Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

At the front of Ariel Mines, a black tornado was sweeping countless White-Headed Monster Apes into the sky. The bloodshot eyes of the monster apes were glaring at the intruders like densely-packed stars.

A huge pack of them in the valley, another huge pack at the mountain waist, another huge pack at the hilltop... the Chinese mercenaries that were following Ai Jiangtu's order had wide eyes. They did not expect so many monster apes to be surrounding the mines!

The number was not something that the mercenaries could handle. If they had been here when the mines were under attack, many among them would be dead by now!

"Are you sure we're only doing a feint? Are you sure they won't come out and chase after us?" asked the Chinese Commander Wang Qi grimly.

"To be honest, I think we can withdraw now," said Jiang Yu softly.

Another batch of White-Headed Monster Apes showed up on both sides of the mountain path. They were charging down the mountain like rolling boulders. Everyone sensed a chill running down their spines when they saw the massive cloud of dust being generated into the air by their movements.

"Retreat, retreat!" Ai Jiangtu ordered the Chinese soldiers, as even he was unable to endure the pressure from such an overwhelming number of monster apes.

Even though the squad was stacked with elites, they still stood no chance against such a terrifying formation. They were as small as a little raft in front of a giant wave.

Their legs were trembling as they immediately fled for their lives.

As expected of elites, they were able to retreat swiftly in good order. Ai Jiangtu soon led the soldiers out of the boundaries of the mines, but the White-Headed Monster Apes chased them further than they thought. They almost reached the army camp where General Mott's army was stationed.

When General Mott and his army saw the monster apes charging at their camp like a landslide, they decisively abandoned their machinery, tents, equipment, and supplies, and ran for their lives. The brave Peruvian soldiers had never felt so humiliated!

Luckily, the monster apes did not chase after them relentlessly. Otherwise, it was only a matter of time until the creatures caught up to them.

"You… what were you idiots thinking!" General Mott's face was pale from fright. It was quite a rare sight to see such a dark-skinned man with a pale face.

"It's better than not doing anything, like you and your army!" snapped Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu was incredibly angry. If General Mott had been a Chinese soldier, Ai Jiangtu would have immediately sentenced him to death. The man was nothing but a decoration since all he could do was stand there with a dark expression. His army was rusting away as he sat comfortably in his high position. If only being useless was an offense!...

"So you're saying that what you did is going to help? How ridiculous!" sneered General Mott.

"A useless general like you can never resolve the situation!" spat Ai Jiangtu.

"So you're leaving it in the hands of those two idiots? Do you really think they can solve the problem? Our military strategist will arrive in the afternoon; stop stirring up any trouble before he comes!" hissed General Mott.

"Let's have a bet then. If we can resolve the situation, half the stakes of Ariel Mines will belong to China. If your men can resolve the situation, my soldiers will continue to provide you protection for free," Ai Jiangtu challenged him.

General Mott knew that the young Magician before him had a strong military background. He was clearly not fooling around.

General Mott indeed owned the highest stake of the Ariel Mines. Even after he was discharged from his position, he was still in control of the mines!

He had to admit that the protection provided by the Chinese mercenaries was extremely important to the mines. It was more important than his miners and technicians. Without their protection, the mines would be in a lot of trouble. Mott obviously did not want to shut down his mountain of gold...

As a matter of fact, their contract was about to expire soon, and now, the young man had promised to provide protection for free. It would save him a huge expense, since the wages of Magicians were quite expensive!

"General, I think the bet is in our favor. Those two young Magicians will never be able to break through the surrounding monster apes, but we definitely need people to protect our mines once the situation is resolved… I've already investigated that man's background, he does have the power to make the call," whispered his advisor Ciely.

General Mott immediately considered the odds. He had already lost his position, the mines were the last thing he could rely on. Without his military position, he would have difficulty protecting his mines. The offer to provide his mines protection for free, even for a few years, was very attractive to him!

"Fine, deal! If you can resolve the situation, I will give you half the stakes," General Mott agreed, nodding after careful consideration.

"Lao Ai, don't be so impulsive! These soldiers who can soon go back to our country will have to stay here for another few years," Nanyu quickly advised against it, as she believed Ai Jiangtu was being too reckless.

"It's fine, it's my decision. I'll make up for them. They can choose to stay or go back, I'll replace them with other soldiers," replied Ai Jiangtu.

If Ai Jiangtu lost the bet, he would compensate the army for the loss. If it did not work out, he would simply hire Magicians to fill the spots. Either way, he was very angry at General Mott, and he was going to context him to the end!

"But, aren't you being overconfident of Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan?" said Nanyu.

Nanyu did not understand; why did Ai Jiangtu believe that the two would make it work? The truth was right before their eyes. There was no way they could enter the mines with so many monster apes surrounding the place. It was impossible even if Little Flame Belle could transform into the Flame Belle Empress again! The number of monster apes was higher than the number of strange birds they had fought against!

