"Hold still!"
Chen Shu told the other three not to run just yet. The Mutant Thunderbird's speed was absurdly fast -- there was no way the thing chasing them could keep up.
The four of them stood on the bird's back like a row of spectators at a sporting event.
The Iron-Wing Beast Lord drew closer. Its gaze swept toward the Mutant Thunderbird immediately.
Unfortunately, despite the Thunderbird being a Level 8 contract spirit, it radiated absolutely zero predatory menace. The Lord didn't register even a hint of danger from it.
The Iron-Wing Beast Lord ignored them entirely and flew straight past.
Chen Shu's expression hardened. His eyes tracked the Lord's trajectory, calculating every subtle shift in direction.
In a split second, his pupils locked on. He'd found the opening. He released the Slime.
The massive Golden Slime activated Gigantification the instant it materialized -- six times its base size, ballooning to a staggering twenty meters.
"Why did it get dark all of a sudden?"
The Iron-Wing Beast Lord's senses were razor-sharp. It realized something was wrong immediately.
It tried to look up. Too late. A horrifying roar erupted from above.
"Goo-gii!"
The gap between the two was enormous under normal circumstances, but the Iron-Wing Beast was already gravely wounded. It could no longer resist Deterrent Roar's stunning effect.
The fact that it had escaped a Silver-rank Dragon Guard's pursuit at all was already a borderline miracle.
The Golden Slime descended directly on top of the Iron-Wing Beast, plummeting at terminal velocity.
BOOM!
A sickening impact echoed across the sky, and the scene that followed was nothing short of gruesome.
The Iron-Wing Beast's eyes bulged so wide its eyeballs looked ready to burst from their sockets. Blood sprayed in every direction, pooling outward like a ruptured watermelon.
It had endured pressure no creature its age should ever have to bear...
"It really can't fight back at all."
Chen Shu's lips curled into a grin. He commanded the Slime to methodically wiggle its butt back and forth, making absolutely certain the thing was dead.
Moments later, the Iron-Wing Beast Lord breathed its last.
The beast's injuries had simply been too severe. Even without Chen Shu's intervention, this Iron-Wing Beast would've dropped dead on its own before long.
"Reward received: Skill 'Violent Butt-Drop Kill' +1!"
The other three were already staring with their jaws on the floor.
Watching Chen Shu's flawless sequence of operations from start to finish, they couldn't help but gasp.
A Level 9 Beast Tamer had just hunted down a Black Iron-rank Lord?
How the fuck did you have the balls to even try?!
Chen Shu paid the three of them no mind. His gaze flicked sideways, and he immediately spotted the Dragon Guard descending toward them.
He ordered the Slime to open its massive mouth and swallow the Iron-Wing Beast Lord's core organs whole.
Then, without hesitation, he recalled the Slime.
"Hm?"
The Dragon Guard arrived on the scene. The first thing he saw was the dead Iron-Wing Beast.
"Did you people kill this?"
Wang Xuanyang leapt off his golden bird in one clean motion, landing firmly on the street below.
Even face to face with a Silver-rank Dragon Guard, Chen Shu didn't so much as flinch. He stepped forward without a moment's hesitation.
"All in a day's work! As a red-blooded member of the new generation, if I see my city threatened by a monster and I don't step up -- who will?!"
"If everyone only thinks about themselves, how will the common people ever find peace? How will the world ever find order?!"
His face was a portrait of pure, righteous conviction. Then, without skipping a beat, he pivoted:
"The government can reward me anywhere from ten to eighteen million. Or a few Lord-class materials. I'm not picky!"
Wang Xuanyang's mind went completely blank. The kid's little speech had genuinely thrown him for a loop.
Why does it feel like I just got mugged by a patriot?
"You're the Nanjiang Bandit, Chen Shu?"
Wang Xuanyang's eyes flickered as something clicked into place.
"Holy shit! You know who I am?!"
Chen Shu jolted. He hadn't expected the Dragon Guard to actually recognize him.
Am I already on a Dragon Guard arrest list or something...?
"Didn't before. Do now."
Wang Xuanyang was the very same Dragon Guard who'd handled the Taiping Mountain explosion. He hadn't expected to run into Chen Shu here, but the kid's behavior had connected the dots instantly.
