Hiss!
The alpha serpent let out a harrowing shriek, thrashing in a blind, agonizing frenzy. Blood geysered from its shattered right eye socket, painting the rooftop in visceral crimson. Its tail slammed into the adjacent building, causing a massive section of the wall to crumble into a veil of choking dust.
The remaining two serpents—smaller but still over twenty meters long—erupted into a primal rage upon seeing their leader wounded. Their emerald eyes flared with a lethal, emerald hatred.
Screee!
They launched themselves at Thien Anh like two gargantuan bolts fired from a divine ballista. The sheer velocity made the air shriek.
Thien Anh calmly chambered a round. Click.
BANG!
The second round whistled out. But this time, the serpent was alert. It twisted its body with preternatural speed. The bullet, intended for the skull, slammed into its lower flank instead.
CLINK!
A shower of sparks erupted. The 12.7mm armor-piercing round—capable of punching through APC plating—managed only to bite through the diamond-hard scales before getting lodged in the corded muscle within.
"Thick hide, dammit," Thien Anh cursed under his breath.
But Thien Thanh's venom worked its magic instantly.
The struck serpent suddenly froze, its entire frame convulsing as if struck by high-voltage electricity. It coiled into a massive ball of meat, tumbling across the ground and pulverizing everything in its path.
Rumble... Crash...
Ancient trees snapped and reinforced concrete disintegrated under its multi-ton weight.
The third serpent—the only one left unscathed—had already closed the distance. Its unhinged maw, lined with jagged fangs, gaped wide, ready to swallow the tiny adversary whole.
"Mutt! Go!"
GRRRRR!
A massive black shadow erupted from cover. Thien Lang, encased in his 'Magma-Skin' armor, rammed squarely into the serpent's flank.
THUD!
The collision of two Tier-2 titans created a violent shockwave.
The serpent was hurled aside but regained its balance with liquid grace. It coiled around Thien Lang, attempting to use its raw muscular power to crush the wolf to death.
But Thien Lang was no easy prey. He let out a thunderous roar, using his razor-sharp claws to shred through the constriction, then—fast as a lightning strike—clamped his jaws onto the serpent's neck.
SQUELCH!
The steel-hard scales were punctured by Thien Lang's fangs like wet parchment. Blood sprayed in a fountain. The serpent thrashed its tail in a blind, terminal agony.
WHOOSH!
The tail, as thick as a support pillar, struck a massive concrete slab.
KABOOM!
The concrete shattered, and a fragment the size of a dining table whistled toward Thien Anh.
"Crap!"
Caught in a prone sniping position, Thien Anh had no room to maneuver.
THWACK!
The slab struck Thien Anh's left chest like a battering ram, hurling him back over ten meters. He slammed into a wall before collapsing onto the ground.
"Urgh!"
Thien Anh spat a mouthful of fresh blood. His chest burned with an agonizing fire, as if his ribs had been pulverized by a sledgehammer.
"Master!" Thien Lang roared in a fury.
Losing all restraint, the wolf delivered a singular, bone-shattering yank.
CRACK!
The serpent's cervical spine was snapped clean through. The head rolled across the pavement, discarded.
Simultaneously, Thien Thanh shot out like a streak of jade lightning. She lunged at the blinded alpha, sinking her fangs into its exposed wound. A lethal dose of neurotoxin was pumped directly into its brain. Seconds later, all three Tier-2 titans lay still.
...
Cough... hack...
Thien Anh coughed violently, blood staining his lips with every breath. Thien Lang and Thien Thanh rushed to his side, their faces masks of pure terror.
"Master! Are you alright?" Thien Thanh hissed, her voice trembling.
Thien Lang nudged his hand with a damp snout, whimpering softly: "Don't die... Master, don't die..."
Thien Anh struggled to sit up, leaning his back against a wall, his breathing shallow and labored.
"Not dead yet... Cough... Just a few shattered ribs. Lung's likely collapsed."
For an ordinary man, this was a death sentence. But within his mutated physiology, Thien Anh felt his cells frantically regenerating. However, internal repairs were far slower than external ones.
"We need a doctor," Thien Lang stated firmly. "Broken bones won't set themselves straight."
"A hospital... find a hospital," Thien Anh nodded feebly. "There might be survivors trapped there."
While Thien Anh rested, Thien Lang and Thien Thanh systematically 'cleaned' the battlefield. They devoured the carcasses of the three giant serpents. The meat of Tier-2 mutants contained immense energy, fueling their recovery and further... ascension.
After draining the alpha's blood, Thien Thanh's scales became even more translucent and hardened. As for Thien Lang, after devouring the three hearts, his abyssal fur began to shimmer with a faint, ghostly violet hue.
...
Half an hour later.
Thien Anh managed to stand, though he still clutched his chest with a grimace.
"Let's move. But before we leave, check the source of those gunshots from earlier."
The trio climbed to the highest rooftop. Thien Anh raised his binoculars.
The sight that greeted him made even a cold-blooded assassin shudder.
Two miles away, in a flooded basin, two large cruise ships drifted aimlessly. The gunfire had long since ceased.
On the decks, a grisly banquet was underway. Humanoid creatures with sleek, oil-black skin, elongated talons, and jagged teeth were dismembering human corpses.
Ghouls.
They didn't feed like beasts. They savored it.
One Ghoul used a razor-sharp talon to slice a man's head off with surgical ease. Blood sprayed from the neck like a fountain; the monster tilted its head back to catch the stream, drinking with a savage, grotesque delight.
Only after draining the blood did they begin to tear into the flesh, sharing body parts amongst themselves. The rhythmic crunch of bones being gnashed echoed across the distance—faint, yet Thien Anh felt as if he could hear every snap.
"These things... they aren't common zombies," Thien Anh lowered the binoculars, his voice heavy. "They have a rudimentary intelligence. And they are exceptionally cruel."
Thien Lang bared his teeth, growling low: "Their scent... it's fouler than an open sewer."
"Stay away from them. Our priority is the hospital. Find a doctor, then we'll figure out the rest."