77: Chapter 77: The Battle of the Peak Amethyst Level! Imminent!

Principal, the Mayor, and Su Chengtian—the combined Aura of these three Amethyst-rank Experts should have been enough to sweep through anything.

However.

When that terrifying Aura from deep within the forest, like an ancient Vicious Beast awakening, completely erupted.

Only then did they deeply realize what a world of difference meant!

"Wooo—!"

The Black Tortoise Dragon Turtle with its astonishing defense beneath Xiao Zhan's feet actually let out a low roar that was almost a wail in the face of this brutal, tyrannical pressure filled with death and destruction. Its limbs trembled violently, and its massive body slumped to the ground uncontrollably.

No matter how Xiao Zhan commanded it.

He could not make it lift itself even a fraction!

This was the crushing weight of absolute power!

The opponent's strength was terrifyingly high.

It was definitely not something his Gold-rank Spirit Beast could resist.

The golden flames around Principal's Dragon Flame Golden Ni flickered uncertainly, the Mayor's holy Cloud Rainbow Sacred Luan's wings trembled slightly, and Su Chengtian's Wind Spirit Divine Eagle even let out a threatening low roar, yet it could not hide the trace of instinctive fear.

The hearts of the four instantly sank to the bottom.

"Amethyst Ninth Tier Peak... no, this Aura... it's already one foot into the Diamond Rank!"

Principal's expression was more solemn than ever, his voice dry.

As an Amethyst Seventh Tier, he could feel the terrifying power contained in that Aura, which far surpassed an ordinary Amethyst Rank Peak.

Just as the four, including Principal, were cowed by the terrifying Aura erupting from the depths of the forest and their minds were shaken.

The space in front of them seemed to be torn and crushed by an invisible giant hand!

"Crack... Boom!"

It wasn't a metaphor, but the actual sound of space shattering!

Accompanied by the teeth-gritting sounds of bone dislocation and flesh twisting, the ground in front of the four suddenly arched upward and then exploded violently.

Debris of soil, rocks, and ancient trees shot into the sky like a fountain.

Amidst the flying debris and thick dust, a massive, twisted shadow slowly stood up with a weight that seemed capable of crushing everything.

First to come into view was a twisted head like a giant battering ram, covered in bone armor woven with pale white and dark red. Through the gaps in the bone armor, dark purple, still-wriggling rotten flesh could be seen.

Above the head, there were no eyes, only two intensely burning, abyss-like ghostly green Soul fires.

Then came its despairingly massive body, seemingly forcibly stitched and catalyzed from the remains of countless types of powerful Vicious Beasts.

Thick limbs covered in dark scales were connected by massive pale white bone spikes and wriggling tentacles.

On its back, hideous bone spikes grew in clusters like a forest of death.

A long tail pieced together from countless vertebrae with a massive bone hammer at the end caused the earth to crack and soil to fly with a casual sweep.

It was surrounded by visible dark red Evil Qi and deathly gray energy of decay. This energy wriggled like living things; wherever it passed, plants instantly withered and turned to ash.

The air was filled with a heavy mixture of blood and decaying corpses.

Most heart-palpitating was its undisguised, tyrannical Aura, like a prehistoric Vicious Beast!

Amethyst Ninth Tier Peak!

Furthermore, that Aura was violent and unstable, as if it were constantly battering against an invisible barrier. The wisps of power leaking out already carried a hint of... Diamond Rank... This terrifying mutated Vicious Beast, just by standing there, emitted a pressure that caused the golden flames around Principal's Dragon Flame Golden Ni to dim.

It caused the Mayor's Cloud Rainbow Sacred Luan to let out an uneasy cry and forced Su Chengtian's Wind Spirit Divine Eagle to crouch down, its throat emitting a low roar of mixed threat and fear.

And Xiao Zhan's Black Tortoise Dragon Turtle let out a wail, its limbs completely limp, its massive body pinned to the ground by that will of death and destruction.

It couldn't even raise its head.

And just then.

