"What a ruthless little girl, just my type! I'll savor you slowly later!"
The lizard monster sneered with a twisted grin.
With that, its dark green tail swept horizontally toward Xia Wanrou.
The lizard tail carried immense power, slicing through the air with a series of whistling cracks.
Before its strike could even touch Xia Wanrou, Xia Wanrou vanished from her spot with a flash of lightning.
"Boom!"
The massive tail crashed onto a nearby jeep, shattering it into pieces.
Even though Xia Wanrou had only recently awakened her powers, and had been through brutal fights at school, her reflexes were now extremely sharp.
"Ugly monster, die!"
Xia Wanrou raised her sword high and shouted fiercely.
"Xiao Yue, trap him!"
As she spoke, her mimetic battle spirit, Xiao Yue, bristled with energy.
In an instant, it transformed into a bolt of lightning, wrapping tightly around the lizard monster.
"How despicable! Let go of me!"
The lizard monster bared its teeth, thrashing violently.
But it had reached Second-Order, and Xiao Yue was an A+ level mimetic battle spirit.
A mere lizard monster could not break free so easily.
"Azure Heaven's Thunder!"
Xia Wanrou activated her innate skill.
Countless bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, converging onto the tip of her sword.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, the sword surged forward, carrying the terrifying thunder, stabbing toward the lizard monster.
"He… Heavens' Thunder!"
The lizard monster's eyes widened in panic as it faced the incoming strike.
It had lurked here for some time and encountered awakened humans before,
But it had easily dealt with them and devoured them.
It had never encountered anyone like Xia Wanrou—someone capable of summoning heavenly thunder!
From above, Xia Wanrou could see the fear in the lizard monster's eyes, and a small smile curved her lips.
This was all thanks to Brother Chen Jie. Before the apocalypse, he had given her the Bamboo Leaf Green.
Otherwise, she'd just be a helpless little lamb right now.
"Boom!!!"
The sword slammed down onto the lizard monster.
Blinding white light erupted between the sword and its body.
Moments later, the light dissipated.
Xia Wanrou's jade-like fingers gripped the sword tightly, staring straight ahead.
The lizard monster wasn't dead!
"Hahaha!"
The lizard monster hunched over, breathing heavily.
Blood oozed from the scales where Xia Wanrou's strike had hit.
For a moment, it felt as if all its scales were being ripped off alive.
Fortunately, it had the awakened talent Crimson Flame Lizard Armor.
Crimson Flame Lizard Armor: Temporarily and significantly increases the defensive power of the scales.
Plus, this lizard monster had already reached Second-Order Peak, feeding in this position—
It wasn't that easy to kill!
"Damn it! How dare you hurt me!"
"Oppressed by my boss every day before mutation, now I'm neither human nor beast, and still being suppressed?"
"I won't accept it! Die! All of you die!"
The lizard monster fell into a frenzy; its facial muscles twisted grotesquely.
A deep black aura of resentment swirled around its body.
Its muscles bulged further in response to the rage.
Within seconds, the lizard monster grew noticeably larger.
Its blood-red eyes stared at Xia Wanrou, full of hatred.
"This lizard monster's gone mad! Can Sister Xia still handle him?"
"Can't you see? Our Sister Xia can summon heavenly thunder! Crushing this little lizard isn't easy!"
"Go, Sister Xia, take down this ugly beast!"
…
The underlings were full of confidence in Xia Wanrou.
Only Chen Jie noticed that after her previous strike, Xia Wanrou had very little strength left.
Her battle experience was still too limited.
She had used her strongest move, thinking it would be a guaranteed kill.
Unexpectedly, the opponent's realm was higher than hers.
With its defensive talent, not only did she fail to kill it, but she also put herself at a disadvantage.
"Little girl, you must be exhausted now. It's my turn!"
The lizard monster licked its claws cruelly.
It possessed an abnormal regeneration ability.
After a brief pause, half its stamina had already recovered.
"Come again!"
Xia Wanrou did not back down.
She activated her power again, using Cloud Cover and Rainfall.
A cloud formed beneath her feet, lifting her straight up, and she charged at the lizard monster at high speed.
This attack was noticeably weaker than the previous one.
"Hmph! You still think you're my match? I'm Second-Order Peak!"
The lizard monster snorted.
Its claws shot out with lightning speed, reaching Xia Wanrou in an instant.
Xia Wanrou barely managed to cross her sword to block.
"Clang!"
The sharp collision rang out.
Xia Wanrou was pushed back, sliding across the ground for a long distance before barely stopping.
This lizard monster's regeneration and strength were absurdly overpowered.
"Die!"
Seeing Xia Wanrou unable to resist, the lizard monster shouted and charged with excitement.
"Not so fast!"
Chen Jie's commanding voice boomed.
The Open Heaven Axe flew out simultaneously, cutting directly across the lizard monster's path.
He had been watching to give Xia Wanrou a chance to fight,
But now that she had fallen behind, he had no choice but to act.
"You brat! How dare you block me! One swipe and I'll tear you apart!"
The lizard monster roared furiously.
Seeing no strong energy fluctuations from Chen Jie, it assumed he was just an ordinary awakened human.
"Oh?"
Chen Jie responded lightly.
Then, strands of mystic golden energy rose, enveloping his body.
The aura surged higher and higher!
The lizard monster sensed Chen Jie's energy—it was comparable to its own.
It trembled with fear.
"You're also Second-Order Peak?"
Chen Jie didn't answer.
He raised the Open Heaven Axe and moved rapidly toward the lizard monster.
"Open Heaven, Split the Earth!"
Without another word, he swung the axe downward.
Powerful energy waves suppressed the lizard monster, leaving it unable to move.
"You can't kill me!"
The lizard monster roared, activating Crimson Flame Lizard Armor again.
But…
Chen Jie's talent was S-rank, and his level was Second-Order Peak.
The power of this strike far surpassed Xia Wanrou's thunder attack.
The axe fell rapidly.
Every inch of descent brought the lizard monster a deadly threat.
Until the Open Heaven Axe struck its body, it felt as if every cell was being crushed and shattered by its might.
Its scales glowed golden, resisting with all their might!
But only briefly…
"Shhhik!"
The sharp axe instantly cleaved the lizard monster's body.
"No!!!"
The lizard monster screamed in agony, split into two by Chen Jie.
Immediately afterward, a purple orb of light sprang from its corpse…