187: Chapter 3: What exactly is the purpose of these monsters?

"But..."

One of the Yanjing Beast University freshmen spoke up hesitantly.

In fact, even if he didn't say it, everyone knew what he meant.

If Chen Longxiang stayed behind to cover the retreat, he would almost certainly die.

Before he could finish, Chen Longxiang interrupted him, "Stop talking. Hurry up and take Xiahou Sun and run!"

After saying this, Chen Longxiang resolutely turned around to face the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile, his eyes filled with determination.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

For some reason, Chen Longxiang's heart began to beat violently.

This rapid heartbeat felt as if it were thumping right in his ears!

Facing death, instead of fear, he felt his adrenaline surging!

"Come on!"

Chen Longxiang took a deep breath, his eyes fixed intently on the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile!

No matter what, he had to stop this monster!

Even if... only for a moment!

"I am a Genius, damn it!!"

Chen Longxiang roared and immediately unleashed his strongest secret technique!

Secret Technique: Savage Elephant Trampling the Mountain!

In an instant, the Ancient Savage Elephant that Chen Longxiang had transformed into raised its elephant hooves high!

Then, it violently trampled toward the opponent!

He knew, of course, that he was bound to lose this battle!

After all, his strength was only at Beast King Level Eight Star!

Under the suppression of the black mist, he couldn't even exert his full power.

But the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile before him possessed power infinitely close to the Beast Emperor Rank!

However, so what if defeat was certain?

At the very least, he still had the courage to fight!

At the same time, a hint of surprise flashed in the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile's eyes.

It hadn't expected this human Beast Soul Master, clearly so weak, to dare stand in its way.

How was this any different from seeking death?

The Nightmare Dragon Crocodile naturally wouldn't have any mercy.

Since the opponent was seeking death, it would grant his wish!

With that thought, the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile didn't hesitate. It unleashed its full power, and its black-scaled crocodile tail lashed out violently toward Chen Longxiang!

The phantom of the Savage Elephant Trampling the Mountain instantly shattered!

"Boom!!"

Then, with a dull boom, Chen Longxiang's body was sent flying backward, slamming heavily onto the ground!

Intense pain immediately spread through Chen Longxiang's body!

"The gap is still too large..."

A look of bitterness involuntarily appeared on Chen Longxiang's face.

The strength of this Nightmare Dragon Crocodile was even greater than he had imagined!

With his strength alone, he couldn't contend with it at all!

A single blow had broken countless bones in his body!

It seemed he was still too weak.

If he were given another year, perhaps he would have had the strength to slay this Nightmare Dragon Crocodile.

Unfortunately, the world was cruel; there were no "ifs."

However, just as Chen Longxiang closed his eyes and prepared for death, a voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"Kid, well done. You're a real man."

Hearing this, Chen Longxiang was momentarily stunned, then instinctively looked up.

He saw a figure in a military uniform standing before him, though he hadn't noticed when the man arrived.

Chen Longxiang then remembered that when entering the Dragon Bone Mountain Range, the military had assigned a safety officer for the freshmen of each school to ensure their safety.

If nothing else, the man in the military uniform before him was one of them.

The man in the military uniform spat on the ground and said in a low voice, "To be honest, I don't know if I'm a match for this beast either."

"Kid, remember my name: Chen Xuewu!"

"If I die, remember to go to the military department and collect my pension for me!"

"But saving a Genius like you before I die... my life has been worth it!"

After saying this, Chen Xuewu didn't hesitate and immediately chose to fuse with his beast soul!

After completing the Beast Soul Fusion, a one-horned rhinoceros covered in reddish-gold scales appeared before Chen Longxiang!

Moreover, this giant one-horned rhino emitted an incredibly formidable aura!

This was Chen Xuewu's beast soul, the One-Horned Gold-Scaled Rhino!

To be chosen by the military as a safety officer for these freshmen, one had to have some skill.

For instance, Chen Xuewu was a Beast Soul Master at the Peak of Lord Level Five Star!

With his strength, he was more than capable of handling ordinary Lord-level Monsters.

However, he wasn't facing an ordinary Lord-level Monster, but a Nightmare Dragon Crocodile that was infinitely close to the Beast Emperor Rank!

That was why he was giving Chen Longxiang his final instructions in advance.

Like Chen Longxiang, he also possessed the determination to face certain death!

Because he was a soldier, and this was his duty!

Without hesitation, Chen Xuewu charged straight at the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile!

"Roar!!"

To the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile, Chen Xuewu's act of charging at it was nothing short of a provocation!

With a roar, the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile opened its massive maw and spat out a stream of pitch-Black Dragon Flame radiating intense heat!

"Sizzle—"

The Black Dragon Flame continuously scorched Chen Xuewu's body!

Fortunately, the reddish-gold scales on Chen Xuewu's body insulated him from some of the burn damage.

"Secret Technique: Light of Golden Scales!"

At that moment, Chen Xuewu didn't hesitate and immediately activated his secret technique!

In the next second, the golden scales covering his body suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden light!

Rays of golden light, like a divine shield, enveloped Chen Xuewu, shielding him from the scorching Dragon Flame!

However, just as Chen Xuewu forcibly charged in front of the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile...

The latter raised its Beast Claw and slammed it down toward him!

