After finalizing their preparations, the group set off once again. The atmosphere today was incredibly somber, with almost no one speaking the entire journey. The path through the fog seemed to have no end.
The group marched from daybreak until nightfall, and it was time to set up camp once more.
"Captain Hu, I'm not feeling well. I'm afraid I won't be able to take the night watch tonight." Su Chen raised a hand to signal, clutching his stomach with the other, his face bearing a helpless, bitter smile.
He had made up his mind to stick entirely with the main group; there was no way he was going to operate alone again. Hu Xiang was a 2nd-tier Professional, after all.
'What exactly is this guy...' Hu Xiang merely gave him a curt glance. "Understood."
'He agreed just like that?' Su Chen muttered to himself. What exactly was Hu Xiang playing at? Could he have some other hidden scheme up his sleeve?
"Captain Hu... I covered two consecutive watch shifts yesterday. Could I take a rest tonight as well?" Zhou Zong chimed in, putting on a weak, raspy voice.
Hu Xiang frowned and barked, "If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, why did you even come along?"
"They say a tiger fathers no dogs, but I beg to differ. Today, you're on the first shift!"
Zhou Zong's face cycled between green and pale white. He felt his cheeks burning as if he had just been slapped across the face.
'This son of a bitch! The double standard is way too obvious!'
Hidden within the crowd, squad leader Tang Chen seethed inwardly. 'This idiot. I'll just have to wait until his watch shift is over to search him for the item.'
'Fortunately, we still have three days before we reach the designated drop-off point.'
The other students remained dead silent, not daring to utter a single word. They only cast covert glances at Su Chen, completely baffled by the situation.
How had he managed to earn such blatant favoritism from Hu Xiang?
Su Chen turned around and returned to his tent, preparing to continue his training. The others dragged their exhausted bodies to link up with the City Patrol guards for their night watch shifts.
"Motherfucker. Hu Xiang, just wait until we get back. I'll definitely find a way to make you suffer..." Zhou Zong cursed bitterly. The wind howled ominously around them, putting everyone on edge.
The veteran guard beside him turned a deaf ear. Once they reached their designated watch coordinates, the man seemingly turned to stone.
"And Su Chen..." Zhou Zong was still muttering curses. The mere thought of Su Chen resting comfortably inside his tent made his blood boil with rage.
"Keep it down..." The veteran guard beside him suddenly spoke up in a muffled voice, startling Zhou Zong.
The veteran stared vigilantly into the distant darkness. Years of patrolling experience had allowed him to sniff out a faint sense of unease.
Suddenly, a pair of green eyes as large as a grown man's head snapped open in the darkness, accompanied by a nauseating gust of bloody wind.
"Not good!" The veteran's hairs stood on end as he hissed, "Zhou Zong, you—"
"Help! Enemy attack! Help!!!"
A miserable, agonizing wail echoed from behind him, growing rapidly distant. The veteran froze, a helpless, bitter smile touching his lips as the color swiftly drained from his face.
Within the depths of the darkness, more and more pair of green eyes snapped open.
...
"Enemy attack!"
A shrill, hoarse voice—one that sounded vaguely familiar to Su Chen—suddenly tore through the camp.
Su Chen's heart jolted as he bolted out of his tent. The outside was already in utter chaos. A breathless Zhou Zong was clutching Hu Xiang's arm, stammering something frantically.
Boom!
Sparks exploded across the energy barrier surrounding the camp, sending the Camp Pillars flying. The barrier's primary function was to keep the fog out; its actual defensive capabilities were quite low.
"Roar!"
From the veil of the night, the silhouette of a massive beast gradually emerged. Its giant azure eyes seemed intent on devouring everyone in sight. As its outline became clearer, it proved to be many times larger than the Gluttonous Wolf they had encountered previously.
Standing nearly ten meters tall, its shoulder blades towered immensely. Taut, coiled muscles rippled beneath the scaled armor covering its entire body, radiating a suffocating, terrifying chill.
Su Chen stared at it grimly, his heart rate steadily accelerating.
"A 2nd-tier Mutant, an Azure-Scaled Giant Lion..." Hu Xiang drew a sharp breath of cold air. "How could something like this breach the defensive perimeter?"
"On alert!" he roared. The City Patrol guards immediately sprang into action, deploying their formations and mounting their firearms. The Professionals stood at the vanguard, with the students lined up at the very rear.
His subordinates reacted instantaneously, but Hu Xiang's expression only grew graver. Trailing behind the Giant Lion was a pack of slightly smaller lions.
"A pride of them..." Hu Xiang's palms grew sweaty. If it were just one lion, he felt confident in slaying it, but they were facing an entire pride!
