32: Chapter 32 Jinsha Town! Yuanjing Mine!
After a satisfying and intense fight with Xiao Jing,
Zhou Heng felt even more adept at controlling his newly acquired power and the dragon spine spear.
He didn't linger for long and immediately headed to the Demon Slaying Division's mission hall, ready to accept that D+ rank mission that Ye Ling'er had "blessed"—clearing out the bat swarm in the abandoned mine.
Just as he arrived at the hall, he saw a message from Chen Ye: [Special training with the teacher, going into seclusion to break through to Four Stars, mission postponed.]
Zhou Heng curled his lip: "Great, Ye Zi got snatched by Teacher Li for extra tutoring. Looks like I'll have to solo it or find someone else."
Solo a D+ mission suspected of having a second-rank demon beast?
Although Zhou Heng was confident, he wasn't that arrogant yet.
A second-rank demon beast corresponds to the Soul Nurturing Realm, even if only the lower tier.
He was just pondering whether to hang a "Looking for Group" sign under the mission board when a slightly surprised voice came from beside him.
"Junior Zhou Heng? What a coincidence, are you here to take a mission too?"
Zhou Heng turned his head and saw three young men wearing the senior-year uniforms of Donghuang Military University walking over.
The leader was tall and slender with handsome features, a warm smile on his face, a long horizontal saber at his waist, his aura agile and sharp.
Zhou Heng's data vision instantly fed back:
[Target: Ming Junxian]
[Realm: Soul Nurturing One Star]
[Divine Seal Sequence: Wind Speaker (A-rank)]
[Status: Prime Energy Full, Spirit Sharp]
[Demon Slayer Rank: Refined Bronze One Star]
[Note: Donghuang Military University sophomore, watched the dual-track system selection.]
Behind him were two others, one male and one female. The male was burly, carrying an alloy shield and a warhammer, with an earth-type Divine Seal.
The female held a longbow, her aura nimble, likely a long-range support.
Both were at Awakening Nine Stars peak, Refined Bronze rank Demon Slayers.
"Senior Ming?" Zhou Heng had a vague impression, having seen this senior spectating at the edge of the arena during the selection matches.
"That's me." Ming Junxian walked over with a smile. "Junior, are you... here to take a mission? Alone?"
"Yeah, took a D+ rank cleanup mission, but my teammate had something come up." Zhou Heng waved his tactical watch.
"D+ rank? A bit risky alone."
Ming Junxian glanced at the mission list, his eyes suddenly lighting up.
"What a coincidence, our team was just about to take the 'Goldsand Town Prime Crystal Mine' mission, also D+ rank."
"Intel says there might be a lower-tier second-rank Bloodwing Bat King inside, but the mine likely has low-grade or even mid-grade Prime Crystals as byproducts. The rewards and extra loot should be decent."
"Interested in joining us, junior? We can watch each other's backs."
Zhou Heng was stunned. What a coincidence! That was exactly the one he was about to take!
He looked at Ming Junxian's team composition: a Soul Nurturing One Star agile-type main attacker/scout (Wind Speaker).
An Awakening Nine Stars defensive frontliner (shield warrior), and an Awakening Nine Stars long-range damage dealer (archer).
The setup was quite balanced, lacking only a powerful melee burst point, which his Annihilating Wind Thunder perfectly fit.
"Senior doesn't mind my low level dragging the team down?" Zhou Heng raised an eyebrow, asking half-jokingly.
Ming Junxian laughed heartily. "You jest, junior. I still remember clearly how you thrashed Lu Chenxin during the selection matches. An Awakening Three Stars defeating a peak Five Stars S-rank! With combat power like that, we'd welcome you with open arms! So? Join us?"
The shield warrior senior and archer senior behind him also looked at Zhou Heng with curiosity,
Clearly having heard of his reputation. Their eyes held no contempt, but instead a bit of curiosity and recognition.
