Versatile Mage (Web Novel)

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Despite not knowing how far away the fire was, the party could already feel its extreme heat wave as it was still approaching them, making their skin dry and throats parched.

Mo Fan knew that when something was far away, yet its size already covered most of their vision, it implied that the actual size of the thing was ten times bigger than what they were currently seeing.

The rolling flames on the horizon were now as big as mountains, and once they arrived, it would be a terrifying Fire Calamity!

"Let's be real; when that thing gets close, does anyone think we can possibly hide from it? This is a barren land, with nowhere to hide," Zhao Manyan stared at the rolling waves of fire in astonishment.

The same as everyone else, his eyes were blazing red from the reflection of the fire, and also filled with the fear toward the unknown coming from deep inside his heart.

"So let's run in the opposite direction. Anything is better than standing here and getting devoured. The force is pure destruction; it feels like the punishment that nature is giving to living things, like the wrath of God to mankind!" said Chen Yi, her voice trembling.

The party did not hesitate any further. Even though they had no idea where the fire came from, their instinctive fear and instinct to survive completely overwhelmed their curiosity!

The group began to run in the opposite direction, and confirmed that the raging fire was approaching in their direction. Luckily for them, the Fire Calamity was still a great distance away.

----

After running for a few kilometers, the ground began to shake. The party immediately saw clouds of dust rising into the air behind them; a huge pack of creatures was sprinting their way!

Within the clouds of dust, the party vaguely saw figures like bulls, with most of their body parts, including their heads, limbs, and some of their joints, covered in strong armor plates. The armor was brown-red overall, most likely due to the occasional tempering by fire.

Their numbers were shocking, and their stomping iron hooves made the ground quake violently!

"What are those? Don't tell me they are chasing after us," Zhao Manyan was startled when he turned around to take a glance.

The creatures with brown armor had a frightening, majestic temperament; it was clear that they were no ordinary creatures.

"Those must be the Killing Armor Beasts; they are well-known for their outstanding defense among the Warrior-level creatures. Unlike the Warrior-level creatures that are capable of leading one or two nests, or are solitary, these Killing Armor Beasts prefer to stay in herds. Their armor is very suitable for making magic armor, but you will find yourself facing an entire herd if you try killing one of them!" Lingling quickly identified the running creatures.

Mo Fan could feel his heart racing after hearing her explanation. A herd of Warrior-level creatures; its fighting capacity must be comparable to an army of soldiers! Despite that, they were fleeing like a pack of terrified birds. Didn't that mean the Fire Calamity in the distance was even more terrifying?

If these Killing Armor Beasts were trampling over groups of demon beasts, it would be a massacre. Mo Fan never thought such creatures would be running so cowardly from something else.

------

Mo Fan and his crew were running too. They finally approached the Drifting Sand River. They initially thought they had overcome the biggest threat after crossing the Drifting Sand River. Little did they know the North Burning Valley was even less welcoming than the Drifting Sand River, straightaway summoning the fury of Heaven to descend from the sky!

They had rested up before heading into the North Burning Valley, so Xinxia's energy had been replenished. Therefore, it was perfectly safe for them to flee into the Drifting Sand River.

Meanwhile, the herd of Killing Armor Beasts which was absolutely terrified by the Fire Calamity was also aware that the Drifting Sand River was a death zone. They began to panic when they arrived at the shore, not daring to move forward.

"When the creatures trespassing into the Drifting Sand River have a stronger presence or higher numbers, it will awaken more and stronger White Sand Demons in the Drifting Sand River, too. As such, we should stay a certain distance away from the Killing Armor Beasts. Their presence and numbers should wake the Warrior-level Skeletal Generals. Those creatures are not something we stand a chance against," advised Xinxia.

Everyone nodded. No one dared to follow the panicking Killing Armor Beasts into the Drifting Sand River.

As the party returned to the Drifting Sand River, since they only had a few members, and their aura was a lot weaker than the Killing Armor Beasts, their safety was guaranteed in the Drifting Sand River with Xinxia's Psychic Element.

On the other hand, the Killing Armor Beasts were not as lucky. They were forced to make a decision; should they fled into the Drifting Sand River toward the west, or try facing the Fire Calamity?

Mo Fan and the others had no time to figure it out, as they continued to run toward the west after crossing the Drifting Sand River's boundary.

-----

As they arrived deep into the Drifting Sand River, the Fire Calamity at the horizon finally showed some sign of dissipating. However, everyone was confident that the shocking flames were fully spread across the already-scorched land. The Drifting Sand River was most likely the only place that was not affected.

Hot wind continued to blow in from the distance. Everyone was having a hard time in the heat.

They managed to escape from the horrifying flames, but even the remaining heat from the hot wind was unbearable.

Looking in the direction of the North Burning Valley, the whole place was blazing red, like a kingdom of fire, burning in an ocean of flames!

"I was told that the Drifting Sand River is a river of the dead. The number of White Sand Demons correlates to the number of creatures that have died here. I was confused about how the huge river has such a high density of White Sand Demons, as it needs the same amount of lives dying here..." Lingling glanced at the North Burning Valley and spoke in a thrilled tone. "I believe one of the most important factors is the Fire Calamity we have just seen, which forces the creatures to jump into the Drifting Sand River like a death sentence. As time goes by, the Drifting Sand River becomes ever more terrifying."

"Why don't we leave this place? The Fire Calamity is seriously too scary. If we happened to go deeper into the North Burning Valley, doesn't that mean we won't have a chance of getting out alive?" Zhao Manyan was the first to suggest.

No one had expected the Fire Calamity to occur, as none of them had any information about it. Someone else who had experienced it before should have recorded it down in the books...