Chapter 124: Duel to the Death!
Chapter 124: Duel to the Death!
“Die!”
Captain Wang was like a changed man, completely ignoring his bleeding severed arm as he frantically charged at the Lion.
Roar!
Seeing Captain Wang charge forward, the Lion showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, a hint of human-like contempt flickered across its face. With another roar, it lunged back at Captain Wang.
Bang!
Though raging with madness, Captain Wang’s status as a martial arts master placed him far above ordinary men. In a single deft motion, he grabbed the mane on the Lion’s neck, used it to lever himself upward, and vaulted onto the creature’s back. Every move Captain Wang made flowed with the practiced ease of something ingrained. Though seemingly casual, each action held intricate subtlety.
Roar!
Clearly caught off guard by Captain Wang’s speed, the Lion roared in protest and abruptly pivoted. With a thunderous crash, it charged headlong toward a large tree, intending to smash itself—and its rider—against the trunk.
“Ah! Give my Young Lady back! Return my Young Lady!”
Once secured on the Lion’s back, Captain Wang let his grip on the mane slip. Digging his legs viscerally into the Lion’s belly, he swung his free arm in furious blows. Fist after fist hammered mercilessly at the Lion’s skull.
Roar!
Under this assault, the Lion immediately howled in pain, its body staggering unsteadily. The shock of the punches left it dazed and wailing.
Roar!
After just one defiant bellow, the Lion resumed its mad dash toward the tree. Dismounting Captain Wang by any means necessary was key to killing him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Captain Wang’s legs clamped onto the Lion like a vise—unyielding as chains bolted to a mountain. His iron fists lost none of their power. Blow after blow, in just moments, battered the Lion’s head until flesh tore away, revealing bone.
—
“What?”
Tang Jinbiao, standing to the side, watched Captain Wang’s unrelenting assault with stunned disbelief. He had initially intended to flee, but the sight before him now gave him pause. For reasons unknown, the scene sparked a thought—it reminded him of the legend, Wu Song fighting a tiger, though here it was Captain Wang battling not a tiger, but a Lion.
“Young man over there! Quickly! Assist Captain Wang! I’ll activate an Intermediate Frigid Ice Talisman Paper! Once I unleash it, we can slay that beast!”
Chu Yunfei had descended at some point, landing unsteadily on the ground. He now held a white Talisman Paper in hand and was desperately channeling Spiritual Energy into it. He shouted urgently as he struggled to activate it.
Of course, under normal circumstances, an activation like this would require mere moments. But after his prolonged fight with Captain Wang, his internal Spiritual Energy was nearly exhausted, leaving him unable to even sustain flight Magical Power. Had it not been so, he would never have found himself in such a wretched state.
Had a discerning observer been present, Chu Yunfei’s ruse would surely have been spotted. After all, what he held was not an Intermediate Frigid Ice Talisman at all… it was a Wind Escape Talisman!
“This?”
Tang Jinbiao’s gaze shifted uncertainly between the Lion and Chu Yunfei. Truthfully, these people had little to do with him. He’d been unjustly dragged into this conflict.
CRASH!
But while Tang Jinbiao still hesitated, the Lion slammed violently into the tree trunk. The impact echoed with deafening force.
CRACK!
“Ah!”
That tree, about as thick as a person, was directly broken in half by the impact.
Captain Wang, due to excessive blood loss, flew out with blurred consciousness from this collision.
Roar!
After dealing with Captain Wang, the Lion seemed to realize something.
It did not bother with Captain Wang’s corpse, but roared and charged towards Chu Yunfei.
“Oh no!”
As soon as he saw the Lion charging towards him, Chu Yunfei’s eyes showed panic.
He immediately retreated backward, but the deficiency of Spiritual Energy in his body, and the fatal weakness of a Cultivator’s fragile body, were fully exposed at this moment.
He staggered after taking only a few steps and fell heavily to the ground.
Roar!
The Lion’s head was already covered in blood and wounds, clearly showing Captain Wang’s hatred when attacking earlier.
However, this Lion seemed not to feel pain and pounced fiercely towards Chu Yunfei, who was lying on the ground.
“No!”
Chu Yunfei was so terrified that he forgot to activate the Spirit Talisman in his hand; its glow dimmed.
He stretched out both hands to block the attack.
Snap!
Once the Lion pounced on him, it immediately opened its gaping maw and bit down towards Chu Yunfei’s head.
“No!”
His Spiritual Energy exhausted and body weak, Chu Yunfei was absolutely unable to resist anything.
He could only close his eyes and scream.
Clang!
But just as Chu Yunfei thought he was about to die, when the Lion’s large bite was halfway through, it suddenly stopped.
At some point, a layer of green protective shield emerged on Chu Yunfei’s body.
Gnaw! Gnaw!
After biting hard several times, the Lion seemed to discover it couldn’t pierce through that layer of protection.
It let go and stared at Chu Yunfei, fury showing in its eyes.
“Dad!”
Feeling the protective layer on his body, Chu Yunfei nearly cried out.
If not for this protective layer, he would have gone to see the King of Hell by now.
Because this layer was actually a magical treasure given to him by his father long ago.
In this critical moment, the treasure had automatically protected its master.