----

The mountain path continued along the mountain waist. The winding path was lead to a basin between the two mountains.

Both sides of the mountain path were crawling with monster apes. It felt like the mountain was on the verge of collapsing from the overwhelming weight.

Zhao Manyan glanced around him. His legs began to tremble when he saw the muscular monster apes scattered like black rocks and the fierce look in their eyes.

-Holy crap, even though the feint at the front attracted lots of White-Headed Monster Apes, the number of monster apes at the back of the mountain did not seem to go down at all!-

"Mo Fan, hurry up and have Little Flame Belle transform, they are coming," Zhao Manyan said, grinding his teeth.

"Little Flame Belle is resting, she can't fight now," Mo Fan replied calmly.

"Then hurry up and transform. I know you're doing this because you don't want the others to see it..." said Zhao Manyan.

"Why would I transform?" Mo Fan asked, looking at Zhao Manyan in confusion.

Zhao Manyan felt like crying.

-My ancestor, what exactly are you up to? How are you going to clear a path with so many monster apes around? Do you think you're a Forbidden Magician?-

"Just focus on protecting me!" said Mo Fan seriously.

Zhao Manyan had already cast his defensive spells. Rock Barrier, Water Barrier, Light Protection, Plummeting Rays, plus his magic shield, magic armor, and the magic wings just so he could run for his life when needed...

Mo Fan stared straight ahead, trying to find the monster apes with golden tail fur that was the key to resolving the approaching danger.

"Humph, do you think you can escape from my eyes?" Mo Fan smiled. His gaze was locked onto a particular White-Headed Monster Ape that was acting timidly.

"Telekinesis: Illusionary Claw! Come here you little shit!"

Mo Fan went straight for the monster ape with golden tail fur. He tossed the special creature into the air.

Mo Fan's eyes emitted a purple flash. A thick lightning bolt came straight down from the clear sky and landed accurately on the monster ape with golden tail fur.

The monster ape was disintegrated in mid-air, blood droplets pouring down.

A bundle of golden tail fur fell from the sky and as soon as it touched the ground, the fierce monster apes charging down from the mountain turned into scattering smoke within the blink of an eye!

At least two hundred monster apes had vanished. One second ago, they were trampling everything they came upon imperiously, and in the following second, they had all turned into dispersing smoke.

"Holy crap!" Zhao Manyan was so shocked that he almost broke his teeth from clenching them too hard.

-Did Mo Fan seriously turn into a Forbidden Magician? How did he eliminate more than two hundred demon creatures with a single lightning bolt?-

"Follow me, stay alert!" Mo Fan stepped forward. His eyes continued to search among the monster apes.

Mo Fan needed protection as he was worried that the monster apes would overrun him before he could locate the symbol-bearing monster ape.

With Zhao Manyan, the Turtle Shell Magician's help, he could last for a long time despite being surrounded by the monster apes, enough time for him to find the monster apes with golden tail fur and kill them more effectively!

"Where do you think you're running to? Giant Shadow Spike, fire!"

Mo Fan tossed a Giant Shadow Spike forward. The monster apes that clustered together did not stop Mo Fan's Giant Shadow Spike from landing on a monster ape with golden tail fur.

"Space Rhythm: Compress!"

The rhomboid locked down the area, entrapping a few of the illusionary monster apes nearby. As the creature was crushed to pieces, hundreds of monster apes disappeared instantly, greatly reducing the size of the army of monster apes.

However, there were still lots of creatures outside Zhao Manyan's Rampart. It was obvious that these illusionary creatures were not summoned by the same symbolic monster ape.

"Found you!" Mo Fan saw another target. He clenched his fist and killed the monster ape with golden tail fur hiding behind a rock quite a distance away!

The symbol-bearing creatures would normally protect themselves, just so they would not die before the illusionary creatures. However, they had to remain within a certain distance, since the illusionary creatures could only stay close to their source.

At times, Mo Fan did not need to identify the precise location of the symbolic monster apes. He simply tossed a powerful spell at the creatures after a rough glance, eliminating both the symbol-bearing creature and its mirror images.

The truth was, the team did kill some of the symbol-bearing creatures unknowingly when they were fighting against the strange birds of Nazca. However, the situation was so messy that none of them noticed it.

When thousands, or even ten thousand creatures were filling the sky, it was hard to notice a few hundred creatures disappearing all of a sudden...

Mo Fan did not give the monster apes any chance to summon more reinforcements. He immediately killed the symbol-bearing creatures among them as soon as they were within range. As a result, it was blatantly obvious that many monster apes had disappeared for no reason.

After a few rounds, Zhao Manyan finally noticed it!

"What...what is going on? Why are the monster apes disappearing on their own? Am I imagining it?" Zhao Manyan asked in astonishment.

"You aren't imagining it. Keep an eye out for me too. The ones with golden tail fur are the symbol-bearing creatures. Killing them will get rid of the mirror images that they summoned, too!" explained Mo Fan.