"You're just going to stand there and watch?!"
A furious roar suddenly came from the distance. Where crimson flames surged, the ground cracked from the searing heat. Hu Xiang's battle with the giant lion sent waves of heat rolling outward, his spear and the lion's claws intertwining in midair with thunderous collisions.
He was fighting the Azure-Scaled Lion leader. The two were locked in a stalemate, neither gaining the upper hand.
But the camp was clearly at a disadvantage. Compared to low-tier Professionals, low-tier mutated creatures were stronger because of their size.
If this continued, once the camp had been wiped out, he would still be ambushed and killed.
Unless decisive power intervened.
If Su Chen had truly killed those two attackers, then in a battle of this level, he would undoubtedly be an immensely powerful asset.
Yet Su Chen did not seem inclined to act.
The sudden roar left many people, whether fighting enemies or fleeing for their lives, utterly confused. They had no idea what Hu Xiang meant. Who was he speaking to?
Su Chen remained unmoved, his expression blank.
"After this is over, I'll give you an explanation," Hu Xiang roared through gritted teeth.
Su Chen still did not move.
"I swear on my wife!" Hu Xiang's voice rang out again.
Su Chen's eyes flickered. He had heard Old Zhao mention that Hu Xiang and his wife were deeply devoted to each other, something everyone knew.
Unfortunately, his wife had been affected by something in the mist and remained unconscious to this day.
Given the current situation, it was impossible for him to keep watching. When the nest was overturned, how could the eggs remain intact? If he could force Hu Xiang to reveal the person behind it all, that would be enough.
He had been at Southwind Academy for some time now. It was about time he displayed his "talent."
Bai Fengxi kicked away an Azure-Scaled Lion, her gaze repeatedly sweeping toward him. She vaguely guessed that Hu Xiang seemed to be speaking to Su Chen.
Just what had he been hiding?
With a push from his feet, as though carried by a gust of wind, dust rose faintly as Su Chen's body abruptly drifted into the air.
The nearest giant lion had only just managed to flick its tail when Su Chen's figure became an afterimage, sweeping past its raised front paw.
A wire snaked out from his chest, moving close to his body and nearly invisible to the naked eye as it pierced straight through the Azure-Scaled Lion's skull.
It looked as though Su Chen had done nothing at all, merely floating past. Yet the giant lion before him seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. One side of its head exploded, followed by the other. Amid the blurred spray of blood, it swayed and collapsed.
Instant kill!
Bai Fengxi's pupils contracted, and she could not help taking several steps forward.
Even she found it difficult to fight this giant lion head-on. Its azure scales were natural armor, no less defensive than a low-tier item and incredibly hard.
She knew Su Chen had been concealing his strength, but at most she had guessed that he was already a Professional. What she saw now was simply unbelievable.
Su Chen's body continued drifting through the camp like a spirit in the wind. Azure-Scaled Lions fell one after another, almost completely unable to resist.
Liu Liang braced himself against the ground with both hands, his face pale as he stared at the giant lion collapsed before him. Its blood-filled maw had already opened. He had been just a little away from being swallowed whole.
What... what? How could he be so powerful?!
Zhou Zong lay on the ground, his face filled with horror as he stared at the scene before him in disbelief. The giant beasts falling one after another dealt violent blows to his mind.
Suddenly, a low growl came from behind him. Startled, he saw an Azure-Scaled Lion charging toward him from not far away. Apparently frightened by Su Chen, it was fleeing in blind panic.
Zhou Zong reacted quickly as well, rolling aside in preparation to dodge. But a sharp pain suddenly exploded in his head, freezing his entire body in place as though he had been struck by lightning.
Bang!
With a dull crunch, half his head was crushed beneath the fleeing Azure-Scaled Lion's paw.
Everyone's attention was fixed on that figure. No one noticed.
The camp gradually quieted. In only a few moments, more than a dozen azure lions had all fallen to the ground, while one figure stood in the middle.
"Is... is that Su Chen?!"