He had forgotten about this treasure due to extreme fright, and now finding that the Lion couldn’t harm him, he nearly cried.
Roar!
After failing to harm Chu Yunfei, the Lion roared loudly, causing Chu Yunfei’s ears to ache.
But the Lion didn’t give up on Chu Yunfei; instead, it fiercely slapped Chu Yunfei’s body with its huge paw.
“Ah!”
Struck by the massive paw, Chu Yunfei’s body flew out like a sandbag.
Terrified at that moment, Chu Yunfei involuntarily screamed in pain.
Bam! Crash!
With a deafening bang, Chu Yunfei crashed into and broke a large tree before stopping.
Fortunately, the protective shield absorbed the impact, and he wasn’t injured.
Even so, he felt his qi and blood churning violently inside, leaving him breathless.
However, after this huge collision, the protective shield over Chu Yunfei dimmed slightly.
Roar!
Seeing that Chu Yunfei wasn’t dead and still alive, the Lion’s eyes filled with greater fury, and it charged again.
“Little brother, save me!”
In this desperate situation, Chu Yunfei immediately sent a sound transmission to Tang Jinbiao, who had been watching on the sidelines.
Roar!
The lion seemed to notice something as it ran, glancing slightly at Tang Jinbiao and letting out a threatening growl.
“This? Damn it! What should I do?”
Tang Jinbiao truly wanted to flee. Yet, the unease of conscience held him back. For someone raised on songs like “the great river flows east,” the notion of “acting when one should” was deeply ingrained.
Acting bravely for justice—this was fundamental human conscience. Besides, there stood his rescuer from earlier, though not a life-saver in the truest sense.
But even a drop of kindness deserves a fountain of repayment!
This moment tested his conscience.
He could walk away now, protecting himself. Or he could step forward, saving others from peril. That Chu Yunfei had a protective treasure, but it likely wouldn’t last much longer against the lion. And the fallen Captain Wang lay motionless nearby, lifeless—dead or alive, he couldn’t tell.
“Young brother, help me! Just hold off this possessing Demon Beast a moment! Once my sister arrives, she’ll slay it! I promise I’ll—”
While Tang Jinbiao wrestled internally, Chu Yunfei’s voice echoed in his mind, pleading.
“Agh!”
But Chu Yunfei’s plea cut short as the lion swatted him again, smashing him through another massive tree.
Thud!
His protective shield absorbed the damage, but the raw force still jolted through his body, rupturing internal organs. A mouthful of blood sprayed uncontrollably from his lips.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The lion pivoted instantly, charging toward Chu Yunfei once more.
Crash!
Another violent collision hurled Chu Yunfei backward. He crashed heavily into yet another tree trunk.
…
“Damn it!”
Tang Jinbiao’s mind churned violently. He, who had never even killed a chicken, had nearly crumbled at the sight of a dead man earlier. Were it not for the surge of strength from the Talisman against his chest, he wouldn’t have the courage to remain standing.
“Lit…tle…”
Just as Tang Jinbiao hesitated, Captain Wang stirred not far away. He lifted his head with immense effort, weakly calling out.
“What?”
Seeing Captain Wang was still alive, surprise and hope flashed across Tang Jinbiao’s face. He rushed to the Captain’s side immediately.
“Lit…tle…”
Captain Wang whispered faintly.
“Brother Wang, don’t speak! Take this! I don’t know what it is exactly, but it might help!”
Tang Jinbiao tore the Protective Amulet from his own neck and pressed it into Captain Wang’s hand.
“No… no… You… You… listen… You… must… must save… Young… Young… Mistress!”
Captain Wang seemed to know his life was fading. He pleaded, surprisingly turning a gentle, distant gaze toward the raging Lion.
“No more talk, Brother Wang! I know what to do!”
Tang Jinbiao stood decisively before Captain Wang could say more. Handing off the Talisman, he strode toward the Lion with hardened eyes.
Crackle!
Tang Jinbiao didn’t notice it. As he turned away, a thin wisp of lightning sparked from the Talisman clutched in Captain Wang’s hand and vanished into his body.
“Ah!”
As the lightning entered, Captain Wang’s eyes instantly lost their light, becoming vacant. Yet, precisely as his gaze emptied, a continuous surge of lightning leaped from the Talisman, flooding into his form.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
As streaks of energy flowed in, the terrible wounds on Captain Wang’s body writhed as if alive! Flesh visibly re-grew over bone. Even old, hardened scars began to knit and heal.
“ARGH! NOOO!”
On the other side, Chu Yunfei was tossed about like a ragged ball by the Lion. A full ring of large trees, beyond the initial ten-zhang clearing, had been toppled or snapped in the chaos.
Crash after brutal crash weakened Chu Yunfei’s protective field. One, maybe two more hits would shatter it completely. The relentless impacts had pushed him to the brink of unconsciousness.
ROAR!
The Lion lunged before Chu Yunfei again. It reared one massive paw high into the air, poised to crush down… then froze mid-strike.
RAWR!
The Lion seemed briefly stunned. But in an eyeblink, its whip-like tail snapped viciously forward.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort sounded. The tail was instantly caught in a firm grip.
“RAAAGH! DIE ALREADY!”
A furious roar followed instantly. With shocking strength, the Lion was hoisted bodily into the air and violently hurled away…