Chapter 8: Undercurrents

After exiting the territory of the Shadow God, Li Mingxing knew that the deity would not be so benevolent; having suffered a setback, the Shadow God immediately devised another scheme.

Instead of acting as he had promised Li Mingxing, he leaked the news directly, ensuring all the gods were aware of the situation, including the Sun God, Apollo.

Upon hearing that the three of them were planning to reveal his schemes to all the gods, Apollo was enraged. Previously, he had assumed the trio was merely bad-mouthing him to the Forest Goddess, but now he realized that Li Mingxing and his companions were intent on sabotaging his plans.

The furious Apollo issued a direct, lethal command: he wanted Li Mingxing killed before he could reach the next deity.

However, the one who truly took notice of Li Mingxing was not Apollo, but an intern hero from the Light Alliance. He had been startled when he first heard the news. He knew that the several Light Alliance heroes who had entered the Mythical Monster World previously had never encountered a single intern hero from the Dark Alliance. He had assumed he wouldn't face such an enemy either, but he had not expected the existence of someone like Li Mingxing.

With this in mind, the Light Alliance intern hero’s expression turned cold. He turned back to Apollo and said, "My Lord, you are currently occupied with important matters; I think it would be better to leave such a small task to me."

Apollo, who was still fuming, glanced at the intern hero. "You? I think not. You and your subordinates only total four people, and your strength is merely at the lower tier of the sixth rank. If I hadn't spotted you from the sky back then, you would have been dead long ago."

"But there are only three of them, and they are also only at the lower tier of the sixth rank," the intern hero replied loudly.

"But have you seen their combat record? There are even accounts of seventh-rank upper-tier beings dying at their hands. I don't want you to go and throw your lives away."

"You can rest assured about that, My Lord. We naturally have methods to deal with the enemy. And have you noticed, My Lord, that those three always avoid prolonged combat? It is clear their abilities have time limitations."

Hearing the intern hero's words, Apollo looked at him again. "If that is what you think, then do it yourself. I will lend you my Sun Spear. However, I will not assign any other troops to you; you must understand that with your current strength, even if I ordered them to follow you, they might not necessarily obey your commands."

After hearing this, the intern hero understood that what Apollo said was true, but he was not disappointed, as the Sun Spear placed before him had already captured his full attention.

It was a spear composed entirely of light, only a meter long, yet brilliant radiance flowed constantly along its shaft. Just by looking at its appearance, one could tell it was an extraordinary divine artifact.

The intern hero carefully held the spear, muttering in a voice barely audible, "This is a divine artifact... I never imagined I would be able to use one here."

Watching the intern hero, Apollo felt a sudden, inexplicable disgust, but he said nothing, merely waving his hand as he retreated to his chariot.

If the intern hero could have seen the chariot under that intense light, he would have been shocked, for there were no fewer than ten such Sun Spears resting upon it.

While the intern hero was hunting for Li Mingxing, Li Mingxing was on the road toward the forest where the Forest Goddess resided.

Whether it was because the intern hero had taken action or because the Shadow God had spread various rumors, no one came to trouble Li Mingxing along the way this time.

However, Li Mingxing did not relax. He knew that given his current status, the only place he could afford to let his guard down was his own city; anywhere else, the slightest lapse in vigilance was an invitation to death.

His caution soon paid off. Just as Li Mingxing was about to reach the forest of the Goddess, a powerful group of four appeared behind him.

Because Li Mingxing had been prepared, he was not caught by a surprise attack. On the contrary, when they launched their assault, Li Mingxing struck one of them with his sword, inflicting a grave wound.

Upon getting a clear look at the four, Li Mingxing was somewhat surprised. This was the first time he had seen non-humanoid creatures in this inner world.

The four that appeared seemed to be troops from the swamp. The one walking in the back was a giant snake with three heads, while the one Li Mingxing had severely wounded was a dragon fly. Of the remaining two, one was a bull covered in black scales, and the other was a wyvern.

Looking at the four, Li Mingxing stepped forward, shielding the two women behind him. "Be careful of that black bull later; do not look into its eyes. It could be fatal."

Hearing Li Mingxing's words, Aisha replied, "I know that, but who should we deal with first?"

"Target the wyvern first. I will handle the dragon fly, and Aisha, save one strike."

Aisha was quite sharp; she understood Li Mingxing's concerns immediately and nodded, using her druidic abilities to confront the enemy.

However, these abilities were only at level one, and their power was pitifully weak, having almost no effect when they struck the creatures.

But the task for Aisha and Zheng was simple: they only needed to stall three of the enemies, giving Li Mingxing the opportunity to finish off the dragon fly.

The three enemies realized this as well. The three-headed snake roared and charged at Aisha and Zheng, while the wyvern and the black bull rushed toward Li Mingxing.

Li Mingxing had his back to them, and with their sudden charge, he had no other choice. He slashed at the dragon fly with his sword while releasing the sword-pill hidden behind his back.

The bull charging from behind had no idea Li Mingxing had such a trick. The sword-pill shot out like a bullet, piercing into the bull's eyes.

Taking this opportunity, Li Mingxing sliced the dragon fly in two. Turning around in one fluid motion, he drove his longsword into the wings of the wyvern.

However, this turn gave the wyvern and the one-eyed bull an opening. The bull gored Li Mingxing’s abdomen with its horns, while the wyvern sprayed poison onto his face.

Li Mingxing was currently occupying someone else’s body; although it was a decent vessel, it lacked poison resistance. As the venom sprayed onto him, he felt a searing pain across his face.

Yet, Li Mingxing did not retreat. Instead, he gripped the bull’s horn that had pierced his abdomen with his left hand, while his right hand brought the sword down into the bull’s head.

This strike was fatal, but even in death, the bull was determined to make Li Mingxing suffer. It lunged forward, driving the sword deeper and making it impossible for Li Mingxing to pull the blade out in time.

Seeing this perfect opportunity, the wyvern pounced, mouth agape, ready to bite Li Mingxing.

Unexpectedly, Li Mingxing let go of his sword, retreated backward, and leaped onto the back of the wyvern.

The venom was still on his face, and this was the absolute limit of what he could manage.

After Li Mingxing jumped onto its back, the wyvern remained calm; it had dealt with such enemies before and knew exactly how to handle someone on its back.

Before Li Mingxing could secure his grip on its neck, the wyvern turned and soared high into the air.

Although Li Mingxing’s eyes were filled with venom and he couldn't see clearly, he knew the wyvern’s plan.

He did not want to be carried high into the sky only to be dropped to his death. As the wyvern climbed, Li Mingxing searched for a solution.

He let go and jumped from the sky. Fortunately, the wyvern hadn't reached a great height yet, and Li Mingxing’s control over the body’s strength and muscles was perfect; even as he hit the ground, he suffered no major injury.

Wiping the poison from his face, Li Mingxing ran toward the bull's carcass, intending to retrieve his sword before the wyvern descended.

But the wyvern was quick; seeing Li Mingxing jump down, it dove toward him.

Li Mingxing grew anxious as he found the sword difficult to pull free. As the wyvern swooped in, he let out a roar and gave the sword hilt a sharp jolt, effectively slicing the bull in two with the blade.

The sword continued its momentum, slashing toward the incoming wyvern. Had the bull’s body not been so thick, which consumed much of the force behind the strike, this one blow might have cleaved the wyvern in half as well.

Nevertheless, the strike wounded the wyvern, which infuriated the beast. It roared and charged at Li Mingxing again, as if determined to bite him to death.