CHAPTER 234: A Strong Crowd

The mighty body of the giant cyclops fully reflected its powerful soul as it shook the ground and mountains in its path, snapping ancient trees and causing many beasts to flee.

Even in the Dark Forest, where super-ranked magical beasts lurked everywhere, very few creatures were willing to provoke a being as powerful as the Cyclops. It was not easy to have bad relations with such a big guy.

Han Shuo and Gilbert followed the tracks left by the Cyclops and caught up with it without too much effort. To avoid being noticed, Han Shuo rode on Gilbert's body and deliberately created a large distance between them and the cyclops.

As they hurried behind the cyclops, Han Shuo carefully scanned their surroundings and indeed discovered several powerful auras that seemed to be interested in the cyclops' actions.

However, the owners of these auras were also deliberately avoiding the cyclops. They were hiding far away, unwilling to approach the Cyclops and only following the tracks left by the Cyclops, seemingly having the same idea as Han Shuo.

When Han Shuo sensed these powerful auras, he immediately told Gilbert to return to his human form. He then dragged Gilbert along, using the art of the Demonic Ninth Heaven to prevent Gilbert's large body from attracting the attention of these powerful beings and becoming their prey.

The three Yin Demons stood guard off to the side, constantly alert to any approaching danger that might befall them. Danger lurked around every corner in the Dark Forest, so Han Shuo couldn't help but remain vigilant.

Each step of the towering cyclops covered five or six metres. Finally, after a long period of rumbling, hasty travel, he entered a small valley.

A waterfall cascaded down the valley, the vegetation was green, the lake was clear and strange flowers bloomed. Strange rocks of different colours lay at the bottom of the clear river. They glittered in the sunlight, making the river ripple and shine and the colour of the fish even brighter in contrast.

What was surprising was that when the Cyclops reached the valley, he suddenly became very cautious. He took each step very carefully, as if he was afraid of breaking the silence of the valley or of disturbing some powerful being.

Following the Cyclops from a distance, Han Shuo hid on a cliff above the valley. Looking down from above, he watched the cyclops' movements.

The Cyclops cautiously moved forward after arriving at the valley. As it walked, it reached back to unhook the huge shovel and headed for the small lake below the waterfall.

Contrary to Han Shuo's expectations, the small lake was extremely deep. The Cyclops was nearly ten metres tall, and yet the water of the lake reached his shoulders as he stepped into it.

As careful as the Cyclops had been, he caused numerous violent waves to spread out as he entered the lake. Fish of various colours scattered in fear, and the clear water around his body gradually became murkier, clearly affected by his movements.

As the Cyclops moved his hands and began to use the shovel, the water in the lake rose even higher, and the clear surface of the lake became even murkier as huge pieces of rock were thrown onto the shore by the moving shovel.

The Cyclops could tell at a glance which rocks were useful and which were useless. He would put the useful rocks away as soon as he had dug them up, and then carry on working.

All of the rocks that the cyclops dug up had some sort of muddy sludge stuck to them. Han Shuo couldn't tell what it was. However, since the Cyclops had taken an interest in them and sneaked over to dig them up from so far away, it was unlikely that they were something that would be easy to find.

Suddenly, several powerful auras descended upon the valley. They all focused their attention on the Cyclops, as if waiting for something.

Han Shuo immediately slowed his breathing and heart rate and began to deliberately conceal his presence. He wanted to prevent anyone from detecting a single trace of him and causing him unnecessary trouble.

As a super-ranked magical beast, Gilbert also had a wonderful way of concealing himself. After a glance from Han Shuo, he slowly slipped into the current in the lake and continued to sink until he reached the muddy layers at the bottom of the lake.

As one of the evil races of the underground world, the dark dragons had a natural talent for hiding in mud. When Gilbert sank into the mud and was blocked by the flowing water and mud, even Han Shuo had to sniff very carefully before he could find any trace of the dark dragon.

After concealing himself, Han Shuo ordered the three Yin Demons to slowly move around the valley, scouting out the direction in which he had sensed the powerful auras.

First, there was an old woman with a wrinkled face, wearing a fiery red mages robe, standing on a branch of a seven metre high tree. From the magical insignia on her robe, Han Shuo realised that this old woman was indeed a Fire Grand Magus. Her gaze did not rest on the Cyclops. Instead, she kept glancing around, as if she was more interested in the valley itself.

The second person was a middle-aged hulk. He looked rather handsome, with short golden hair sticking out, and seemed very energetic. He'd stopped behind a boulder, his attention focused on the Cyclops itself.

There was a strange aura around the middle-aged hulk. It was actually quite similar to Gilbert's aura. Han Shuo watched the middle-aged man carefully and suddenly understood that he was an adult golden dragon.

The third powerful being had landed in the bushes. It was a fierce, huge monkey, about five metres tall, with long silver fur and a pair of blood red eyes. Its long arms ended in sharp, knife-like fingernails. There were traces of blood on one of them, as if it had just ripped open a magical beast.

The last person was a beautiful young girl, floating in the air on the back of a Pegasus. She had clear eyes, white skin and a flawless face. A holy aura radiated from her features. She rode on the Pegasus with a straight back and her breasts held high, looking quite full. Her attention was also on the Cyclops.

