Chapter 23: The Deadly Chain Trap (Vote Requested)
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Facing the rampaging Rhinohorn Beast, Xu Wen's expression remained as calm as the surface of a lake; he handled the situation with ease. While he used the force of the 'Flame Lance' to continually impede the beast's advance and seize the opportunity to widen the distance between them, he quietly accumulated time to summon the 'Wall of Flames', a spell he had never used in real combat. The fiery barrier stood between himself and the beast, forcing the Rhinohorn to take a detour.
“As expected!”
The Rhinohorn Beast’s avoidance of the wall confirmed Xu Wen’s earlier theory, and a knowing look flashed across his face. He immediately changed direction, leaving the beast behind as he circled back to his original position from the side.
Xu Wen led the way, the Rhinohorn Beast in relentless pursuit; unconsciously, they traced a circle through the forest.
At this moment—
Xu Wen, having repeatedly summoned his two-star advanced spells, ‘Flame Lance’ and ‘Wall of Flames’, had nearly exhausted his mana. Meanwhile, the Rhinohorn Beast, though scorched in places, grew only fiercer, its aura more violent than ever. It was tenacious, clinging to him as if it sensed the human’s strength was waning.
Just as the beast judged its foe’s stamina and mana to be almost depleted, the man in front suddenly stopped and turned!
Has he reached his limit?
A flash of disdain and anger crossed the Rhinohorn Beast’s eyes. With a furious roar, it surged forward, its black chain mace whirling through the air with a savage energy, eager to tear the human mage apart.
Thirty meters, twenty-five, twenty…
The Rhinohorn Beast saw its prey nearly within reach, when Xu Wen performed an action it could not immediately comprehend—five fireballs calmly took shape before him.
??
The beast was stunned, then its eyes filled with mocking scorn, as if ridiculing Xu Wen: Is this all you have left, the ability to summon mere one-star spells?
Gazing at the beast’s rapid steps and the distance to the trap he’d laid, Xu Wen did not hesitate; he flung one of the fireballs.
The aim seemed imperfect, perhaps a touch too quick, landing harmlessly on the ground where the beast was about to step.
The Rhinohorn Beast instinctively glanced at where the fireball had fallen—
BOOM!!!
A wild eruption of flames burst forth from beneath its belly, like a volcanic explosion. The tremendous force lifted the beast clean off its feet.
It all happened so suddenly! The Rhinohorn had no time to grasp what was happening; it was like a giant lizard hoisted onto a bonfire, howling in pain, twisting reflexively in a futile attempt to escape. But the fire phosphorus powder beneath it exploded with spectacular flames, instantly engulfing the beast and everything within five meters.
The mighty fire cloud was only fifteen meters from Xu Wen, unable to shield him from the searing heat. Listening to the beast’s anguished screams from within the flames, Xu Wen did not dare relax for an instant. He watched intently as the fire dissipated, revealing the Rhinohorn Beast hurled through the air, its belly scorched black. Suppressing the urge to summon 'Flame Lance' with his remaining mana, he kept retreating.
He could not be certain of the beast’s wounds, nor confident of killing it in one blow.
The Rhinohorn Beast was indeed formidable. Even with its vulnerable belly badly injured, it paused for a few seconds, rolled on the ground, then climbed up steadily. Its bloodshot eyes locked onto Xu Wen, now thirty meters away, and without a pause, it twisted its body and accelerated, the belly wound seemingly not affecting its movement at all.
Seeing this—
Xu Wen drew a sharp breath, finally moved. Thank goodness he hadn’t rashly summoned Flame Lance earlier, or he would have fallen right into the beast’s trap…
Go!
Two fireballs, one after the other, shot towards the Rhinohorn Beast.
This time, the beast had learned: seeing the fireballs, it seemed to realize something, and abruptly changed direction. But it failed to notice that in turning, its thick legs landed on a patch of fine white powder…
Under Xu Wen’s control, the two fireballs swiftly altered course, landing at the beast’s feet.
BOOM!!!
In an instant, flames erupted, and the beast’s furious, agonized roar echoed once more.
But this time, the Rhinohorn Beast sprang out of the fire with blazing eyes, its body scorched and dotted with little flames, charging at Xu Wen like a burning war chariot—he who held the last two fireballs.
It could endure no further torment from a nearly spent mage.
Yet—
Xu Wen had spent so much time and mana leading the beast on a wide circle; how could he not be fully prepared? Along his retreat, he had scattered fire phosphorus powder, forming a chain of traps.
The first strike was merely to test the beast’s belly defense.
The second trap had powder spread left, center, and right; whichever way the beast turned, it would trigger the trap. This strike would surely enrage the beast, prompting it to launch a reckless assault, plunging straight into Xu Wen’s final death trap.
