Chapter 95: The Ancient Progenitor's Intent to Kill
The heavy earth continued to tremble under the frantic sprint of the behemoth, with gravel and scorched earth constantly splashing to both sides. The colossal body of the fifth-tier scaled beast pivoted, abandoning Zhou Lin as it charged toward Lin Yan at full speed.
With every step it took, it was like the beating of a war drum, the dull, heavy booms striking everyone's eardrums. Its eerie green vertical pupils locked onto its target with unblinking focus. The Ancient Progenitor's will flowed continuously through the psychic link, pouring into the body of this personal guard behemoth. Its intent to kill was pure and icy.
"Lin Yan! Pull back to the flank to create distance!" Zhou Lin roared furiously. His Sea of Consciousness power erupted violently, transforming into invisible shackles that attempted to bind the nervous system of the fifth-tier scaled beast's limbs, forcibly slowing down its charge.
However, the Ancient Progenitor's psychic bond with this personal guard was far too deep.
The behemoth's movements merely paused for a fraction of a second. In the next moment, it fiercely whipped its head, sending a frenzied psychic shockwave exploding outward. It directly tore apart the psychic restraints Zhou Lin had imposed.
"Its Sea of Consciousness is being controlled in real-time by the Ancient Progenitor's true body from afar! Mere psychic imprisonment cannot hold it for long!" Jiang Tao shouted loudly. He fully deployed his Sea of Consciousness, sending several psychic threads wrapping toward the behemoth's sensory nerves, attempting to interfere with its visual judgment.
No longer hesitating, Old Chen gripped his knife and sprinted at full speed to flank from the side, aiming to hack at the gaps in the armor of the behemoth's hind legs to force it to change its direction.
The thick black scale whip of the fifth-tier scaled beast's tail suddenly swept horizontally. The whip was covered in sharp bone spurs, howling as it pounced toward Old Chen. Old Chen could only forcefully withdraw his attack, rolling sideways to dodge. The bone spurs grazed his shoulder blade, tearing straight through his combat suit and leaving a deep, flesh-baring wound.
"Old Chen!" Lin Yan caught sight of this from the corner of his eye, his heart tightening.
But at this moment, the massive shadow of the fifth-tier scaled beast had already enveloped him from above. Its giant front claw lifted into the air, carrying the power to crush rocks, and slammed down from above. The air itself seemed to be compressed by this strike, emitting a howling wind.
Lin Yan activated the evasive footwork he had painstakingly cultivated deep in the mountains. His figure was as light as a fallen leaf in the wind, darting horizontally across the ground.
Rumble!
The giant claw slammed fiercely into the scorched earth where he had just been standing. The ground collapsed instantly, and mud and stones exploded outward. The flying debris was like bullets, grazing Lin Yan's cheek and leaving a small, bleeding cut.
Before he could even stabilize his stance, the fifth-tier scaled beast lowered its head. Its massive maw opened wide, exhaling a foul-smelling current of air. Two streams of ink-green corrosive venom sprayed from its fangs directly toward Lin Yan.
Where the venom hit the ground, the scorched earth instantly hissed and smoked, corroding into black pits.
Lin Yan's mind was taut. The fine threads of his Sea of Consciousness detected the shift in the behemoth's muscles in advance. He leaped into the air early, twisting and flipping mid-flight to barely avoid the venom. After landing, he continuously retreated, persistently maintaining and stretching the distance between himself and the behemoth.
He knew perfectly well that he could not withstand the attacks of this fifth-tier scaled beast head-on. His only advantage was the agility brought by his ancient martial arts footwork. He had to constantly drain the opponent's stamina while searching for the soft membrane weak point hidden beneath its neck armor.
"It is entirely focused on killing Lin Yan. This is our chance!" Zhou Lin instantly seized the shift in the battle situation and issued an order to Jiang Tao, "You and I will continuously assault the core of its Sea of Consciousness, forcefully drawing out the Ancient Progenitor's psychic computing power and forcing it to split its focus! The rest of the Imperial Guard, attack the joints of its limb armor to continuously break its defenses!"
