Chapter 167: Ember battlefield

The teleportation lasted only a few seconds. When Ethan opened his eyes, the humid heat of the Lava Sea had disappeared, replaced by a dry aura mixed with the smell of ash and scorched metal.

Before him stretched an enormous battlefield reaching all the way to the edge of his vision. The ground was split by deep fissures, lava still flowing continuously through them, while farther away, rows of volcanoes kept trembling as though something enormous were sleeping beneath the earth.

Across the battlefield, the bones of dead creatures lay scattered everywhere. Some skeletons were only as tall as ordinary humans, while others were as large as buildings, their ribs buried deep in the rock and soil, their skulls half-covered by lava.

Among the remains were broken swords, shattered shields and armor, spearheads glowing red from the heat, and pieces of equipment that had lost most of their spirituality. On the surface, there were no glowing treasures here, nor any obvious treasure chests or inheritances, but Ethan only needed to sweep the area with the Eye of Truth to know that these bones and pieces of equipment were far from useless.

Even after being eroded by fire-element energy for a long time, the remaining materials still contained powerful energy, especially the bones of the enormous monsters that had once fought on this battlefield.

"This is a very expensive garbage dump," Ethan said.

Hearing that, Ruo Yan looked around and nodded as well. "The bones of these creatures can be used to refine puppets. The fragments of equipment that still retain their structure can also be reforged. As long as we collect enough, their value will be no less than an entire warehouse of resources."

Laira did not care much about the bones. She had just stepped onto a scorched black rock, intending to see whether there was anything in the distance worth fighting, when the entire range of volcanoes ahead suddenly shook violently.

The ground beneath everyone trembled, the bones scattered across the battlefield collided with each other and produced dry rattling sounds, while from the largest volcano, an enormous pillar of lava suddenly erupted straight into the sky.

The System notification appeared almost at the same time.

[Second Challenge Round: Ember Battlefield.]

[Challenge Objective: Escape the pursuit of the Flame Bone Dragon.]

[First Pursuit Wave: Survive for three hours.]

[Second Pursuit Wave: Survive for four hours.]

[Third Pursuit Wave: Survive for six hours.]

Ethan looked at the notifications, then remembered the privilege time the System had just granted to the top three. First place could enter six hours early, second place three hours early, and third place one hour early. If Laira and Ruo Yan had not been counted as Partners accompanying him, the two of them would have entered during the second and third pursuit waves respectively. Now, the Partner rules allowed the entire team to enter together with Ethan, while everyone else still had to wait the full six hours before they could arrive here.

He looked at the final notification that had not yet completely faded and asked, "What happens when the others enter?"

The System immediately responded.

[Fourth Pursuit Wave: Survive for twelve hours.]

Ethan fell silent for a second, then could not stop himself from clutching his stomach and laughing. Laira turned to look at him, while Ruo Yan was also slightly stunned.

"What is so funny?" Ruo Yan asked.

"I just think those nonhumans are really unlucky," Ethan replied while laughing. "They used all those crystals to exchange for the qualification to continue, only to end up standing here and being chased by the Flame Bone Dragon for twelve hours. If they had known in advance, they might have wanted to trade that entire pile of crystals for a ticket back."

Before Laira could respond, the largest volcano exploded once again. Lava scattered like a red rain, then an enormous black shadow shot out from the crater. When it spread its skeletal wings covered in flames, the entire sky above the battlefield immediately darkened.

Ethan raised his head to look at the creature that had just appeared, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared.

The Flame Bone Dragon was more than twenty meters tall. Its enormous skeletal frame was connected by streams of dark red lava, and its wingspan of nearly seventy meters covered a large section of the sky. Two white-gold flames burned inside its empty eye sockets, and the instant its mouth full of bone teeth opened, it released a wave of scorching air that caused the entire mountain range ahead to tremble.

Ethan watched the monster descend from above like a mountain range falling from the sky, then could only sigh.

"They really are unlucky."

The moment the Flame Bone Dragon descended, the shadow of its wings covered a vast section of the battlefield. Streams of lava connecting its bones continuously flowed along its wings and ribs. Every time it flapped its wings, scorching wind swept up ash and broken stone, causing the scattered remains on the ground to roll away in large patches.

Although Ethan had already seen the monster from afar, once the distance truly closed, he could still feel the terrifying pressure created by its size. The enormous dragon skull was almost as large as a house, while even a single front bone claw was enough to crush an entire stone field.

Laira did not retreat at all. She stepped in front of Ethan, gripping the Boundless Fishing Rod tightly with one hand while strands of Thunderfire had already appeared around the fingertips of the other.

Her eyes remained fixed on the Flame Bone Dragon, the familiar excitement clearly visible on her face, as though the creature before her was not a monster capable of hunting people for hours, but merely an opponent strong enough to let her stretch her body.

"Should I deal with it?" Laira turned her head and asked Ethan. "If I break its wings, it will not be able to fly anymore."

"No need to kill it." Ethan shook his head. He looked at the three-hour countdown that had just appeared in the interface, then at the Flame Bone Dragon rushing toward them. "The objective of the challenge is to avoid being caught by it. We only need to hold it back and stop it from touching us. If we actually kill it, the System might not consider that completing the challenge. Besides, a dragon that can be confined here as a pursuer may also be connected to the rules of this area."

Laira looked somewhat regretful after hearing that, but still nodded. "Fine. I will only beat it until it no longer wants to get back up."

The moment she finished speaking, the Flame Bone Dragon opened its mouth. A stream of white-gold flames erupted from inside its skull, the temperature so high that the scorched black rocks on the ground immediately began to melt.

Ethan was just about to use Realm Breaker to blast apart the direction of the flames when Mumu on his shoulder jumped forward first. Its small body expanded at incredible speed, the transparent yellow gel stretching into a hemispherical wall that covered Ethan, Ruo Yan, and the Undead Mage beneath it.

The flames struck the barrier with a deep explosion. The gel trembled violently but did not break. Mumu blocked the flames outside, causing them to slide down along the surface before flowing onto the ground and forming a blazing ring of lava around everyone. Mumu, positioned within the barrier, let out a happy cry and even tried to absorb a little of the fire-element energy mixed into the flames.

"Do not eat random things." Ruo Yan immediately spoke, her hand already resting on the Soul Threads. "That is the Bone Dragon’s fire."

Hearing that, Mumu shrank slightly, but still stubbornly hugged the portion of fire-element energy it had just swallowed with its two short arms. Ethan looked at it and could only shake his head. He knew Mumu was far stronger than it appeared, but if the Slime really swallowed something dangerous and suddenly exploded, he had no idea how he was supposed to explain that to Laira.

While Mumu blocked the first attack, Laira had already disappeared from her original position. She did not use any kind of wings and simply stomped hard against the ground. The rock beneath her feet shattered instantly, while her body transformed into a red-silver streak of light that shot directly into the sky.

When the Flame Bone Dragon saw her approaching, it swung a claw, its bone talons several meters long tearing through the air, but Laira merely twisted her body in midair and avoided the attack. She swung the Boundless Fishing Rod, and the black fishing line extended like a bolt of lightning, wrapping tightly around the Bone Dragon’s left ankle.