With a single thought, the space above Lu Jun's head tore open into a gloomy abyss, the wind howling as it surged outward.
Black and white Ghostfiends burst forth, their shadowy figures like two massive hills. A cyan-black gale roared, and an ashen sandstorm swept up, following the gap torn open by the Earth Tyrant Dragons, unleashing a massacre.
With two generals at his side and a tide of summoned beasts, he charged wildly into the beast horde, breaking through to smoothly rendezvous with the South African National Institute team.
The South African captain, a Black man, panted heavily and asked, "Which Super-level mage are you?"
At this moment, Lu Jun was drenched in blood, fighting ferociously. He cast Water Curtain Heavenly Canopy to withstand the Warrior-level demons attacking from all directions, the pressure immense. Without much explanation, he hurriedly threw down a single sentence: "National Institute of China. Follow me."
"Huh?" The burly Black captain hadn't said anything yet when a scrawny Black youth in the team spoke in disappointment: "From the Nine Continents? Just students like us?!"
The skinny Black youth complained bitterly, "What is the African Magic Association thinking, sending students here? We're doomed. If they were going to send a National Institute team, it should've been from the great magic nations of Europe. What's the Chinese team worth?"
The few surviving teammates also looked grim, one Black Pearl girl nearly breaking down completely.
Hearing this, Lu Jun laughed in fury. I came to save you, and yet you dare complain? His eyes swept over them coldly. The vast soul force of his Sixth Realm Spiritual Domain and his cultivation in Curse Element High-Tier, Level 2 pressed down upon them.
Buzz—buzz—buzz!
In an instant, the several Black youths were aghast, as though seeing a pair of evil god's eyes gazing down on them from the heights.
Seeing the South African team suppressed, Lu Jun snorted coldly and, without looking back, said, "If you believe, then follow. If not, stay here and die!"
Boom! Boom!
The Earth Tyrant Dragon tide surged around them, forming a mighty yellow torrent that charged forward.
It had to be said—Summoning Element's Beast Tide Summon was truly the god of group battles. A hundred top-tier Warrior relieved the South African National Institute team of immense pressure.
Before long, Lu Jun led them out of the encirclement.
Of course, the Desert Terror Foxes and Poison Flame Scorpions had also deliberately allowed a few to leave. Mainly, Lu Jun's power was simply too overwhelming—Water, Curse, and Summoning all unleashed at full force, leaving both clans with severe casualties.
Witnessing this, the South African team was stunned, dumbfounded at Lu Jun's strength. Most of them were still stuck at Intermediate-level's peak, with only two or three core members having reached High-level.
Compared to the Chinese team, who had just trained for a short time yet all reached High-level, they were far inferior.
Lu Jun's expression remained calm. Though the two clans together numbered over two thousand Warrior-level, the pressure they brought was not even comparable to the four-colored demon clan.
After all, Fusion Magic and Commander-level leaders each posed a far greater challenge.
If not for Lu Jun deliberately hiding his innate twin elements—Space, Psychic, and Metal—which he dared not reveal, he truly would have been itching to unleash them in a grand battle and slaughter both clans to extinction.
If he collected forty-two Warrior Essence, it would be enough to ignite a Fifth -level Intermediate spell.
At that point, Intermediate magic could rival High-level in power.
Facing the shock of the South African members, he replied flatly, "There are differences even among National Institutes."
Hearing this, the scrawny Black youth didn't dare utter another word.
The South African captain bowed in the international language: "Forgive us. Our teammate was reckless. We are deeply grateful for your rescue."
"No need. Just paid to do the job. The African Magic Association is footing the bill."
Lu Jun had no fondness for them and didn't care to play along.
Then he added, "It's easy to get lost in the Sahara Maze Realm. If you still don't trust me, find your own way out. I'll be going ahead."
With that, Lu Jun deliberately stored away the Triangular Dimensional Mirror, the treasured artifact, then closed his eyes and used Soul Lock over a Thousand Miles to sense Mo Fan's location.
He moved forward. The South African team exchanged glances. They were already exhausted, unable to fight anymore. Without Lu Jun, they had no chance of survival, so they hurriedly followed.
At this time, while the others weren't paying attention, Lu Jun secretly released the Tai'a Divine Sword. The killing spirit of the weapon turned back to deal with the two clans—slaughter as many as possible—to nourish his Metal Element.
After walking for a few minutes through the endless, monotonous desert, the group saw a lone figure standing quietly ahead, and they grew wary.
Lu Jun ignored them, quickened his steps, and the environment shifted as he approached Mo Fan.
Right there, Mo Fan greeted him, "Ah, Old Lu, you're back. You were gone so long, nowhere in sight. I thought you'd gotten lost."
Hearing this, Lu Jun didn't reply. Truthfully, he had violated the one-kilometer rule, running several kilometers away. Any ordinary mage would never have made it back.
Suddenly, Mo Fan noticed several Black youths appearing behind Lu Jun and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! Isn't that the National Institute team that fell here? You actually found them?!"
Mo Fan was ecstatic. The Cape of Good Hope Magic Association had declared that as long as the South African National Institute team was saved, the reward would be limitless.
Now he no longer needed to struggle between advancing Space or Chaos to High-level—he would choose both. All Elements High-level! And with the remaining money, he could likely even afford a Soul Seed.
This was exactly why, despite the danger, the mentors of the Chinese National Institute still urged their members to give it a try. If successful, the harvest would be immense.
The few members of the South African National Institute team flushed red, treating it as humiliation. Lowering their heads and shrugging their shoulders, they followed behind Lu Jun and Mo Fan.
They gradually made their way back, finding one anchor point companion after another—Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, Mu Ningxue, Jiang Shaoxu.
Lu Jun urged, "Move quickly, I have a bad premonition."
The Sandstorm Wraith would not easily allow the group to leave. It was as intelligent as a human, wishing to take the lives of the National Institute team in order to lure its old foe, Devon, over.
At the moment, the Sandstorm Wraith had yet to realize, believing that Nan Jue at the boundary had been forced to shift from the origin point. No matter what, these young Magicians would not escape from its palm.
Jiang Shaoxu raised a question, "Why hasn't Nan Jue sent the signal yet? Wasn't it agreed, one signal every five minutes?"
"It's already been ten minutes now. Without a signal, how are we supposed to anchor the exit?"
Just as everyone decided to continue waiting, Lu Jun immediately stepped forward, calmly saying, "No need to wait. My Summoned Beast told me—they were driven away by a Sandstorm Wraith."
"What?!" Everyone who heard the captain's words felt horrified. "Then doesn't that mean we're lost in the desert?"
Jiang Yu said with a trembling voice, "And… and there's also a Monarch-rank supreme creature prowling nearby, eyeing humans like prey, we could encounter it at any moment?!!"
"Damn it." Zhao Manyan jumped up, his voice carrying a sob, "I knew it, nothing good ever comes from following Mo Fan. If I had known earlier, I never would have come in here!"
Although the South African National Institute members nearby could not understand Chinese, when they saw the drastic changes in their expressions, they also guessed that something was very wrong.
The South African team's captain, the strong Black man, asked anxiously in halting but polite words, "Excuse me, everyone, has something happened?"
Meanwhile, the skinny young Black boy directly mocked, "Heh heh heh, I thought you were so strong. Yet you're no different from us, all lost in the Sahara, aren't you?"
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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