Chapter 220: A Close Call with Death (I)
Chapter 220: A Close Call with Death (I)
When it saw the Fiery Beast emerge, the Dragon Turtle couldn't help but let out a soft roar.
Roar! Thunder Fiery, why did you unleash your electricity just now? Are there enemies below?
The Fiery Beast responded, Roar! No enemies. I was just clearing the water to prevent any little creatures from eating the crystals while we're away.
The Dragon Turtle had a look of admiration in his eyes.
Roar! Impressive, Thunder Fiery. You're really smart.
The Thunder Fiery Colossal Beast then said, Roar! Baxia, I know you don't like to move much, so I'll leave this place to you. Keep these crystals safe.
Roar! I'll come up here once a day, and we'll divide them together then. Each beast will get its share, so no eating without permission, got it?
The Dragon Turtle nodded quickly. Roar! Don't worry, Thunder Fiery. Leave it to me. I promise not to eat without permission. We'll divide them together.
If the Dragon Turtle ate any, the size of its body would immediately give it away. So, without worry, the Fiery Beast nodded and walked to the crocodile’s corpse. It grabbed the tail with its left claw and walked toward the sea while standing upright.
After the ancient evolution, the Fiery Beast had better control over its body. Although it was used to moving on all fours, walking upright posed no problem, and it was even more convenient during battles.
It had originally planned on claiming the deep pool as its new lair. However, for some reason, it had felt a faint unease after killing the crocodile earlier, as if it was exposed under a spotlight with someone watching. That was why it had put the Dragon Turtle in charge of watching over it instead.
The fact that eating the growth crystals made it need a lot of food after also meant that it wouldn’t have been convenient to stay on the island long term.
But where did this sense of unease come from? Were there level 9 colossal beasts lurking in the surrounding waters? Or... from the sky!
Thinking of this, the Fiery Beast glanced up at the cloudless sky, pondering.
If there were level 9 colossal beasts lurking nearby, it would have sensed them long ago.
These colossal beasts at the peak of evolution were all terrifying; they would naturally emit a warning aura to prevent nearby mutated creatures from entering their territory, which made it rare for one to be able to sneak around. On top of that, because their bodies had undergone a complete transformation, they no longer needed to hunt for food.
After reaching level 7, mutated creatures' bodies would gradually transform under the influence of their innate powers, like the metallic colossal beast they had encountered in the Coral Trench.
The Kun and the Dragon Turtle also had little dependence on the flesh of mutated creatures. Most of the time, they would absorb energy from their surroundings to maintain themselves and purify their bloodline for growth.
By level 8, the transformation of their bodies would become even more apparent. While they would still possess the characteristics of flesh and blood, they would also gain more extreme properties from their abilities; the flesh of a fire colossal beast would develop magma-like crystallizations, while the skin of rock colossal beasts would become as hard as diamond.
Among these mutated creatures, the Fiery Beast was a bit of an anomaly, much like how Chen Chu's body differed from normal cultivators. With its ability to grow rapidly by consuming flesh, it had a strong demand to get energy from flesh and blood creatures. It needed to consume mutated creatures several times its size every day so that it could digest them into biological energy and fuel its growth and evolution.
This was also the reason why its strength had increased so rapidly. It was as if it had an ability for devouring.
So it was highly likely that human satellites in the sky had discovered it. There was no other explanation for the faint unease.
Chen Chu also knew about the human satellites monitoring mutated creatures around the globe. With more materials, human military technology had also become more advanced. Not just when it came to weapons, but also high-definition satellites, which were distributed worldwide.
It seems that in the future, I'll have to be more careful. I should only surface at night, and when the sky is cloudy.
Lost in thought, the Fiery Beast dragged the crocodile’s corpse into the sea, disappearing beneath the surface with a splash.
As the saying went, different groups come with different intentions. From the perspective of a mutated creature, the Fiery Beast would never entrust its own safety to humans, even though its main body was one.
***
Boom!
A loud bang sounded deep within the Yunwu Mountains. The ground trembled, and within the mist, a thirty-two-meter-long mutated beast, one that resembled a fierce Tyrannosaurus, crashed down to the ground with a thunderous roar.
The scales on its chest had shattered, and it had a huge hole in its chest around three meters wide. Just as its blood was about to gush out of the wound, it was instantly blocked off by a black demonic energy.
Wearing black armor and surrounded by black smoke, Maximus approached the corpse. With a hiss, his snake-like tail pierced through the mutated beast's skin.
Hum!
As the black demonic energy surged, strands of blood-red energy, visible to the naked eye, were devoured and absorbed by Maximus through his tail, gradually strengthening his aura.
He devoured all of the beast’s essence in just ten minutes. The mutated beast's corpse shriveled, appearing dim and lifeless, and emitting a stench as if it had been dead for half a year.
Only then, with his aura significantly stronger, did Maximus retract his tail with satisfaction.
At that moment, a dark figure emerged from the forest behind, kneeling on one knee. "My Lord."
Maximus slowly turned to look at the Shadow Cult Agent in a black robe, and calmly said, "So, how’s it going? Any news from Kuer?"
The robed figure respectfully replied, "Since Zuo Jing left, he has been wandering aimlessly in the mountains, seemingly without purpose. He encountered two geniuses from the Federation, but paid them no attention. But as he moves farther away, it will be difficult for Kuer to relay information. Just what is going through the minds of those Eternal Cult lunatics?"
Maximus frowned slightly. "What are the others doing?"
"No strange behaviors from the others. They have been following your orders and staying within ten kilometers. They are focused on hunting nearby mutated beasts to heal their injuries with."
Maximus nodded slightly. "I see. You may leave."
As the Shadow Cult Agent departed, Maximus looked at the shriveled corpse of the mutated beast, and the armor on his left arm slowly split open. Then, taking a deep breath, he tore into his own flesh with his sharp fingers, digging out a mass of black flesh that wriggled with tendrils.
Ahh!
When the black flesh was pulled out, a sharp and piercing spiritual scream erupted, causing even Maximus to turn slightly pale. He endured the headache as he threw the mass of black flesh onto the beast’s wound.
Smelling the rotten flesh, the black mass quickly burrowed deep into the mutated beast's body.
Suddenly, the corpse twitched, then began to convulse and violently struggle as the parasite successfully implanted itself. Maximus glanced at it with a hint of disgust, then turned and disappeared into the mist.