Chapter 49 Hold on, hold on!
Huahai City, the outskirts of Catacombs Manor.
This place had already become a burning ruin.
Zhu Chi, leading the urgently assembled support troops, had just arrived at the designated rendezvous point when he saw Wang Qiang and several other Super-grade powerhouses, covered in wounds and with withered auras, stumbling out from the depths of the ruins, supporting each other.
"What's the situation?!" Zhu Chi asked urgently, steadying Wang Qiang, whose face was deathly pale and whose left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle.
Wang Qiang, a veteran Super-grade Limit-breaking First Stage powerhouse who had guarded Catacombs Manor for many years, had a face covered in blood and bitterness. He shook his head with difficulty, "It's no use... We can't suppress it..."
"I don't know why, but that Ferocious Beast suddenly went berserk... Its strength, speed, and defense all increased by a huge margin! Even fighting to the death to form a formation, we could only barely hold it off for a moment..."
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted again from the core area of the manor! A dark red shockwave, mixed with rubble and dust, spread in all directions like a tsunami!
Zhu Chi and the others were forced to retreat repeatedly, channeling their energy to resist, their faces pale with shock.
As the dust settled slightly, a massive shadow was seen slowly standing up in the center of the ruins!
What a terrifying giant beast it was!
It stood over twenty meters tall, resembling a hybrid of a giant ape and a demonic dragon, with magma-like red light flowing between the gaps of its bone armor. On its back were a pair of tattered but still massive fleshy wings!
It was completely different from the King-seed with only a soft brain that Zhang Fan had seen before!
This was a mature, fully grown King-level Ferocious Beast!
"Roar!!!"
The King-level Ferocious Beast roared at the sky, the sound waves acting like physical hammers, causing several weaker martial artists to vomit blood and collapse on the spot!
Zhu Chi's expression was grim: "It's gotten stronger again! This beast... just how many Lord-level Ferocious Beasts has it devoured?"
Rumble... In the distance, a sizable horde of Ferocious Beasts was stampeding over! The one at the lead clearly possessed a Lord-level aura!
The King-level Ferocious Beast let out a low growl with a sense of urgency.
The next moment, that Lord-level Ferocious Beast, as if receiving an irresistible summons, broke away from the herd and charged crazily toward the King-level. Instead of attacking, it actively thrust its head in front of the King-level's gaping maw!
"Crunch!"
The King-level Ferocious Beast bit down! It forcefully swallowed the Lord-level Ferocious Beast whole!
After the consumption was complete, the bone armor on the King-level Ferocious Beast's body emitted a series of "crunching" sounds, growing even thicker and more vicious spikes and bone plates! Its aura climbed another notch!
"It... is still rapidly recovering and evolving by devouring Ferocious Beasts!" Wang Qiang exclaimed.
"Roar!"
The King-level Ferocious Beast dropped to all fours, like a moving mountain, and launched a violent charge toward Zhu Chi, Wang Qiang, and the others! With every step it took, the ground shook!
"Form up! Hold it!" Wang Qiang roared, and together with the other three battered Super-grade Limit-breaking First Stage powerhouses, he forcibly mobilized their remaining Qi and blood to form a battle formation, resisting the impact head-on.
"Thud!"
It was like an egg hitting a rock!
The defensive line formed by the four was instantly shattered! Wang Qiang bore the brunt of it; the clear sound of cracking ribs echoed, he sprayed blood, and flew backward! The other three also fell like kites with broken strings, their injuries even more severe!
In just a single exchange, the four strongest Super-grade combatants in Huahai City had completely lost their combat effectiveness!
Just then, buzz buzz buzz! A dense roar of engines came from the horizon!
The helicopters from Xijing Martial Arts University, followed closely by six even more imposing heavy attack helicopters from Bawu Hall, arrived over the battlefield almost simultaneously!
"Reinforcements have arrived!" A glimmer of hope had just risen in Zhu Chi's heart.
