"Are you just going to stand there and watch!?"
A furious roar suddenly erupted from the distance. Where crimson flames surged, the ground cracked from the intense heat. Hu Xiang's battle with the giant lion stirred up waves of heat as his long spear and the lion's claws clashed in the air, creating a rumbling boom like muffled thunder.
He was fighting the leader of the Cyan Scale Lions, and the two were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand.
But the camp was clearly at a disadvantage. When comparing Low-tier Professionals to low-tier Mutant Species, the latter were stronger due to their size.
If this continued, he would still be ambushed and killed once the camp was wiped out.
Unless a decisive power intervened.
If Su Chen had really killed those two attackers, he would undoubtedly be an incredibly powerful asset in a battle of this level.
But he seemed to have no intention of making a move.
The sudden roar stunned many of the people fighting the enemy or trying to flee. They didn't know what Hu Xiang meant. Who was he talking to?
Su Chen remained unmoved, his expression impassive.
"After this is over, I'll give you an explanation," Hu Xiang roared through gritted teeth.
Su Chen still didn't move.
"I swear on my wife!" the voice came again.
Su Chen's eyes flickered. He had heard Old Zhao mention that Hu Xiang and his wife were deeply in love, a fact well-known to everyone.
Unfortunately, his wife had been affected by something in the fog and had been in a coma ever since.
'In this situation, it's impossible for me to just stand by and watch. When the nest is overturned, no egg stays intact. Forcing Hu Xiang to reveal the person behind the scenes would be an acceptable outcome.'
'I've been at Southwind Academy for a while now. I suppose I can reveal my Talent.'
Bai Fengxi kicked away a Cyan Scale Lion, her gaze sweeping over from time to time. She had a faint suspicion that Hu Xiang was talking to Su Chen.
'What exactly is he hiding?'
Pushing off with his feet, Su Chen's body suddenly drifted up as if carried by a gust of wind, kicking up a fine layer of dust.
The nearest giant lion only had time to flick the tip of its tail before Su Chen's figure became an afterimage, flashing past its raised front paw.
A thin wire snaked out from his clothes, moving close to his body and nearly invisible to the naked eye, piercing through the Cyan Scale Lion's head in one smooth motion.
It looked as if Su Chen had done nothing at all, merely drifting past. Yet the giant lion before him seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. One side of its head exploded, followed by the other, and it staggered and fell amidst a blurry mist of blood.
An instant kill!
Bai Fengxi's pupils contracted, and she couldn't help but take a few steps forward.
She had a hard time fighting this giant lion head-on. Its Cyan Scale Armor was natural Armor, with a defensive power no less than a Low-tier Item, and was incredibly tough.
She knew Su Chen was hiding his true strength, but at most, she had estimated that he was already a Professional. The scene before her now was simply unbelievable.
Su Chen's body continued to drift through the camp like a spirit on the wind. One by one, the Cyan Scale Lions fell, offering almost no resistance.
Liu Liang braced himself on the ground with both hands, his face pale as he stared at the giant lion that had collapsed in front of him. Its massive, bloody maw was already open; a split second more and he would have been swallowed whole.
'What... What? How is he so strong?!'
Lying on the ground, Zhou Zhong stared in horrified disbelief at the scene unfolding before him. The sight of the giant beasts falling one after another was a violent shock to his mind.
Suddenly, a low growl came from behind him. He froze in terror. A Cyan Scale Lion was charging from not far away, apparently frightened by Su Chen and fleeing in a panic.
Zhou Zhong reacted quickly, preparing to dodge with a clumsy roll. But a sudden, sharp pain shot through his head, and his whole body froze as if struck by lightning.
THUD!
With a sickening crunch, half his head was crushed by the fleeing Cyan Scale Lion.
Everyone's attention was on that lone figure. No one noticed.
The camp gradually fell silent. In just a few moments, more than ten Cyan Scale Lions lay dead on the ground, with a single figure standing in their midst.
"Is that... Su Chen!?"
