"Hmph!"
A low growl rumbled from the Velociraptor's enormous mouth, and wisps of white vapor began to pour from it.
Its huge head lowered, and its scarlet eyes swept across the ground. The lantern-sized pupils gleamed with bloodlust, sending a chill down everyone's spine.
"Open fire! Aim for its eyes! Fire!"
Though staring into the Velociraptor's eyes made him nervous, Charles still issued the order without hesitation.
As the squad leader, it was his responsibility to keep everyone organized, and he had to make the call when it mattered.
In the Longshen Mountain Range, magical beasts and humans were mortal enemies. The moment these beasts spotted a human, they never considered letting one go.
Besides, Velociraptors weren't exactly gentle beasts. Even if the squad didn't want to fight, they had no way to escape.
They couldn't avoid a fight, so striking first was their best option.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!"
The Gatling machine gun spun into action, spraying bullets at the gigantic beast as if they cost nothing.
But the Gatling, which had just made short work of the Wind Wolves, seemed to have lost its bite.
Countless bullets struck the Velociraptor's legs, but only left white marks on its scales.
As for its eyes, the Gatling's firing angle was limited. It couldn't shoot that high.
Besides, even if it could, the bullets probably wouldn't do much. A Velociraptor's eyes weren't fragile; its scarlet eyes were as well-protected as its scales.
"Roar!"
The attacks barely stung, but the Velociraptor was still furious.
It had expected to see the humans panic and flee for their lives. Instead, these ants had dared to fight back.
It had lived for so many years and had never suffered such an insult.
The next moment, the Velociraptor lifted a dark claw and slammed it into the ground. Then it suddenly accelerated and charged at the squad.
"Oh no, run!"
Charles shouted and hurriedly backed away.
The Velociraptor didn't look especially fast, but its body was huge and its legs were so long that it closed the distance in just two strides.
"This is bad!"
As the Velociraptor drew closer, the few students at the front abandoned the Gatling and sprinted back.
Whether the gun would be damaged could wait. Their lives came first.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This won't do!"
At the sound of a flippant voice, a middle-aged man in blue robes appeared in front of them in an instant.
The Velociraptor halted for a moment, then let out a low growl and warily eyed the newcomer.
As a beast that lived in the wild, it could tell that this man was powerful, so it stopped advancing.
"Teacher Erwin, you're here!"
Charles wiped the sweat from his forehead and exhaled in relief.
"Of course I'm here! If I didn't show up, my precious treasures would've been hurt, and then we'd have a real problem! You scoundrel, how dare you hurt my treasures!"
The middle-aged man in blue robes clapped his hands, then pointed at the Velociraptor and shouted.
"Teacher Erwin!"
The students at the back heard their teacher standing up for them and calling them his precious treasures. They were so moved they nearly cried.
A few students who knew their teacher's eccentric ways were the only ones left standing there with dark looks on their faces. They seemed to have guessed what was coming, and could only sigh helplessly.
"You little rascals, how could you throw away the Gatling? It belongs to the school, and it's expensive!"
The middle-aged man in blue robes turned to the students who had dropped the Gatling and yelled at them in displeasure.
"Huh?"
"Wait, what?"
"Teacher Erwin, you don't mean those guns are the treasures you were talking about, do you?"
After saying that, Erwin ignored everyone's reactions, strode over to the Gatling, and lovingly ran his hand over it.
"Good, it's not broken. Otherwise, the dean would definitely give me trouble."
The students who had nearly cried were now even closer to tears. So these guns were your precious treasures? What did that make us?
If we hadn't dropped the guns, would you have just stood by and done nothing? What kind of teacher does that?
"Heh, Dean Bernas, this is one of your people?"
Adkins couldn't help laughing as he teased Grandpa Bernas.
Bernas flushed. He made a mental note to deal with that idiot Erwin later, then explained:
"Erwin is talented and powerful. His teaching style is unconventional, but his students turn out well. He's just a little... lively."
Bernas thought for a long while before settling on that description.
What he really wanted to say was that the man had something wrong with his head. But seeing the teasing expression on his young master's face, he chose a kinder word.
"Roar!"
The Velociraptor, which had been ignored for ages, finally couldn't take it anymore and roared at Erwin.
It was as if it were saying, What's your problem? I'm right here! Could you at least show me some respect?
"Oh, dear, I almost forgot about you. But, big guy, I'm not your opponent today."
Erwin casually pulled a flask of wine from his pocket and took a leisurely drink.