The first and second traps unfolded just as planned.
Now, seeing the Rhinohorn Beast charging full speed into the third trap, Xu Wen wasted no time. The last two fireballs flew from his hands!
Whoosh!
The dark red fireballs signaled both attack and provocation.
This time, the beast did not evade, seemingly aware of the mage’s traps all around. Its speed did not falter; it chose to crash through, prepared to endure the coming blast, close the distance, and slay its enemy.
As the fireball struck its feet, a dazzling earth-gray glow enveloped the beast—earth defense, the magical beast’s defensive skill.
Just as the beast braced itself for the fiery blast, the spectacular death trap was triggered by the fireball at its belly—
BOOM!!
Without suspense, the eruption of flame from below swallowed the Rhinohorn Beast whole.
ROAR!
With a thunderous howl, it burst from the expanding flames, landing steadily. The earth-gray glow faded, but its body was unscathed.
However—
As it landed, a trailing tongue of flame swept its feet from behind.
BOOM!!!
The beast had no time to react!
A second round of ‘Flame Burst’ erupted suddenly beneath its feet. Without magical protection, its belly was instantly scorched by the intense heat. Taken off guard, the beast could not have expected the mage to have this trick; with a cry of pain, it was hurled by the blast.
Howl… ROAR!!!
Escaping the flames, the Rhinohorn Beast dared no longer charge straight ahead. Still separated by more than twenty meters from Xu Wen, it could not guess how many traps lay between them.
It changed direction, planning to approach from another angle.
But after only a few steps—
BOOM!!!
Flames shot skyward!
The Rhinohorn Beast, still ablaze, stepped into another trap, rolling away in disarray, only to be flipped again by yet another flame burst.
All the while, Xu Wen had not cast another spell; he even folded his arms, observing coolly. Yet the flame burst traps continued to detonate one after another. The beast, charred and battered, was near collapse, its arrogance and hatred replaced entirely by panic and terror. Every attempt at escape from a different direction resulted in another explosion.
After triggering the eighth trap, the Rhinohorn Beast was covered in wounds, yet it still refused to give up, flailing wildly through the forest like a headless fly, ablaze.
It had fully tasted the terror of this human mage… its fighting spirit broken, it now only wished to flee, as far from this cursed place as possible!
In its panic, the beast did not realize that it was its own actions that had brought about this predicament. The flames clinging to its body and limbs acted as igniters for the fire phosphorus powder surrounding it—these traps were triggered by itself!
Witnessing this, Xu Wen knew the time had come. He drew a deep breath and stepped forward, the ‘Flame Lance’ materializing above him with a concentrated high heat and a piercing edge.
To withstand the tenth consecutive death trap, the Rhinohorn Beast’s defenses exceeded his expectations; if he delayed any longer, it might escape. He had spent so much phosphorus powder and all his mental energy—if he failed to claim a two-star magic core, the loss would be immense!
BOOM!!
Another flame burst trap detonated. The beast, now powerless to resist the shockwave, was lifted by the flames, exposing its belly charred to black.
At the very instant the beast howled in pain to relieve its burning belly, a tremendous force pierced through its abdomen, launching its body a dozen meters away, where it landed atop yet another untriggered trap.
……
At the entrance to Blackwater Mountain Range
Sang Long, Karl, and three other fire mages from the Hortonklin family watched with grave expressions, their eyes fixed on the smooth crystal slab before them, which resembled a chessboard. None dared relax.
On the crystal, over twenty small red dots were scattered, most overlapping in groups and moving slowly. Only a solitary red dot rested at the board’s edge, unmoving.
“What should we do?”
“It’s been over ten minutes without any sign!”
The fire mages anxiously looked at the man seated at the center.
He frowned, sighed, and turned to call out the door, “Any sign of the distress flare?”
“No!” came the simultaneous reply from outside, intensifying the tension within the room.
“Forget it. If there’s been no distress signal for this long, even if we act now, he’s probably already…” said the man, leader of the rescue team.
The chessboard mapped most of the outer region; every registered disciple’s movements were visible, helpful for locating them in emergencies.
Now, the lone red dot at the board’s edge had remained still for a long time, marking the territory of a two-star advanced magical beast—the very place where six of seven disciples from the Seventh Medicine Peak had perished.
Sang Long and Karl exchanged a glance of regret.
That lone red dot belonged to Xu Wen, who narrowly escaped disaster last time; no one expected him to be so reckless again.
As the rescue team resigned themselves to Xu Wen’s presumed death and discussed retrieving his body and belongings, the red dot on the board suddenly shifted ever so slightly.
“He’s alive! That kid is still alive!!”
The rescuers’ eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the now lively red dot, barely daring to breathe.