This Lucky Charm Was a Bit Ridiculous

Xu Ran fell silent.

He understood Liu Gu's reasoning. Choosing between saving a handful of people and saving an entire city required no hesitation.

But when he was one of the people being abandoned, he still found it hard to accept.

Right, the Lucky Charm!

Xu Ran's eyes lit up, and he tightly clutched the Lucky Charm hidden inside his collar.

Lousy system, time to pull your weight!

Sensing the danger, Purple Cloud emerged from the crook of Xu Ran's neck, where it had been curled up in his arms, and lightly leaped onto his shoulder. Its mismatched pupils narrowed to pinpoints as it watched the beast tide surging toward them in the distance.

Tiny arcs of electricity sprang from Purple Cloud's body as it gathered its strength, ready to attack.

"Meow!" (As long as I'm here, no one's hurting my Beast Tamer!)

"Steel-Armored Rhino, snap out of it!" Du Heng barked, his face tense.

The Steel-Armored Rhino carrying everyone quickly rallied. With a low growl, it charged in the direction Zhang Yun had indicated.

Viewed from high above, the Steel-Armored Rhino's course was almost perpendicular to the advancing beast tide. At its speed, it could safely escape the tide's path before the beasts arrived.

If everything went smoothly, they only needed to wait in the wilderness until the city's defensive Beast Tamers repelled the tide, then find an opportunity to return.

As the captain of a Hunting Squad who had spent years adventuring and fighting outside the city, Zhang Yun fully demonstrated his wealth of experience at that moment, making the best possible choice.

Unfortunately, the unexpected always struck when you feared it most.

Seemingly drawn by the commotion of the Steel-Armored Rhino's charge, a strange bird circling overhead let out a vicious screech and looked toward the Fierce Tiger Hunting Squad.

The next moment, a small contingent actually broke away from the main beast tide and moved to surround them.

Insignificant as it was compared to the entire tide, this small contingent still numbered dozens, perhaps a hundred Supernatural Creatures-and the vast majority were Elite Rank!

"Captain! They're surrounding us!" Yan Fan's voice grew shrill with tension. "Some of them can fly!"

Zhang Yun turned to look, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

Never mind the Supernatural Creatures racing across the ground. Several flying creatures diving toward them were already growing rapidly larger in his vision.

They were much faster than the Steel-Armored Rhino!

Zhang Yun roared, "Coldscale Python, Ice Storm!"

"Hiss-"

With a vicious hiss, the Coldscale Python's crystalline scales flashed with icy-blue light, which gathered inside its mouth into a raging sphere of energy.

"Whoosh!!!"

Accompanied by a deep, explosive rumble, a storm erupted, engulfing the strange birds diving at them from above.

The storm's bitter cold instantly condensed the moisture in the air into countless tiny ice crystals. Like razor-sharp blades, they plunged into the birds' bodies, driven by the storm.

Freezing energy also poured through their wounds, making every bird wail and hastily retreat.

Two-star skill, crescent level-Ice Storm!

As the squad captain's Contract Beast, Zhang Yun's Coldscale Python already had one foot in the commander rank above elite rank. Its skill proficiency had long since surpassed starlight level, reaching the higher crescent level!

Such terrifying power from a single strike!

"Go!"

Despite the successful strike, there was not a trace of triumph on Zhang Yun's face.

He had experienced a beast tide before, so he knew all too well how terrifying it was.

Even a stronger commander-rank Contract Beast could not withstand an endless beast tide. Once trapped, it could only be swallowed whole in the end!

Seemingly realizing that the Fierce Tiger Hunting Squad would be difficult to handle, more Supernatural Creatures broke away from the main tide and moved to encircle them from the other side.

The situation grew increasingly dire.

The more intelligent Supernatural Creatures knew how to cooperate.

The Hunting Squad fled for their lives in silence. Whenever a Supernatural Creature caught up ahead of the others and tried to approach, their Contract Beasts worked together to drive it back.

Yet the encirclement kept tightening, making their efforts seem like futile death throes.

Xu Ran held Purple Cloud, now somewhat exhausted after spitting out bursts of Electric Spark to help, and tightly gripped the still-unresponsive Lucky Charm. He had already cursed the damned system a thousand times in his heart.

"System, stop playing dead! Hurry up and make the Lucky Charm work!"

"If I die, you won't have a host anymore!"

"System, you..."

"Hum-"

With a low hum, the Lucky Charm clenched in Xu Ran's hand suddenly began to tremble.

"...You're my precious darling!"

After hastily changing his tune inwardly, Xu Ran watched the Lucky Charm turn to ash and scatter. The delight on his face froze.

What the hell?

Did that mean it worked, or was it ruined?

As he stood there dazed, an angry shout rolled toward them from afar, carried on a surging wave of air.

"Wretched beasts! You deserve to die!"

As the voice drew closer, echoing across the heavens, a terrifying presence came hurtling toward them from somewhere outside the city.

Merely sensing the faintest ripple of that presence made all the Supernatural Creatures surrounding the Fierce Tiger Hunting Squad fall prostrate, trembling uncontrollably.

Even though the pressure was not directed at them, the Hunting Squad's Contract Beasts could not help growing agitated.

It was the innate, overwhelming suppression a Supernatural Creature felt upon encountering a higher existence!

This was not elite rank, nor the commander rank above it, but...

"Marshal rank!" Zhang Yun exclaimed, then burst into delight. "We're saved!"

One moment, he had been prepared to fight these beasts to the death. He had never expected such a reversal the very next.

Marshal rank?

Xu Ran stared blankly at the sky.

A tiny black dot on the horizon rapidly grew larger before his eyes, its outline gradually becoming clear.

It was a pitch-black dragon over ten meters long, with a pair of membranous wings spanning more than twenty meters. Its inky scales looked unfathomably dark beneath the sunlight, and its scarlet eyes gleamed with icy killing intent.

A man stood atop the dragon's head.

Compared to the dragon, he was tiny.

Yet his commanding presence eclipsed even the dragon's.

"Boom-"

The dragon beat its wings and halted above the Fierce Tiger squad. The recoil whipped up a savage gale, casually flinging the prostrate Supernatural Creatures in every direction like garbage.

"Just in time." The man atop the dragon's head gave a low grunt. "Red-Eyed Demon Dragon, calm them down!"

"Roar-"

The Contract Beast called the Red-Eyed Demon Dragon roared. Pitch-black energy erupted from its mouth, sweeping viciously toward the main beast tide.

Everything it touched dissolved into nothing in an instant, leaving not even a scrap of flesh behind.

The beast tide's charge stopped dead.

Below, Xu Ran's expression grew increasingly remarkable.

Don't tell me this was the Lucky Charm's doing?!