With the situation so dire, not everyone had noticed who was acting. Besides, he had moved too quickly. Only after he stopped did they see clearly.
Shocked, horrified, grateful gazes converged on him.
"Whew..." Su Chen exhaled, feeling a swelling ache in his head.
What had just looked like an effortless stroll had actually required the combined cooperation of the [Sky-Rending Warrior], the [Mystic Artificer], and, most importantly, the Tier 2 item [Blue-Iron Lock Cable].
These ordinary lions were merely Tier 1 mutated creatures. Naturally, they could not withstand the killing power of a Tier 2 item.
Still, that sequence of movements had consumed a great deal of his strength.
"So powerful..."
From afar, Hu Xiang glanced over while distracted, his heart trembling violently. He nearly got struck by a claw.
Could this guy really be a Tier 2 Professional? he could not help thinking.
Roar!
The Azure-Scaled Lion leader before him let out a pained roar. Hu Xiang immediately focused his mind, wary that it might launch a desperate attack.
Yet the giant lion merely glanced toward the camp, then withdrew its offensive stance and slowly retreated into the darkness.
"It's over..." Hu Xiang relaxed and let out a long breath.
Within the camp, cries of pain rose and fell. Everyone supported one another and treated their wounds, yet their minds could not settle. Some were even distracted, their eyes occasionally darting toward the figure nearby.
"...Twelve Tier 1 mutated creatures, and the rest were cubs. Good heavens, that's way too freakish..." Liu Liang murmured to his companion.
"No wonder Bai Fengxi treated him differently. He's incredible."
"Isn't he... isn't he a refugee? How could he be this strong?" someone could not help asking.
"How would I know?" Liu Liang rolled his eyes. "Stop calling him a refugee every other word. He just saved you."
"I know, I was just saying..." the other person argued.
"How are the casualties?" Hu Xiang returned, his deep voice immediately making everyone feel as though they had found their backbone.
"Not too bad..." one of his subordinates reported, his expression tense. "They were all Tier 1 mutated creatures, and we reacted quickly enough. Su Chen... acted soon after. Those students are physically capable too, so most only suffered bumps and bruises."
"Still, a few of our brothers may be left disabled after protecting them."
"These useless idiots only know how to get in the way in a fight. Otherwise, Old Liu and the others wouldn't have been injured," one subordinate said angrily. "And that Su Chen, he was obviously so strong, yet he..."
"Shut up!" Hu Xiang swept him with an icy gaze. Of course he knew why Su Chen had refused to act until now.
Old Zhao, standing not far away, could not help looking over. He shook his head and sighed.
Su Chen was resting with his eyes closed when he said with apparent helplessness, "Is it fun, staring at me the whole time?"
Beside him, Bai Fengxi was not embarrassed in the slightest and simply asked directly, "You know what I want to ask."
"Since you know that, you should also understand that I won't tell you," Su Chen said, shaking his head.
"So I'm just staring at you."
Su Chen choked on his words, then said irritably, "Careful you don't get stuck on me."
"...Zhou, Zhou Zong... Zhou Zong is dead!"
A terrified cry came from the distance.
Bai Fengxi's expression paused slightly before she said again, "Killing him will bring a lot of trouble."
"You should say that to the Azure-Scaled Lion," Su Chen replied indifferently.
Everyone gathered around, staring at the corpse on the ground. More than half of Zhou Zong's head had been smashed apart. His one remaining eye was wide open, still unwilling to close in death.
"Did anyone notice him just now?" Hu Xiang asked with an ugly expression, sweeping his gaze around.
"I think he was trampled to death by a lion," someone said weakly.
"Trampled to death?" Hu Xiang gave the corpse a long look. "Collect the body."
Among the City Patrol Guards gathered nearby, Tang Chen's expression was grim, unease churning in his heart. Fortunately, the person responsible for collecting the corpse merely gave it a casual glance before placing it into a body bag.
There was still a chance. There was still a chance.
Hu Xiang pushed through the crowd and came to Su Chen's side, looking at the young man before him. "Want to talk?"
Before you continue