Chapter 12: Chaos

Chapter 12: Chaos

With two SR cards in hand, Wen Ying began examining their functions. After reading the explanation of the Enchantment card's skill bar, he suddenly understood why Essence had said that Beros was asexuql.

The SR card "Illusionary Charm" was a derived magic from a high-ranking Succubus' innate talent. The reminder stated: This is a very talented Succubus whose derived magic can make the target view the caster as their favorite creature.

Fixing his gaze on the word "creature," Wen Ying couldn't help but mutter, "Beros isn't just asexual anymore..." Considering his attitude towards Essence, Beros seemed to have no inclinations towards anyone.

Even he himself didn't use vines to flick the tiger's ears and tail. There should be some preference for any creature, right?

Huo Po, who was still scolding Wen Ying, suddenly felt a chill on his ear. He scratched it and became cautious, scanning his surroundings.

The other SR card was "Inferno Flame," an innate magic of the Hellhound. The reminder read: The flame skill released by this card is a far cry from the real deal.

Looking at the reminder, Wen Ying sensed sarcasm within. Was his own innate magic mocking him? A century-old question.

Unable to figure it out, he glanced at the SR card he had obtained through a loophole and compared it with the SSR illustration in the mobile game. Suddenly, the card in his hand lost its appeal.

Putting away the two SR cards, Wen Ying assessed the remaining amount of magic within him, contemplating what card he should draw next.

"The Illusionist" and "Burning Flame" alone consumed a significant portion of his magic power, three times more than creating the SR-level "Impenetrable Barrier" yesterday. "Burning Flame" even required twice the magic compared to "The Illusionist."

An R-ranked "Impenetrable Barrier" was necessary, along with that tiger's claw spell which seemed effective in breaking defenses. The lion's roar was also useful, capable of dispelling magic.

Perhaps due to Wen Ying's recent streak of card drawings, he had surprisingly produced several SR cards today without any N cards, and the R cards were of decent quality too.

SR Card "Dispellable Claw," piercing through magical defense barriers effortlessly.

SR Card "Supple Body," granting you the suppleness unique to succubi, enabling evasion of attacks in any posture. Caution: No guarantee against muscle strains after the magical effect wears off.

R Card "Crimson Roar of the Ferocious Tiger", disrupting magical constructs and dismantling spells. Caution: The enraged Yellow Tiger Clan demon, the source of this sound, will attract hostility upon the use of this card.

R Card "Deceleration", slows down the target's speed.

R Card "Amplification", selects an area to increase forcefulness.

R Card "Invisibility of Aura", diminishes the target's presence, making them less detectable.

...

When two-thirds of his magical energy was depleted, Wen Ying ceased his card usage. His stomach rumbled incessantly; he had only consumed a few fruits last night, which did little to satisfy his hunger.

He took out the spell notebook Aruda had given him and, with some clumsiness, recited the basic Water Ball spell three times. Finally, a...drop of water condensed on his finger.

Wen Ying fell silent for a moment before lavishly using a Water Elemental card to wash his face and quench his thirst.

He felt that using spells was less efficient than using cards, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"Anyway, as long as the outcome is the same, who cares about the process?"

N-rank cards roughly possessed one or two-tenths of their original owner's effects, R-rank cards were three to four-tenths, SR cards should be around half, and SSR cards...he wasn't sure.

If the effect was insufficient, quantity could make up for it, and they could even disrupt an opponent's incantation.

With the scorecards strung together with vine ropes in hand, Wen Ying set out to find lunch.

After drinking some water, his appetite only grew stronger.

Armed with a substantial fortune (ninety-two scorecards), Wen Ying was more cautious than the day before. After identifying several familiar fruits, he climbed a tree hollow to eat in seclusion.

Having consumed the scarce, edible fruits that Wen Ying could recognize, he soared towards the treetop. Without any obstructions, the abundant sunlight illuminated an endless expanse of forest and mountain ranges, a view that was impossible to witness in cities. Wen Ying sighed, if he couldn't fly, he would have long clung onto the trunk, unable to sit so nonchalantly on the tree branch.

A breeze blew over, carrying with it a cool, fresh air that filled his lungs and was slowly exhaled. The entire process was tranquil and peaceful.

The wind also conveyed information. The scents of magical elements, belonging to various masters, hinted at unseen battles or ambushes happening among many demons lurking in hidden corners.

Wen Ying pondered whether he should rip off a few more score plates to reach a total of a hundred.

Just as he was thinking, the wind suddenly intensified, causing the entire forest to rustle loudly. The air carried an unusual scent, which triggered a sneeze from Wen Ying. He slipped from the branch due to the force of his sneeze, but calmly flapped his wings mid-air to land gracefully beneath the tree.

The ground began to tremble.

"Moo-"

"Roar, roar, roar-"

The earth continued to shake, accompanied by the sensation of numerous creatures moving swiftly in the distance. The thunderous "rumbling" sounded as if the ground was about to be crushed. Wen Ying flew up to a tree in mid-air, observing the situation in confusion.

Not only was Wen Ying perplexed, other demons were also baffled by this unexpected turn of events. Some unfortunate ones, caught off guard, found themselves face-to-face with the charging horde of magical beasts, narrowly escaping with their lives.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"Bloody Bull?"

"Have the entire herd of Bloody Bulls gone mad? They're charging forward relentlessly."

"At this season, the Bloody Bulls shouldn't be here. It's not their migration period to this area."

"F*cking army of Devil Devouring Ants?!?"

"Hiss—"

"Aaaah, save me! The bunnies are eating devils!!"

