18: Red crystal nucleus

"The Fusang Dark Guards seemed to be heading toward Tianyun Volcano as well. What are those guys up to?" Su Ze grew increasingly uneasy the more he thought about it.

He probably wouldn't feel even slightly relieved until he hatched the Diamond-rank Demonic Beast in his possession as soon as possible.

After all, a demonic beast of this rank, even in its infancy, possessed the strength of Level 30 or 40, and with the suppression from its bloodline rank, it could even defeat a Level 50 Golden Demonic Beast.

He immediately quickened his pace and ran toward the volcano.

Just as he finally reached the foot of Tianyun Volcano and was about to start climbing, intense sounds of fighting suddenly erupted again from halfway up the mountain.

"What's happening now?" Su Ze muttered.

Standing at the base of the mountain, he looked up and saw that the Fusang Dark Guards were once again intercepted halfway up, but this time, it wouldn't be easy for them to break through.

Because standing before them were more than ten elite experts from the Beast Tamer Association, led by Yu Shenghuo!

"We finally cornered you, you little devils from Fusang!" Yu Shenghuo said, standing at the very front of the interception team.

The reason they moved faster than the Great Xia Spirit Guards was that they had been positioned on the periphery of the Formation previously.

After Xu Yiming noticed a problem with the Formation, Xiao Xu, the Principal of Beast Taming University, ordered people to notify the Beast Tamer Association to conduct a thorough search around the periphery of the Formation.

Sure enough, they discovered traces of people hiding, so everyone was immediately gathered.

Just then, a message requesting backup from inside the Formation also arrived. Based on the message's prompt, they opened a gap in the Formation and arrived at Tianyun Volcano first, taking the shorter route.

"I didn't expect that to deal with us, you'd deploy not just Guo Linshan and Yu Shenghuo, but also Xiao Xu, who maintains the Formation. The three great masters of Beishan City are all gathered here today," the Dark Guard Captain said with a laugh.

He didn't seem fearful or uneasy because of the enemy's strength; instead, he looked somewhat excited.

Yu Shenghuo, exhausted from the rush, gasped and said, "Captain Yano Takashi of the Fifth Squadron of the Fusang Dark Guards came out personally. Of course, we have to take this seriously! But where is that inseparable Vice Captain of yours? Could she be waiting at home to take your place?"

"She... has a more important mission. You don't need to trouble yourself with her! Everyone, prepare to break through!" Yano Takashi shouted loudly.

Yano Takashi, who leads the Fifth Squadron, has been responsible for disrupting the normal execution of the Great Xia Beast Taming College Entrance Examination for years, making him an old opponent.

Both sides have won and lost battles, and indeed, many genius candidates have been harmed by them.

But in the past, it was always minor skirmishes. This is the first time they have brought the elites of an entire Detachment.

The Fusang Dark Guards specialize in stealth, tracking, and assassination, and are not good at frontal breakthrough combat.

However, the Beast Tamer Association is not a military organization like the Great Xia Spirit Guards, and they have far fewer people, so the Dark Guards still had a chance to break through and rush up the mountain.

Yu Shenghuo and his team only needed to hold back the Fusang Dark Guards and wait for the Great Xia Spirit Guards behind them to catch up.

This was a race against time!

As Yano Takashi and Yu Shenghuo flew into the sky in silent agreement, the people remaining on the ground also summoned their beasts and began fighting.

Beast Tamers above Level 60 not only gain the ability to fly but also undergo a complete transformation in combat power.

Therefore, people of this level generally fight in the air to prevent collateral damage from battle repercussions.

In a battle of this caliber, Lin He appeared like rootless duckweed.

He shouted loudly, "Don't hit me, don't hit me! I'm a candidate who was kidnapped by these Fusang people! Save me quickly!"

The people from the Beast Tamer Association had indeed learned through communication with the Great Xia Spirit Guards that a candidate had been abducted.

They deliberately made their attacks avoid Lin He and urged him to run toward the mountain peak behind them.