A gaunt old man like a phantom quietly appeared atop the head of this terrifying mutated Vicious Beast.

He was still in that black robe embroidered with dark red patterns, his figure withered.

But standing atop the head of that Soul-Eroding Demonic Skeleton Beast which emitted an Aura of destruction, he was as steady as a rock, as if he were the core and Dominator of this Vicious Beast.

The two ghostly green Soul fires on the Demonic Skeleton Beast's head seemed to be of the same origin and frequency as the flickering gaze beneath his hood.

He slightly raised his gaunt palm and gently pressed it against the Demonic Skeleton Beast's cold bone armor, as if soothing his own weapon.

Then, he looked up, his ghostly green gaze piercing through the Void Realm and landing on the four people, including Principal, who were as if facing a great enemy.

A raspy and cold voice swept across the entire battlefield:

"The Sacred Cult is acting; local government of City C, do not make the mistake of interfering."

His voice wasn't loud.

Yet it carried a coldness and deathliness that seemed to originate from the Soul level, clearly suppressing the bone-chilling low panting of the Demonic Skeleton Beast.

"Otherwise..."

He paused, his ghostly green gaze suddenly sharpening. The Soul-Eroding Demonic Skeleton Beast beneath him seemed to respond as the dark red Evil Qi around it surged violently. That peerless pressure strengthened again like a tsunami, ruthlessly battering the minds and Spirit Beasts of the four experts.

"The consequences... are not something you can bear."

Overbearing, disdainful, treating Amethyst Rank as nothing!

With the peerless demonic skeleton beneath his feet as his mount and the sky full of Evil Qi as his background, a single man and beast seemed to block thousands of troops, hurling a sense of endless despair and pressure into everyone's hearts.

The moment his voice fell.

Alarm bells rang in the hearts of Principal and the others.

They were equally suspicious.

Why would the opponent send such top-tier combat power to intercept them?

This was definitely not just as simple as stopping them from rescuing Jiang Yun.

Within this Misty Forest, the evil cult must be carrying out some earth-shattering plot that cannot be disturbed.

The Mayor of City C suppressed the throbbing in his heart, took a step forward, and questioned loudly, his voice spreading across the fields with the help of Beast Taming Power: "Yuhai Cult! Why have you attacked my City C's Beast Tamer Grand Competition and slaughtered the future Geniuses of my City C? Do you really think there is no one left in City C?!"

"Jie jie jie jie..."

The gaunt old man let out a bone-chilling, eerie laugh, his ghostly green gaze sweeping over the Mayor with pure contempt.

"Geniuses? Just some slightly stronger ants. The fact that the Sacred Cult has not slaughtered this entire city is already a great mercy. Taking a few of your students and a few Spirit Beasts is hardly worth mentioning."

His tone shifted with a near-insane arrogance: "Never mind the few of you joining forces; even if the experts from the Beast Tamer Academy were to arrive in person today, my Sacred Cult... would not fear them!"

His arrogance was simply lawless!

However, the instant his voice fell.

"Hmph! What big words!"

An old yet majestic voice filled with awe-inspiring Righteous Path energy rolled in from the direction of the square like Nine Heavens thunder, instantly dispersing part of that suffocating, sinister pressure.

"Hiding your heads and showing your tails, acting like ghosts—nothing more than a pack of rats that cannot see the light, yet you dare to boast here and parade around? You Yuhai Cult, using living beings as sacrifices, going against human ethics, and poisoning the world, are the mortal enemies of my Human Race! We Beast Tamers shall kill you on sight!"

The voice approached from afar, and as the final word "kill" fell.

A dazzling cyan rainbow of light, like a dawn sword tearing through the darkness, shot over from the direction of the square.

The light faded, revealing the figure within.

It was none other than Elder Li from the Beast Tamer Academy!

And his Spirit Beast.

Amethyst Ninth Tier Peak! Eternal Ice Star Beast!

Elder Li stood atop his Spirit Beast.

