Edited by Aelryinth

The sound of water splashing came from the other side of the mountains, as if the lake was boiling. Everyone could imagine the sight of a bunch of creatures moving rapidly across the lake even without seeing it.

"The Salamander Demons are here!" Gu Ying declared sternly. She displayed a surprisingly heroic bearing.

The team members were experienced, and synchronized well with one another. Zhong Li, whose job was to lure the Salamander Demons, sprinted in through the entrance. He had successfully lured the brainless Salamander Demons into the narrow passage!

"Seal off the entrance, now!" Zhong Li yelled at the Earth Mage while he was running on the water toward the island.

A huge boulder fell from the sky and blocked the passage like the door of a dam, separating the Salamander Demons who were racing ahead from the rest of their kind.

The Salamander Demons were not particularly fast or agile. They resembled mobile steel fortresses. They usually crushed their enemies by trampling and devouring them!

Mo Fan saw four Salamander Demons stranded in the passage when the boulder sealed off the entrance.

"Damn it, I was a little too slow, four of them came inside!" the Earth Mage grumbled anxiously.

"Four… isn't that too much for us to handle?" a middle-aged Mage with a huge nose swallowed nervously.

"It's fine, as long as we don't make any huge mistakes while we are working together. We should be able to deal with them!" Gu Ying said firmly.

Gu Ying was the strongest in the party. Not only did she have two Soul Seeds, she had also reached the third-tier of the Intermediate Level. She could take on a Salamander Demon alone!

"Ice Lock!"

Gu Ying stared at the water that a Salamander Demon was swimming in. An icy chain around the size of a small tree trunk flew at the fleshy Salamander Demon and dragged it out from under the water's surface!

"Attack it first!" Gu Ying said.

Gu Ying dragged the Salamander Demon closer so the rest of the team could focus their spells on it.

Mo Fan finally had a chance to take a closer look at the creature when the Ice Lock drew closer.

"Are you sure this thing isn't a giant snail?" Mo Fan asked.

"What snail? It's a Salamander Demon. Stay back, these creatures can spit out venomous darts!" Xie Hao warned.

To be frank, the creature did resemble a snail at first glance, mainly because it was carrying a shell on its back, a trait of the Spiral Shelled Monsters!

The shell was close to the size of a car's hood, curving with a sharp tip at the top. Its surface reflected a dull sheen under the sunlight.

The Salamander Demons had obviously inherited the shells of the Spiral Shelled Monsters. They were as sturdy as rocks!

Salamanders were similar to lizards. Amphibians were common in an environment of mixed water and land. Mo Fan described the creatures as giant snails because the bodies under the shells resembled the salamanders. They had soft flesh, feelers, and their bodies were constantly wriggling.

In other words, the Salamander Demons were lizards with soft flesh and a spiraling shell on their backs!

Lingling had mentioned how outstanding these creatures' defense was. Their defense was easily the strongest among creatures of the same level. Mo Fan could not agree more as he watched the Hunters fighting the Salamander Demon!

Gu Ying, Xie Hao, and the big-nosed middle-aged Mage had already cast a few spells. However, none of their spells were effective when the Salamander Demon withdrew into its shell!

The Salamander Demon only came out of the shell after the wave of spells was over. It shrieked and proceeded with its counterattack!

"How...how is it not dead yet?" Xie Hao was dumbfounded.

Gu Ying was looking grim, too. She knew how outstanding the Salamander Demons' defense was, so it was unwise to fight a group of Salamander Demons at once. However, she did not expect a single Salamander Demon to have such a terrifying defense!

"Even our captain's Soul Seeds only left a single scratch on its shell. How are we supposed to kill it? The other three are already getting closer!" the big-nosed Mage exclaimed.

"How would I know!?"

An Intermediate Mage with a Soul Seed was already impressive in a Hunter Group. They were strong enough to fight Warrior-level creatures! The rest of the team was relying on Gu Ying to break down the Salamander Demons' defense so the others could kill them. Little did they know that even their captain's Soul Seeds were not strong enough to destroy the shells! Their defense was simply too insane!

Luckily, the Salamander Demons were slow. Otherwise, they would have no time to flee for their lives!

"Third-tier Intermediate Spells with Soul Seeds… she's already one of the strongest in the Intermediate Level, yet she still couldn't inflict any damage on the Salamander Demon. These Warrior-level creatures are unusually strong," Mo Fan evaluated the Salamander Demon's defense while watching the fight.

