Threatening growls shook the corridor. Gray glanced once at the Chiss, then down at the two warm, cuddly Pujis in her arms… her claws tightened. She really couldn’t bear to let them go.
In the end, she turned her eyes toward Norris.
Norris had come for battle in the first place. Without hesitation, the four-meter-tall Gida thundered forward, each step booming as its shoulder-mounted Artillery Pujis opened fire under his control!
Unfortunately, the fixed Pujis couldn’t aim on their own. Everything depended on Norris’ adjustments—so accuracy was questionable.
Even so, luck was with him. Out of two shots, one actually—
Slammed straight toward Qiong!
A Six-Clawed Chiss darted into the air, intercepting it mid-flight! The price was steep—its spine shattered, its body crashing down in ruin.
With their “meat mass” threatened, the Chiss had no choice but to counter.
Several twisted the light around their bodies, vanishing instantly.
But Norris wasn’t relying on his eyes. The Scout Puji pressed against his head relayed their positions with [Mana Perception], showing every hidden Chiss clearly!The Gida smashed forward with its left-arm “Rock-Armor Puji Shield”!
Crunch!
A Chiss sneaking along the wall was crushed flat.
At the same time, the right arm’s four whip-blades lashed out, carving deep wounds into another’s body.
Step by step, Norris cleared the corridor. The Gida’s shell took scratches here and there, but unless surrounded, two or three Chiss at a time were no threat.
Best of all—Gray followed behind, clutching her heat-Pujis. Any Chiss that slipped past to ambush Norris was kicked to death with a single strike!
The Chiss fought back fiercely, though. Several coordinated to rake open the Gida’s right arm. When Norris swung the whips again, claws snapped forward—precisely severing the Gida’s limb!
Boom!
The arm’s Puji self-destructed at once, blasting the attackers away.
And from the ruined socket—another artillery Puji emerged.
Realizing the fight wasn’t in their favor, the Chiss decided to snatch back the meat mass and retreat.
But at that instant—
Shou, still locked in the Six-Clawed’s grip, suddenly erupted into violence!
Ignoring talons tearing deep gouges into his neck, he drove his right hand like a blade into its chest!
Bone and flesh shattered. The cost—his entire right hand crushed, bones jutting out grotesquely.
He wrenched his ruined arm free, blood dripping, and like a beast lunged at another Chiss closing in on Qiong!
Its counterstrike came in a sweeping claw, tearing the air. Normally, Shou could have evaded, countering with his bone spear—but now, he was exhausted, broken.
Without hesitation, he threw up his remaining left arm to meet the blow!
Bone and flesh became his shield once more. At the same time, the jagged bone of his ruined right arm pierced straight through the Chiss’ skull!
Qiong dropped the meat mass, catching Shou as he stumbled. His one good hand trembled, weaving faint green light in a desperate attempt to stem the bleeding.
“Shou… your hands!”
In the far north, there were no advanced alchemical industries. Of course the elders’ medicines had never included the rarest of all—limb-regrowth potions.
His left arm mangled beyond recognition. His right hand obliterated, only a jagged stump of bone remaining.
Even if he survived, he would never wield a spear again. He would be a cripple.
Shou himself only rasped: “Don’t think so far ahead… We may not live long enough to worry.”
Thud—
The battered Gida loomed over them.
Norris had noticed the two weren’t quite like the Chiss. Their skin patterns, the horns on their brows, the strange words spilling from their mouths…
Could they be demons?
A shiver ran down his spine. Flesh-eating demons!
He’d already seen Louisa the vampire, always drinking blood, casting hungry eyes at him. Perfect fit for the legends.
And now—two more demons? For a heartbeat, Norris considered killing them to prevent trouble. He forgot completely that he himself looked far less human now.
But the thought lasted only a moment. Norris remembered the rule: always report to the boss.
He was just figuring out how to haul them back to the Mycelium Carpet when—
A sickening chorus of scuttling came from the distance. Reinforcements!
A swarm of Six-Clawed Chiss, and above them—an immense, suffocating Evil Eye!
The corridor was broad enough for the Gida, four meters tall. But for the massive Evil Eye, it was still cramped, its bulk nearly filling the passage as it forced its way in.
“What’s this? An Evil Eye?” Norris muttered. He’d only heard Lin Jun mention them before.
But when the pale beams lanced out, he knew!
His legs went first, the shell petrifying into stone. The stone-spread surged upward like a plague, freezing the limb-Pujis solid!
The Gida froze in place. A perfect target.
Norris fired desperately, mushroom shells hammering its shield, but the Evil Eye’s barrier absorbed everything.
If it were just Norris, his only choice now would be ejecting and running. But this time—he wasn’t alone!
“Senior Gray! Help me out! I’ll give you two… no, three scales!”
At the promise of three scales, Gray’s eyes lit with golden fire!
Carefully, she set her warm Pujis down against the wall.
The next moment—
A black flash tore through the corridor!
The Evil Eye tried to petrify her, but only managed to gray the very edges of her scales before she closed the gap.
With a deafening boom, its barrier shattered! The disgusting orb burst apart, spraying purple slime in all directions!
The black slash carried on, ripping through the swarm of Six-Clawed, scattering limbs in a storm of gore!
Minutes later—
Gray, now splattered purple, hopped cheerfully up to the stiffened Gida, her tail wagging with glee.
“So this is… the power of a dragonkin…” Shou, slumped against the wall, whispered in awe.
On the ground, the discarded meat mass twitched. Tiny hidden limbs stretched out, trying to crawl away unnoticed. Shou spotted it—
Smash!
But before he could warn them, Gray casually stomped it flat, like squashing a cockroach.
Neither she nor Norris thought it anything more than another Chiss grunt.
From inside the Gida, a few groans echoed. Then—Gray gained three brand new shiny scales!
—
In the fortress depths, Lin Jun stared at the two demonkin they’d brought back. He still didn’t know what had happened—hadn’t this just been a scouting trip?
A Puji poked at Shou, who had already fallen unconscious mid-journey.
Ah… this one’s nearly dead…