Zhou Heng pondered briefly, then readily agreed: "Alright! Then I'll trouble you seniors to carry me a bit."
"Excellent!" Ming Junxian laughed.
"Just watching each other's backs. Let me introduce, this is Shi Lei, Shield Armor Divine Seal. This is Lin Qing, Eagle Eye Divine Seal. I'm Ming Junxian. We all know your name, junior—Zhou Heng, S-rank Annihilating Wind Thunder."
After a brief introduction, Ming Junxian's team accepted the mission.
"No time like the present, shall we set off now? We can discuss the plan in detail on the way." Ming Junxian was decisive.
"No problem."
The four-person team rode in Ming Junxian's team's modified, higher-performance off-road vehicle, leaving Donghuang Fortress and heading northwest towards Goldsand Town.
On the way, Ming Junxian projected the tactical map and began explaining the plan.
"Goldsand Town is relatively large, mainly surviving on Prime Crystal mining, so its defensive capabilities aren't weak. However, demon beasts often breed deep in the mines, requiring regular clearing. This time's target is the No. 3 abandoned mine."
"According to intel, the cave mainly contains large numbers of lower-to-mid first-rank [Bloodsucking Bats] and [Sonic Bats]. Not a huge threat individually, but troublesome due to their numbers."
"The key is the suspected presence of the [Bloodwing Bat King], lower-tier second-rank, extremely fast, adept at sonic and mental attacks, and can also control the bat swarm. Very tricky."
"Our mission is to eradicate the bat swarm, confirm and if possible kill or drive away the [Bloodwing Bat King]."
"The plan is: Shi Lei takes point at the front, Lin Qing stays in the center for support, using light arrows and armor-piercing arrows to pick off high-level demon bats and provide illumination."
"Junior Zhou Heng and I will be responsible for mobile clearance of high-threat targets and focusing on dealing with the Bloodwing Bat King. Once the Bat King is spotted, Shi Lei will try to pin it down as much as possible, while junior Zhou Heng and I handle the main attack, with Lin Qing providing long-range disruption. How's that?"
The plan was conventional, but considering the team composition and enemy traits, it was fairly sound.
Zhou Heng nodded. "I have no issues."
His All-Seeing Eyes and Lightning Flash were indeed suited for this kind of mobile assault and targeted elimination.
"Good! As for loot, distribution based on contribution. Prime Crystals go to whoever finds them, alright?"
"Fair."
During the conversation, the vehicle had already arrived at Goldsand Town.
The defensive structures here were indeed more massive, with even large energy turrets visible around the town.
The town was bustling with people, many miners and mercenaries coming and going, giving it a more lively atmosphere than Lei Yun Town.
The vehicle didn't linger, heading directly towards the mining area outside the town.
At the foot of a desolate mountain,
A pitch-black, enormous mine entrance emitting a cold, damp aura appeared before them. AWarning line was strung across the entrance, with a sign reading "Danger! No Entry!" beside it.
The four got out of the vehicle, fully equipped.
"Final equipment check, replenish status." Ming Junxian ordered.
Shi Lei took out his shield and warhammer, Lin Qing checked her bowstring and arrows, Ming Junxian adjusted the position of his horizontal saber.
Zhou Heng took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the dragon spine spear, faint lightning flickering at its tip.
He felt the dense demonic aura and faint Prime Crystal energy fluctuations emanating from the mine, a smile of anticipation curling at the corner of his mouth.
A mission "blessed" by Ye Ling'er... he hoped it wouldn't be tooStimulate.
"Move out!"
Ming Junxian waved his hand.
Shi Lei gave a low shout, his shield emitting an earthy yellow glow, taking the lead as he stepped into the dark mine.
Lin Qing followed closely, a softly glowingLight arrow nocked on her bowstring.
Ming Junxian and Zhou Heng flanked them on the left and right.
From deep within the mine came the bone-chilling sound of flapping wings and sharp shrieks...