Count Bran struggled with his claws to flatten the curled map, but the map seemed to have a stubborn will of its own. The moment he pressed down one side with his claws, the other side would "whoosh" and spring back into a roll.
It made his feathers stand on end with frustration. If the King weren't watching, he would have definitely picked a fight with this disobedient map.
"Hey, you unruly thing, behave for this Count!"
After a fierce struggle, he finally managed to tame this wild map.
Count Bran cleared his throat, trying hard to regain the dignified posture of a noble count, and used the tip of his wing to point at the map.
"Your Majesty, please look. According to this map, the Obsidian Mining Area is also located in the outer regions of the dungeon, but it's in the southwest direction of the Mist Zone."
The tip of his wing tapped on a hastily drawn mark in the southwest corner of the map.
"There are mainly three main routes to get there."
His wing pointed to a thick line drawn with green moss juice. "The first is the 'Green Moss Passage' firmly controlled by the Goblin Army. Taking this route would theoretically be the fastest, but it also means we'd directly encounter those green-skinned shorties' patrols and guard posts."
"The second route is the 'Lava Well' inhabited by the Lava Demonic Bats. This passage delves deep into the geothermal area, with narrow and rugged paths filled with deadly high temperatures and toxic gases. Those demonic bats are extremely troublesome aerial hunters."
Finally, the wing tip landed on an area in the center of the map covered with dense swirling lines.
"The third route requires passing through one of the dungeon's core areas—the 'Storm Zone.' According to the green-skinned Shaman, that place has many powerful elemental lords, with complex and ever-changing paths full of unknown dangers and natural magical turbulence."
"Your Majesty, which route do you think we should take?"
"The Lava Well, of course." Chen Yu bounced without hesitation.
Taking the shortcut would alert the Goblin Army, while taking the detour through the core Storm Zone was too dangerous.
In comparison, although the Lava Well occupied by the Lava Demonic Bats was dangerous, the level of danger was relatively controllable. More importantly—they wouldn't be detected in advance by those green-skinned creatures.
Of course, he definitely wasn't holding a grudge.
Chen Yu silently added in his heart, it's just that these Lava Demonic Bats happened to be somewhat in the way... that's all, nothing more.
Upon hearing this, Count Bran immediately shrunk behind Chen Yu, muttering quietly, "Ahem, it's not that this Count thinks those featherless bats are particularly powerful, but these fellows are somewhat shameless. Once injured, they'll 'plop' right back into the boiling lava to recover health."
The Lava Demonic Bats were indeed troublesome—they also held aerial superiority, toxins were ineffective against lava, and the Poison-stinger Wasps' main attack methods were severely countered.
However, he had already thought of a way to deal with them.
The weaknesses of these Lava Demonic Bats were clear: they feared water element attacks, and powerful explosions that could instantly tear apart their lava bodies.
And the "Mana Explosion" talent perfectly met the explosion requirement.
Chen Yu's voice spread through the army via the Wasp Guards. Led by the Wasp Guard leader, fifty Explosive Wasp Soldiers flew to the front.
The Magical Creature Army soon returned to the original site of the slime nest, followed the passage downward, and finally reached the gateway to the Lava Well—the Sulfur Hot Spring Area.
An intense sulfur smell assaulted them, with scalding steam filling the air.
Peachy's massive body stepped into the bubbling hot spring without hesitation. The boiling water temperature felt like a hot bath to her thick fur. She narrowed her eyes comfortably and let out a contented "oink."
Little Ka was much more cautious. It tentatively extended its claw, lightly touched the water surface in the shallows, immediately retracted it from the heat, and let out an uneasy whimper.
Chen Yu had prepared for this and immediately fed it a "Fire Resistance" Lv.1 talent orb.
After swallowing it, Little Ka tried again. Its claws stepped into the warm water without any burning pain, only a warm, comfortable feeling.
It tilted its head in confusion, then let out a pleased low rumble.
"King, not hot."
"Very good."
Chen Yu made a satisfied plopping sound.
"Now, conduct a thorough sweep. Every magical creature here is valuable food—don't let a single one escape."
"Kaka!" Little Ka immediately perked up, quickly wading into the deeper parts of the hot spring. The Poison-stinger Wasp Army also increased their flight altitude, avoiding the deadly scalding steam below while hunting.
The peaceful hot spring area was instantly disrupted.
As the Magical Creature Army passed through, the originally lurking magical creatures fell victim one after another. Panicked shrieks and battle hums blended together.
Chen Yu devoured the magical creatures' Magic Organs, while Peachy followed behind, picking up the remaining "leftovers" and eating heartily.
Talent experience rose continuously like bubbles emerging from the hot spring.
In no time, Chen Yu used "Magic Stripping" to feed every Wasp Guard and Self-destructing Wasp Soldier with "Fire Resistance" Lv.1.