No wonder they call him the Nanjiang Bandit...
"Word is the Taiping Mountain and Frost Canyon incidents had something to do with you?"
Wang Xuanyang fixed his gaze on Chen Shu. The pressure of a Silver-rank Beast Tamer was enough to make Xu Xingxing and the others clam up entirely.
Chen Shu, on the other hand, looked completely and utterly innocent. "Taiping Mountain? I went to Frost Canyon, sure -- but some absolute psychopath blew the whole thing up! If I ever find out who did it, I'll beat them every single time I see them!"
Looking at Chen Shu's face, blazing with righteous indignation, Wang Xuanyang's mouth twitched. He waved his hand dismissively.
"Fine! No other rewards. The corpse is yours."
He would've killed the Iron-Wing Beast eventually -- that was a given. But the kid had dealt with it early, and at least no civilians had been harmed in the process.
Wang Xuanyang could already tell this one was a nightmare to deal with. He stepped back onto the golden bird, preparing to leave.
"That's IT? No cash reward? No honorary title?"
Chen Shu's face fell. A beat later, he shouted after him: "Or just give me a Dragon Guard appointment! That works too!"
Wang Xuanyang stumbled mid-step and nearly fell off his bird.
You little shit -- you really think big, don't you?!
He shook his head and took off without another word.
Chen Shu had left a deep impression on him. Young people who could manage that were extraordinarily rare.
"Cheapskate!"
Chen Shu sighed. He'd been hoping to shake down the Dragon Guard, but his current strength just wasn't enough leverage. If he were a Silver-rank Beast Tamer himself, the Dragon Guard would've had no choice but to pay through the nose.
He'd made a real contribution to Daxing City, dammit!
The Daxing Spirit Fighting Arena sat on the city's outskirts, right at the urban fringe. If the Iron-Wing Beast had kept flying in its original direction, even critically wounded as it was, it could've easily killed dozens of civilians.
"Teacher Chen, you're insane!"
Ouyang Bao's face was pure worship. He couldn't believe Chen Shu hadn't shown the slightest fear in front of a Dragon Guard.
Even with Ouyang Bao's family background, he wouldn't dare mouth off to one.
On one side stood the guardians of all Huaxia. On the other, just a family of businessmen. There was simply no comparison.
"Basic move. Note this down: a certain Dragon Guard owes me ten million yuan!"
Chen Shu pulled out a small notebook and carefully wrote the entry.
ACHOO!
Wang Xuanyang, already high in the sky, let out a violent sneeze. He frowned. "That's strange... with my physical constitution, how could I possibly catch a cold?"[1]
...
The four of them set up camp right there on the deserted street, lighting a fire and breaking out the BBQ grill.
"Consider tonight's meal on me..."
Xie Sunan had already produced his butcher's cleaver and was processing the Iron-Wing Beast's carcass on the sidewalk.
It really had been a while since they'd had proper game...
"I saw a Lord-class fierce beast! Are you all okay?!"
Shen Wushuang arrived on the street, alarm written across his face, eyes scanning for danger.
"We saw it too, Teacher."
Xie Sunan stood up, holding the plucked and stripped Iron-Wing Beast in one hand...
"..." Shen Wushuang's expression froze. Disbelief flooded his eyes. "You KILLED a Black Iron-rank Lord?!"
"Oh, please! I, Chen Shu, have killed nearly ten Black Iron-rank Lords at this point! This is basically my specialty!"
Chen Shu waved him off with practiced nonchalance.
"You picked off another injured one, didn't you?!"
Shen Wushuang zeroed in on the truth immediately.
If the Lord had been at full strength, Chen Shu would've been the first one running -- and he might very well have left his teammates behind while he was at it...
"Absolutely not!"
Chen Shu denied it flatly. Then, changing the subject, he asked:
"By the way, Teacher Shen -- how come Lord-class fierce beasts are showing up inside cities? Last time at Taiping Mountain there was a Fire Snake Lord too."
All four students turned to look at him. They'd been alive for over a decade and had genuinely never seen anything like this.
"Taiping Mountain? You've been to Taiping Mountain?"
Shen Wushuang latched onto the key words instantly. And you still dare to deny you blew it up?!