Chapter 1257 - 617: Sudden Upheaval, Entry_2

The metallic glint reflecting off the chain armor worn by the soldiers caught his eye.

In the past, Zanfri might have been seated in the stands of the Imperial Beast Fighting Arena, chewing on candied fruit handed to him by a servant, enjoying the blood-soaked spectacle.

But now, he had no time to spare for such indulgence.

With each breath, the air was filled with a beastly stench, more pungent than the Imperial Beast Garden, accompanying the warriors’ roars during combat. Nearby, in close quarters combat with a demon, Uncle A ke usually so composed, was now reddened and contorted from exertion...

The overwhelming pressure was suffocating; even standing still, his heart raced, breathing was labored, as if deprived of air.

His lack of experience made it difficult to grasp the whole picture; his focus honed in on A ke and the scorpion-tailed lion ahead.

His mind went blank; even if someone walked up and slapped him in the face, the overloaded boy likely wouldn’t react.

Fortunately, his childhood combat training from the Willmot family allowed Zanfri to observe the battle ahead.

The terrifying demon, with a lion-like body and a tail adorned with bone spurs, was astoundingly formidable!

Along the way, Uncle A ke, who previously single-handedly defeated over thirty little gangsters attempting to rob him with his brilliant battle skill,

now faced the scorpion-tailed lion’s relentless claw strikes, struggling desperately to defend.

Often, he’d brace against the glinting heavy shield, standing like a nailed post, enduring three or four heavy strikes until the ground beneath him sunk slightly, allowing for a chance to counter.

"What should I do?"

Having hardly engaged in actual combat before,

Zanfri had no clear understanding of what he should do.

Should he go up and help Uncle A ke?

Setting aside whether he could withstand the near-solidified oppressive air and overcome the terrifying threat from the demon to approach it with a weapon or even attack it,

with his current meager strength, not having achieved even a Professional Level, blindly joining the fray was likely useless, only distracting Uncle A ke and worsening the already perilous situation.

Just causing trouble without reason.

So... running away and hiding?

What would that make of him?

Would he become a deserter on his first day in the army?

Zanfri didn’t want to be derided as a coward, but he understood the impact of rushing in.

For a moment, he was caught between a rock and a hard place, unsure of what to do.

"Ahhh!"

Suddenly, a human’s agonized scream echoed from the nearby battlefield.

The soldiers, who seemed to have the upper hand moments ago, were suddenly on the brink.

He could see the two young scorpion-tailed lions, initially split by the soldiers, now both bearing significant injuries.

One had a broken half-wing, a missing part of its stinger, and was covered in wounds large and small, with blood oozing out at every move;

The other seemed much more intact, yet a hideous gash on its abdomen almost caused its intestines to spill out, with its right paw joint contorted as if struck by a blunt object.

Confronting two young scorpion-tailed lions with a Challenge Level of lv3, these nine soldiers from the border had undoubtedly reached their limit.

But ultimately, they were in the Extraordinary World where strength dictated everything.

Attempting to compensate for the disparity in combat ability with formation and numbers was still too difficult.

Facing the ravaged and enraged demons, driven to a frenzy and launching reckless attacks,

the soldiers at most held a Professional Level of lv2 and were eventually utterly defeated.

As Zanfri looked over, a soldier originally gripping a pike was knocked flying, spitting blood, his arm broken.

The two Shield Guards at the front fell heavily injured, each collapsing in pain, their shields blasted who knows where.

The vice-commander, with a powerless left arm and holding a long-handled iron hammer in the other hand, lifted the anguished Scout, trying to temporarily evacuate the incapacitated comrade from the battlefield.

The Captain, wielding a shield in one hand and a sword in the other, desperately blocked the front, struggling against a scorpion-tailed lion.

The scales of victory slowly tipped towards the demons.

Before he could think further, not far ahead, a muffled grunt tinged with pain pulled Zanfri’s focus back to the foreground.

