Driven into Desperation

Could the exotic beast lurking in the shadows possess strength beyond the fifth tier?

Everyone's hearts sank at once.

Obviously, this Sky-Piercing Python could not possibly be real.

After all, a true seventh-tier exotic beast possessed enough power to slaughter an entire city. Su Lie was only a fourth-tier ability user—if he truly took the full-force blow of a seventh-tier exotic beast head-on, there probably would not even be ashes left of him.

Yet he had been defeated in a single strike, which also confirmed from another angle that the monster itself was absolutely no weakling.

Su Lie, who specialized in defense, was unquestionably formidable. Ye Xiu could be certain of that.

The shield Su Lie had cast around himself was, in Ye Xiu's view, enough to withstand an all-out attack from him.

Yet against that monster's strike, Su Lie himself had not even had room to fight back?

"Don't face it head-on! Weiwei, use your ability to find this monster's weakness. Ye Xiu, heal him. I'll see if I can hurt it!"

Yan Weiwei nodded in agreement, while Ye Xiu raised a hand and prepared a healing technique. Watching the monster draw ever closer, Xu Xiao gritted his teeth, and the cannon on his shoulder suddenly shuddered.

Amid an ear-splitting blast, Ye Xiu saw the cannon on Xu Xiao's shoulder erupt with a terrifying beam of searing light.

This was not light emitted by a weapon.

Ye Xiu's knowledge allowed him to grasp the principle behind it in an instant.

Like the handgun the school had given him before, this cannon was powered by crystal-core-type resources.

The difference was that his handgun relied on the energy within crystal cores, while Xu Xiao was clearly using his own ability as its power source.

And from it, Ye Xiu could sense a horrifying heat wave.

By his understanding, its intensity was even on par with Senior Zhou Xuan's.

Could a fourth-tier ability user really unleash such power through the enhancement of a weapon?

Ye Xiu pondered silently.

It seemed weapons boosted ability users even more than he had imagined. Perhaps he ought to have one custom-made as well?

Just as he was thinking, he saw the beam surge toward the monster ahead.

If it took this attack head-on, then unless it truly was a so-called seventh-tier exotic beast, it would certainly not escape unscathed.

Seeing that the enormous python before them could not evade due to its massive body, everyone present relaxed somewhat.

They still had faith in Xu Xiao's abilities.

After receiving treatment, Su Lie even forced himself back up, intending to take the front again.

But the next moment, as the dust and smoke dispersed, everyone's eyes widened once more.

"How is this possible?"

Su Lie's mouth hung open, Yan Weiwei stared wide-eyed, and even a hint of bitterness appeared at the corner of Xu Xiao's lips.

After taking that attack, the Sky-Piercing Python before them was completely unscathed. There was not even a scratch on its scales.

"What are you all standing around for? Move!"

Just as everyone was frozen in shock, Ye Xiu suddenly roared from behind them.

Their trust in Ye Xiu saved their lives at that moment.

Though their minds had yet to catch up, they still followed his lead and dodged to the side.

The very next instant, the spot where they had been standing was swallowed by flames.

The Sky-Piercing Python opened its grotesque maw wide.

And from within that blood-red cavern of a mouth, a blazing beam burst forth.

It was unmistakably Xu Xiao's attack.

No—even compared to Xu Xiao's earlier attack, the heat wave spewed out by this monster was far greater and more ferocious.

"What the hell is this monster?"

His full-force attack had done nothing, yet the other side had even turned around and used greater power against him, as though it were killing the man and stabbing his heart besides.

Even Xu Xiao felt his mentality beginning to crumble.

Su Lie was even more panicked.

"I can't stop this monster, and Boss can't hurt it either. We're really dead this time!"

Yan Weiwei was drenched in sweat as well. As the team's information specialist, she needed to observe the monster and devise a strategy. Yet no matter how she probed with her ability or racked her brains to find an exotic beast from her memories that matched it, she came up empty-handed in the end.

Ye Xiu remained silent.

Even with spiritual power, he could determine that everything before them was an illusion, yet he likewise could not find a single flaw in it.

Just where was the key to breaking this deadlock?

Ye Xiu kept turning it over in his mind.

And the exotic beast hidden beneath its disguise clearly did not give them any more time to fear.

The Sky-Piercing Python let out a hiss. Then flames whirled through the air as another barrage of beams shot toward them.

With no other choice, everyone could only dodge in haste.

But this was by no means a long-term solution.

If they did not find a way to resolve this, these ability users would absolutely be no match for an exotic beast in terms of stamina.

What was more, the other side held the initiative. How it chose to deal with them was entirely up to it.

As they darted and hid, everyone began trying every possible means of attack.

Firearms, explosives, poisonous mist, even strange electronic sound waves.

They tried nearly every method they could bring out.

Yet what drove them to despair was this:

The Sky-Piercing Python before them seemed completely unaffected.

It did not dodge at all, taking every attack exactly as it came, yet not one of them had any effect on it.

What was more, whenever it was attacked, it would actively use the attacks it had previously endured to counterattack.

At first, Ye Xiu and the others thought these returned attacks were merely a bluff.

But when they failed to evade in time and truly took the hits, seeing the fresh wounds on their bodies, they finally realized that this thing was for real!

Time trickled away, drop by drop.

In the end, none of the four, including Ye Xiu, even noticed when they had landed on the ground.

Merely dealing with the increasingly powerful attacks had already become more than they could sustain.

"No... no, there's really no way."

After narrowly dodging another attack, the exhausted Yan Weiwei collapsed onto the ground.

Looking at that terrifyingly massive body before her, despair flashed through her eyes.

This monster seemed to be a genuine Sky-Piercing Python. No, it was even more monstrous than a real one.

They were only fourth-tier ability users. Facing a monster like this was simply impossible!

Xu Xiao and Su Lie looked equally grim, their faces dark enough to drip water.

As teammates, reason told them that they should encourage Yan Weiwei now. After all, only by holding on could they survive.

But as individuals, emotion told them to stop struggling. With such a lack of intelligence, the opponent before them was simply not one they could possibly defeat.

"Damn it, I never thought I'd end up dying in a place like this."

Looking at the surrounding buildings, which resembled an ancient city-state, Xu Xiao cursed indignantly.

Then bitterness surfaced on his face again.

"Brother Ye, I really dragged you down this time. It's just a pity that even if I wanted to make it up to you, there won't be another chance."

"In a moment, I'll blow myself up and see if I can stop this beast. You find an opportunity to run."

Reaching up to undo the armored clothing on his body, Xu Xiao's eyes flashed with resolve.

Perhaps his rational mind told him it was all futile.

But at the very end, he still had to fulfill his duty as the team leader.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Xiao's aura began to turn chaotic.

He lowered his head, preparing to charge forward.

But the next instant, a hand grabbed him.

"If you really do that, then we'll truly be beyond saving."

Ye Xiu stared at Xu Xiao, speaking each word with deliberate clarity.