Thanks to the surveillance of the three Yin Demons, Han Shuo examined the four powerful beings from all sides. He couldn't help but be shocked. The Dark Forest was truly a terrifying place. A single Cyclops had attracted the attention of so many powerful beings.

There were four powerful beings, two beasts and two humans. The middle-aged hulk was, of course, a golden dragon in human form. As the race with the most powerful bodies among the dragons, they were publicly acknowledged as strong. The aura of this middle-aged hulk was as solid as a mountain. He was definitely a powerful being who had evolved at least three times. He wasn't something a newbie dark dragon could compare to.

The silver-eyed giant ape had an enormous body that stood four metres tall. From the cold sharpness of its nails, Han Shuo could tell that they were soaked in the blood of various powerful men and beasts from the Dark Forest. The aura of bloodlust surrounded him. Although he didn't know what kind of mutated monster it was, its powerful aura was definitely not weak.

The old woman with the wrinkled face was a Fire Grand Magus. Her control over fire magic had already reached its peak, so her power was definitely terrifying.

Han Shuo couldn't tell the strength of the beautiful young girl on the Pegasus from her appearance, But since she had dared to appear here, Han Shuo believed that she would not be an easy opponent to deal with. She definitely wouldn't have appeared if she didn't have extreme confidence in her own abilities.

When Han Shuo had fully assessed the four powerful beings that were hiding, he immediately contacted Gilbert and told him to stop moving in order to prevent an unfortunate catastrophe.

"Roar..."

An enormous roar suddenly sounded from underground. The whole valley shook as the rocks on the cliffs shook and fell towards the small lake.

This roar came from deep within the earth. It was filled with infinite fury. The four powerful and hidden existences all showed different expressions when they heard this loud howling.

The Golden Dragon and the beautiful girl on the Pegasus were shocked and didn't know what to do or what was happening. Their gaze shifted from the Cyclops to the lake and the stream. The Fire Grand Magus and the giant silver ape, however, seemed to understand what had happened, and their expressions showed a hint of eager anticipation.

After that loud roar, the temperature of the normally temperate valley shot up. The lake and clear river were suddenly transformed into a hot spring as steam rose from them and gradually spread through the valley.

The Cyclops clearly knew what was happening as well. His originally light-footed actions immediately quickened, as if he was avoiding something and wanted to extract as much strange ore from the lake as possible in the shortest amount of time. It sped up its work.

The ground in the valley shook to the sound. The ground beneath the lake and river split open. The temperature in the valley rose, causing some of the fragile flowers that couldn't withstand it to wilt. Then some branches and bushes cracked as they dried and began to smoke.

Even Gilbert, hidden in the mud, could not withstand the rapid rise in water temperature. It almost turned him into a roasted dragon and made him want to break out of the mud.

However, Han Shuo noticed that the four hidden powerful beings had increased their vigilance to the utmost. An ominous killing intent filled the valley, as if a major war was about to break out. He was extremely shocked and hastily stopped Gilbert. Han Shuo told him to banish the thought of leaving the riverbed so that he wouldn't be the first target to be attacked.

Han Shuo violently stopped the dark dragon and told him to use the convenience of the mud to leave the valley. This was to prevent him from becoming the unfortunate target of everyone's attacks and dying a horrible death.

Gilbert endured the pain of his body being burned and used the natural talents of the dark dragon to move to a place of lower temperature, gradually leaving the valley and disappearing in the direction of the river's current.

Not long after the dark dragon left, a terrible roar came from beneath the ground. The river and lake seemed to be ripped open as magma poured through them. The searing heat made everyone feel extremely uncomfortable.

Ten or so fiery red rock giants, seemingly made of magma, slowly stood up where the magma had gathered in the river.

The bodies of these giants were red like iron brands, and magma seemed to be constantly circulating through their bodies. Each of them was as huge as the giant silver ape, and they looked very ferocious as the magma flowed into their eyes. As the magma spread through the water, they rushed towards the Cyclops.

"The Scorching Demon Generals, they really are here!" The old woman who happened to be the Fire Grand Magus couldn't help but exclaim with a face full of excitement.

The huge silver monkey appeared extremely ferocious. Its bloody-red eyes sparkled with a fierce light. It waved its thick arms around anxiously, as if it was ready to rush in and fight, but it hesitated as if it was waiting for something.

The Golden Dragon and the Pegasus girl seemed to be targeting only the Cyclops. Obviously, they hadn't anticipated this situation and froze, trying to think of something quickly.

As the four hidden powers slowly gathered ideas, the magma-built Scorching Demon Generals charged towards the Cyclops.

The Cyclops no longer dared to stay. He grabbed his shovel and stepped out once more, hoping to leave the valley quickly and avoid the attacks of these demon generals.

The temperature in the valley rose rapidly, instantly cracking the surrounding ground and wilting all vegetation in an extremely short time. The searing heat emanating from the ground made Han Shuo feel very uncomfortable.

But at that moment, Han Shuo closed his eyes and relaxed his body, as if he wanted to take in his surroundings more clearly.

After a while, Han Shuo opened his eyes and light sparkled in them. He looked down at the valley that had turned into a sea of fire and muttered, "Yes, yes, it should be a place of extreme fire down there!