His hair and beard were flared out, his usual gentleness and kindness completely gone, replaced by a piercing sharpness that seemed capable of severing all evil in the world.

The Aura he emitted was pure, vast, and majestic, forming a sharp contrast with the sinister deathliness of the evil cult Elder, like a confrontation between light and darkness.

The terrifying Auras of two Amethyst Ninth Tier Peak Spirit Beasts collided violently in mid-air.

Buzz!!!

An invisible force field twisted and exploded between the two, emitting a teeth-gritting hum.

The clouds in the sky were forcibly torn apart, and the earth began to show spiderweb-like cracks centered on the two! The mere clash of their Auras had already triggered celestial changes.

Slightly behind Elder Li, Leiting Middle School Principal Lei Lie also rode his Spirit Beast.

An Amethyst Sixth Tier Spirit Beast, the Thunder-Winged Gryphon, shaped like a gryphon and surrounded by violent lightning snakes, followed closely, its lightning shining with impressive might.

"Interesting..."

The evil cult old man's ghostly green Soul fire flickered slightly as he recognized the newcomer: "The old watchdog of the Beast Tamer Academy has quite a sharp nose."

Elder Li's gaze was like lightning, piercing through the Void Realm to lock onto the opponent: "You evil cults, reversing life and death and creating calamities, are intolerable by heaven! The Beast Tamer Alliance has long had decrees—there is not the slightest bit of tolerance for you! On sight, you must be killed!"

"Jie jie... Hypocrite!"

The evil cult old man sneered: "The weak are prey to the strong; that is the ultimate principle of heaven and earth! The Sacred Cult pursues the supreme truth; how could you ordinary mortals understand?"

"Truth?"

Elder Li sneered, his tone filled with disdain and killing intent: "A path paved with the bones of thousands of living beings is worthy of being called truth? Today, let this old man see if your so-called truth can withstand the light of my Human Race's Righteous Path."

Words had reached this point.

There was no more room for maneuver.

Clearly, there must be a battle today.

The evil cult old man fell silent for a moment, his killing intent spreading out like something physical, and the shadow beneath his feet seemed to come alive, constantly wriggling and expanding.

"In that case... then, battle!"

The final word "battle" escaped his lips.

The existence beneath him, emitting a terrifying pressure, finally let out a roar!

"Roar—!!!"

The terrifying Aura was incomparably overbearing.

"This person's strength is formidable; he must be an Elder of the evil cult's upper division. He is willing to fight just to intercept us; there must be something fishy within this Misty Forest."

A sharp light flashed in Elder Li's eyes, instantly piercing through to the key issue.

He made a prompt decision and gave orders at a very fast pace:

"Principal He, Patriarch Su, Principal Lei Lie, attack with me to tie down this person and this beast! This mutant's Aura is already close to Diamond Rank, and its combat power may exceed my Spirit Beast. I will lead the attack while you support; do not engage it head-on!"

"Patriarch Xiao! Quickly rendezvous with the City Defense Team, go deep into the forest, find the evil cult's stronghold, and destroy their ritual core! Rescuing the trapped students is the priority! Move fast!"

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

The orders were clear, and everyone solemnly obeyed.

Principal He and the others instantly rode their Spirit Beasts and scattered.

Forming a semi-encirclement.

They commanded their Spirit Beasts to unleash their ultimate techniques.

Xiao Zhan didn't hesitate, driving the Dragon Turtle to let out a dull roar as it broke through part of the suppression, turning into a streak of yellow light and racing toward the other side of the forest.

At the edge of the forest, the Eternal Ice Star Beast beneath Elder Li's feet glowed brightly as countless Ice Pythons shot into the sky, turning into ice chains that spanned the heavens and earth.

The evil cult old man's black robe billowed as his ghostly green Soul fire burned fiercely, and the terrifying Skeletal Behemoth behind him raised a twisted giant claw capable of crushing mountain Peaks.

The heavens and earth lost color, and the wind and clouds rolled back.

The battle of Amethyst Rank Peaks was on the verge of breaking out...