Azure-Scaled Lion Pack!

After making the necessary preparations, the group set off again. The atmosphere was grim today; almost no one spoke along the way, and the road through the fog seemed endless.

They walked from dawn until nightfall, and it was time to set up camp again.

"Captain Hu, I'm not feeling well. I'm afraid I can't stand watch tonight." Su Chen raised a hand, clutching his stomach with the other, his face full of helpless bitterness.

He had decided to stick with the main group. There was no way he could act alone again—Hu Xiang was a second-tier professional.

What is this guy up to...? Hu Xiang merely swept him a casual glance. "Got it."

He agreed that easily? Su Chen muttered to himself. What exactly did Hu Xiang mean? Could he have some trick up his sleeve?

"Captain Hu... I stood watch for two shifts yesterday. Can I rest for a day today?" Zhou Zong also spoke weakly.

Hu Xiang frowned at him and rebuked, "You can't even endure this much hardship, so why did you come along?"

"They say a tiger's son is no dog, but I don't think so. Today, you're on the first shift!"

Zhou Zong's face went pale and green. His cheeks burned as though he had been slapped.

This bastard's favoritism is way too obvious!

Among the crowd, squad leader Tang Chen simmered with anger. This idiot. I can only wait until he finishes his watch before taking the things on him.

Fortunately, they would not reach the delivery point for another three days.

The others fell silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to speak. They merely glanced at Su Chen from time to time, unable to understand.

How could Hu Xiang take such good care of him?

Su Chen turned and returned to his tent, preparing to continue training. The others dragged their exhausted bodies off to take shifts with the City Patrol Guard for the night watch.

"Damn it, Hu Xiang. Once we get back, I'll definitely find a way to make you pay..." Zhou Zong cursed resentfully. The wind howled around them, making the night feel uneasy.

The veteran beside him acted as though he had heard nothing. Once they reached their assigned watch position, he became as still as stone.

"And Su Chen..." Zhou Zong continued cursing. Just thinking about Su Chen resting comfortably in his tent made his anger flare uncontrollably.

"Keep it down..." The veteran beside him suddenly spoke in a low voice, startling Zhou Zong.

The veteran stared warily into the distant darkness. Years of city patrol experience had given him a faint sense of unease.

Suddenly, a pair of green eyes as large as an adult's head opened in the darkness, and a foul wind rushed toward them.

"Not good!" The veteran's hair stood on end as he lowered his voice. "Zhou Zong, you..."

"Help! Enemy attack! Help!"

A miserable wail came from behind him, growing farther and farther away. The veteran froze for a moment, then revealed a helpless, bitter smile as the color slowly drained from his face.

More green pupils opened in the darkness.

"Enemy attack!"

A shrill, hoarse voice that sounded vaguely familiar to Su Chen suddenly rang through the camp.

Su Chen's heart tightened. He shot out of his tent to find chaos outside. Zhou Zong, panting heavily, was clutching Hu Xiang's arm and saying something.

Boom!

Sparks exploded across the energy barrier outside the camp, and the Camp Pillars were sent flying. Their primary purpose was to keep out the fog, and their defensive power was not high.

Roar!

The outline of a giant beast gradually emerged from the night. Its enormous blue-green eyes seemed ready to devour anyone in sight. As its form came into view, it proved many times larger than the Glutton Wolf they had encountered before.

It stood nearly ten meters tall, with towering shoulder blades. Taut muscles rippled beneath the scales covering its entire body, and a chilling pressure bore down on them.

Su Chen watched with a grave expression, his heartbeat gradually speeding up.

"A second-tier mutant, an Azure-Scaled Giant Lion..." Hu Xiang sucked in a cold breath. "How did something like this break through the defensive perimeter?"

"Stay alert!" he roared. The City Patrol Guard was already moving, spreading into formation and setting up their firearms. The professionals stood at the front, the students at the rear, arranged in order.

His men reacted swiftly, but Hu Xiang's expression only grew more solemn. Behind the giant lion were other lions, each somewhat smaller.