Dozens of Sea of Consciousness Imperial Guards responded immediately, continuously bombarding the fifth-tier scaled beast's consciousness with psychic power. The behemoth's massive body trembled slightly. The Ancient Progenitor had to divert a massive amount of psychic power to maintain control over its personal guard, defend against the psychic attacks from Zhou Lin and the others, and continue to lock onto Lin Yan.
Deep underground, in the resonance rock cave.
The true body of the Ancient Progenitor, coiled in the center of the pool, narrowed its dark gold vertical pupils slightly.
It had never expected that this human youth, who had walked out of the barren mountains, would repeatedly destroy its plans. Even on this day of decisive battle, he had disrupted its meticulously arranged beast tide offensive. It had to eliminate Lin Yan. As long as this variable remained, the grand blueprint of its race would forever harbor hidden dangers.
"Hold back Zhou Lin," the Ancient Progenitor transmitted its will to the remaining priests beside it. "Mobilize all nearby fourth-tier scaled beasts to support the personal guard and surround-kill Lin Yan. Spare no expense in tearing him to pieces."
Several priests immediately activated the psychic network to relay the orders. On the wasteland, the three fourth-tier scaled beasts that had been entangled with the Imperial Guard Battalion immediately abandoned their opponents, pivoted, and converged toward the fifth-tier scaled beast.
"Damn! Three more fourth-tiers are coming to flank us!" Jiang Tao detected the new psychic signals, his voice suddenly turning urgent. "We're surrounded!"
While continuously maneuvering to evade the pursuit of the fifth-tier scaled beast, Lin Yan caught sight of the three rapidly approaching fourth-tier scaled beasts from the corner of his eye. Pincered from the front and back, the situation instantly reached its most perilous extreme.
One fourth-tier scaled beast arrived first, pouncing fiercely from the left, its claws aiming straight for Lin Yan's waist.
Lin Yan raised his short blade to block horizontally. The immense force of the metal collision numbed his arm. Using the momentum of the impact, he顺势 (took advantage of the force) to roll backward, dodging the bite of another fourth-tier scaled beast.
One fifth-tier and three fourth-tiers. Four high-tier scaled beasts were simultaneously surrounding and hunting a single person.
Seeing this, Zhou Lin immediately divided half of the Imperial Guard to intercept the three arriving fourth-tier scaled beasts. But this meant that the manpower available to restrain the fifth-tier scaled beast drastically decreased. Zhou Lin's own pressure multiplied exponentially. Fine, dense cold sweat seeped from his temples. His Sea of Consciousness was operating at continuous high intensity, and his burden grew heavier and heavier.
"Lin Yan, hold on! We will find a way to create an armor-breaking opportunity for you!" Zhou Lin shouted loudly. His majestic Sea of Consciousness pressed down on the fifth-tier scaled beast once again, forcefully disrupting the Ancient Progenitor's control.
Disturbed by the psychic impact, the fifth-tier scaled beast's movements experienced a momentary lag.
Now!
Lin Yan seized this fleeting window. Pushing off with his feet, his figure suddenly accelerated. Instead of retreating, he charged forward toward the behemoth. Avoiding its massive head and front claws, he swiftly climbed up along the outer side of the behemoth's torso, his hands stepping on the uneven gaps in the armor to leverage his way upward.
"He's climbing on!" Jiang Tao's heart jolted. He fully mobilized his Sea of Consciousness, blocking the behemoth's perception as it tried to turn its head and bite Lin Yan.
Enraged, the fifth-tier scaled beast twisted its massive body frantically, trying to shake off the figure on its back. Simultaneously, the scales on its neck tightened slightly, guarding the only soft membrane weak point beneath.
Lin Yan clung tightly to the vibrating black carapace. Regardless of the behemoth's violent thrashing, his hands死死 (firmly) gripped the gaps in the armor, stabilizing his posture. His target, from beginning to end, was that soft, vital spot beneath its neck.
Sensing Lin Yan's intentions, the Ancient Progenitor roared furiously in its mind. It commanded the fifth-tier scaled beast to thrash its body wildly, while simultaneously ordering the three fourth-tier scaled beasts below to pounce at the behemoth's torso, attempting to tear Lin Yan off the armor.