Only to see A ke, who was barely holding on under the adult scorpion-tailed lion’s attack, seemed unable to withstand the assault from above anymore.

Seizing the opportunity, a forceful Shield Strike almost hammered the scorpion-tailed lion completely to the ground, but caught off guard, the lion’s long tail lashed around his waist.

The sharp spurs at the tail’s end left several bloody wounds on his thigh and flank.

Imbalance at the center, stumbling underfoot, difficult to exert force.

Seized by the Scorpion-tailed Lion with a claw coming down, even though relying on remarkable reflexes to block again with the shield, he staggered backward and fell to the ground.

"Roar!"

How could it possibly let go of this chance.

The murky and ferocious lion eyes flashed with a fierce glow, with giant paws as large as an ordinary human torso raising high, sharp bone claws glinting with deadly shine.

Zanfri could even picture the tragic scene of Uncle Ake being severely injured frontally after the lion’s claw fell.

No!

No way!

It was unclear whether it was the naturally boiling blood of the youth or the bravery left deep in the family’s bloodline by his Legendary ancestor known as the "Silver Lake Shield."

The scorching flame that suddenly surged in the depths of his heart, at this moment, completely released the youth from fear and rational restraints.

He tightly gripped the short-handled edged hammer he always carried, shouting louder than ever since birth.

Closing his eyes, disregarding everything, he charged directly towards the Scorpion-tailed Lion.

The last bit of rationality and thought in his brain was completely burned away by the fierce flame in his heart at this moment.

Even his own safety was put aside in his mind.

At the moment the lion’s claw was about to fall, inexplicably, the mysterious wolf howl, the sharp whizz of a swiftly moving object tearing the air, the dull sound of sharp weapons piercing flesh, and even the demon’s abruptly halted roar... were entirely ignored by him.

Zanfri just closed his eyes, gripping his weapon, roaring madly, charging at the Scorpion-tailed Lion.

"Boom, thud."

In front of him, mixed with the sound of liquid gushing, as if some heavy object fell, producing a muffled sound.

He didn’t even have time to think.

Zanfri, who was running wildly, tripped over a stone on the ground, immediately losing control.

In an unusually awkward manner, he plunged to the ground.

The intense pain upon landing, and the particularly pungent stench like being very close to the demon, momentarily called back the youth’s consciousness amid the hot blood.

Zanfri involuntarily opened his eyes.

Pupils contracted rapidly, breath immediately halted.

Golden ferocious lion eyes, uneven beastly teeth trickling with saliva, dense mane swaying in the wind...

In just a few seconds, he had already arrived in front of the Scorpion-tailed Lion.

And the opponent’s terrifying face with its deformed humanoid features was currently right in front of his face!

Just a few inches away, if he moved forward a bit more, his head would almost certainly rush into that gaping bloody mouth.

Damn! Damn it! Damn it!

Zanfri howled in despair in his heart.

Closing his eyes once more, waiting for death to arrive.

But, one second, two seconds...

The intense pain imagined from being bitten through the skull did not occur.

With a blank expression, Zanfri confusedly opened his eyes.

The face of the Scorpion-tailed Lion was still there, unchanged, as if ready to bite down in the next second.

But...

Zanfri suddenly realized that with the Scorpion-tailed Lion’s huge body, even bowing intentionally, its head could not possibly be parallel to himself prone on the ground like this.

Rationality slightly returned to his brain.

He inexplicably noted the demon’s fierce but now solidified eyes, ferociously wide but stiff gaping mouth that wouldn’t fall.

The youth propped himself up with his hands on the ground, lifting his head with some difficulty, raising his gaze.

What came into view.

Was the neatly severed neck spurting fresh blood unceasingly, the enormous body of the demon lying on the ground like a small mountain.

And further above, stepping on the prey, silhouetted against the orange-red sunset, only the silhouette visible.

The straight sword slanting, faintly crimson in the darkness, like a sharp figure melted in the depths of the setting sun.