Over the span of a few days, many perished.
Each treasure hunting team lost around ten or more members to injury or death. Only Geoffrey's and
Woods' teams each had only five casualties, which could show just how strong they were.
However, the deeper they trudged into the Hell of Dragon Fang, the stronger the spirit-manipulated
beasts they faced. Even more casualties were to be expected as the situation grew more and more
dangerous.
Just now, Woods' treasure hunting team had the misfortune of stumbling into the habitat of the
Demonic Rock Dogs. They were violently ambushed, and the battle was fierce.
Among the Demonic Rock Dogs, their leader was the strongest, at the fifth grade of the five-star level.
Few of them were at the fourth grade of the five-star level, and the rest were at the fourth grade of the
four-star level. Together, they attacked fiercely, like a pack of wolves defending their territory.
Two peerless masters at the Divine Stage, Lucas and Brook, had spirit-manipulated beasts at the six-
star level. However, the Demonic Rock Dogs stood over two meters tall, with rock-hard skin. Lucas'
Sacred Timber Galaxy Colossus was fighting neck and neck with the leader of the Demonic Rock
Dogs. While the leader might've been a star lower than Lucas' spirit-manipulated beast, it still put up
one hell of a fight. Meanwhile, Lucas, Brook, and Brook's spirit-manipulated beast fought against the
few Demonic Rock Dogs at the fourth grade of the five-star level; the warriors at the Supernal Stage
and the masters at the Heavenly Stage all struggled against a dozen Demonic Rock Dogs at the fourth
grade of the four-star level.
Although the eight warriors at the Supernal Stage and eight spirit-manipulated beasts at the four or
five-star level were strong enough to survive their attacks, some of the Demonic Rock Dogs broke
through their defense line. To their horror, these scoundrels headed straight for the weaker spirit
manipulators at the Heavenly Stage.
Chaos ensued. Several spirit manipulators at the Heavenly Stage lay moaning on the ground, having
been mangled violently.
"Your Royal Highness, I'm afraid things aren't looking good for us," Lucas said apprehensively. "It won't
do us any good if we continue to fight like this. We can't risk getting caught by other spirit-manipulated
beasts in the area. We'll be sandwiched!" said Lucas, who had just killed a Demonic Rock Dog with
Brook and immediately returned to Woods to protect him together with several spirit manipulators at the
Heavenly Stage.
"Is there way we can escape?" Woods asked Lucas as he surveyed the bloody scene before him.
"Yes," Lucas answered promptly. "If I remember correctly, there is a gorge road one hundred meters
north. We can retreat there and hold up a front. Maybe we can even make this group of Demonic Rock
Dogs retreat."
"Good idea, let's do it," Woods affirmed with a slight nod.
With that, Woods, guarded by the spirit manipulators at the Heavenly Stage, led the retreat. The eight
spirit manipulators at the Supernal Stage followed closely with their spirit-manipulated beasts, trying
their best to hold back the Demonic Rock Dogs that were chasing after them. Lucas and Brook were
the last ones to retreat, as they were the ones in charge of protecting the treasure hunting team.
It didn't take long before they reached the gorge road that Lucas mentioned.
"All of you, go in and block the entrance," Woods barked. "Leave a small gap. Kill any dog that tries to
break through!" Without hesitation, the whole treasure hunting team obeyed Woods and entered the
gorge road in succession, where they set up a line of defense at the entrance. Several warriors at the
Supernal Stage and their spirit-manipulated beasts formed an impenetrable wall at the entrance,
leaving only a small gap. Together, they waited vigilantly for the Demonic Rock Dogs to throw
themselves into the net.
To their surprise, the Demonic Rock Dogs were very intelligent. Seeing that the treasure hunting team
had retreated into the gorge road, they gave up the chase. Instead, they lingered nearby, growling
fiercely.
"It seems that these Demonic Rock Dogs aren't planning on leaving any time soon..." From behind the
defense line, Woods studied the Demonic Rock Dogs wandering near the entrance of the gorge road.
"Alright then," he said, clearing his throat, "now you can recover your energy and spiritual power. If the
Demonic Rock Dogs still don't leave after six hours, we will bring the battle to them!"
"I'm afraid this will eat up all our time. We have no idea whether the other princes have found the
spiritual treasure." Lucas shook his head and sighed.
"Don't worry. We have a secret weapon, remember?" Woods replied calmly.
Lucas' eyes flashed and he smiled knowingly.
At that very moment, Rocky was securing his newly-captured and extremely rare Fire Rock Turtle. He
had gone ahead of the others and was deep in the center of the Hell of Dragon Fang. As he acted
alone, he worked more efficiently. In addition, he had the help of Ken, who had the ability to keep both
of them stealthy, so Rocky hadn't encountered much trouble along the way.
However, upon entering the center of the Hell of Dragon Fang, they were met by spirit-manipulated
beasts above the five-star level. They all came out of nowhere! These spirit-manipulated beast traveled
in groups of three or five. Rocky tried his best to avoid all of them, which unfortunately slowed them
down.
Rocky didn't mind moving slowly, but he was a bit depressed that he still had no idea what exactly he
was looking for. The spiritual treasure was left ever-elusive and vague, which frustrated him to no end.
"Oh, heavens! Give me a hint!" Just as Rocky was shaking his fist at the sky, he suddenly felt the
ground beneath his feet tremble violently, as though tens of thousands of beasts were galloping nearby.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before countless shadows of various beasts surrounded them.
Rocky turned pale. There was no way he could face these beasts all at once. Immediately, he hid with
Ken.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over the land, as though something massive had blotted out the sky. Looking
up, Rocky saw a group of spirit-manipulated beasts of different shapes and sizes flying across the sky,
all heading towards a certain direction.
"What is happening? Are these spirit-manipulated beasts in a hurry?" Rocky was puzzled. Out of
curiosity, he decided to follow the beasts closely, although he and Ken remained carefully hidden.
After flying about five hundred meters and passing through a dense forest of dead trees, Rocky found
himself at a circular valley. The valley was not very large, and three sides were surrounded by steep
cliffs.
The beasts of all sorts of shapes and sizes filled up the valley, and even the cliff sides were crowded.
Everywhere he looked, there was a spirit-manipulated beast.
Rocky held his breath. The scene was quite spectacular!
Suddenly, Rocky noticed a protruding arched stone hanging at the end of the valley, which led to a
cave entrance.
Then, a human-like figure emerged from the cave. The figure wore a tattered black robe that swayed
with the wind.
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