If an Intermediate Mage could not break through the creature's defense, they would have to rely on Advanced Spells.

The problem was, how many Advanced Mages would a city or a faction have? Considering the overwhelming numbers of the Salamander Demons, the Advanced Mages who bothered to fight would struggle to kill the Salamander Demons quick enough to match their reproduction rate, even if they gave their best!

"Again!" Gu Ying did not believe it.

She organized the next wave of spells. This time, she used the Shadow Element to nail the Salamander Demon onto a rock, allowing the others to land their strongest spells right on the target.

The Shadow Element did not stop the Salamander Demon from withdrawing into its shell. Mo Fan witnessed the rock being quickly devoured by the colorful blasts of the spells.

Water splashed wildly. When the spells faded away, tiny cracks had surfaced on the Salamander Demon's shell. Its soft body came out of the shell once again, as if it was hiding from a downpour. Its life was clearly not in danger despite the bruises and scratches on its shell.

Tiny cracks...

It was the most a team of Intermediate Mages could do after a few waves of spells. It was going to take at least ten similar attacks to break the shell!

The Foehn Hunter Squad had nowhere to go now that they were stuck on the island with the Salamander Demons!

Everyone clenched their teeth and continued to attack the Salamander Demons. To their relief, the Salamander Demons' offense was not particularly strong, and they were not rookies. They still had the situation under control when the rest of the Salamander Demons joined the battle!

---

The sky was starting to get dark. The team finally eliminated the four Salamander Demons before sunset.

No one was seriously injured from the battle, yet they were completely worn out by fatigue. They sat by the water and began to doubt their life choices.

"Seriously, I've never fought a tougher Warrior-level creature than these things. Their defense is already comparable to a Commander-level creature!" Zhong Li grumbled.

The team had been active around the vicinity of the Thousand Islands Lake for some time. They mainly focused on killing the giant lizards and swamp demons. It was their first time taking on the Salamander Demons. They were utterly shocked by their outstanding defense!

"Bloody hell, I thought we could earn some quick money here, but I didn't expect to be fighting annoying creatures like these. If killing five Salamander Demons only gives us one heart orb, I won't even bother wasting my time here. I can earn ten times more by sleeping with the young masters of the renowned clans for a few nights!" Gu Ying blurted out angrily.

"Boss, are you serious? I'm willing to pay two hundred thousand to spend time with you for three nights!" Zhong Li suddenly rose to his feet and looked at Gu Ying with great anticipation.

"Piss off! If you were good looking like Fan Mo, I wouldn't mind getting two hundred thousand for three days and nights. As for you, I might have to reconsider even if you're offering me two million!" Gu Ying shot back.

Mo Fan was still figuring out a way to deal with the Salamander Demons' shells when Gu Ying's sudden mention of him interrupted his thought process!

He wondered why those close to him kept saying that he was not handsome. Listen to what Gu Ying just said, he could even get a discount for hooking up with a prostitute because of his handsome appearance, let alone having one-night-stands with strangers. If he wanted, he could go for three-hundred-and-sixty-five days without a rest!

"Wait, are you telling me that not every Salamander Demon is going to drop a heart orb?" Xie Hao exclaimed suddenly.

"Of course not, only some have it. The odds are one out of five!"

"Holy shit, doesn't that mean all our efforts are in vain if none of these four creatures have a heart orb!?" Xie Hao shrieked.

"It's possible, knowing the odds," Mo Fan said.

"Shh, enough with your inauspicious remarks, go check their remains!" Gu Ying rolled her eyes at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan dutifully began searching the remains of the creatures. He soon returned with an awkward face.

"Don't you say a word, I'll check them myself," Gu Ying quickly rose to her feet and searched the remains carefully.

The others began to pale. They realized their efforts were in vain when they saw Gu Ying running back angrily!

Not a single heart orb from the Salamander Demons!

Their energy was depleted, too. It would take them three to four days to fully recover!

Taking into consideration the journey, preparations, the time they spent in the battle, and the time needed to recover, their team had wasted a whole week for nothing!

Gu Ying's face was the darkest. She was seriously considering prostituting herself!

She had to eat unpalatable food and sleep on the ground in the wild. She was constantly bothered by the mosquitoes and the pungent odor. It was common to be injured in battles, too. She was finally done with the fight, yet she had earned nothing from it. It was so much worse than going to luxurious hotels, enjoying high-quality red wines, the soothing aroma, and earning money by just lying still on the bed!