The situation had been critical, and not everyone had noticed who was taking action. Coupled with his incredible speed, they only got a clear look once he stopped.
Gaze after gaze—shocked, horrified, or grateful—converged on him.
"Huu..." Su Chen let out a breath, feeling a throbbing pain in his head.
The scene just now might have looked as effortless as a leisurely stroll, but it was actually the result of a combination of [Sky Splitter Warrior], [Secret Artifact Master], and most importantly, the Tier Two Item [Cyan Iron Lock Cable].
These ordinary lions were only Tier One Mutant Species. Naturally, they couldn't withstand the lethality of a Tier Two Item.
However, that series of moves had also consumed a great deal of his energy.
'So strong...'
In the distance, Hu Xiang's focus was split as he watched the camp. His heart trembled, and he was almost struck by a claw.
'This guy... could he really be a Tier Two Professional?' he couldn't help but wonder.
"ROAR!"
The Cyan Scale Lion leader before him let out a pained roar. Hu Xiang instantly focused his mind, preparing for a desperate, final struggle from his opponent.
But instead, the giant lion only glanced toward the camp before ceasing its attack and slowly retreating into the darkness.
"It's over..." Hu Xiang's tension eased, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
In the camp, cries of "Ouch!" rose and fell as everyone helped each other up and treated their wounds. But their minds were far from calm, and some were even distracted, their gazes drifting from time to time toward the figure in the distance.
"...Twelve Tier One Mutant Species, and the rest were cubs... Good heavens, that's just monstrous..." Liu Liang whispered to his companion.
"No wonder Bai Fengxi treats him differently. He's too amazing."
"Isn't... isn't he a refugee? How can he be so strong?" someone couldn't help but ask.
"How should I know?" Liu Liang rolled his eyes. "And stop calling him a refugee this and a refugee that. The man just saved your life."
"I know, it's just an expression..." the person argued back.
"What are the casualties?" Hu Xiang had returned. His deep voice immediately gave everyone a sense of stability.
"Not too bad..." one of his subordinates reported, his face tense. "They were all Level 1 Mutant Species, and we reacted fairly quickly. Su Chen... followed up right away, and those students are in good physical shape too. It's mostly just bumps and bruises."
"However, a few of our guys might end up permanently disabled from saving them."
"Those useless brats, all they did in the fight was get in the way. Otherwise, Old Liu and the others wouldn't have gotten hurt," a subordinate said angrily. "And that Su Chen, he's obviously so strong, but he just..."
"Shut up!" Hu Xiang shot him a cold glare. Of course, he knew why Su Chen hadn't acted sooner.
Not far away, Old Zhao couldn't help but look over, shaking his head and sighing.
Su Chen was resting with his eyes closed. He spoke with a hint of resignation, "Is it fun to keep staring at me?"
Beside him, Bai Fengxi showed no signs of embarrassment and asked directly, "You know what I want to ask."
"Since you know, you should also understand that I'm not going to tell you," Su Chen said, shaking his head.
"That's why I'm just staring at you."
Su Chen was caught off guard, left speechless.
"...Zhou... Zhou Zhong! Zhou Zhong is dead!"
A terrified shout came from the distance.
Bai Fengxi's expression faltered for a moment, and she said again, "Killing him will cause a lot of trouble."
"You should go tell that to the Cyan Scale Lion," Su Chen said flatly.
Everyone gathered around, staring at the corpse on the ground. More than half of its head was crushed, and its single remaining eye was wide open, unable to rest in peace.
"Did anyone see what happened to him?" Hu Xiang's expression was grim as he scanned the crowd.
"I think... he was trampled to death by a lion," someone said meekly.
"Trampled?" Hu Xiang gave the corpse a deep look. "Bag him."
Among the surrounding City Patrol Guards, Tang Chen's face was pale and his heart was uneasy. Fortunately, the person responsible for bagging the body only gave it a casual glance before putting it into the Corpse Bag.
'There's still a chance. There's still a chance.'
Hu Xiang pushed through the crowd to Su Chen's side. Looking at the young man before him, he asked, "Care to talk?"