Twin Dragons

Chen Chong glanced back quickly and confirmed that Liu Xun was standing not far behind him.

Kong Qingsong clearly knew exactly who to run toward for the best chance of survival.

Just then, the ground beneath everyone's feet shuddered.

Chen Chong looked ahead, a sudden sense of dread gripping his heart.

The black soil behind Kong Qingsong began to churn in massive waves, as if some gargantuan creature were hurtling toward him from beneath the earth.

BOOM!

Kong Qingsong was violently launched into the air, soaring over ten meters high amidst a spray of flying dirt. He screamed, flailing his arms, when a red shadow suddenly erupted from the ground, caught him mid-air, and swallowed him into its maw.

As it stabilized in mid-air, the group finally saw the monster's true form.

It looked like an earthworm, only magnified to an unimaginable scale.

Its body was thicker than a water barrel, with rings of red muscle coiling and pulsing in rhythmic contractions. It had no other organs on its head, only a massive maw lined with jagged, razor-sharp teeth. The maw was currently clamped shut, biting down on Kong Qingsong's upper body, leaving only his two short legs twitching outside.

"Damn, look at the size of that thing!"

Liu Xun waved his hand sharply, and the squad instantly shifted into combat formation. He barked an order:

"Open fire!"

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The squad unleashed a torrent of fire, bullets trailing sparks as they slammed into the Earth Dragon's massive frame, triggering a series of explosions.

Chen Chong had long since dropped his equipment and scrambled into a dirt trench on the edge of the battlefield. He poked his head out, watching the chaos unfold.

The squad's automatic rifles didn't look advanced—they resembled the old-fashioned gear from his previous life—and one of them had already jammed.

However, the ammunition appeared to be specialized explosive rounds; they tore chunks of flesh from the Earth Dragon, causing its body to recoil and contract with every hit.

Chen Chong glanced back quietly.

He wasn't far from where the vehicles were parked; he could reach them in under a minute if he ran at full speed.

But then he looked back at the battlefield.

The entire security squad was pouring fire into the Earth Dragon, with one exception: Liu Xun.

He stood in the center of the scattered formation, his rifle held but unused, his other hand resting on the alloy saber at his waist. His expression was stern, his posture relaxed, and his hawk-like gaze swept across the entire battlefield, clearly noting the three fighters hiding in the distance.

Chen Chong slowly relaxed his muscles. Now was not the time.

After taking a full volley of fire, the Earth Dragon's massive body twitched for a moment before beginning to shrink, seemingly intent on retreating back underground.

"Cease fire!"

Liu Xun roared, his voice cutting through the deafening gunfire.

The security squad stopped instantly, and Liu Xun kicked off the ground, leaving a crater in the black soil as he launched himself toward the Earth Dragon like a cannonball!

He drew his alloy saber and slashed a silver arc of light across the creature's belly. The Earth Dragon couldn't roar, but the violent tremors and thrashing of its body revealed the immense damage it had sustained.

Chen Chong's eyes narrowed.

Liu Xun's speed and strength were formidable. The massive Earth Dragon thrashed about, smashing the ground, but it couldn't touch Liu Xun—it couldn't even track the speed of his blade.

Thoughts raced through Chen Chong's mind as he glanced back at the parking spot once more.

But in that brief moment, the ground shook, and the battle was over.

It was too fast.

Chen Chong watched the now-silent battlefield, falling into a grim silence.

Liu Xun had sliced the Earth Dragon open, then followed up with a flurry of strikes, carving the twenty-meter-long carcass into segments and thoroughly finishing off the beast.

"You three, come over and pack it up."

He glanced at Chen Chong and the others, issuing the command.

The three of them had no choice but to approach, using their issued daggers to carve up the meat and pack it into large bags.

The fresh Earth Dragon Meat was incredibly foul-smelling. The red blood turned black upon contact with the air; it was not only difficult to wash off but also mildly corrosive.

The security squad naturally wouldn't touch the work. They stood by, watching, reloading their magazines, and checking their weapons.

Two of them dragged the motionless Kong Qingsong out and tossed him aside. If they had space on the return trip, they might take him, but it was unlikely. These Hunting Grounds were a natural graveyard.

