Free Web NovelChapter 402: Chapter 294: Who Says Running Faster Than Others Gives You a Better Chance of Survival?
"We’re doomed! That Mutant Beast jumped over the barbed wire fence..." The construction worker who had just said the Gray Single-Horned Leopard couldn’t clear the fence muttered to himself, his face pale with terror.
"Don’t just stand there! Run!" the middle-aged man yelled anxiously when he saw some of his employees stop in their tracks, staring in utter despair at the Mutant Beast that had cleared the fence.
"We can’t escape. On our two legs, how can we possibly outrun a four-legged Mutant Beast?
And the car is parked so far away, we’ll never make it in time to leave," some of the desperate workers shouted.
"Don’t give up! As long as it’s not the last moment, we still have a chance to escape."
When the middle-aged man saw his employees giving up, he silently cursed them for their defeatist attitude.
But out loud, he shouted words of encouragement. He then ran over to two workers who had stopped, grabbed them by the arm, and started dragging them along.
The construction crew members, who had been on the verge of giving up, were inspired by their boss’s actions. With their confidence rekindled, they once again began to flee for their lives.
The Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast watched the fleeing humans, its eyes filled with contempt.
In its eyes, the humans’ running speed couldn’t even compare to the Luhua Chicken Beasts it usually hunted. They were as slow as snails.
As for their combat prowess, these weak humans were even worse off than the Luhua Chicken Beasts.
"ROAR—"
After silently observing the fleeing humans for a few seconds, the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast picked out a larger human and gave chase.
An ordinary leopard can run much faster than a human.
So the speed of this Gray Single-Horned Leopard, a Mutant Beast that had reached Tier One Peak, was on a whole other level.
The Mutant Beast ran with the speed of a gale, overtaking several construction workers in an instant.
"Boss, look out behind you...!!!"
The middle-aged man running at the front heard his subordinate’s cry. He instinctively glanced back, and his face instantly turned ashen.
So the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast’s chosen target was the construction foreman!
It was no surprise the Mutant Beast had targeted the foreman. After all, out of the dozen or so people, only he was plump and looked quite appetizing.
The Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast rushed forward and, in a single pounce, knocked the portly foreman to the ground.
It pinned him to the ground with a single paw, rendering him completely unable to escape.
"Aaaah...!"
The foreman, so terrified he nearly wet himself, let out a constant stream of panicked screams. He thrashed about with all his limbs, like a fish flopping on the shore after being pulled from the water, desperately trying to escape the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast’s paw.
But he was just an ordinary human. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t possibly escape from the Mutant Beast’s clutches.
"Boss!!!"
"You brute! Let him go!"
Seeing the middle-aged man pinned by the Mutant Beast, the construction workers screamed in terror. One of the braver ones picked up a nearby rock and hurled it at the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast.
"ROAR—"
The Gray Single-Horned Leopard tilted its head, dodging the Little Stone. With a ferocious glint in its eyes, it roared at the human who had attacked it. The man’s legs went soft with fear, and he collapsed to the ground, not daring to throw another rock.
"Help!"
With no other recourse, the helpless construction workers began to shout for help at the top of their lungs.
But the stretch of road they were working on was extremely remote. No matter how loudly they screamed, no one answered their calls.
"AWOO, AWOO, AWOO..."
Seeing this, the injured gray wolves yelped with glee, urging their leader to hurry up and finish off the plump human who had been yelling the loudest.
"ROAR—"
Hearing its underlings’ cries, the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast roared in response. It then opened its massive jaws, preparing to bite off the head of the plump, struggling human pinned beneath its paw.
"Aaaah...!"
Seeing the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast about to devour their boss, the crew members let out a collective scream of terror.
Just as the middle-aged man was about to be devoured, at the last possible second, a piercing whistle cut through the air. A streak of pale gold Spiritual Light shot toward the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast as it was about to kill.
"TCH."
The Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast sensed the danger and instantly halted its attack on the middle-aged man’s head.
It jerked its head aside, and the pale gold Spiritual Light grazed its cheek, leaving a shallow gash on its furry face.
Everyone who witnessed this stopped screaming. They could now clearly see what the object of pale gold Spiritual Light that had interrupted the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast’s attack was.
It was a Spiritual Longsword. The object that had stopped the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast was a Spiritual Longsword, shimmering with a pale gold Spiritual Light.
After interrupting the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast’s attack and leaving a shallow wound on its face, the Spiritual Longsword flew straight into the trunk of a large, leafy tree by the side of the road.
Struck by the Spiritual Longsword, the unlucky tree shook violently, shedding a shower of leaves.
"You’ve got some nerve! Daring to cross the border into the safe zone and attack someone in broad daylight. You think humans are just easy prey?"
A voice suddenly rang out. Everyone’s attention, which had been fixed on the Spiritual Longsword, instantly shifted toward the sound.
A young figure appeared before the razor-wire fence. With a single, effortless leap, he cleared the dangerous barrier and landed inside the safe zone.
The Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast watched with a grave expression as the human in camouflage unhurriedly approached. It let out an uneasy roar at him.
"ROAR—"
The same roar that had scared the construction crew witless had absolutely no effect on the man in camouflage. He simply continued his calm, unhurried approach.
"It’s an Exotic Beast Hunter! We’re saved!" The once-despairing construction workers instantly identified the young man, recognizing his attire and recalling the Spiritual Longsword with its pale gold Spiritual Light.
The middle-aged man, still pinned firmly to the ground by the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast’s paw, stopped struggling. Before, he had thrashed about out of pure, choiceless desperation.
But now that a savior had arrived, ’If I keep struggling, I might get myself killed. Playing dead is the best option right now.’
"ROAR..."
The Gray Single-Horned Leopard roared at the approaching human again, but it still had no effect. The man was completely unfazed by its attempt at intimidation.
"You’re not going to run?"
As Lin Li spoke, he raised his right hand. A pale gold Spiritual Light flashed, and a blazing, watermelon-sized Fireball materialized in his palm.
"..." The instant the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast saw the Fireball appear, it retracted its paw from the middle-aged man’s body, turned tail, and fled.
Although its strength was too limited for it to use Perception on the intensity of Lin Li’s Spiritual Energy Waves, the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast’s animal instincts screamed that the human in camouflage was incredibly dangerous. It was no match for him.
Especially after seeing a massive Fireball appear in the man’s hand so quickly, it knew at once that this was a human Cultivator who had awakened a Superpower.
It was a common consensus among Mutant Beasts that human Cultivators with awakened Superpowers were extremely difficult to deal with.
This made the Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast even more fearful of Lin Li, and the urge to escape became irrepressible.
"ROAR..."
The fleeing Gray Single-Horned Leopard Mutant Beast leaped back over the razor-wire fence. After landing, it roared at its underlings, who were staring at it in utter confusion.
Then, without a backward glance, it led its injured gray wolf pack in a hasty retreat deep into the wilderness.
Because of this encounter, the Mutant Beast and its underlings wouldn’t dare show their faces near the safe zone again for a long time to come.
...
