The remaining souls in the shattered body drifted toward Ye Chenfeng, entering the jade pendant in a soft, eerie glow.
"It's a cave demon slave!" Jingjing, the top student, immediately identified the monster with a sharp intake of breath.
As the words left her lips, the cave demon slave lurking in the shadows widened its grotesque eyes. Its withered, ghastly mouth opened as it witnessed its companion's demise, an almost primal grief etched on its face.
"Not good!" Ye Chenfeng shouted, his tone sharp and urgent.
It's calling for reinforcements!
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
The creature's shrill cry echoed through the cave as it wailed for its brethren.
"Damn it, it's summoning its companions!"
Suddenly, countless pairs of dark blue eyes blinked open within the black vines. The creatures emerged en masse, hunched and hideous, their sharp, sheep-like cries cutting through the air.
"Quick! Set up a defensive formation!" Ye Chenfeng commanded, his voice slicing through the growing chaos.
Without hesitation, the group unleashed a torrent of magic—thunder cracked, fire roared, and ice vines sprawled across the cavern. Explosions of magic lit the tunnel, cutting down the charging monsters, but the effort seemed futile.
The demons kept coming, their numbers swelling until they crowded the entire passage. Their blue eyes burned with fury as bone sticks, stained with old blood, clashed like crude war drums. Their unearthly cries filled the air.
"We're in the heart of their lair!" Mo Fan yelled, panic rising in his voice. "There are more side tunnels behind us!"
The nightmare wasn't limited to the front. The thick black vines concealed other side passages, and now more cave demon slaves crawled out from hidden openings, effectively surrounding them.
"This place is their nest! Those white pebbles we saw earlier—they're not pebbles; they're bones! Bones crushed alive by these monsters!" Zhao Manyan finally pieced it together, his voice tinged with horror.
"Everyone, fall back toward me! Don't get separated!" Ye Chenfeng shouted, his authority cutting through the chaos.
"Burn the black vines on both sides!" he commanded. "We need to stop them from flanking us!"
As a high-level mage, Ye Chenfeng cast his spells effortlessly. His fourth-level fire bursts obliterated the slave-level demons in swathes, each blast killing three to five creatures with precision. Flames danced across the walls, consuming the vines, their ash falling to the ground like snowfall.
But the nightmare wasn't over.
"Wait, what's this?" Zhao Manyan's eyes widened as the flames revealed two gaping holes in the wall where the vines had burned away.
"Those are demon caves!"
The group collectively froze. They hadn't anticipated additional tunnels, much less so close to their position. With demons charging from the front and rear, and now these side openings, they were like fish trapped in a barrel.
"If demons pour out of these caves, we're done for!"
"Mo Fan!" Ye Chenfeng shouted, summoning fiery energy to his wrist.
Understanding immediately, Mo Fan turned and joined Ye Chenfeng. The two stood back-to-back, releasing intermediate-level magic. Two blazing fists of crimson fire shot into the caves, their high temperatures scorching the stone and their explosive force reverberating through the cavern.
The flames howled as they tore through the tunnels, sealing the openings with a thunderous roar. Cracks formed along the rock walls, the caves groaning under the strain.
Thankfully, the duo held back their full strength. With the mountain already hollowed out by the demons, using too much force risked triggering a landslide.
The group resumed its cautious offensive, avoiding overly destructive spells. Most lacked the overwhelming firepower of Ye Chenfeng and Mo Fan, but their combined efforts burned through the vines and kept the demons at bay.
The respite didn't last. More demons charged from the front and back, their bone sticks gleaming like crude weapons of war. The summoned beasts—Zheng Bingxiao's Rock Demon and Lu Zhenghe's Ghost Patterned Wolf—took the brunt of the attack. The bone sticks struck their bodies relentlessly, leaving deep dents.
If the beasts endured another round, they wouldn't survive.
"We can't hold out like this!" someone shouted. "We need to break through, or we'll have casualties!"
Ye Chenfeng agreed, focusing his firepower on the tunnel ahead. The group prepared to force their way through when a chilling scream echoed from the rear.
Ye Chenfeng turned to see Xiaofeng collapse, blood pooling beneath him. A demon slave had bypassed the defenses and struck his legs with brutal force. His once-sturdy limbs were now mangled, flesh and blood turning his trousers into a horrific pulp.
In agony, Xiaofeng crawled toward the group, his instincts compelling him to seek safety.
Ye Chenfeng clenched his fists. "Ice Vine!"
In an instant, frost spread across the ground, freezing the charging demons in place. Two of the creatures, still mid-swing, turned into ice sculptures before crumbling to pieces.
Peng Liang, stunned, muttered, "That… that shouldn't be possible. Ice Vine doesn't work that fast."
Yet the impossible had happened. Ye Chenfeng's control had far surpassed the limits of elementary magic.
With the immediate threats neutralized, the group forged ahead, but Ye Chenfeng's mind remained sharp. He knew the battle wasn't over—and the survival of his team depended on his every move.