Upon the wasteland, a life-and-death melee had entered its most perilous moment.
End of Chapter.
With every step it took, it was like the beating of a war drum, the dull, heavy booms striking everyone's eardrums. Its eerie green vertical pupils locked onto its target with unblinking focus. The Ancient Progenitor's will flowed continuously through the psychic link, pouring into the body of this personal guard behemoth. Its intent to kill was pure and icy.
"Lin Yan! Pull back to the flank to create distance!" Zhou Lin roared furiously. His Sea of Consciousness power erupted violently, transforming into invisible shackles that attempted to bind the nervous system of the fifth-tier scaled beast's limbs, forcibly slowing down its charge.
However, the Ancient Progenitor's psychic bond with this personal guard was far too deep.
The behemoth's movements merely paused for a fraction of a second. In the next moment, it fiercely whipped its head, sending a frenzied psychic shockwave exploding outward. It directly tore apart the psychic restraints Zhou Lin had imposed.
"Its Sea of Consciousness is being controlled in real-time by the Ancient Progenitor's true body from afar! Mere psychic imprisonment cannot hold it for long!" Jiang Tao shouted loudly. He fully deployed his Sea of Consciousness, sending several psychic threads wrapping toward the behemoth's sensory nerves, attempting to interfere with its visual judgment.
No longer hesitating, Old Chen gripped his knife and sprinted at full speed to flank from the side, aiming to hack at the gaps in the armor of the behemoth's hind legs to force it to change its direction.
The thick black scale whip of the fifth-tier scaled beast's tail suddenly swept horizontally. The whip was covered in sharp bone spurs, howling as it pounced toward Old Chen. Old Chen could only forcefully withdraw his attack, rolling sideways to dodge. The bone spurs grazed his shoulder blade, tearing straight through his combat suit and leaving a deep, flesh-baring wound.
"Old Chen!" Lin Yan caught sight of this from the corner of his eye, his heart tightening.
But at this moment, the massive shadow of the fifth-tier scaled beast had already enveloped him from above. Its giant front claw lifted into the air, carrying the power to crush rocks, and slammed down from above. The air itself seemed to be compressed by this strike, emitting a howling wind.
Lin Yan activated the evasive footwork he had painstakingly cultivated deep in the mountains. His figure was as light as a fallen leaf in the wind, darting horizontally across the ground.
Rumble!
The giant claw slammed fiercely into the scorched earth where he had just been standing. The ground collapsed instantly, and mud and stones exploded outward. The flying debris was like bullets, grazing Lin Yan's cheek and leaving a small, bleeding cut.
Before he could even stabilize his stance, the fifth-tier scaled beast lowered its head. Its massive maw opened wide, exhaling a foul-smelling current of air. Two streams of ink-green corrosive venom sprayed from its fangs directly toward Lin Yan.
Where the venom hit the ground, the scorched earth instantly hissed and smoked, corroding into black pits.
Lin Yan's mind was taut. The fine threads of his Sea of Consciousness detected the shift in the behemoth's muscles in advance. He leaped into the air early, twisting and flipping mid-flight to barely avoid the venom. After landing, he continuously retreated, persistently maintaining and stretching the distance between himself and the behemoth.
He knew perfectly well that he could not withstand the attacks of this fifth-tier scaled beast head-on. His only advantage was the agility brought by his ancient martial arts footwork. He had to constantly drain the opponent's stamina while searching for the soft membrane weak point hidden beneath its neck armor.
"It is entirely focused on killing Lin Yan. This is our chance!" Zhou Lin instantly seized the shift in the battle situation and issued an order to Jiang Tao, "You and I will continuously assault the core of its Sea of Consciousness, forcefully drawing out the Ancient Progenitor's psychic computing power and forcing it to split its focus! The rest of the Imperial Guard, attack the joints of its limb armor to continuously break its defenses!"
Dozens of Sea of Consciousness Imperial Guards responded immediately, continuously bombarding the fifth-tier scaled beast's consciousness with psychic power. The behemoth's massive body trembled slightly. The Ancient Progenitor had to divert a massive amount of psychic power to maintain control over its personal guard, defend against the psychic attacks from Zhou Lin and the others, and continue to lock onto Lin Yan.