Of course, Count Bran and Peachy also received their share.
【Bronze Lv.5→Lv.6】
【Fire Resistance Lv.1→Lv.3】
【Mana Explosion Lv.4→Lv.5】
【Devour Digestion Lv.6 triggered—Sulfur Leech characteristics completely recorded, talent obtained: Thermal Recovery Lv.3】
【Devour Digestion Lv.6 triggered—Mist-devouring Dog characteristics completely recorded, talent obtained: Evaporative Illusion Lv.2】
Chen Yu extended his gel hand into the bubbling hot spring and could feel streams of warmth seemingly seeping from the hot spring into the gel, condensing into life energy.
This was "Thermal Recovery"—a talent that could restore life energy even when jumping into a fire.
Of course, the prerequisite was having sufficient Fire Resistance, otherwise the healing speed might not keep up with being roasted...
As for "Evaporative Illusion," it was even more interesting.
With a thought, his head began to "gurgle gurgle" emit large amounts of steam, quickly condensing above him into a remarkably lifelike illusion of Yano.
This illusion could not only make various exaggerated and funny expressions according to his will, but because the emitted steam also contained mind-blurring Hallucinogenic Factors, it greatly enhanced the illusion's realism and deceptive power.
Even Mist-devouring Dogs that hunted using illusions might not create illusions as realistic as the ones he produced.
By the time the Magical Creature Army exited the hot spring area, Chen Yu tallied the losses and found that no matter how careful they were, over twenty Poison-stinger Wasps had permanently remained in the hot spring.
Some were hit by suddenly erupting steam columns, instantly roasted and falling;
others were caught in the desperate self-destruction of Heatland Giant Mosquitoes while chasing them... in short, the reasons for their misfortune were varied and strange.
"Caw! Your Majesty! Those featherless bats are chasing us out!"
Count Bran's panicked scream came from ahead. He had recently flown to investigate the entrance to the Lava Well and was now flapping his wings desperately to fly back, with four Lava Demonic Bats covered in flowing dark red lava emitting piercing screeches closely pursuing him.
"Attack!"
The dozen or so Self-destructing Wasp Soldiers that had been waiting instantly responded. Red light flashed at their tails as they launched volleys of Venomous Needles that detonated near the group of Lava Demonic Bats.
"BOOM——!!"
Violent Mana Explosions formed shockwaves. Two Lava Demonic Bats were directly blown to pieces, transforming into showers of splashing lava droplets that rapidly cooled and solidified into Obsidian fragments upon falling into the hot spring.
The other two were also severely injured by the explosion shockwaves and fragments, their lava dimming and their forms becoming unstable.
Before they could adjust or escape, the second volley of Venomous Needles came whistling toward them.
"Boom! Boom!"
Two explosive roars later, these two demonic bats followed their companions' fate.
However, the explosion's roar and their companions' death shrieks were like sparks thrown into boiling oil, instantly igniting the bats' nest.
Ear-piercing shrieks rose one after another from deep within the Lava Well, filled with furious rage.
The next moment, a full eight even more furious Lava Demonic Bats surged out from the well entrance, wrapped in scorching air currents, charging straight at the Magical Creature Army.
"Buzz——!!"
Without needing orders, the four Wasp Guards serving as the army's backbone immediately rose to meet the enemy. Their slightly reddened tails raised, aiming their massive Venomous Needles at the approaching Lava Demonic Bats.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Four deadly Venomous Needles tore through the air, shooting toward the bat group with sharp whistling sounds.
The Lava Demonic Bats reacted extremely quickly. Two of them abruptly climbed upward, the Venomous Needles narrowly missing their hot wing membranes, but the other bats weren't as fortunate.
BOOM!!!
Mana Explosions several times more powerful than those of the Self-destructing Wasp Soldiers erupted violently. Dazzling light and destructive energy instantly engulfed the bat group.
When the light faded, only two Lava Demonic Bats remained in the air, dragging their shattered, lava-dripping broken bodies, emitting mournful cries as they wobbled and tried to escape.
Chen Yu was preparing to condense a Little Arrow Technique for the final cleanup when he suddenly felt a strange fluctuation erupt from beside him.
He saw a Wasp Guard flying above a sulfur rock, as if driven by instinct, suddenly surge forward.
With its movement, the boiling hot spring water below seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, abruptly transforming into a thick stream of water that shot out.
"Sizzle——!"
The scalding hot spring water accurately poured over the two severely injured demonic bats.
The burning lava flames on their bodies were instantly extinguished, emitting a teeth-grating "sizzling" sound. Their bodies rapidly cooled and solidified, like two lifeless stones, heavily plunging into the hot spring and splashing large amounts of water.