Three-Thousand-Year Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard

Afternoon.

In Sunset Forest, insects chirped in chorus.

Towering trees blotted out the sky and sun, while the scent of decay filled the entire forest. Every now and then, the calls of unfamiliar birds drifted from deep within the woods before abruptly vanishing.

Xiao Wu and Zhao Linchuan had been wandering through the forest for quite some time.

Xiao Wu clung tightly to Zhao Linchuan's arm, pressing herself against him as she chattered nonstop.

"Brother, we'll do it the way I said later. If we find a suitable Soul Beast, I'll draw its attention from the front, and then you can sneak around behind it and ambush it."

"Once I run, it'll chase me. Once it chases me, you hit it. Once you hit it, you run. Once you run, I chase it..."

"No, no, anyway, that's the idea!"

Zhao Linchuan glanced at her in surprise, the corner of his lips curling up.

"Xiao Wu, when did you learn to use your brain?"

"I'm very smart, okay?" Xiao Wu puffed out her cheeks indignantly. "Otherwise, how could I have blended in with you humans..."

"Mmph—!"

Before Xiao Wu could finish speaking, Zhao Linchuan abruptly covered her mouth.

His expression suddenly turned grave. He swept his gaze around their surroundings, then lowered his head and leaned close to her ear, whispering,

"Don't say 'you' anymore. Say 'we,' understand?"

"Mmph, mmph..." With her mouth covered, Xiao Wu could only make muffled nasal sounds as she nodded vigorously.

Only then did Zhao Linchuan slowly remove his hand.

Just then, a metallic scraping sound suddenly came from behind a nearby thicket, like scales grinding against one another as something moved.

The sound drew closer and clearer.

Zhao Linchuan and Xiao Wu held their breaths at the same time.

A moment later, a lizard roughly two meters long crawled out from behind the bushes.

Its entire body was covered in iron-gray scales, like polished metal armor, gleaming with a cold, hard light beneath the dappled sunlight.

Its limbs were exceptionally thick, its claws sharp as hooks, leaving deep marks in the earth.

Its tail was covered in barbs, section after section, accounting for fully half its body length. It dragged behind it like an iron whip bristling with spikes.

"Dragon bloodline... Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard..." Xiao Wu unconsciously named it.

Zhao Linchuan stared at the slowly crawling Soul Beast, a glint flashing through his eyes.

"That's the one," he said quietly. "I'll circle around behind it. Try to draw its attention."

"Huh?" Xiao Wu whipped her head around, her eyes widening. Her voice was extremely low, yet she could not hide her shock. "Brother, have you gone crazy?"

"This Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard has to be at least three thousand years old!"

"You're only level twenty, and your first Soul Ring was only a hundred years. What are you going to use to absorb a three-thousand-year Soul Ring?"

"I'm not crazy." Zhao Linchuan's tone was low but resolute. "This is a crazy world."

"If I don't become crazy, then how will I gain the power to protect you?"

"But, Brother..." Xiao Wu wanted to say more, but Zhao Linchuan cut her off.

"That's enough, Xiao Wu."

"My mind is made up. Don't try to persuade me anymore."

As he spoke, he released Xiao Wu's hand, bent low, and quietly circled around from the other side.

His footsteps were light, making almost no sound as he stepped on the fallen leaves, like a cheetah lurking in the grass.

Xiao Wu watched his retreating figure, opening her mouth, but in the end she swallowed all the words of protest.

Helplessly, she nodded, bit her lip, bent down to pick up a pebble from the ground, and weighed it in her hand.

The Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard was slowly crawling fully out from behind the bushes. Its thick limbs supported its heavy body, while its iron-gray tongue flicked in and out, testing something in the air.

"Hey! Ground snake!"

Xiao Wu swung her arm, and the pebble in her hand arced through the air, striking the Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard squarely on the bridge of its nose with a crisp smack.

Xiao Wu made a face and bounced twice in place.

"Nyah, nyah, nyah... I'm over here!"

"Come chase me!"

"Hisss..."

Having been struck head-on, the Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard instinctively jerked its head back. Then fury ignited in its cold vertical pupils.

It flicked its tongue, letting out a low hiss from its throat as its thick limbs began clawing at the dirt.

Xiao Wu immediately turned and ran. She did not run too fast—just fast enough to make the lizard think it could catch her, but not fast enough for it to actually do so.

Like a nimble rabbit, she darted left and right through the forest, occasionally leaping onto fallen tree trunks before jumping down from the other side, her footwork impossible to predict.

"Hisss..."

The Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard swung its limbs and accelerated after Xiao Wu.

It smashed through the bushes in its path and crushed dead branches beneath its feet, charging forward recklessly.

Small trees as thick as bowls were snapped apart by a sweep of its tail, while shattered stones and dirt flew up behind it.

For a time, one girl and one beast waged a pursuit through the forest.

Using the terrain to her advantage, Xiao Wu leaped back and forth across tree trunks, weaving left and right as though dancing through the woods.

The Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard, meanwhile, could only force its way through the obstacles. Though immensely powerful, it was clumsy and slow, and Xiao Wu led it around in circles.

About a quarter of an hour later.

Xiao Wu stopped before a dense stretch of forest covered in thorns.

The thorns were tightly tangled together, forming a natural barrier without even a crack to pass through.

She turned around, her chest heaving, a thin layer of sweat already forming on her forehead.

The Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard, meanwhile, panted heavily as it blocked the path she had come from. Its iron-gray tongue hung from the side of its mouth, and rough breaths rumbled from its throat.

Blazing fury burned in its eyes!

This human cub was far too good at running, but fortunately, it had not given up.

Now she could not escape, and it could finally feast to its heart's content.

It flicked its tongue and slowly advanced toward Xiao Wu, each step landing heavily, as though savoring its prey's fear before death.

Seeing this, Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips, raised her chin, and wore an utterly fearless expression as she provoked it.

"Come eat me, ground snake!"

The Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard could not understand what she was saying, but its instincts told it that they were definitely not kind words.

It quickened its pace, its thick limbs flinging dirt everywhere.

Just as it prepared to pounce—

Roar—!

A dragon's roar exploded from behind it without warning, like spring thunder bursting beside its ears, shaking the forest leaves until they rustled violently!

The Iron-Armored Spiked-Tail Lizard's legs went weak almost instinctively, and its entire body slammed flat onto the ground. Its limbs and tail trembled faintly.

The pressure contained within that dragon's roar was not merely suppression in terms of power—it was the ultimate suppression of bloodline!

Its body commanded it to submit, while its mind commanded it to flee. The two commands collided, leaving it unable to move!

Gathering every ounce of strength it possessed, it struggled to turn its head!

There, an Azure Dragon as thick as an arm, its blue-green body covered in grim scales and its claws bared, lunged straight at it with unstoppable force!