Chapter 225: Little Wolf Has Always Been Protecting Her, and She Must Not Let It Get Hurt

Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Little Wolf Has Always Been Protecting Her, and She Must Not Let It Get Hurt

A massive black figure crashed out from the shadows of the trees.

This Iron-Backed Bear stood over three meters tall, its entire body covered in coarse, dark-brown bristles. Its murky yellow eyes were fixed on the group, filled with savagery and bloodlust.

It slammed a forepaw onto the ground. Gravel flew and dust billowed as a shallow crater was smashed into the earth.

Everyone stood on high alert, gripping their weapons tightly. No one dared to let their guard down.

This was an S-Class contaminant. The slightest distraction or mistake meant death!

The air seemed to freeze. Only the Iron-Backed Bear’s heavy breathing and the group’s suppressed heartbeats intertwined in the silence.

Guo Kai gripped his saber and stood at the very front.

"This is an S-Class contaminant. It’s not something we can handle. Our orders were to eliminate it, not get ourselves killed. Everyone, find a way to retreat!"

Ma Yu immediately chimed in, "Fall back to the west! The contaminants we’ve sensed over there aren’t strong. We can retreat to a safe place and regroup."

The team began to move quickly to the west.

The Iron-Backed Bear seemed to sense their intentions. With a low roar, it lunged at the team!

Guo Kai gritted his teeth and swung his saber to meet the attack. The moment his blade clashed with the bear’s paw, a terrifying force surged through the steel.

He was sent flying backward and slammed heavily onto the ground. A mouthful of blood sprayed out, staining the front of his clothes crimson.

The Iron-Backed Bear had no intention of letting him go. It raised a massive forepaw and brought it down viciously toward his head.

If that blow landed, Guo Kai would be dead without a doubt!

"Brother Guo!"

Ma Yu’s eyes widened in fury. He charged forward and plunged his saber deep into the joint of the Iron-Backed Bear’s hind leg.

The creature howled in pain. Its forepaw swerved, smashing into the ground beside Guo Kai and sending gravel flying from a newly formed crater.

Before Ma Yu could pull his saber out, the Iron-Backed Bear whipped its head around and swatted him away.

Ma Yu crashed into a tree and slid to the ground. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he couldn’t get back up.

"Brother Guo! Brother Ma!" Cheng Nian’s tears instantly welled up.

Guo Kai tried to use his saber to push himself up, but he just fell back down heavily.

He gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse but urgent. "Go! Get out of here! If you stay, we’ll all die!"

Li Wen bit her lip, her eyes also turning red, but she kept them fixed on the Iron-Backed Bear, unmoving.

Zhou Ying tightened her grip on her saber, a defiant flame burning in her eyes.

He Yi’s face was pale, but he didn’t retreat.

No one was willing to leave!

"Go, now!" Guo Kai grew anxious, his voice cracking.

"We’re not leaving!" Cheng Nian wiped away her tears, her voice both frantic and stubborn. "What will happen to you if we go?!"

Yun Sheng’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach.

She glanced at the fallen Guo Kai and Ma Yu, then at the slowly approaching Iron-Backed Bear. Her fingers brushed against the little wolf in her pocket as she took a deep breath.

"We can’t abandon them."

The moment she spoke, everyone turned and charged toward the Iron-Backed Bear in unison.

Spiritual power thin needles, blades, and saber edges assaulted the giant bear from all directions.

Yun Sheng condensed her spiritual power into the sharpest possible blade and shot it at the Iron-Backed Bear’s eyes. The creature tilted its head to dodge, and the blade grazed its cheek without leaving so much as a scratch.

Zhou Ying slashed at its foreleg, but her saber couldn’t even break the skin. The bear violently threw her off.

To the S-Class Iron-Backed Bear, all their attacks were like tickles; they couldn’t penetrate its thick hide at all.

But even so, the Iron-Backed Bear was enraged.

A powerful force erupted from its body. It sent He Yi flying with one swipe and knocked Zhou Ying to the ground with another.

The bear’s roar rattled Cheng Nian, making her face turn deathly pale as she stumbled backward.

Li Wen stood protectively in front of her, the hand gripping her saber trembling.