"Just what the hell is going on?! What are the outpost guards even doing?!"
"Roar!" With a deafening bellow that served as the charge signal, the Giant Lion charged forward like a miniature mountain. Its front paws violently crushed the rocky terrain, and its muscular back coiled tight like a drawn bowstring. Its amber eyes reflected the dozens of terrified faces before it.
Gritting his teeth with an audible grind, Hu Xiang tightened his grip on his weapon. Crimson flames swept through the air as he was forced to meet the charge head-on.
"Mom..."
"Help..."
"..."
The City Patrol guards were highly trained and capable of holding formation. But the vast majority of the students had already broken down, crying for their parents in blind panic.
There weren't many Professionals among the City Patrol guards—only seven in total. Standing outside the front line of the formation, they stared at the encroaching lion pride, their wavering stances betraying their unease.
Swish!
A figure leaped out from the crowd. It was Bai Fengxi, who moved to stand alongside the other 1st-tier Professionals.
The crowd was startled, initially thinking she had lost her mind. But then they noticed a chilling aura emanating from her body.
"She's already a Professional? And with elemental powers?!" The others finally realized her true standing.
"Open fire!" At the command, sparks flew as bullets sprayed out in a torrential flood. Yet, when they struck the Azure-Scaled Lions' azure scales, they merely produced a cacophony of metallic clinks and pings.
Boom!
A ball of fire erupted right in the middle of the pride—some sort of explosive device.
Roar—
Before the smoke and flames could even clear, shadowy figures burst through the haze. The pride numbered no less than twenty, ranging in size from massive to merely large. Swathed in scorching hot wind, they charged with the unstoppable momentum of a cavalry charge.
Even if they weren't all 1st-tier Mutants, there were at least a dozen that were!
"Scatter! Scatter!"
The City Patrol guards barked loudly, not daring to cluster together. They hardly needed to say it; most of the students had already fled in a chaotic, screaming panic.
"Fuck!" Zhou Zong crawled and scrambled frantically. He had been targeted by a Giant Lion no less than five meters long—undoubtedly a 1st-tier Mutant. Absolute terror gripped his heart.
"Don't chase me! Don't chase me!"
Zhou Zong deliberately ran toward the densest clusters of people, throwing figure after figure behind him to act as human shields.
He was merely a hair's breadth away from becoming a 1st-tier Professional, meaning his physical fitness was exceptionally robust. Few present could outrun or outmaneuver him, and agonizing wails rose and fell in his wake.
"Su—Su Chen!" Amidst his frantic scrambling, Zhou Zong spotted Su Chen standing in the distance, seemingly frozen in fear.
He had found his target and bolted straight toward Su Chen.
"Go die!"
Seeing his wish about to be fulfilled, the panic in Zhou Zong's heart seemed to lessen considerably. A ferocious grin twisted his face as he reached out to grab Su Chen's arm, intending to hurl him backward.
Huh?
Zhou Zong's expression froze as he stared at the completely deadpan Su Chen in front of him. The veins on Zhou Zong's arms bulged; he should have tossed him away like a newborn chick.
Yet, it felt as though he had grabbed onto a towering mountain. Despite using every ounce of his strength, he couldn't budge the boy an inch.
Boom!
The thundering footsteps behind him were closing in fast. Zhou Zong didn't have time to process the anomaly; his survival instinct screamed at him to flee.
But an iron-like grip clamped down on his arm. Turning his head, he saw Su Chen's hand locking onto him in a reverse grip. Su Chen stared at him with chilling apathy.
"Wh-what are you doing?!" Zhou Zong screamed, putting up a fierce front despite trembling inside as the Giant Lion closed in on them. "You lunatic! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"
Crack—
A streak of white light flashed from the flank. Bai Fengxi descended from the sky, unleashing a kick that sent the charging Giant Lion tumbling backward.
The beast staggered as thin shards of ice spread across its scales. However, it merely shook its head, shattering the ice; it hadn't suffered any heavy injuries.
"If you get him killed in front of everyone, you'll be in trouble," Bai Fengxi said, her back to the two of them.
Zhou Zong instinctively replied, "What trouble could there be?"
"Fair enough," Su Chen shrugged, casually tossing Zhou Zong aside.
Zhou Zong wore a look of utter bewilderment. What did she mean? Bai Fengxi was clearly talking to Su Chen.
'He can kill me?'
'How is that possible? I'm...'
But as the thought crossed his mind, a violent shudder wracked his entire frame. Only then did the reality of what just happened hit him: Su Chen had stood completely still, and no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't move him in the slightest.