Chapter 117: The Escaping Sun

Chu Yun’s interest in slaying the legendary beast far exceeded that of the others—not out of a desire to eliminate a threat, but for the valuable loot it would drop. A sixth-tier monster with fifth-tier strength not only offered incredible materials from its body but also yielded sixth-tier items in the Mirror World.

The thought of the loot from a sixth-tier legendary creature was exhilarating. Moreover, from previous hunts where the Earth Devourer had pursued flying monsters, its scale projectiles indeed lacked the range of flying wings, allowing many flying monsters to escape once out of reach.

Chu Yun doubted whether the group could successfully kill the beast. After all, the Toxic Mist Wyvern was only a fifth-tier lord-class creature, but with the highest-level fire elemental lord—strengthened through twisted laws—on their side, their chances were considerably good.

In a way, fire elementals had an advantage over the Earth Devourer.

“However, I don’t know Greater Illuminate, so I’m afraid I can’t participate,” Chu Yun admitted. His duplication ability was unstable when copying target skills, and he wasn’t confident he could replicate that particular spell.

Unexpectedly, Selina spoke up, “No need, I’ll handle Illuminate. You just help me pilot the flying wing.”

It turned out Selina’s real aim was to find a highly skilled pilot—not because she distrusted Lysa’s skills, but because she didn’t want Lysa to risk her life alongside her.

From earlier conversations, Selina understood Lysa wasn’t fond of adventure. She had offered to help only for Selina’s sake, and Selina felt enough gratitude for Lysa’s goodwill. She didn’t want her few friends to share her dangers.

“Taking part in the lure plan isn’t a problem, but I can’t guarantee joining the hunt afterward. As for payment, I’d like an advance—not gold, but high-tier fire crystals,” Chu Yun said after some thought, finally agreeing to the plan.

“Good! That’s no problem. Take these fire crystals for now!” Nelson, the guild leader, trusted Chu Yun and handed him his private stash from his spatial gear.

Nelson knew Chu Yun was one of the flying wing’s designers, and having his granddaughter with him was safer.

“Anything extra I give personally. No time to waste—let’s depart now,” Nelson told the assembled team.

Chu Yun accepted the fire crystals—impressive indeed, the guild leader’s generosity was notable: two fourth-tier fire crystals and twelve third-tier ones.

First and second-tier fire crystals could be gathered from mineral veins, but third-tier and above were much rarer. Usually, they required hunting creatures like rock worms, making them significantly more expensive. A single third-tier fire crystal typically sold for around five hundred gold coins.

Fourth-tier fire crystals cost tens of thousands, and even with money, they were hard to come by.

Chu Yun understood Nelson’s concern. Having lost his son, Nelson now cared deeply about his granddaughter’s safety but couldn’t stop her from risking herself. So he entrusted Chu Yun to watch over her carefully.

Only a few people participated in the lure plan. The mage responsible for casting the Dark Veil were Nelson and another third-tier mage. Besides Selina and Chu Yun, three others alternated in casting Greater Illuminate.

These three lacked access to advanced flying wings, and even if given one, they wouldn’t learn to operate it in time, which could be more dangerous. Instead, they had cavalry guards from the Blackstone Knights. The knights dispatched their fastest landstrider-mounted riders to assist.

Landstriders, like earth dragons, were popular mounts. Compared to the earth dragon’s heavy load capacity and combat power, landstriders excelled in speed and short bursts of flight, commonly used by scouts and similar units.

Intelligence indicated that this elite landstrider cavalry was slightly faster than the Earth Devourer, making their safety marginally assured.

To ensure the mages’ safety, the cavalry also deployed many cannon fodder troops to distract the beast and ensure the plan’s success.

Besides the lure team, another group followed Vice President Darren directly into the Toxic Mist Swamp to make preparations.

Notably, before heading to the site, Nelson borrowed two additional single-person advanced flying wings that Lysa had crafted.

With his and another third-tier old mage’s abilities, by the time they reached the operation point, they had mastered basic control of the flying wings, enabling them to fly while casting the Dark Veil.

This not only increased their safety but allowed Nelson to keep an eye on his granddaughter at all times.

“This truly is a marvelous invention!” exclaimed Nibor, a third-tier mage traveling with them, as he landed.

Nelson, after experiencing high-altitude flight himself, felt much more at ease. He could use third-tier flight magic, but the wind-element spell was extremely difficult to control and hard to master. Moreover, it demanded full concentration, making it difficult to cast other spells mid-flight. Its altitude was also inferior to that of the flying wing.

After the four landed, they waited a while longer until other members of the Mage Guild and Blackstone Knights arrived.

They were at a fork leading to the Toxic Mist Swamp—given the Earth Devourer’s speed, it would arrive in about half an hour. They had to execute the first stage of the plan there.

The Blackstone Knights were led by Captain Hager, an old acquaintance of Chu Yun. The deputy captain, Matthew, was rumored to have left the order.

The group adjusted the plan details on site according to personnel. Scouts reported the beast’s latest movements every few minutes.

“It’s coming, almost here. Get ready!” the captain ordered.

The operation was led by Hager as the commander. Upon the order, Nelson began casting spells.

The Dark Veil was an area-effect spell, typically used in warfare or group combat. Though third-tier, it was quite difficult to cast.

The other mage didn’t actually know the spell but could simulate a similar effect by controlling dark clouds—barely sufficient.

The Dark Veil resembled the Fire Rain spell Chu Yun had once seen: a continuous effect that moved with the caster. Two mages alternating could maintain it all the way to the destination.

The opening of the plan was the most critical moment, so Nelson acted first, while Chu Yun and Selina cast Greater Illuminate from above.

Night fell, the sun disappeared beneath the darkness, then a dazzling light flared in the night.

The Greater Illuminate overlapped the sun’s position, then, under Selina’s control and the Earth Devourer’s gaze, began to shift.

The Earth Devourer on the ground paused briefly, stomped in anger, then, under the tense watch of everyone, followed the “sun” as it moved.

It seemed hell-bent on capturing this fleeing “sun,” harboring a deep grudge against it.