Chapter 2219 — The Great Fire Lion Appears

The little Fire Lion showed no sign of its stamina flagging; on the contrary, it was the green-robed expert, the black-robed expert, and the burly man in white whose foreheads were now slick with sweat. They were gasping for breath, worn to exhaustion, and the little Fire Lion's repeated attacks had left them with a fair share of injuries.

The Fifth Protector watched with mounting anxiety but could do nothing. This roundup had defied all his expectations—it was nothing like the records said. The records claimed that four Yellow-rank experts, attacking the little Fire Lion cub without pause, would drain its stamina dry in a mere twenty minutes or so. Yet more than half an hour had passed, and the cub showed not the slightest sign of weakening—it was as lively as ever—while the men hunting it seemed to be the ones running out of strength.

The green-robed expert, weakest of them all, was already heaving great gulps of air, and his heart burned with resentment. The little Fire Lion seemed to have grasped that he was the weakest, for it had traded blows with him more than with anyone else, while it had scarcely engaged Wei Zhao, the strongest fighter of them all.

Yet he could not fall back. The moment he did, every reward would vanish—not only the Spirit Gathering Pill, but even the five Spirit Gathering Pellets.

"Put your backs into it, everyone! Keep at it—grit your teeth and hold on!" The Eighth Protector, too, had noticed the green-robed expert's strength beginning to ebb, and hastily called out his encouragement.

But though they all gritted their teeth and held on, the little Fire Lion showed not the faintest hint of fading. On it came—attacking, attacking, and attacking again!

The Eighth and Fifth Protectors were even tempted to step in and strike the little Fire Lion down with a single blow, gravely wounding it. But they knew that would ruin the whole plan: damage the cub's meridians, and the contract would fail—and that would spell disaster.

"Lazi. That green-robed fellow won't hold out much longer. The moment he breaks, you go up and take his place!" the Eighth Protector ordered.

"Right..." Lazi knew full well the stakes. Once he stepped in and the great Fire Lion was drawn out, there would be no chance of his getting away unscathed. But what choice had he? Who had made him responsible for this task—and who had made him volunteer to climb the mountain just to curry favor with Young Master Tagan Long?

At the outset, how could Lazi have known it would be so troublesome? In his eyes, four Yellow-rank experts were more than equal to the job! The records in the ancient texts were not supposed to lie—in theory. Who could have guessed something would go wrong?

"ROAR—" A tremendous roar, as though the very mountains were splitting and the earth cracking open, came crashing toward them, staggering everyone present—Wei Zhao and the Fifth Protector included! The shockwave that carried the sound seemed to rend and warp the very air around them, leaving them breathless for a moment!

"Damn! The great Fire Lion is here!" The Fifth Protector's face drained of color. "Nobody make a stand! Retreat, now!"

But his voice came too late. A fiery crimson shape burst from the nearby jungle and dropped from the sky, alighting with imperious pride at the very center of Wei Zhao's group!

It was a massive spirit beast fully two meters tall, its entire body covered in fur red as flame, gleaming with a brilliant luster under the sunlight!

At any other time, laying eyes on so beautiful a spirit beast would have been a delight. But now everyone present was frozen with terror—even the Fifth and Eighth Protectors had never imagined it. The great Fire Lion had come, and come so fast!

By their reckoning, given the great Fire Lion's habits, it should have taken at least an hour after discovering the cub's disappearance to arrive. Yet it had taken only a little over forty minutes!

And now flight was impossible. Before the great Fire Lion, whoever tried to run first would be the first to die! The great Fire Lion might not be the fastest of beasts, but it was surely faster than most human cultivators—especially these Yellow-rank and Earth-rank cultivators, whose speed was nothing compared to that of Heaven-rank.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" At the sight of the great Fire Lion, the little one leaped and capered in place, letting out a series of joyful roars. It knew it was safe now! Yet it was not merely voicing its relief—it was recounting to the great Fire Lion everything that had happened!

Including the siege by the green-robed expert, the black-robed expert, and the burly man in white—and Wei Zhao's help!

The great Fire Lion's furious gaze swept across everyone present—Wei Zhao included. Its intelligence surpassed even the cub's, so it understood well that Wei Zhao could not openly turn against these people and could only aid them in secret. Thus it would not expose him; it would help him in secret as well.

"ROAR—" With a single furious roar, the great Fire Lion sprang and vanished from where it stood; the next instant it appeared before the green-robed expert and, catching him utterly off guard, swatted him flying with one paw. He landed ten zhang away, headfirst upon a boulder, his skull bursting apart on impact—plainly, he was not long for this world.

The green-robed expert's gruesome end sent a shudder through everyone else present! Yet before this majestic great Fire Lion they were utterly powerless—they were no match for it at all!

Then, catching the black-robed expert off guard as well, it swatted him flying too. This time he was hurled straight into a great tree nearby, the trunk punching clean through his chest and leaving him dangling in midair! A torrent of crimson blood gushed from his body, staining the trunk and the earth beneath it blood-red...

"Aaaah—" Another scream, and the burly man in white went flying as well. This time, by sheer ill luck, he was sent tumbling right to the feet of a tiger that happened to be passing by! Still reeling and dazed from the fall, he had no idea what was happening when the tiger—out hunting for food and delighted that the great Fire Lion had served it a meal—seized him by the neck and bit clean through, then dragged him off to one side to feast at its leisure.

At last the great Fire Lion's gaze fell upon Wei Zhao. His turn had come!

Wei Zhao reached out and shielded Sun Jingyan, wrapping her in his true qi. But when the great Fire Lion's paw came sweeping toward them, Wei Zhao realized the blow carried no real force at all—it was a deft, measured shove that sent him and Sun Jingyan flying, to land in a patch of grass not far away! (To be continued.) RQ

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