaped the Green-Winged Demonic Condor. Still, the corpses can be exchanged for some gold coins; that's better than nothing at all."

He patted his storage ring.

Before he finished speaking, a strong, foul stench suddenly surged in from the direction of the cave entrance.

The odor was like rotten wood mixed with animal feces, forcing the three of them to immediately cover their mouths and noses.

"No way!"

Liu Yuting's ice crystal pendant suddenly began to flash violently.

At the entrance of the cave, two massive black shadows were slowly approaching.

Using the light, the three clearly saw the appearance of the newcomers.

They were two gigantic Wood-Swallowing Rats, nearly half the height of a person. Their grayish-brown fur stood on end, their blood-red eyes were filled with threads of hatred, their sharp front teeth shone with cold light, and their forepaws dug deep trenches in the ground.

"Great, these are the parents of those little runts just now."

Jiang Donghua slowly drew his long sword.

One of the giant rats suddenly stood up on its hind legs, its nose twitching frantically.

When it smelled the scent of blood lingering on the three people, it immediately let out a mournful shriek.

The other immediately responded, and the two One-Star Dou Zhe level Magical Beasts simultaneously erupted!

"Squeak—!!!"

Amidst the piercing screams, the two adult Wood-Swallowing Rats turned into two gray blurs and lunged forward.

Their speed was several times faster than the young ones. Their thick tails swept across the rock wall, sending shattered stone flying.

"Blazing Flame Palm!"

Jiang Donghua roared, and his Fire Attribute Dou Qi instantly erupted.

The sword edge swept horizontally, followed by a Blazing Flame Palm aimed at the giant rat on the left.

However, the beast was exceptionally agile; it twisted its body mid-air and avoided the vital spot, merely getting a clump of its fur scorched.

The giant rat on the right headed straight for Liu Yuting.

The girl hastily activated a Water Attribute shield, but the pair of front teeth bit into it with a *crunch*, leaving cracks.

Liu Mingyu arrived just in time, condensing earth-yellow Dou Qi into a stone fist and smashing it heavily against the giant rat's flank.

"Bang!"

Amidst the muffled sound, the giant rat was knocked back several steps, but it quickly stabilized its posture. Blood seeped from the corner of its mouth, yet the fierce light in its eyes grew even stronger.