"No, that thing has my blood on it. In close combat, I can use my small size to dodge, but if it comes down to speed, there's no way I can match a dominant beast like it."
Listening to the sounds drawing closer and closer, Chen Chu grew increasingly anxious. Sweat covered his forehead as he desperately considered his options.
"Right, Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch. How did I forget those two old fossils?"
After thinking for a long while, Chen Chu finally realized that he had ready-made muscle right here. He was a student of Exotic Beast Academy, after all. Dragon Duke couldn't possibly stand by and watch him get hunted down.
What an idiot to panic at a critical moment.
With that thought, Chen Chu unleashed several more slashes, changed direction, and sped toward Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch.
Dozens of li away, there was a cave. Inside, a soft and tender-looking fair-skinned girl was absorbing a soul ring. Outside, after Dragon Duke had slain the surrounding Azure Blade Dragon Snakes, he placed their Snake Cores in a dry spot. Then, he suddenly frowned, turned to Snake Matriarch beside him, and muttered uneasily, "Why has my right eyelid been twitching? I have a feeling something is about to happen."
Snake Matriarch did not take Dragon Duke's muttering seriously. "You're just being overly cautious. My Spirit Snakes are all nearby. Even the slightest disturbance, I can..."
Snake Matriarch had been about to say that she could sense it and that nothing would happen when a tremor suddenly came from the distance. Her Spirit Snakes also issued a warning.
"Senior, save me!" An urgent male voice followed. It was Chen Chu, who had come running all the way here. The instant he saw Dragon Duke, his mood brightened as though clouds had parted to reveal the sun. There was even light in his eyes!
But in Dragon Duke's eyes, that light left him utterly bewildered.
"Not good, stop it! Yiran is still inside!"
Before he had time to question the familiar brat in front of him, Dragon Duke saw the Mantis King relentlessly pursuing him from behind, charging straight at them.
Dragon Duke's eyes nearly split with rage. Calling to his wife, he moved to block it with all his strength.
"Stop that little bastard! Don't let that beast endanger Yiran!"
No matter what he was thinking now, he had to stop this fifty-thousand-year-old Mantis King!
The Dragon Staff in Dragon Duke's hand hummed as golden patterns burst forth. He took two strides as one and blocked the cave entrance. Eight soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—rose around him as he faced the Dragon Mantis. Just as Chen Chu was about to hide behind him, Dragon Duke jabbed him in the forehead with the staff's butt end.
"The hell are you hiding for?! You led this monster here—do you want something to happen to Yiran?" Dragon Duke's roar sent the surrounding grass and leaves flying. Snake Matriarch had already gripped her Serpent Cane and circled to the side. The snake phantom at its tip flicked its tongue with a hiss as several dark-green venom arrows shot directly at the Mantis King's compound eyes.
The Mantis King had clearly been blinded by rage. It seemed not to regard the old man and woman as threats at all. Its scythe-like forelimbs snapped shut with a crack, chopping all the venom arrows into scattered droplets.
It stared toward the cave entrance. That damned brat! Its six long legs gouged deep pits into the ground as it abruptly lunged at Dragon Duke, Chen Chu's blood still clinging to its forelimbs.
"Good!" Rather than retreat, Dragon Duke advanced. He planted the Dragon Staff into the ground, and golden Dragon Might instantly spread outward. The Mantis King's movements visibly paused, but only for half a second. Its scythe still swept over on the wind. Dragon Duke hurriedly twisted aside, and a huge gash was cut through his robe, exposing his sturdy old arm beneath.
"You little bastard, are you still standing there stunned?" Dragon Duke turned back and glared at Chen Chu. "Use your slashes on its joints! Are you blind?"
Chen Chu finally came to his senses and hurriedly gathered Soul Power. Several silvery-white slashes flew toward the joints in the Mantis King's hind legs.
But the Mantis King was too fast. It simply raised its hind leg to evade them, then casually swung it, sending a gust of wind that tossed Chen Chu several meters away.
After steadying himself, Chen Chu saw that Snake Matriarch's Serpent Cane had already wrapped around one of the Mantis King's forelimbs. The snake phantom clamped tightly onto the base of its scythe. Snake Matriarch's face had turned red from exertion as she poured Soul Power into the cane as if it were free, shouting, "Old bastard! Move!"
Dragon Duke seized the opportunity, smashing the Dragon Staff, wreathed in golden light, at the Mantis King's head. But the insect's hide was tough. The blow only produced a deafening clang, and the Mantis King merely shook its head before flinging Snake Matriarch away with a sweep of its forelimb.
"Old woman!" Dragon Duke's eyes reddened. Just as he was about to help her up, the Mantis King's other scythe came chopping down. He could only force himself to turn and block it with the Dragon Staff. With a crack, several of the staff's golden patterns shattered.
Chen Chu's heart leaped into his throat. He hurriedly shouted, "Senior! Under its wings! There's no shell there—I'll help you!"
Dragon Duke froze, then caught sight of the pale-green soft abdomen exposed whenever the Mantis King's wings opened and closed. He immediately shouted, "Old woman, bind its wings!"
Snake Matriarch had just climbed back to her feet. Hearing this, she instantly changed direction and waved both hands. The snake phantom from the Serpent Cane shot out with a whoosh and wrapped around one of the Mantis King's wings. The Mantis King cried out in pain and violently beat its wings, trying to throw it off, but the snake phantom held on with a death grip. With its current condition, no matter how hard it struggled, it could not break free.
Now was the time. Dragon Duke's Soul Power erupted in full force. The dragon-head phantom at the top of his Dragon Staff opened its mouth, blasting golden Dragon Breath at the Mantis King's soft abdomen.
With a sizzle, the Mantis King let out a piercing shriek. Its already ruptured abdomen split open even wider, green blood continuously pouring from the wound.
It was completely enraged now. Burning its lifespan, it lunged at Dragon Duke without regard for anything else, wildly swinging its scythes. Dragon Duke could not dodge in time, and his arm was sliced open. His bloody arm looked terrifying.
"Senior!" Chen Chu cried out. He had been harassing it from the sidelines all along, stacking bleeding effects on it. Logically, this thing should not have been able to last so long. It was probably about to collapse.
The Mantis King was focused on attacking Dragon Duke and did not notice Chen Chu at the side. After Chen Chu's sneak attack, it staggered. Dragon Duke sharply seized the opportunity, turned, and smashed his staff down on its head with all his might.
Dragon Duke used all his strength in that strike, along with the effect of a soul skill. With a crack, a fissure was forcibly split across the Mantis King's head.
"Old woman! Again!" Seeing that it worked, Dragon Duke roared once more. Snake Matriarch immediately understood. The snake phantom from the Serpent Cane shot out again, this time drilling directly into the crack in the Mantis King's head. The Mantis King released a miserable shriek, its six legs kicking wildly a few times before it finally crashed to the ground with a boom, struggling violently.
The three of them finally relaxed at the sight. Exhausted, they collapsed to the ground and gasped for breath. Looking at the struggling Mantis King, Chen Chu remembered the soul ring. Sagros possessed him once more, and he walked straight toward it, not forgetting to say to Dragon Duke, "Senior, this Mantis King is fifty thousand years old. It happens to meet my needs, so I won't stand on ceremony!"
Dragon Duke was somewhat stunned upon hearing that. Before he could respond, he instinctively watched Chen Chu end the Mantis King's life. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Chen Chu sit cross-legged beside the corpse, with five soul rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, black—rising around him. His eyes instantly widened in shock.
Before you continue