20: Deadly Ambush

"Then Captain, can we also...? Hehe."

Iron Claw couldn't help but rub his hands together, looking at Vulture with expectation in his eyes.

"Of course. When have I, your captain, ever treated you poorly?"

The three of them let out bursts of sinister laughter, then quickly moved toward the path ahead of Zhou Xing and the others.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xing and the other five moved forward cautiously.

There were too many uncertainties in the wilderness; they could be attacked at any moment.

[Strong energy fluctuations detected ahead. It is recommended that the host retreat quickly.]

The System's voice rang out at that moment, causing Zhou Xing to stop in his tracks instantly.

"Something's wrong, retreat quickly!" Zhou Xing suddenly raised his hand, and everyone hurriedly turned to retreat.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

However, they were a step too late. Three consecutive powerful explosions rang out, and terrifying shockwaves carrying a large amount of rubble radiated toward everyone.

"Steel Skin!"

"Ice Shield!"

Zhou Xing secretly activated Steel Skin and instantly condensed layers of Ice Shields to withstand the aftershocks of the explosion.

In the end, he was still sent flying backward.

"Wall of the Mountain!"

"Titans Strength!"

On the other side, two consecutive shouts rang out. Qin Yue slammed his arms onto the ground, and a thick rock barrier rose from the earth, shielding everyone inside.

At the same time, Chen Yan's massive frame actually increased in size by another third. His muscles bulged all over as he and Qin Yue stood together at the front of the group.

Bang!

The shockwave of the explosion hit the rock wall condensed by Qin Yue, and cracks continuously appeared.

Qin Yue let out a muffled groan, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The three claw wounds on his chest caused by the Wolf King's attack split open again, and blood flowed out.

Although Chen Yan had activated Titans Strength to push his power and defense to the extreme,

the intensity of this explosion had reached at least the Peak of the foundation condensation stage. With his Early Stage foundation condensation strength,

the moment Qin Yue's rock wall shattered, he spat out a mouthful of blood. His body returned to its normal size, and his aura became withered.

Cough, cough, cough.

As the explosion ended, Zhou Xing also stood up while grimacing. With blood on his lips, he was not lightly injured.

He had been at the very front of the team, bearing the first wave of damage from the explosion.

White Night, Ink Rain, and Liu Ning were not affected much.

"Don't waste your energy, someone is coming."

White Night opened the medical kit and took out several healing pills for Zhou Xing and the other two to take. Just as she was about to perform a Water Healing Technique to help suppress their injuries, Qin Yue raised his hand to stop her.

Three figures leaped down from a high place and landed steadily in front of the group.

It was none other than the Vulture trio who had set the ambush.

Looking at the battered Qin Yue and his team, Vulture grinned, his gaze cold. "What a coincidence, Captain Qin."

"Vulture? You're looking for death!"

Seeing the three people before him, Qin Yue was enraged. He wanted to rush over regardless of the consequences to settle the matter then and there.

But just then—

Swoosh!

A blood-colored blade light shot through the air, aimed directly at Qin Yue's throat.

Zhou Xing instantly threw out an ice cone to parry it. The blade light was deflected and sank into the ground behind them.

Immediately after, two dark figures quickly approached.

It was Blood Blade and Bone Hammer, who had just arrived.

At this moment, Blood Blade's pale face showed a feminine smile as he looked at Zhou Xing. "Nice reaction."

On the other side, Bone Hammer charged over like a tank. His right arm had already transformed into a massive hammer condensed from bone, and he slammed it fiercely toward the ground.

"Earth Splitter!"

The terrifying force made the ground tremble, and the shockwave forced everyone to retreat quickly.

A straight crack split open from the middle of the ground, extending for a hundred meters.

"Blood Blade? Bone Hammer? It's actually you two?" Qin Yue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression solemn.

Then, he looked at Vulture with cold eyes. "You actually dare to collude with Divine Gene?"

Vulture laughed loudly, his face contorted. "So what? Today you are destined to never leave this place alive. Who will know about this then?"

"Enough talk. Move. Leave Qin Yue to me; you and Vulture's group deal with the others."

Blood Blade lightly raised his right hand, and the blood-colored scalpel that had sunk into the ground far away was recalled.

At this moment, blood-colored aura surged, and three scalpels circled around him as he charged directly at Qin Yue.

Qin Yue immediately condensed a layer of rock armor, only to find a scalpel emerging from his shadow at some unknown time, drawing a spray of blood.

"Your blood smells so sweet."

Blood Blade licked Qin Yue's blood from the scalpel and spoke in a feminine voice.

"Earth Vein Shackles!"

Because of his injuries, the strength Qin Yue could exert was very limited.

The opponent's scalpels were very fast and could actually tear through his defense easily.

He decided to take the initiative to attack.

He slapped his palms on the ground, and rock hands burst from the earth, attempting to trap Blood Blade in place.

However, the opponent's figure dissipated like a disintegration.

Immediately after, he appeared behind Qin Yue, and two scalpels were suddenly plunged into Qin Yue's back.

The moment the blood flowed out, Blood Blade directly condensed it into blood crystals.

Just then, Vulture moved!

A pair of decaying wings actually emerged from his back. He dived toward Qin Yue from a high place with the speed of a real Vulture.

His right hand had turned into a pitch-black sharp claw, its surface covered in sickening slime.

"Qin Yue, die!"

In an instant, the sharp claws tore through the air and lunged at Qin Yue's face.

Qin Yue sensed the danger, but with Blood Blade's restraint, he had no way to dodge.

"Captain, watch out! Water Curtain Splendor!"

White Night noticed Vulture's sneak attack and warned him in time. A stream of water landed directly on Qin Yue,

and a constantly rotating water energy shield emerged to block Vulture's claws.

"You're all going to die anyway. Since you're looking for death, I'll finish you off first."

Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, Vulture gave a sinister laugh. His wings flapped, and his claws went straight for White Night's throat.

Swoosh!

However, at this time, an ice blade struck from a distance, forcing Vulture to dodge quickly. White Night was temporarily out of danger.

Clearly, Zhou Xing had noticed the situation and acted in time.

However, most of Zhou Xing's attention was focused on Bone Hammer in front of him.

Although the opponent hadn't launched an attack yet, he brought a significant amount of pressure to Zhou Xing.

On the other side, Chen Yan directly activated Titans Strength. Like a small giant, he lifted a rock weighing nearly half a ton and slammed it fiercely at Iron Claw.

Iron Claw grinned. Both of his hands had completely turned into metallic Iron Claws. He watched the falling rock and slashed across it in a cross pattern.

The rock shattered instantly.

But by this time, Ink Rain had already used her strange attack method to merge into Iron Claw's shadow.

"Shadow Bind: Strangle!"

Iron Claw suddenly stiffened, and at that moment, a fireball from Liu Ning blasted straight toward him.

But Poison Fang opened his mouth and spat out a glob of venom, blocking Liu Ning's fireball.

At the same time, after activating his ability, he flicked out a forked tongue like a whip.

Even more like a cobra's attack, the poison glands at the tip of his tongue sprayed deep green venom toward Liu Ning.

White Night hurriedly condensed a layer of water shield to block it.

But the opponent's venom actually seemed to be enhanced upon contact with water, turning the entire water shield dark green.

White Night was forced to quickly dispel the water shield.

A large amount of venom fell onto the ground, making a sizzling sound of corrosion.

The entire field was now a chaotic battle.