Versatile Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-1206

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Three blasts occurred simultaneously, throwing sand into the air. The rain of sand pouring down was dangerous too!

As soon as the Mage called Dajian was two hundred meters away from the team, three enormous Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demons suddenly burst out of the ground and surrounded him. The sand that they were using as a disguise vanished completely, revealing the countless roots around Dajian, wriggling under his feet like starving worms!

Dajian was standing in the middle and completely dumbfounded. He had never seen anything so terrifying!

The trap that Feishu stumbled into still had gaps and room to breathe. Ge Ming was still able to save him, even if he was dragged into the ground. However, in Dajian’s situation, he had basically set his foot into the gates of Hell. Even Ge Ming had no chance of saving him!

“Blin… sigh…” A silver light glowed on Mo Fan, but he called it off while he was still channeling his magic.

The area that Dajian was in was crawling with roots and branches. There was no longer any opening for Mo Fan to blink into and save the man. Mo Fan did not feel good when he caught the final glimpse of disbelief and fear on Dajian’s face.

Prejudice would seriously get a man killed. Mo Fan had tried to avoid conflict with the members of the Golden Battle Hunters from the start, yet something like this had still happened in the end.

“Come over here, quick!” Mu Nujiao yelled. The team quickly focused.

“There’s a Pseudomorphing Demon there too!” Xu Pingdong protested in fear.

Dajian was dead for sure. The trap consisted of three Pseudomorphing Demons. An Advanced Mage had no chance of surviving it. Xu Pingdong was overwhelmed by guilt, but he still could not accept it. He immediately directed his hatred toward Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao did not seem too bothered by it.

“Let’s go.”

“But…”

“He’s dead! There’s nothing we can do!”

The others crossed over to Mu Nujiao’s position. Mu Nujiao was still unharmed, meaning that her position was still safe for the time being.

When the team regrouped with Mu Nujiao, the sand below them was restless. The team was startled, but as their hearts filled with fear, Mu Nujiao began to emit a dark green light.

The roots of the Pseudomorphing Demon burst out of the sand. Its branches were swinging wildly, trying to drag the team into the ground.

However, a dark green Demon Tree appeared. Its branches tangled up with the branches and roots of the Pseudomorphing Demon, preventing the creature from attacking the team. The Demon Tree’s branches were outnumbered by the roots and branches of the Pseudomorphing Demon, but its branches were incredibly strong. The team had no trouble moving forward. They just needed to be cautious.

“It’s safe ahead!” Mu Nujiao remained still. She was controlling the Demon Tree, keeping the Pseudomorphing Demon at bay, staying stern and expressionless. The others could easily tell she was furious, yet she did not lose her calm!

The team continued forward. The path had been safe so far!

——

The team reached the destination not long after.

Most of the people were unharmed, yet they were all wearing a defeated and uneasy look.

Mu Nujiao and Zhang Xiaohou regrouped with the team. They were both fine too. They just needed some treatment for the minor wounds they had.

—

Some time later, Ge Ming forcibly cleared a path through the countless roots intercepting him, carrying a man covered in blood on his shoulder. As a Super Mage, he was the only person that could force his way through the Pseudomorphing Demons.

He seemed a little worn out, but there was a hint of relief in his eyes. Feishu was not dead, and had been saved from the jaws of death.

“What a relief, I managed to save him,” Ge Ming placed Feishu on the ground, allowing the Healer on the team to treat his wounds.

Feishu had mostly suffered physical injuries. His life was not in danger. With a Healer around, he could easily recover within an hour.

Ge Ming looked around and said smilingly, “Why do you all look so down? Didn’t I manage to save Feishu? That was indeed a close call, but we are all fine, aren’t we? It’s still a long journey ahead, we can’t afford to give up so easily.”

“Lea…leader, Dajian…” Lu Fang said in a trembling voice.

“Leader, it’s that girl’s fault. She led us into a Pseudomorphing Demon, and she was well aware of its existence. I was suspicious of her decision, so I asked Dajian to choose a different direction, but…” Xu Pingdong rose to his feet and glared at Mu Nujiao.

Ge Ming immediately pulled a long face.

Dajian had a strong sense of responsibility. Ge Ming had high hopes for him. The man might not be a leader, but he was the right-arm man that any leader would appreciate.

Ge Ming never thought another man would die while he was trying his best to save a man who was in danger.