Lin He carefully passed through the center of the battle and reached the rear of the Beast Tamer Association's side.

But as if he still didn't feel safe enough, he continued running toward the mountain peak.

Everyone assumed he was just terrified and didn't find it strange.

But Su Ze, watching clearly from the foot of the mountain, saw that Lin He had long left the battlefield behind but was still sprinting toward the mountain peak without any sign of slowing down.

"This guy... is definitely suspicious!"

Although he didn't know what Lin He was planning, Tianyun Volcano was crucial to Su Ze's Egg-Hatching Endeavor, and he didn't want any accidents.

However, the battlefield in front of him completely blocked the path up the mountain. If he wanted to ascend, he would have to cross the Fusang side of the battlefield—that would be courting death!

Just when he was at his wit's end, the sound of flying slicing through the air came from behind him.

He looked up and saw the urgently arriving Detachment Commander Guo Linshan standing in the air and speaking sternly! "You brat, you really are here. This battlefield is no place for you to tread. Hurry up and go back!"

Since Guo Linshan, the Detachment Commander, had appeared, it meant that the rest of the Great Xia Spirit Guards were not far behind.

Sure enough, moments later, Su Ze heard dense, heavy footsteps.

Then, the group ran past him in perfect Formation, rushing out from the base of the mountain and charging murderously toward the battlefield halfway up.

"You devils from Fusang! If you dare harm my brothers, leave your lives behind!"

"Go back. We'll handle things here!" Guo Linshan advised him one last time, then flew toward the battle raging above.

"Understood!" Su Ze nodded emphatically in reply.

Yu Shenghuo, in the air, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although his rank was comparable to Yano Takashi's, he was advanced in years, and prolonged fighting would inevitably lead to exhaustion.

But as soon as Guo Linshan joined, the two-on-one situation immediately reversed the tide.

On the ground, the experts from the Beast Tamer Association, who were about to collapse, completely suppressed the Fusang Dark Guards with the addition of the Great Xia Spirit Guards.

"Haha, little devil! It looks like your plan is going to fail!" Yu Shenghuo looked down at the ground battle and laughed heartily.

Yano Takashi, struggling under the siege of the two men, secretly glanced toward the mountain peak and said, "Who knows..."

That glance went unnoticed by the two of them... At the foot of the mountain, Su Ze naturally hadn't really left.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Fusang Dark Guards were completely suppressed, he started sprinting toward the mountain peak.

To increase his speed, he even had the Void Spirit Turtle cling to his back and use the Darting Water Spear, propelling him forward using the reaction force.

The Great Xia Spirit Guards, who now dominated the battlefield, knew that this was a candidate their Detachment Commander was greatly concerned about, so they did not stop him and even proactively cleared a path for him.

This allowed Su Ze to reach the mountain peak smoothly.

The intense heat forced him to occasionally have the Void Spirit Turtle turn its Spearhead and spray some water onto him.

Even though he was drenched, the water would be evaporated by the high temperature within moments.

Upon arriving here, Su Ze also saw Lin He's figure.

He was standing right next to the Volcano Crater, enduring the scorching heat. Unlike Su Ze, who could constantly cool down, Lin He's clothes were burned to mere shreds.

His entire body was covered in large-area burns, full of blisters, and had the color of cooked meat.

Yet, he seemed unable to feel pain. He held a strange Bronze Mirror that was spitting out a red crystal-like object toward the Volcano Crater.

He sensed Su Ze approaching from behind and turned his head.

His face, directly exposed to the Magma heat, had almost no intact skin. The flesh was rotten and peeling, exposing bone, and his burst eyeballs must have lost their sight.

It was a miracle that he was still alive in this state, yet he still knew the person behind him was Su Ze.

"Haha... you... came. But... you're going... to die. All of you... must die!" A non-human, hoarse sound escaped his dry throat.

At this moment, the Bronze Mirror in his hand completely ejected that object.

It was a Red Core Crystal the size of a human head, and it dropped straight into the bloody-red Molten Rock below!