The helicopter doors opened, and Mentor Yang, Su Wan, and other teachers and students from Xijing Martial Arts University were the first to rappel down.
Mentor Yang saw the crisis on the field at a glance. His expression was extremely grave as he shouted, "This Ferocious Beast has fully matured. Trap it first!"
At the same time, he looked at Shen Xiao, the Young Hall Master of Bawu Hall who had just landed, speaking very quickly: "Young Hall Master Shen! This King-level has finished strengthening by devouring a Lord-level; it is no small matter! Please join forces with us immediately."
Shen Xiao landed, his gaze sweeping across the field, and when he saw Su Wan was also present, the corners of his mouth curled slightly.
Join forces? How would that show off his, Shen Xiao's, abilities?
"Mentor Yang, no need to panic!"
Shen Xiao laughed loudly, his posture dashing, deliberately letting his voice carry across the entire field, especially ensuring Su Wan could hear clearly.
"It's just a slightly stronger beast! Why bother everyone to join forces? Watch my, Shen Xiao's, methods."
He turned and waved his hand to the four steady-aura elders he had brought with him: "Four Elders, suppress the formation for me, just block its escape route! I want to personally meet this King-level and take its Super-grade crystal core."
These words were incredibly arrogant, as if the King-level Ferocious Beast was already in his pocket.
Those four Bawu Hall elders were all Super-grade Limit-breaking First Stage experts; they quickly scattered, each occupying a position.
Shen Xiao took a deep breath, and his aura at the peak of Super-grade Limit-breaking First Stage was released without reservation! He practiced the martial art "Tyrant Emperor Body"; as he executed it now, his muscles bulged, and his skin took on a bronze metallic luster, like a humanoid tyrannosaur!
"Beast! Die!"
Shen Xiao shouted, his figure turning into a streak of light as he actively charged toward the King-level Ferocious Beast! He threw a punch, the wind from the fist overbearing, with a faint phantom image of an emperor emerging!
This punch was enough to split mountains and crack stones!
However.
In the King-level Ferocious Beast's scarlet vertical pupils, a flash of anthropomorphic... mockery?
It raised its giant claw and swiped it forward casually!
"Bang!!!"
"Crunch... Pfft!"
The arrogance on Shen Xiao's face instantly froze, turning into extreme terror and disbelief! He felt his unstoppable Tyrant Emperor Fist energy slam into a flying meteorite!
His fist bones and arm bones shattered section by section instantly! An indescribable, terrifying power surged into his body along his arm, destroying everything wildly!
His entire body felt as if it had been hit head-on by a heavy truck traveling at full speed, and he was sent flying backward faster than he had charged! His chest was visibly sunken!
"Young Hall Master!"
The four elders suppressing the formation were also shocked; no one had expected that Shen Xiao, whose strength was similar to theirs, would be severely injured in a single exchange!
One of them flew up and caught Shen Xiao, who was flying backward and had already passed out.
One elder took out a high-grade healing gene medicine, pried open Shen Xiao's mouth, and poured it in, barely stabilizing Shen Xiao's life force.
Mentor Yang's expression was extremely grim: "Fool! This mature King-level Ferocious Beast far exceeds the ordinary! It's likely close to Limit-breaking Second Stage! How could you possibly resist it alone?!"
Su Wan watched Shen Xiao's miserable state from afar, her cold face devoid of any expression, and a trace of annoyance even flashed in her heart.
At a time like this, he was still only concerned with showing off and not listening to orders; if things went wrong, he would get everyone killed.
"Roar!"
The King-level Ferocious Beast roared wildly, the red light on its bone armor flashing violently, and it slammed into the four martial arts hall elders who were protecting Shen Xiao.
"Boom!"
All four elders spat blood and flew backward!
The killing intent in the King-level Ferocious Beast's giant eyes intensified, and its gaze instantly locked onto Mentor Yang and Su Wan and the others, who were the closest and had the strongest auras! It raised its giant claw, preparing to strike down again!