Ge Ming was not mad at anyone. He was just sad for the loss!

“You knew there was a Pseudomorphing Demon there, right?” Ge Ming looked at Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao nodded. She despised Xu Pingdong’s attempt to put the blame on the others. She said calmly, “The path we took was surrounded by the Pseudomorphing Demons. We would stumble into a trap no matter which direction we took, but there was only a single Pseudomorphing Demon on the path I chose, while the other directions had more than one. If I used my Demon Tree to keep the Pseudomorphing Demon at bay, I could guarantee the team’s safety…”

Xu Pingdong was utterly dumbfounded!

He stared at Mu Nujiao. His face was covered in cold sweat. He blurted out in a panic, “Why…why didn’t you say it earlier!?”

“Did I have the time to explain myself? You shouldn’t be so full of yourself. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Hunter Master, we are all rookies in this desert!” Mu Nujiao retorted coldly.

“Old Xu, you shouldn’t have made the decision for the team on your own…” Lu Fang sighed.

The rest of the team could easily tell whose fault it was. They were well aware that Mu Nujiao had made the right choice. She had chosen the safest path for the team. Xu Pingdong was the one who should be held responsible for Dajian’s death. The man had died because of his prejudice toward Mu Nujiao!

Ge Ming’s face darkened after learning the truth.

He did not say a word, nor did he rebuke the team, but the silence served as a greater torture to the members.

“Let’s take some rest and prepare ourselves for the journey ahead,” Ge Ming said a while later.

“Leader, Dajian’s family, I’ll take care of them…” Xu Pingdong’s eyes were rolling with tears. They eventually ran down his cheeks. He was filled with guilt and remorse!

“It’s not your fault, you didn’t push him to death. He chose the path himself,” Ge Ming said.

“But, leader…”

“Just be more careful and rational. Everyone is risking their life coming here. No one wants to die, don’t look down on the others. You didn’t even dare to leave the safe zone when you were their age, but they are brave enough to come to one of the most dangerous places in our country! You have no right to underestimate them just because of their age!” Ge Ming stated.

“I…I understand, I’m sorry!”

—

The team had already lost someone on the first night in the desert. They could not even retrieve Dajian’s remains. They had no choice but to leave him behind under the sand.

The desert was extremely cold at night, a great contrast with the heat of the day.

The clear sky was full of stars. Mo Fan went up to Jiang Shaoxu. The girl was staring at the night sky, immersed in her thoughts.

“Why are you here? You already saw how dangerous this place is. Even I won’t be able to guarantee your safety,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had wanted to save the Hunter called Dajian. Unlike the others, he did not think highly of himself. Unfortunately, the Pseudomorphing Demons were too quick for him. He did not even have any chance to save the man.

“Just here to experience the desert,” Jiang Shaoxu replied.

“Experience the desert? You think your life is a joke?” Mo Fan snorted.

The national team had taken the relatively safe path when they were traveling around the world to train themselves, but this Taklamakan Desert was a lot more dangerous. Even a Hunter Master would die within the blink of an eye!

“I had a brother who liked to go on adventures. He was oddly passionate about ancient ruins. I still don’t understand why the thrill of walking on the knife’s edge is better than living a calm life with your family in the city!” Jiang Shaoxu sighed.

“So you came to experience the thrill too? That’s pretty naive of you… everyone is different. Some people think that living on the edge is as exciting as falling in love for the first time. The thrill they get is more pleasant than making love. It’s quite obvious that your brother is that kind of a person, but you aren’t,” Mo Fan said.

Jiang Shaoxu giggled and nudged Mo Fan, “Can’t you mind your words? I’m talking about something sad here.”

“Being sad doesn’t mean you have to look miserable, you can still make jokes and laugh,” Mo Fan said.

“Speaking of which, you do remind me of my brother at times.” Jiang Shaoxu felt a lot better.

“No wonder you’re so fond of me…”

“I’m referring to your stubbornness in getting yourself in danger and living on the edge, it’s the same as my brother was.”

“I actually treat my life preciously.”

“But you can sacrifice it for something more important, right?” Jiang Shaoxu laughed.

“Perhaps.”

“Life is precious indeed…”

“Where did your brother successfully seek death?”

“I’m still looking, it should be somewhere in the desert, or it might be some other place. The last time I saw him, he mentioned something about how he had found ruins related to the strongest Totem Beast,” Jiang Shaoxu told him.