Deep underground, in the resonance rock cave.
The true body of the Ancient Progenitor, coiled in the center of the pool, narrowed its dark gold vertical pupils slightly.
It had never expected that this human youth, who had walked out of the barren mountains, would repeatedly destroy its plans. Even on this day of decisive battle, he had disrupted its meticulously arranged beast tide offensive. It had to eliminate Lin Yan. As long as this variable remained, the grand blueprint of its race would forever harbor hidden dangers.
"Hold back Zhou Lin," the Ancient Progenitor transmitted its will to the remaining priests beside it. "Mobilize all nearby fourth-tier scaled beasts to support the personal guard and surround-kill Lin Yan. Spare no expense in tearing him to pieces."
Several priests immediately activated the psychic network to relay the orders. On the wasteland, the three fourth-tier scaled beasts that had been entangled with the Imperial Guard Battalion immediately abandoned their opponents, pivoted, and converged toward the fifth-tier scaled beast.
"Damn! Three more fourth-tiers are coming to flank us!" Jiang Tao detected the new psychic signals, his voice suddenly turning urgent. "We're surrounded!"
While continuously maneuvering to evade the pursuit of the fifth-tier scaled beast, Lin Yan caught sight of the three rapidly approaching fourth-tier scaled beasts from the corner of his eye. Pincered from the front and back, the situation instantly reached its most perilous extreme.
One fourth-tier scaled beast arrived first, pouncing fiercely from the left, its claws aiming straight for Lin Yan's waist.
Lin Yan raised his short blade to block horizontally. The immense force of the metal collision numbed his arm. Using the momentum of the impact, he顺势 (took advantage of the force) to roll backward, dodging the bite of another fourth-tier scaled beast.
One fifth-tier and three fourth-tiers. Four high-tier scaled beasts were simultaneously surrounding and hunting a single person.
Seeing this, Zhou Lin immediately divided half of the Imperial Guard to intercept the three arriving fourth-tier scaled beasts. But this meant that the manpower available to restrain the fifth-tier scaled beast drastically decreased. Zhou Lin's own pressure multiplied exponentially. Fine, dense cold sweat seeped from his temples. His Sea of Consciousness was operating at continuous high intensity, and his burden grew heavier and heavier.
"Lin Yan, hold on! We will find a way to create an armor-breaking opportunity for you!" Zhou Lin shouted loudly. His majestic Sea of Consciousness pressed down on the fifth-tier scaled beast once again, forcefully disrupting the Ancient Progenitor's control.
Disturbed by the psychic impact, the fifth-tier scaled beast's movements experienced a momentary lag.
Now!
Lin Yan seized this fleeting window. Pushing off with his feet, his figure suddenly accelerated. Instead of retreating, he charged forward toward the behemoth. Avoiding its massive head and front claws, he swiftly climbed up along the outer side of the behemoth's torso, his hands stepping on the uneven gaps in the armor to leverage his way upward.
"He's climbing on!" Jiang Tao's heart jolted. He fully mobilized his Sea of Consciousness, blocking the behemoth's perception as it tried to turn its head and bite Lin Yan.
Enraged, the fifth-tier scaled beast twisted its massive body frantically, trying to shake off the figure on its back. Simultaneously, the scales on its neck tightened slightly, guarding the only soft membrane weak point beneath.
Lin Yan clung tightly to the vibrating black carapace. Regardless of the behemoth's violent thrashing, his hands死死 (firmly) gripped the gaps in the armor, stabilizing his posture. His target, from beginning to end, was that soft, vital spot beneath its neck.
Sensing Lin Yan's intentions, the Ancient Progenitor roared furiously in its mind. It commanded the fifth-tier scaled beast to thrash its body wildly, while simultaneously ordering the three fourth-tier scaled beasts below to pounce at the behemoth's torso, attempting to tear Lin Yan off the armor.
Upon the wasteland, a life-and-death melee had entered its most perilous moment.
End of Chapter.
