Universe Infinite Canteen

The Level 5 Disaster Zone truly lived up to its reputation.

No sooner had they stepped into it than a large horde of Dragon Lice surged out from beneath the dam.

There were tens of thousands of them, each bigger than the common Dragon Lice, nearly half the size of a fist, swarming towards the Hou De Virtue Teachers and Students.

None of the students had ever seen such a scene and were caught off guard. Looking around, the concrete-built dam seemed to be draped in a layer of black gauze, and even the bridge piers were out of sight.

But when they came to their senses, everyone felt that Principal Ma's image had become even more awe-inspiring.

Because before entering the catastrophe belt, Ma Lu had instructed them to take out their Calming Talismans and Fire Spreading Talismans, hold them in their hands, and be ready to use them at any moment.

It was for this reason that they now had time to chant spells and complete the casting.

Moments later, circles of fire sprang up beneath the feet of the Hou De Teachers and Students.

Then the scattered flames turned into a fire spreading far and wide.

The fierce flames met the Dragon Lice army, immediately entangling in battle; one by one, the Dragon Lice crisped in the fire, falling from the sky.

But soon, more Dragon Lice filled in from behind; the black tide even temporarily overwhelmed the red flames, continually pressing towards the people.

This time, Ma Lu did not stand idly by, for there were too many Dragon Lice, and when it came down to attrition, the Hou De populace, afflicted with debuffs, were at no advantage.

Therefore, Principal Ma decisively took action, first popping an intermediate Majesty Candy, then downing a Copy Cookie, choosing to replicate Qiutong's Fire Spreading Talisman.

His reserves of education points were now enough to let him treat these two items as actual snacks to munch on.

And with the aid of these items, Ma Lu became like wielding a flamethrower, tossing one Fire Spreading Talisman after another, not only quickly stabilizing the situation but also allowing the flames, once suppressed by the tide of Dragon Lice, to surge violently back into an attack.

Though the Dragon Lice still fought bravely, their numbers were ultimately not infinite.

After the most grueling first three minutes, the black tide began to falter, while Ma Lu, having absorbed the lost physical strength and spiritual power of the Hou De Teachers and Students, fought even more fiercely.

The Fire Spreading Talisman did not cease, and the increasingly ferocious blaze ruthlessly engulfed wave after wave of Dragon Lice.

Occasional stragglers, attempting to bypass the firewall to attack the Hou De Teachers behind it, were stopped by the Peace Talismans.

Not until there were no more Dragon Lice within a hundred meters did the dam begin to emit the smell of cooked meat.

Actually, these black bugs, also known as water cockroaches, were considered a delicacy in another plane: touted as the ginseng of the seas, rich in nutrition and high in protein, crunchy to the bite, and quite popular in the Guangdong region.

However, considering this was a disaster zone, and since the Traveler's Bracelet's scan function for food showed no indication, Ma Lu decided not to take the risk of tasting it.

Although they had successfully repelled the attack of the Dragon Lice, a shadow of concern still cast over everyone's hearts.

Because if Dragon Lice were so troublesome for Talisman Masters, those children, without any means of resistance, would likely have been devoured upon entering.

Could it be that this rescue mission was already doomed?

However, after Qiutong led a search around the dam, apart from the corpses of the Dragon Lice and the fallen Song Stones, they found no signs of other belongings such as clothes or shoes, which made everyone's anxious hearts slightly relieved.

Also, they didn't encounter any more attacks from other monsters on the dam; it seemed as if the disaster zone was home only to Dragon Lice. And after destroying them, they haven't seen the Lord appear.

"Principal, what do we do next?" Qiutong asked.

Ma Lu recalled the intelligence provided by the "Catastrophe Forecast"; there were actually quite a variety of monsters in this catastrophe belt, at least a dozen types, almost all belonging to the Water Clan and, like the Dragon Lice, weak to fire.

And the final boss, known as the "Playful Dragon Girl," had a weakness listed as three question marks.

Now that no one could be seen on shore, it seemed likely that, given the nature of these monsters, they were all hiding underwater.

Ma Lu turned to look at the students behind him, "Which one of you is a good swimmer?"

A moment later, a boy and a girl raised their hands. The boy's name was Guo Hao, whose grandfather was a fisherman from the coast; Guo Hao had grown up with his grandfather until the age of 14 before moving to Ping City to find his parents.

The girl's name was Mao Cuicui, who had been selected for the city's sports team and had trained in swimming for a year.

"I need someone to dive in and scout the situation. You don't have to go far, just turn around near the dam. If you see any monsters, come back to shore immediately and do not engage them, understood?"

Both students nodded, then took out their Water Repelling Talismans and affixed them to their clothes.

Ma Lu also had someone bring out ropes, tying them around their waists, and reminded them, "If you encounter danger, you can tug on the rope, and we will pull you back."

Preparations complete, the two entered the water from the riverbank.

Thanks to the Water Repelling Talisman, as soon as their feet touched the water, the waves automatically parted, not even wetting the hems of their clothes.

As they stepped forward, the parted water would close behind them yet remained always at a slight distance, as if blocked by some invisible force.

Ma Lu watched their figures disappear underwater.

After a minute and a half, Mao Cuicui surfaced first for air, while Guo Hao only came up after two and a half minutes. Being a fisherman's son, he was adept at holding his breath underwater, and the sealed barrier created by the Water Repelling Talisman also contained some oxygen.

This allowed him to last longer underwater. However, upon surfacing, both reported no findings.

They had swum a circle nearby, but only saw mud and waterweeds at the riverbed. Perhaps because Dragon Lice used to reside there, they couldn't even spot a single fish or shrimp underwater.

Ma Lu asked them to come to shore and changed locations to dive again. After three attempts, they finally made a discovery.

While diving, Mao Cuicui noticed a patch on the riverbed where the waterweeds were particularly lush, possibly hiding something.

Guo Hao, bolder, dove deeper and saw a large, dark shadow in the waterweeds that could belong to their lord.

Just as he was about to return to the shore, a shrimp-headed humanoid monster suddenly burst out from the waterweeds, wielding its pincers and heading straight for him.

Guo Hao hastily pulled on the rope around his waist, while drawing a dagger from his shoe for defense.

Underwater, spells and talismans couldn't be activated, and with the sudden appearance of the Shrimp Head Monster, Guo Hao could only resort to this most primitive form of defense.

Fortunately, Hou De emphasized close combat more than other talisman master schools. Their physical education class schedule ranked first in the Ministry of Education. Additionally, Ma Lu had specially invited a fist teacher from Yangjia Gully to instruct them in the Baji Fist techniques.

That's why Guo Hao wasn't too panicked now, tangling with the Shrimp Head Monster while waiting for his classmates to pull him up to the shore.

The two exchanged more than a dozen moves underwater. Although Guo Hao was on the losing end, he managed to defend himself well, and he could also feel the strong tugging at his waist.

Before long, he was hauled to shore, and surprisingly, the Shrimp Head Monster didn't return to the waterweeds. It foolishly followed right up onto the land, persistent in its attack.

However, the situation on land was completely different. Hou De had over forty people, and they unleashed a barrage of talismans at the monster, which couldn't last three seconds before it was vanquished.

With Mao Cuicui and Guo Hao bringing back important intelligence, morale surged amongst the Hou De group.

Yet, as everyone shared their views and discussed how to lure out the shadow underwater,

Liu Kejun suddenly said, "Has anyone seen Wang Chongyang? Where did he go?"