Ch. 138 - Don't Tell Me It's Cooked...

[Option 1]: Bail—now! Skedaddle and save your life!

[Option 2]: Attempt to pacify the Lord beasts and quell their fury!

[Option 3]: Fight to the death! Force a counter-kill!

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Chen Shu rubbed his chin. Did this even need thinking?

The very next instant, the Mutant Thunderbird spread its wings and blasted off toward the Spirit Suppression base, blue exhaust fumes spraying from its butt.

"Son of a bitch, they're FAST?!"

The corner of Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched. His Ice Phoenix spread its wings to follow suit.

But it had taken damage from the Frost Giant Wolves. Its speed had dropped significantly—it could barely keep up with the Mutant Thunderbird anymore.

Chen Shu shouted at the top of his lungs: "Teacher Shen, hang in there! We'll find someone to come save you!"

The corner of Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched. By the time you little shits come back to save me, my corpse will already be cold.

To think that I, Shen Wushuang, have buried countless others. Am I really going to meet my end in Frost Canyon today?

Just as the trio fled, the Ice Bat Lord fixed them with a venomous glare, its eyes locked onto Chen Shu.

Its wings spread wide, wreathed in blue light—clearly a skill activation. Its speed surged to the absolute limit.

In an instant, the Ice Bat Lord caught up to the Mutant Thunderbird.

"Holy SHIT!"

A bone-deep chill ran through Chen Shu's entire body. Did that thing see me throw the bomb?!

SCREECH!

The Mutant Thunderbird's body shuddered—the Ice Bat Lord had bitten down on its BUTT!

Its speed plummeted instantly. The blood in its body nearly froze solid.

"It's done for—I need to recall the Mutant Thunderbird!"

Panic flashed across Xu Xingxing's face. He could feel the Thunderbird's life force draining away rapidly.

The Mutant Thunderbird's speed was unmatched, sure, but in every other department it was genuinely lacking.

Chen Shu nodded. All three plummeted toward the ground.

The Ice Bat Lord opened its massive jaws, ready to swallow all three of them whole.

But in a flash, a massive yellow sphere appeared, accompanied by thunderous snoring.

All three moved in perfect sync, latching onto the Slime's nostrils for dear life.

The sleeping Slime instantly entered flight mode, pulling away from the Ice Bat Lord.

But this was only temporary. If even the Mutant Thunderbird couldn't outrun it, the Slime didn't stand a chance.

Tactical retreat: FAILED!

Chen Shu's eyes darted around, frantically searching for an escape route.

Xie Sunan yelped: "Oh COME ON! It's back!"

The Ice Bat Lord had caught up again. Its massive jaws opened wide and clamped down directly on the Slime. Razor-sharp fangs pierced through its defenses.

Another layer of frost spread across the Slime's body. Its life force was draining just as fast.

Just as the situation turned critical, a massive python struck from out of nowhere, smashing the Ice Bat Lord aside with overwhelming force.

It was Shen Wushuang's second contract spirit—the Black-White Python!

Thanks to its formidable strength, Shen Wushuang had temporarily broken free from his own predicament.

All four now stood atop the Ice Phoenix, surveying the Lord beasts surrounding them on all sides.

Chen Shu seized the moment to recall the Slime back into Beast Space.

Below the Ice Phoenix hovered the Black-White Python.

Two contract spirits against seven Lord beasts!

"Teacher Shen, think we've got a shot?"

Chen Shu's expression was grim as he racked his brain for a way out.

But Shen Wushuang wasn't paying attention. Instead, he'd pulled out a blank sheet of paper and appeared to be writing something.

Chen Shu glanced over from the corner of his eye. The first two characters froze him in place.

"Teacher... isn't it a bit early to be writing your will?"

Shen Wushuang didn't even acknowledge him. He pulled out three more sheets of paper and handed them over.

"Write yours too. My contract spirits can hold for a while!"

"..."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Below, the Black-White Python had already engaged all seven Lord beasts in a full-scale battle.

As a defensive-type contract spirit, it was getting absolutely pummeled.

Its talent skill "Scale Conversion" was completely useless here—the Ice Bat Lord specialized in elemental attacks, while the Ice Ape Lord was a terrifying physical attacker.

No matter what color scales it switched to, all it could do was take a beating...

"Teacher, we can't lose hope!"

Chen Shu tossed his blank paper aside. "Old Xie, give Teacher a dose of the light of love!"

Xie Sunan let out an "Oh" and the Winged Caterpillar's eyes began glowing brilliant green.

The corner of Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched. "If you actually do that, I'll bury all three of you first."

"We can't give up, Teacher Shen!"

"I can handle ONE Lord beast at most, and you threw SEVEN at me! Fight WHAT exactly?!"

Shen Wushuang looked ahead. The Black-White Python had fallen into critical condition in the blink of an eye.

The Ice Ape Lord had seized the Python's head in a death grip and was shaking it back and forth violently. The scene was extremely brutal...

"I think we can still fight!"

Something occurred to Chen Shu, and he pulled out another vial—this one filled with red liquid.

"ARE YOU BOMBING THE CANYON AGAIN?!"

Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing instinctively stumbled backward, eyes full of panic.

The grey Explosion Potion had left them deeply traumatized.

"THAT'S what you used to blow it up?"

Shen Wushuang's eyes were equally wide, his face a picture of disbelief.

The corner of Chen Shu's mouth twitched. "Are you two colorblind? The last one was GREY. This one is RED!"

The vial in his hand was the Berserk Potion.

It was the potion the System had rewarded him back when Shen Wushuang had called on random students to answer questions, and Chen Shu had looked up and locked eyes with him.

"It's a long shot, but we might as well try! Let's have the Ice Phoenix drink this."

Chen Shu spoke with a measure of confidence in the System's potions.

The corner of Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched. "It won't just explode on the spot, will it?"

If it was anything like the potion that had caused that explosion, wouldn't the Ice Phoenix essentially be swallowing a nuclear bomb?

"It won't!"

Chen Shu said with absolute certainty. Internally, he quietly added: ...Probably won't.

"Fine! Let's gamble!"

Shen Wushuang took the vial and poured the red liquid straight into the Ice Phoenix's beak.

A moment passed. The Ice Phoenix showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Nothing's happening," Shen Wushuang said.

"Give it a second—let the potion digest!"

Chen Shu remained perfectly calm, his faith in the System's products unwavering.

Then, in a flash, the Ice Phoenix's eyes bulged wide—as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. Blood vessels were visible through the whites.

White steam erupted from its body all at once.

Sensing something very wrong, all four leapt down to the ground instantly.

They stared up at the Ice Phoenix hovering above. Its entire body was shrouded in billowing mist, as if it were about to depart for the great beyond...

Chen Shu swallowed hard and ventured cautiously: "Don't tell me it's... cooked?"

With that, he opened his backpack and pulled out a packet of seasoning.

Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing were sniffing the air too, noses twitching, as if trying to catch a whiff. Moments later, they produced an assortment of pots, pans, and cooking utensils...

If we're going to die anyway, might as well taste an S-rank Ice Phoenix before the end. Doesn't seem like a bad deal...

The corner of Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched. He exploded: "GET LOST! You three are genuinely SICK!"

But at that very moment, white mist was surging across the Ice Phoenix's body—and its aura was climbing rapidly.

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