Yun Sheng gritted her teeth, gathering more and more spiritual power in her palm. But she knew that with her current strength, she had no hope of killing this S-Class monster.

She subconsciously reached for her pocket. The little wolf was restless inside. ’If there’s no other way,’ she thought, ’I’ll have to let the little wolf become the Abyssal Giant Wolf to take care of this Iron-Backed Bear.’

Just then, Guo Kai gritted his teeth and, using his saber hilt for support, forced himself to his feet.

His face was frighteningly pale, but his eyes were astonishingly bright.

His spiritual power surged wildly around him, as if it had shattered some kind of barrier. It skyrocketed, breaking through directly from B-level to A-level.

"Brother Guo broke through!" Cheng Nian exclaimed, both shocked and overjoyed.

The group’s joy lasted only a moment. As if provoked, the Iron-Backed Bear threw its head back and let out a long howl, its aura suddenly turning violent.

Its eyes changed from murky yellow to crimson red. Every bristle on its body stood on end, and it seemed to grow a size larger.

It had entered a berserk state!

Guo Kai had just broken through, his power greatly increased, but he was still completely outmatched by the berserk S-Class Iron-Backed Bear.

He slashed at the bear’s paw, but the impact split the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. Blood streamed down his arm as he staggered back several steps.

The Iron-Backed Bear gave him no chance to breathe. With a low roar, its massive claw, carrying a foul stench, came crashing down toward the back of his head!

The terrifying pressure washed over him like a landslide, and Guo Kai’s body froze.

The dual suppression of spiritual power and Level left him unable to move even a finger. He could only watch helplessly as the giant bear paw grew larger and larger before his eyes.

"Brother Guo!"

Yun Sheng cried out in alarm, her voice cracking. The spiritual power gathered in her palm exploded outward.

She didn’t even have time to aim, wanting only to block that attack with all her might.

But when her spiritual power hit, it only made the Iron-Backed Bear pause for a fraction of a second. It wasn’t enough to stop it!

At that exact moment, a huge black shadow shot out from the trees behind the team.

It was a giant wolf, pitch-black from head to tail and as large as a small mountain, with ethereal blue flames dancing around its body.

It was the little wolf.

It had returned to its true form and revealed itself.

Yun Sheng’s pupils contracted sharply. Her pocket was now empty.

The little wolf must have taken advantage of the moment everyone was focused on Guo Kai to slip out of her pocket at top speed, circle around behind the team, and lunge from a different direction. It had been afraid that appearing at her side would arouse suspicion.

The Abyssal Giant Wolf pounced, its massive body violently slamming into the Iron-Backed Bear. The blow sent the bear staggering backward, and the paw that was about to crash onto the back of Guo Kai’s head missed, smashing into the ground and sending rock chips flying.

Having narrowly escaped death, Guo Kai’s legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.

Ma Yu seized the opportunity to rush forward, grab Guo Kai, and half-drag, half-carry him back to the middle of the group.

The Abyssal Giant Wolf and the Iron-Backed Bear were locked in combat. Claws and fangs collided with deep, muffled thuds that made the very ground tremble.

Cheng Nian huddled close to Yun Sheng and Li Wen, her face a little pale. She muttered under her breath, "Isn’t that... Si Jin’s spiritual body? What’s it doing here?"

Li Wen kept her eyes fixed ahead and said in a low voice, "I don’t know. That person must be nearby."

Cheng Nian patted her chest, still shaken. "That was too close. It’s a good thing it showed up, or Brother Guo would have been in real danger."

The others didn’t say anything, but they were all thinking the same thing as Cheng Nian.

In that instant, if the Abyssal Giant Wolf hadn’t knocked the Iron-Backed Bear aside, Guo Kai would be dead!

Yun Sheng had no time to pay attention to the others’ reactions. Her gaze was locked on the two behemoths fighting, and she continuously gathered and compressed spiritual power in her palm, ready to strike at any moment.

She knew the Iron-Backed Bear wasn’t necessarily a match for the little wolf, but her heart was still in her throat, terrified of what might happen if things went wrong.

’The little wolf has always protected me. I absolutely cannot let it get hurt!’