This strike from the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile seemed to carry the weight of a thousand tons; its explosive power was so incredible that it left Chen Xuewu no room to dodge!

"Boom!!"

With a dull boom, the golden light shield on Chen Xuewu's body shattered!

Then, Chen Xuewu's body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string!

Fortunately, he was stronger than Chen Longxiang and had the defense of the golden light shield, so the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile's strike wasn't enough to completely incapacitate him!

It only took a moment for Chen Xuewu to stand back up. He activated his secret technique again and, bolstered by the golden light shield, charged at the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile once more!

The order he had received was to ensure the safety of these freshmen at all costs!

To be a soldier meant carrying out a superior's orders to the end, even if it led to certain death!

"You beast, come again!!"

A roar erupted from Chen Xuewu's throat; he seemed like a man possessed!

However, no matter how frenzied the assault, it couldn't bridge the gap in strength.

This time, Chen Xuewu was sent flying by the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile's massive tail sweep!

At this moment, Chen Xuewu felt as if his internal organs had been displaced, and he coughed up a mouthful of crimson blood.

"Damn, this beast is really ruthless..."

Chen Xuewu suddenly turned his head toward Chen Longxiang in the distance and couldn't help but frown.

"Why haven't you left yet, kid? Are you staying here to be buried with me?"

"Senior..."

Chen Longxiang wanted to say something, but no words came out.

He understood, of course, that fleeing was the best choice in this situation.

Moreover, this was an opportunity Chen Xuewu had created for him with his life.

Yet, for some reason, Chen Longxiang couldn't bring himself to move.

"Roar!!"

However, to their surprise, the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile suddenly raised its head and let out an earth-shattering roar!!

This roar made both Chen Xuewu and Chen Longxiang's hearts tremble.

But in the next second, an even more unbelievable scene unfolded.

The Nightmare Dragon Crocodile actually chose to ignore them and turned to sprint in another direction!

Watching this, both of them were stunned, their faces filled with shock.

Even after the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile had completely disappeared from their sight, they still hadn't processed what had happened.

Chen Longxiang then quickly walked over to Chen Xuewu and asked in confusion, "What exactly is going on?"

"This guy just let us go like that?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"

Chen Xuewu snapped back irritably, then winced as he spoke, "Alright, stop talking. Let me catch my breath first."

Clearly, the two heavy blows from the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile had caused him significant injury.

Chen Longxiang nodded immediately, but he was still deeply confused.

How could a monster as ferocious as the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile let them go so easily?

After a few seconds of silence, Chen Longxiang couldn't help but say, "Senior, do you think it's possible that the monster left in such a hurry because it had something more important to do than kill us?"

Chen Xuewu thought for a moment and grinned, "You educated types certainly have quicker minds."

"But even if that's the case, we still can't do anything about it."

"After all, in front of that monster, the two of us aren't even worth a side dish."

As he spoke, a bitter smile appeared on Chen Xuewu's face. "Anyway, our luck is pretty good; we at least managed to keep our lives."

"All we need to do now is wait here for the military or the school to send someone to rescue us."

Just as Chen Xuewu was about to deactivate his Beast Soul Fusion, his expression suddenly changed, and a look of alertness flashed in his eyes. "Watch out!"

Just as he finished speaking, two Lord Level pterosaur monsters suddenly soared over their heads, their wings whistling through the air and creating gusts of wind!

However, these two Lord Level pterosaur monsters also chose to ignore them!

And the direction they were flying was exactly where the Nightmare Dragon Crocodile had disappeared!

Even the most foolish person would realize that there must be some connection between the two!

For a moment, even Chen Longxiang couldn't help but mutter, "What on earth are these monsters trying to do?"

...Deep within the Dragon Bone Mountain Range.

Inside a giant forest.

"Is this the third Lord-level Monster we've encountered today?"

Lin Yuan frowned. Before him lay the corpse of a giant beast resembling a Tyrannosaurus Rex!

This monster was also a mutant affected by nuclear radiation, possessing at least Lord Level strength!

And this was already the third Lord-level Monster they had encountered since leaving that cave!

Logically, this situation almost never happened before.

After all, every Lord-level Monster had its own territory and rarely appeared in the same area.

However, since the black mist spread, everything seemed to have become chaotic!

All the monsters had started to become extremely aggressive!

Furthermore, the frequency of Lord-level Monsters appearing had also increased!

Inside the black mist, things were becoming increasingly dangerous!

At this moment, the only one who didn't feel threatened was probably that Little Black Dragon.

It was currently crouched next to the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head, digging away with its little claws.

Watching this, even Wang Jinze couldn't help but twitch his lips. "Damn, this little guy really is carefree enough."

Su Muxue, beside him, smiled and said, "Come on, during the fight just now, Little Black was much more useful than you."

Su Muxue's words were true; during the battle with this Lord-level Monster, the Black Dragon Flame Little Black spat out had easily scorched through the monster's scales, allowing Lin Yuan to kill it with ease.

From this perspective, Little Black's role was indeed much greater than Wang Jinze's.

Wang Jinze was about to argue back, but just then, a succession of beast roars suddenly echoed in their ears!

Moreover, these roars seemed to be coming from all directions!

All three of them, including Lin Yuan, underwent a change in expression.

Wang Jinze was the first to react, saying in a low voice, "It's a beast tide. Damn... we're surrounded by a beast tide!!"