But before Zhang Junbao could breathe a sigh of relief, the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle that had just escaped disaster swooped in again, catching him at the moment his old strength had ebbed and his new strength had yet to rise!
This time, it switched to grabbing Zhang Junbao with both talons. It still had not given up on its target.
At that critical moment, Zhang Junbao held his sword crosswise, hoping to block it with the long sword in his hand. Unfortunately, his sword was only a standard-issue military weapon, barely qualifying as G-class. Unless he struck a vital point like the eye, as he had against the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, he could not even break through its defenses.
So the instant Zhang Junbao's sword collided with the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle's blade-like beak, the long sword could not withstand the clash of their tremendous forces and broke into several pieces. The Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle's beak pierced straight through Zhang Junbao's left shoulder.
Even that was because, at the last moment, Zhang Junbao had used the broken sword in his hand to apply the technique of deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces, pushing the beak slightly aside. Otherwise, it would have struck his heart. The gap between his strength and the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle's was enormous, and even achieving that much had been extremely difficult.
Even so, the pain nearly made Zhang Junbao pass out. His stamina had already been exhausted during the chase with the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle. With the physical abilities of an Intermediate Warrior, carrying a burly man while being chased by an Intermediate Beast General, Zhang Junbao could be said to have brought out 100 percent of his body's potential.
That was to say nothing of having to deflect an Advanced Beast General's attack now.
Unfortunately, his physical abilities were still too weak. The Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle landed its blow, but before it could finish killing Zhang Junbao, it tossed him upward and caught him in both talons, preparing to escape.
It had to free its beak, its strongest weapon, to deal with attacks from the two human experts below. Zhuge Tao's strike had left it shaken.
The supervisor of the Thunder Dojo watched with a jumble of emotions. Zhang Junbao and Bai Zhan's performances were as far apart as heaven and earth, and he would have been lying if he said he did not envy the Limits Dojo.
But Zhang Junbao had also saved Bai Zhan several times. A sudden desire to cherish such talent welled up in him, and he no longer envied the Limits Dojo for recruiting such a fine genius. As long as he saved Zhang Junbao, he would have a chance to bring him over to the Thunder Dojo.
The Thunder Dojo supervisor's speed suddenly surged. He reached the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle's side and brought a great saber crashing down. A clap of thunder burst through the sky: it was the Thunder Dojo's signature Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.
The Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle showed no restraint, swinging its beak like a peerless swordsman striking with his sword. It actually met the Thunder Dojo supervisor's great saber head-on, and sparks flew from the collision!
At the same time, the officer Iron Monkey leaped high into the air and reached the back of the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle's head. He threw a furious barrage of punches at the spine behind its skull. The power of the Military's combat boxing was not to be underestimated either!
After the fierce clash, the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle proved exceptionally tough. Its brain buzzed from the collision with the Thunder Dojo supervisor. Taking the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade head-on was no easy matter. Wave after wave of hidden force erupted against its head, and the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle no longer felt inclined to retreat.
The officer Iron Monkey's attack had smashed the back of its unguarded head to a pulp. If not for the tenacious vitality of demonic beasts keeping it going, the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle might have been beaten to death by their combined attack.
At this point, the advantage of a flying demonic beast became clear. Though the attacks of the two great human experts were formidable, neither could fly, and they could only remain in the air for a brief time.
After that single attack, they could no longer hold themselves aloft and could only fall helplessly back down.
The Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle, meanwhile, seemed to be sustained by a powerful will. Though it could barely fly steadily, it continued beating its wings and charged into the clouds with Zhang Junbao in its grasp.
"Gunners, open fire! We absolutely can't let that beast escape! Take care not to hurt Zhang Junbao!"
On the ground, Zhuge Tao was already directing the soldiers to keep firing. The Vulcan cannons mounted around the town had a caliber of 20 millimeters and a firing rate of up to 7,000 rounds per minute. Each round could easily punch through a 50-millimeter-thick steel plate. Bullets poured madly from the muzzles, forming chains of metal that streamed toward the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle.
But the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle had gone mad. Despite its severe injuries, it burst forth at a terrifying speed, leaving the bullets behind.
Firearms were absolutely formidable weapons against low-level demonic beasts, but against a demonic beast on the level of an Advanced Beast General, they fell woefully short.
High-level demonic beasts had extremely fast reflexes and movement speeds, while the warriors operating firearms generally found it difficult to reach the Advanced Warlord level. That meant those warriors struggled to keep up with the movement speed of demonic beasts at the Advanced Warlord level.
The surface of an Advanced Beast General's body was far tougher than ordinary metal. Even the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle could withstand the Vulcan cannons' bombardment, let alone the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle that hunted it.
Moreover, the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle flew far faster than the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle. In an instant, intent on escaping with its life, it vanished into the sky with Zhang Junbao in its talons.
"It's over. We actually let that beast get away!
"The Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle flies so fast that unless a Spirit Reader with the strength of an Advanced Warlord steps in, even an ordinary Wargod would find it hard to hunt it down."
The officer Iron Monkey slumped to the ground, his face ashen. He had never imagined that such a serious accident would occur during an ordinary Quasi-Warrior Assessment, or that a human genius warrior would be snatched away by the demonic beast Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle right in front of them. How was he, the person in charge, supposed to face this?
"This should be the season when demonic beasts raise their young. This Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle actually followed the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle in secret to the sky above the town, then waited until the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle was about to succeed before attacking.
"If Supervisor Zhuge Tao hadn't spotted it in time, who knows how many Quasi-Martial Artists would have fallen victim to it?
"Those beasts actually hunt human warriors for food. They're utterly hateful!"
Lei Ming, the Thunder Dojo supervisor, slashed viciously at the ground with his saber, but felt helpless.
If he could fight it head-on, he was absolutely certain he could kill that Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle. But as a flying demonic beast, it had given him no chance at all.
"Are we humans going to keep being pressed down by demonic beasts like this? The master of our Limits Dojo, the world's strongest expert, can force the Demonic Beast Emperors to sue for peace, yet we can't even deal with a flying Advanced Beast General?"
A sense of helplessness rose in Zhuge Tao's heart. He was neither a Wargod nor a Spirit Reader. He could easily kill the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle in a head-on fight, but if a flying demonic beast wanted to flee, there was nothing he could do.
"Report this to our superiors immediately and request support from Spirit Readers and War God Level experts. Zhang Junbao's talent is already enough to get him into the Basic Training Camp. I believe he qualifies for a Wargod and a Spirit Reader to go rescue him.
"Spirit Readers can fly too. Dealing with the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle would be as easy as turning over a hand. And a War God Level expert could kill it with a single strike, rather than letting it escape like it did from us.
"Even though the hope is slim, we can't give up on him! I'll take care of this!"
Zhuge Tao immediately took out his communicator and requested support from the Limits Dojo.
"I'll also ask the Military to help search, but the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle flies extremely fast. Its top speed can reach Mach 5. At a speed of sound of 340 meters per second, that's 1,700 meters per second. The speed that Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle burst out with at the end was definitely its top speed, which means 6,120 kilometers per hour.
"Heavens! In just a few minutes, he could fly hundreds of kilometers!"
At that thought, the officer felt profound despair. The chance that Zhang Junbao was still alive was infinitesimal.
Even if Zhang Junbao had not been killed immediately and had instead been taken back to the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle's lair,
it would definitely be deep in the Wilderness Zone, surrounded by demonic beasts-a place even they would not dare enter recklessly, let alone Zhang Junbao, a Quasi-Martial Artist.
But seeing Zhuge Tao frantically requesting support, he did not say it aloud. In truth, all of them understood that doing so was only in vain.