Liu Xun stood with the deputy captain, whispering to each other. Chen Chong caught fragments of their conversation.

"A big one, right out of the gate."

"Yeah, and it's active. Doesn't look like it's hibernating at all."

"Strange. Tell the boys to be careful. We can head back once we bag one or two more."

"Understood. But if they're all this lively, those fighters..."

"We've got three of them, anyway."

Their voices were low, but Chen Chong had just reached his second form, his cultivation at its limit, and his hearing was exceptionally sharp.

He lowered his eyelids, pressing his knife harder into the meat.

Soon, the three of them finished portioning the Earth Dragon Meat, packing it into several large woven bags. After loading the bags onto the medic's tactical cart, Chen Chong retrieved his scanner, exchanged a glance with Pei Li and Peng Wei, and picked it up to continue forward in silence.

Although Liu Xun possessed formidable combat power and could easily handle an Earth Dragon, he had still chosen to use the three of them as bait.

Perhaps it was a tactical decision, or perhaps a precaution against the Skull Gang, given that their squad's composition was far from elite. Regardless, it was clear that in his eyes, Chen Chong and the others were expendable, just like Kong Qingsong.

As he walked, Chen Chong silently slurped down some Nutrient Paste. Even though he had already eaten on the way, he needed to store more energy.

After walking several hundred meters, the Hunting Grounds, covered in black soil, looked the same in every direction. His foot stepped onto a raised slope, and he suddenly froze.

"Beep-beep-beep—"

A harsh alarm blared from behind, and Chen Chong's entire body instantly tensed.

Before he could react, the ground beneath him shook violently, launching him high into the air!

This Earth Dragon had arrived much faster than the previous one, and it had been right beneath his feet!

While Chen Chong was still in mid-air, a massive shadow caught up to him.

"Chen Chong!"

Peng Wei and Pei Li both cried out, but they were too far away to offer any help.

Liu Xun stood further back, his body tensing before slowly relaxing as he shook his head.

Clearly, in his eyes, Chen Chong was already a dead man. With no leverage in mid-air and an Earth Dragon closing in after a surprise attack, there was only one outcome: becoming beast fodder.

He raised his hand, about to signal the squad to open fire, but his hand suddenly paused.

Suspended in mid-air, Chen Chong looked down at the hideous mandibles inches away, already smelling the nauseating stench.

Time seemed to slow down.

Chen Chong took a deep breath, pulled and twisted his waist, and with a burst of strength, slammed his foot onto one of the Earth Dragon's sharp teeth!

With a crisp snap, the tooth broke off. Using the force, Chen Chong propelled himself like a cannonball ten meters away, landing with a roll.

The members of the security squad stared in shock at Chen Chong's agile movements, never expecting him to pull off such a maneuver in mid-air and escape.

Liu Xun even raised an eyebrow, thinking:

Combat Technique? And so proficient?

However, Chen Chong didn't give them time to applaud. The moment he landed, he sprinted at full speed toward Liu Xun. Behind him, the Earth Dragon, having missed its target, twisted its massive body—plowing a ten-meter-deep trench into the earth with every movement—and gave chase at high speed!

"Damn it!"

Liu Xun's brows furrowed. With no time to curse, he drew his combat blade and charged forward to meet it.

Chen Chong felt a sense of relief; at least Liu Xun hadn't ordered the squad to open fire immediately.

Of course, rather than worrying about friendly fire, it was more likely that Liu Xun knew gunfire would only weaken the Earth Dragon rather than stop it, forcing him to intercept it himself. If the Earth Dragon broke into the squad's formation, it would be a disaster.

As he brushed past Liu Xun, feeling a gust of wind whip past him toward the rear, Chen Chong gained a deeper understanding of the word "rank."

With Liu Xun there to intercept the beast targeting him, he would be safe.

That was what Chen Chong had thought.

But suddenly, he felt something was wrong.

The ground shook incessantly, but the source of the tremors didn't seem to be coming from behind... His eyes narrowed as he saw a surging wave of earth rolling madly ahead, flipping over several security squad members before erupting from the ground right in front of him!

Watching the massive shadow completely engulf him and the hideous mandibles closing in, Chen Chong's pupils contracted sharply.

"Damn it, two of them!"