At the same time, a roar came from the sky, drawing everyone's attention.
"It's here. The Apache's first official appearance! Big guy, you should feel honored to die at the hands of an Apache!"
Erwin gulped down his wine. His tone was gentle, but his words were ice-cold.
"That Erwin hasn't changed. He still loves playing pranks."
In the Apache's cockpit, the pilot, Siesta, couldn't help grumbling.
"Erwin's always been like that. Why let it bother you? Cut the chatter. This is the Apache's first real battle, so don't mess it up."
The observer, Rhine, cut him off. Getting mad at Erwin would only leave you furious.
The Velociraptor sensed something approaching in the sky and slowly raised its head, eyeing the flying "beast" in confusion.
It seemed to be some kind of beast it had never seen before. And it couldn't sense any danger from it. Was this beast weak?
Like most magical beasts, the Velociraptor could sense an enemy's strength through its aura. That was how magical beasts survived.
Of course, this only worked for opponents weaker than it or roughly its equal. It was useless against someone vastly more powerful.
Generally speaking, if the Velociraptor sensed that its opponent was weak, either the opponent really was weak, or it was far stronger than the Velociraptor.
"Hellfire Machine Gun ready. Begin the sweep!"
The pilot didn't bother explaining the Velociraptor's confusion. He simply gave the order.
With that command, the Apache began to show off its formidable firepower.
"Roar!"
The Velociraptor felt a sharp, searing pain in its back. Its proud armor seemed to be torn apart by some force.
"Roar!"
The Velociraptor jerked its head up. Its tail turned into a whip and lashed toward the sky.
"Whoosh!"
"Too slow, too slow! You're a million years too early to hit us at that speed!"
The pilot easily dodged the Velociraptor's attack, his voice tinged with mockery.
As a professional pilot with plenty of experience, he was confident in his ability to dodge.
"Careful! It's going to use magic!"
At the observer's warning, a visible ball of flame began to form in the Velociraptor's mouth, then shot toward the aircraft.
"That's the eighth-tier fire spell, Dance of the Fire Snake! I can't believe the Velociraptor can use such terrifying fire magic!"
On the ground, Lia couldn't help crying out.
She'd heard that powerful magical beasts could cast powerful spells, but seeing one with her own eyes was still shocking.
"Don't worry. A spell like that can't hurt the Apache."
Erwin's lazy voice rang out. The Velociraptor's spell wasn't weak, but it was nothing to worry about.
"Magic barrier, activate!"
A green energy field quickly spread around the entire Apache, forming a circular shield around it.
The flames engulfed the shield, then gradually dissipated into smoke.
As the scarlet flames faded away, the Apache reappeared before everyone, completely unharmed.
"Forget the magic shield. Even without it, the Apache's hull is fitted with Black Jade Stone. If you can break through that, I'll eat my words."
Erwin said, as if to tell it to keep trying.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The Velociraptor retreated two steps, fear showing in its eyes.
It couldn't understand why this thing was so terrifying. It couldn't sense a trace of magic or any powerful aura coming from it.
"Bang! Bang!"
The Velociraptor seemed to have finally understood its predicament. It turned and bolted in the opposite direction.
Life mattered more than pride. If it couldn't win, it could always run.
"Hey, hey, don't run! You're a Velociraptor! How can you run away?"
The pilot cursed as he quickly maneuvered the aircraft after it.
The Velociraptor didn't care what the pilot thought. All it wanted was to get away from that thing. At least the thing's attacks, though powerful, hadn't killed it yet. Its hide was thick enough to keep it alive for a while.
"Tch! That thing's hide is tough!"
The observer lowered his binoculars and cursed under his breath.
The Apache's special machine gun had left the Velociraptor with plenty of wounds, and blood streamed from them.
But those wounds were mostly superficial. They looked frightening, but weren't life-threatening. If they let it escape deeper into the mountains, it might run into even more powerful beasts.
They couldn't chase it forever. Saint Realm beasts lived deep in the mountains, and the legendary divine beast lurked in their deepest reaches.
If they disturbed it, not only would the others be in trouble—even Lord Huosi of Xuanshen Island would have a headache.
"Use that one!"
"Yeah, let's use that one!"
Inside the cockpit, the two exchanged a glance and nodded together.
"Anti-Beast Missile, fire!"
"Hm? What's that? What's that light?"
In the last moment of its life, the Velociraptor thought it saw a beam of light shining toward it.
Then it understood. The Underworld was calling it.
Before you continue