Chapter 109 The foothold

Jinlin City was very far away, and the group traveled for nearly ten days before finally arriving at this remote city.

The journey was difficult and they had to climb over mountains and cross rivers, and overcome all obstacles.

Fortunately, after experiencing the thrill in the cave, the group of eighteen people had a relatively smooth journey and did not encounter groups of monsters again.

With their current strength, they would not be devoured by demons until nothing was left of them after just a few steps.

The group first conducted a survey in the forest outside Jinlin City. The result surprised everyone. There were only a few demons wandering in search of food, and no groups of demons were found.

As a result, the exploration of the outer forest went very smoothly, and a green mark was placed on the drawing, indicating that the outer forest was unobstructed and the number of monsters was small.

After the outer forest exploration was completed, eighteen people stepped into the deserted city. The outer ring road was full of abandoned cars with verdigris, and these cars directly blocked the outer ring road.

As you can imagine, when people were evacuating, the cars jammed the road and most people abandoned their cars and fled.

After passing the outer ring road, streets and houses gradually appeared.

The streets were covered with cracks, winding their way across the entire road surface. The weeds growing in the cracks seemed to show their tenacious vitality, eroding the road into pieces.

The house was covered with thick dust, with ivy densely clinging on it. The vines extended upward along the walls and even invaded the windows, indicating that the house might be full of abandonment and mess.

The trees on both sides were untrimmed, and their lush canopies blocked the sunlight, making the environment seem even darker.

"In just fifteen years, Jinlin City has become like this. Dean Xiao still wants me to come and see it. What can I see?" Xu Mu couldn't help but complain.

"Did Dean Xiao ask you to come here for training?" Mo Fan asked from the side.

"Well, he hopes that I can come to Jinlin City to take a look, so that I won't have the chance to come again in the future. By then, it will become a thorn in my heart and hinder my practice of magic." Xu Mu explained casually.

"And I'll be your bodyguard!" Xu Mu said, glancing at Mo Fan and the others.

“Oh, if you had told me earlier that I had you as my bodyguard, I wouldn’t have to worry so much.” Mo Fan said casually.

"What do you mean by 'if it doesn't come, it will become a thorn in my heart'?" Mo Fan asked doubtfully.

"Well, it's just me...watch out for the roof!"

Xu Mu was about to explain when he discovered a demon on the roof. He quickly cast a spell and the lightning mark in his hand turned into a purple-red chain, accurately hitting the giant lizard demon on the roof.

Lightning exploded, instantly killing the slave-level lizard monster.

Although the giant lizard monster's sneak attack failed, everyone's faces were solemn because they did not sense the existence of the giant lizard monster at all. If Xu Mu had not released magic in time, someone would have been injured.

Fortunately, there was only one giant lizard monster here, and there were no groups.

"We have to find a place to settle down first. It's not so dangerous during the day, but at night, the demons will become more rampant." Xu Mu thought for a while and said.

"By then, there will be too many demons and I won't be able to protect you."

"Xu Mu is right. We have now entered this deserted city where demons are rampant. We may encounter danger at any time. The temporary stronghold must not only facilitate our rapid retreat, but also have sufficient defense capabilities to resist possible threats..." Lu Zhenghe said seriously.

"I think that one is good." Mo Fan pointed directly at the Jinlin City Municipal Building in the distance.

"Change it. Such a big building will be liked not only by us humans but also by demons." Xu Mu objected without hesitation.

After all, Xu Mu was a high-level mage, so his opinion was very important. He had good reasons, and everyone thought they made sense, so they all agreed to change the location and find a new place to stay. …

After some searching, they finally found another church as a temporary place to stay.

When this church was first built, the erosion of time was fully taken into consideration, and stones that are not easily covered by plants were used. Therefore, even after a long time, it still remains in a relatively intact condition.

The church has a solid structure and the interior is relatively dusty, so it only needs a little cleaning to provide a comfortable place to live.

"There are no signs of demonic activity inside. It's safe here." Mu Ningxue said to everyone after a careful inspection.

"Let's take a rest first, and then go to the survey point to collect data." Xu Mu said.

It was afternoon now, and they used wind magic to quickly clear the dust in the church. Then they sat around a bonfire that was built with plants grown by plant magic and lit by fire magic.

This bonfire can continue to burn for a long time, providing them with warmth and light.

"Ugh... the taste of this lizard meat is really unbearable." Zhao Manyan reluctantly took a bite of the giant lizard monster's meat, and then couldn't help spitting it out. He even felt that the bean juice in the imperial capital was better than this.

“Come and have a taste of my wolf meat.” Mo Fan shared the meat of the one-eyed demon wolf he had hunted with Zhao Manyan.

“I think it’s unpalatable too. The one-eyed wolf is so ugly.” Zhao Manyan said as he took the wolf meat.

"I think it tastes pretty good." Mo Fan said as he handed the golden and tender wolf leg meat to Mu Ningxue, "Xuexue, you should try this too."

"Thank you." Mu Ningxue nodded slightly and took the piece of wolf leg meat.

"What's the relationship between us? Do we need to be polite?"

"Muzi, do you want to try some of this?" Mo Fan was about to ask Xu Mu if he wanted to try it, but he saw that he had already taken out a bag of beef jerky from the space and was enjoying it by himself.

"I still prefer beef jerky." Xu Mu shook his head. He didn't appreciate the meat of the one-eyed demon wolf very much. It tasted similar to chicken breast and was not particularly delicious.

"When I reach a high level, I will definitely awaken a space magic. It would be great to have storage space." Mo Fan said enviously as he reached out and snatched the bag of beef jerky from Xu Mu.

Xu Mu was not dissatisfied with the beef jerky being snatched away. After all, they had such interactions since childhood. He took out another bag of beef jerky from his storage space and continued to enjoy the fun of food.

"Boom~~~"

"Boom~Boom~"

Just as everyone was enjoying the wonderful lunch, suddenly, a deafening noise was heard outside.

"With such a big commotion, could it be a commander-level demon?"

Everyone's faces turned serious in an instant. They didn't care about the food in their hands and hurried outside to see what had happened.

Above the Jinlin Municipal Building, the building that Mo Fan pointed to earlier, a pair of huge wings were slowly spreading out among the clouds, gradually revealing its true form.

Beneath the wings is a creature that resembles a monitor lizard, its body covered in a layer of hard, bumpy skin from its head to the tip of its tail.

The long tail drooped gently, and the tip was as sharp as a sword. Under the sunlight, it flashed an awe-inspiring cold light.

(End of this chapter)