81: Chapter 81 Big Brother, take a rest first!

Due to the absorption of the energy from the Iron-Spine Rhinoceros itself, the shell compatibility rejection that had been giving Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng a headache disappeared.

The sound of metal grinding turned into a dull, thunderous cutting sound.

Under the catalysis of the blood energy, the crimson ice wheel's rotation speed skyrocketed, reaching an astonishing fifty thousand revolutions per minute!

"Sizzle... Splat!!!"

The blood ice wheel cut into flesh like a hot knife through butter.

The dark red ice wheel expanded crazily, kicking up waves of viscous blood mist!

"Roar—!!!"

The Iron-Spine Rhinoceros let out a heart-wrenching wail, kicking its four hooves wildly and crushing the rock layer beneath its feet into powder.

The mercenary captain in the rear cursed outright: "That ice wheel... it turned red!"

"Using the monster's blood to kill the monster—what kind of 'using its own method against it' is this?"

A mercenary held up a recorder with trembling hands, the scene of the crimson ice wheel rotating and cutting filled with a cult-like and violent aesthetic.

"...Why does it look so wicked?"

"It is a bit terrifying. Is this damn thing Elemental Type or Eerie Type?"

A young mercenary beside him swallowed his saliva and muttered: "Do you guys think, if this were posted on the Federation Battle Net, how many views would it get?"

"You're still thinking about traffic?!"

Station Chief Zhou Ke said nothing.

He subconsciously clenched the fist on his one arm.

The military district lieutenant colonel... he really doesn't have an undeserved reputation.

A bold mercenary even pulled a pack of compressed biscuits from his backpack, munching on them while watching the show, like he had bought a front-row VIP seat.

...

Su Ming was watching too.

He admitted that Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng's blood ice wheel move really had something to it. Using the enemy's blood to break the enemy's armor—the strategy was slick.

But to put it bluntly, it was still like cutting meat with a dull knife.

He knew this Iron-Spine Rhinoceros still had a trump card. Being tortured like this, that beast would definitely fight for its life.

Su Ming quietly moved back half a step.

...

Sure enough.

Just as the blood ice wheel cut nearly forty centimeters into the shell, the Iron-Spine Rhinoceros's wailing suddenly stopped.

It wasn't dead.

In its scarlet vertical pupils, the pain was replaced by something more primitive.

The dark red brand on its rhinoceros horn began to glow.

It wasn't the intermittent flickering from before.

It was a stable, continuous, and increasingly bright light.

It was the exact same routine as the Wolf King right before it died.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng sensed the change in that aura—something was very familiar, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

But he didn't have time to think deeply about it.

"Everyone retreat!" Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng shouted suddenly.

It was too late.

The Iron-Spine Rhinoceros's body began to heat up.

It wasn't a normal rise in body temperature, but an ultra-high-heat, blood-colored steam steaming out from the depths of its bones, from every single cell.

The heat wave expanded outward, visible to the naked eye; everything in his field of vision began to distort and deform, and the ashes on the ground were baked until charred and cracked.

The eight frost chains turned from ice blue to white in a fraction of a second, then turned into water vapor.

The moment the blood ice wheel touched that layer of steam, with a "hiss," the outer ring evaporated instantly.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng's pride-and-joy extreme cold domain was forcibly pried open at one corner, creating a gap.

The Iron-Spine Rhinoceros took a step.

With every step it took, the ground was scorched with blackened hoof prints.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng was forced back dozens of steps by that heat wave, and dense cracks appeared on the surface of his frost armor. He gritted his teeth, his face livid—the last time he felt this kind of being countered was when he lost to that Fire-type opportunist in the military district competition.

The crowd in the back completely exploded.

"It's over! Even a Tier 5 big shot can't suppress this monster!"

"Run! Run quickly!"

"What the hell are you running for? If it charges over, who can outrun it?!"

The mercenary who was just munching on biscuits dropped them directly to the ground, his legs trembling.

Station Chief Zhou Ke drew the standard military knife from his waist, blocking in front of everyone.

Gripping the knife with his one arm, the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

He couldn't stop it.

But he didn't move back a single step.

...

On the other end of the battlefield.

Shen Qingci knelt halfway beside Dahuang, the dry wind of the Ash Belt stirring the stray hairs on her forehead.

She looked at Dahuang's collapsed ribs and was about to inject an emergency medical agent, but she discovered that golden energy was already flowing around the broken bones, and there were actually signs of self-healing.

She still fed an expensive recovery agent into Dahuang's mouth.

After swallowing the agent, Dahuang's vital signs quickly stabilized. It weakly stuck out two tongues and licked Shen Qingci's hand. The head on the left even whimpered and nudged her palm, as if acting cute and asking for credit.

Shen Qingci stood up, patted its two heads, and walked back.

When she returned to the battlefield, she also saw Station Chief Zhou Ke and his group.

She quietly walked to the other side of the battlefield; to avoid causing unnecessary panic, she kept a distance from the main group.

But her appearance still attracted the mercenaries' attention.

"Wait, beside that woman... what is that?"

"A two-headed dog? That's a Source Beast, right?!"

"What kind of family background must she have to be able to own a Tier 3 Source Beast as a companion beast?!"

"Can low-tier Source Beasts be tamed now?"

"Hers is called a companion beast; the one you keep is called a pet. Don't compare them."

Whispers spread through the crowd.

Station Chief Zhou Ke glanced at Shen Qingci and thought of Commander Huangfu Jing.

He didn't say much else.

He turned around and shouted in a low voice to the mercenaries who were still excitedly taking pictures: "Stop making noise! This is not a tourist spot, evacuate immediately! The danger of a Tier 4 Source Beast is far beyond your imagination!"

He subconsciously touched his empty left arm.

That arm was lost during a mission to surround a Tier 4 Source Beast.

However, not many people moved.

Compared to other people's lives and other people's gossip, clearly, watching the show was more important.

After all, you can't see this kind of scene in a movie theater.

...

The Iron-Spine Rhinoceros didn't look at that group of ants.

Its vertical pupils slowly turned in the steam, eventually locking onto one direction.

Not Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng.

Not Shen Qingci.

It was Su Ming.

That Tier 4 giant beast, its whole body emitting blood-colored steam and its aura still climbing, lowered its single horn and kicked the ground with its hind legs.

The entire earth was trembling.

It launched a charge toward Su Ming.

Su Ming tilted his head.

"Fine, it still has to be me."

He lowered his arms that he had been holding.

"Big Brother, you take a break for a while."

He threw a sentence at Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng, and the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed by half an inch.

Mass Engine, ignite!