"A lion pack..." Hu Xiang's palms were sweating. If there were only one lion, he was confident he could kill it. But this was a pack.

"What the hell is going on? What are those Fortress Guards even doing!?"

Roar! The giant lion's roar sounded like a signal to attack. It charged forward like a small mountain, its forepaws crushing rocks beneath them. Its muscular back was drawn taut like a bowstring, while its amber eyes reflected one terrified face after another.

Hu Xiang gritted his teeth. With a metallic ring, he gripped his weapon tightly. Crimson flames streaked through the air as he had no choice but to meet it head-on.

"Mom..."

"Help..."

"..."

The City Patrol Guard was well-trained and managed to maintain formation, but most of the students were already crying for their parents in blind panic.

There were not many professionals among the City Patrol Guard, only seven. They stood ahead of the formation, watching the lion pack gradually encircle them from both sides.

Whoosh!

A figure leaped out from the crowd—it was Bai Fengxi. She stood with the other first-tier professionals.

Everyone was startled, thinking she had gone mad, only to discover that a cold aura was emanating from her body.

"She's already a professional, and she has elemental power too?" Only then did the others understand.

"Fire!" At the command, flashes erupted as bullets poured forth like a flood. Yet when they struck the Azure-Scaled Lions' blue-green scales, they produced only a series of clanging sounds.

Boom!

A ball of fire exploded amid the lion pack. It was some kind of explosive.

Roar—

Before the firelight and smoke had dispersed, shadow after shadow burst out from within. There were no fewer than twenty lions, large and small, wrapped in scorching currents of air as they charged like cavalry, unstoppable in their ferocity.

Even if not all of them were first-tier mutants, there were still more than a dozen!

"Scatter! Scatter!"

The City Patrol Guard shouted loudly, not daring to remain gathered together. Even without being told, most of the students had already fled in panic, crying for their parents.

"Fuck!" Zhou Zong scrambled wildly. A giant lion no less than five meters tall had fixed its gaze on him. It was definitely a first-tier mutant, and terror filled his heart.

"Don't chase me! Don't chase me!"

Zhou Zong ran straight toward the densest parts of the crowd, throwing one figure after another behind him.

He was only one final step away from becoming a first-tier professional, and his physical fitness was excellent. Few people present could contend with him. Wails rose and fell one after another.

"Su... Su Chen!" Amid the chaos, Zhou Zong spotted Su Chen standing in the distance, seemingly frozen with fear.

He found a target and ran straight toward Su Chen.

"Die!"

Seeing his long-awaited wish about to come true, Zhou Zong's panic seemed to lessen. A savage smile appeared on his face as he reached for Su Chen's arm, intending to hurl him away.

Huh?

Zhou Zong's expression stiffened. Veins bulged on his arm as he stared at the expressionless Su Chen before him. He should have been able to toss him aside like a chick.

Yet it felt as if he were gripping a towering mountain. No matter how much strength he used, he could not move him in the slightest.

Boom!

The thundering sounds behind him drew closer and closer. Zhou Zong had no time to think and instinctively tried to flee.

But an iron grip clamped around his arm. When he turned his head, he found that Su Chen had seized him in return, staring at him coldly.

"W-what are you doing!?" Zhou Zong blustered, though the giant lion was right before him. "You lunatic! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

Crack—

A streak of white light swept in from the side. Bai Fengxi descended from the sky and kicked the charging giant lion over.

It staggered, and strands of ice spread across its scales. But it merely shook its head, shattering the ice, and was not seriously injured.

"If you kill him in public, you'll be in trouble." Bai Fengxi stood with her back to them.

Zhou Zong responded instinctively, "What trouble could there be?"

"Fine." Su Chen shrugged and casually threw Zhou Zong aside.

Zhou Zong stared in astonishment. What did that mean? Bai Fengxi had been speaking to Su Chen.

He can kill me?

How is that possible? I'm...

But as the thought crossed his mind, his entire body shuddered. Only then did he realize that Su Chen had stood still just now, and no matter how hard Zhou Zong pulled, he had not been able to move him.