The demons were being chased around by the horde of magical beasts. Amidst such chaos, let alone tearing off name tags, they were struggling just to preserve their own lives. Many demons had planned to gather and push back the magical beasts, but to their surprise, the more they fought, the more beasts appeared, and they showed no fear of death. As a result, they were forced to scream and flee in disarray.

Wen Ying listened to the distant commotion, rubbing his arms. This was really unsettling... Could it be that something really happened due to that powder?

Wen Ying's gaze darkened slightly. In the conversation between the two demons, there had always been mention of a "Your Highness." The one addressed as such should be the son of the Devil King, right?

A possible scenario suddenly surfaced in his mind, causing Wen Ying to wince slightly. Given the wild customs of the Demon Realm, it wasn't impossible that this "Your Highness" wanted to add some difficulty to their test, perhaps with hints from the Devil King who had turned "Boys and Girls Rush Forward" into an extreme challenge and "Name-tearing" into a mass slaughter.

"Damn, the whole swarm of Manboru bees over there has gone crazy!"

Lost in thought, Wen Ying heard a voice close by. Acting on instinct, he drew the newly minted R Card "Concealment" and cast it on himself without hesitation, flying back to the tree hollow where he had eaten breakfast to hide.

"Buzzzzzz—"

The hair-raising sound of buzzing wings filled the air in large numbers. Even though he was now a demon, Wen Ying still feared the sound of insect wings, for it reminded him of the painful stings of bees.

A dozen or so demons flew past Wen Ying in a panic. Soon, the Manboru bees appeared in his line of sight.

Initially, Wen Ying had only been afraid of the sound of the bee wings. After becoming a demon and acquiring magic, he didn't think there was much to fear about bees. A gust of wind or a fire spell could easily get rid of them. However, upon seeing the sheer size of the Manboru bees, he froze and silently cast another "Concealment" on himself.

"Buzzzzzz—"

The giant swarm of bees made a loud commotion as they flew by, their formation impressive due to their human-sized bodies. Wen Ying could clearly see their stingers and enormous compound eyes.

The Demon Realm... was indeed very perilous.

Wen Ying, who had been elated in the morning due to drawing a few SR cards, deflated once more.

The swarm of Manbo bees passed by swiftly. Only then did Wen Ying heave a sigh of relief. His legs felt weak as he slumped into the tree hollow, attempting to recover his composure. He clutched the SR card "Burning Flame" tightly in his right hand, ready to throw it at any dangerous magic beast that emerged.

The thought of the cards he had just produced brought a slight improvement to his mood.

The entire forest became chaotic, with dust billowing and the distinct scent of burning flames spreading.

The commotion was so great that the demons outside the forest detected it. They exchanged glances, their expressions grim.

They hoped that the disturbance on the outskirts of the Eternal Forest wouldn't incite the magic beasts within the inner circle.

Why had the magic beasts suddenly become agitated?

After a brief respite, Wen Ying planned to leave the forest. Just as he was about to descend, someone else approached. His heart raced as he hid in the tree hollow, peering down through the leaves. He almost burst out laughing.

It was the two demons who had earlier produced the powder.

"It's all your fault! What are we going to do now?" The Horned Demon slapped the other Beast-Eared Demon on the head.

"How can it be all my fault?! If you hadn't rushed me, we wouldn't have encountered that gust of wind blowing away the powder!"

Listening to the two demons blaming each other below, Wen Ying roughly understood the situation.

It wasn't because the Overlord wanted to increase the difficulty of their test, as he had initially assumed, but rather due to a very cliché and melodramatic reason - the First Prince intended to eliminate a certain demon.

Amidst their accusations and fear, Wen Ying pieced together the conspiracy from the key phrases he caught – "First Prince", "powder to drive beasts into a frenzy", "elimination", "another one", "half-breed not worthy".

It was evident that the High Prince had entrusted the task to the wrong demons. The duo had botched their assignment, failing to sprinkle the powder on the designated demon as instructed. Instead, they allowed the wind to scatter it everywhere, turning the third trial into chaos and undoubtedly alerting the other demons outside. Now, they were desperately trying to find a solution.

The two demons bickered for a while, but all their ideas were worthless. Soon, the group of frenzied magical beasts, agitated by the powder, charged at them. The demons hastily fled the scene.

Wen Ying also seized the opportunity to escape, and the two demons were completely oblivious to his departure.

His escape didn't go smoothly. He stumbled into the heart of the turmoil, where a colossal python, towering at least ten stories high, coiled around the trees, nearly blending seamlessly into the forest landscape. The area was now scarred with battle marks, and Wen Ying initially failed to notice the massive creature lurking there.

Aside from him, a newcomer to this chaos, there were several demons lying exhausted or even lifeless on the ground. Most of them were severely injured, with only a few still standing amidst the gruesome bloodstains that stained the surroundings.

Having swiftly assessed the situation in just a few seconds, Wen Ying was then hit by a scorching wave of heat, more intense than being exposed to a 40° Celsius sun outdoors. The heat distorted his vision.

Wen Ying: "???"

Before he could comprehend what was happening, blue flames transformed into an Eastern dragon that engulfed the giant serpent. Sparks from the explosion ignited the grass, filling the air with choking smoke, reducing visibility.

In the midst of this tense and chaotic environment, at the center of the flame magic, stood a handsome young demon. Beside him were two fox demons, one male and one female. The male fox demon seemed severely injured, with blood from his abdomen staining the grass red. His limbs and tail hung limply on the ground.

Scanning the area quickly, Wen Ying pulled out a stack of R cards labeled "Basic Healing" from his pocket. Gazing at the injured demons lying on the ground and their score cards, an unusual gleam sparked in his eyes.