Black Rock Lizard

Her nerves were taut, and every muscle in her body was primed to explode into action at a moment's notice.

Yin Chen walked in the middle. Several crystal-clear ice cones floated beside him, spinning silently, ready to seek out the enemy.

Chen Guan paused his steps.

"On the left, thirty meters."

His voice was not loud, but it rang out with exceptional clarity across the silent wasteland.

Before he could even finish speaking, Hong Yuan moved.

The ground beneath her feet exploded as she launched herself forward like a fired cannonball, charging straight toward the waist-high shrubs.

"Mine!"

Boom!

The giant axe swung down with a crushing force, completely obliterating the bushes along with the dirt and rocks behind them.

Amidst the flying dust, a dark shadow darted out agilely, dodging the fatal blow.

It was a pitch-black demon fox with three tails. It was not large, but its speed was astonishing.

A single eye on its forehead gleamed with a cunning light.

Tier-three, Three-Tailed Trickster Fox.

"Trying to run?"

Yin Chen scoffed coldly. The ice cones he had prepared shot through the air, sealing off all of the demon fox's escape routes.

Crack!

The fox's four limbs were instantly frozen to the ground, rendering it immobile. It let out a shrill shriek, and the single eye on its forehead shot out a mental shockwave straight at the closest target, Hong Yuan.

Hong Yuan's movements stalled, clearly affected by the attack.

Right at that moment, a dark figure slipped silently into the battlefield.

Chen Guan had somehow appeared behind the demon fox. Instead of using the blade of his scythe, he reversed the handle and used its heavy end to deliver a precise, measured strike to the back of the fox's neck.

Thud.

A muffled sound echoed.

The three-tailed fox's shriek abruptly ceased. Its body went limp, collapsing to the ground, completely unconscious.

The entire process, from discovery to subjugation, took no more than ten seconds.

Hong Yuan shook her head, recovering from the mental shockwave. Looking at the unconscious demon fox on the ground, she looked a bit embarrassed. "I..."

"Too inefficient."

Black Crow's cold voice came from behind, cutting her off.

He walked over to the demon fox, nudged it with the tip of his boot to confirm it was only unconscious, and then looked up at the three of them.

"From spotting the target to gaining control, it took twelve seconds. Five of those seconds were wasted on meaningless destruction and unnecessary showing off."

His gaze fell on Hong Yuan, devoid of any emotion. "Your first strike kicked up dust that obstructed your teammates' vision. If the demon fox hadn't fled, but instead chose to counterattack from the dust cloud, you would be injured right now."

He then looked at Yin Chen. "The ice cones only restrained its limbs, but failed to restrict its mental attack. Fail."

Finally, his eyes rested on Chen Guan.

"You did alright."

After saying that, he ignored the demon fox on the ground, tossed a red capture ball to Yin Chen, and raised his hand to point toward a low hill in the east.

His words made Yin Chen and Hong Yuan's hearts sink. Being critiqued like that naturally stung their pride.

"See that valley? Intel shows there is a Black Rock Lizard nest there. Target count: over thirty."

"Time limit: one hour."

Black Crow lowered his hand and turned around, his back to them and to the valley that exuded an ominous aura.

"Now, begin your performance."

Yin Chen's face fell. He used the capture ball Black Crow had given him to store the demon fox on the ground, then resignedly hurried to catch up with the other two who had already set off.

The entrance to the valley looked like a hideous scar stretching across the scarlet wasteland.

The wind blew out from the valley, carrying a burnt stench and the distinct musky odor of a monster nest.

Hong Yuan's breathing grew noticeably heavier. She gripped her giant axe with both hands and assumed a standard charging stance, her muscles taut beneath her combat suit.

"Thirty Black Rock Lizards, captured alive, in one hour." Yin Chen repeated the mission objective, his voice stripped of its former composure.

A few wisps of icy blue frost lingered at his fingertips as his eyes darted between the valley entrance and the surrounding cliff walls, trying to find the optimal casting position.

Capturing them alive, especially a pack of monsters, was far more difficult than simply killing them.

Black Rock Lizards had thick hides, tough flesh, and boundless strength. Although they were only tier-three monsters, when they moved in packs, even tier-four Awakened would have to avoid their sharp edge.

Attacking with brute force could easily kill them by accident, but using mind control was tricky because their mental resistance was not low.

Based on Yin Chen's understanding of his own abilities, he could not control thirty Black Rock Lizards simultaneously.

Even if that number were cut in half, he couldn't control fifteen.

"How do we fight this?" Hong Yuan looked at Chen Guan, her voice low. Through their previous teamwork, she had grown accustomed to handing over command to him.

Yin Chen's gaze also shifted over.

Chen Guan didn't answer immediately. His eyes swept over the valley's terrain.

The entrance was narrow, but the inside was spacious. There were several caves of varying sizes on the cliffs on both sides, likely the Black Rock Lizards' habitats.

A typical urn-shaped trap.

Several plans flashed through Chen Guan's mind, only to be quickly rejected. A frontal assault was too inefficient, and luring them out one by one was too slow.

He needed the most efficient plan.

"Hong Yuan," Chen Guan spoke.

"Here!"

"In five minutes, go in from the front. Make as much noise as possible and draw the attention of all the lizards to yourself. Don't go for the kill; just keep them occupied."

Hong Yuan paused for a moment, then broke into a grin, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "I'm good at that."

Chen Guan turned his gaze to Yin Chen. "Your task is the heaviest. There are seven cave entrances in the valley—three on the eastern wall, four on the western. I need you to seal six of them with ice walls within thirty seconds of Hong Yuan charging in. Leave only the deepest one on the west side open as a gap."

Yin Chen's mental energy instantly expanded, sensing the locations Chen Guan mentioned.

He quickly understood Chen Guan's intention. This was a corral hunt.

"No problem," Yin Chen nodded. This would be a test of his mental energy control, but it was still within his capabilities.

It was certainly better than forcing him to control thirty tier-three monsters at once.

"What about you?" He asked the most crucial question: what role would Chen Guan play in this operation?

"I'll handle the cleanup."

After Chen Guan said that, he took a few steps back, and his presence instantly retracted to the absolute limit.

Even though he was carrying a large black coffin on his back, which should have been exceptionally conspicuous, in Yin Chen's perception, Chen Guan had now become nothing more than a rock.

If he closed his eyes, he wouldn't even know there was a person standing there.

How bizarre...

To think someone so conspicuous actually possessed the talents of an assassin.

Black Crow stood on a distant high ground, his arms crossed, coldly observing all of this.

He did not interfere, nor did he offer any warnings.

On the battlefield, the commander's decision was everything.

He wanted to see just how far this Huaqing student could go.

Five minutes later.

"Time's up," Yin Chen's voice rang out in the team comms.

Hong Yuan moved. She transformed into a crimson meteor, her giant axe dragging a long trail of sparks along the ground as she charged into the valley with an unstoppable momentum.

Boom!

She brought her axe down on the ground at the valley entrance. The hard rock layer instantly fractured, sending crushed stones flying in all directions.