"Look out!" Zhou Wan shouted a warning as she drew her compound bow to full draw. A sharp arrow whistled through the air, aimed straight for the giant lizard's eye.
The lizard merely jerked its head aside.
With a metallic "clang," the arrow scraped against its rough, thick eyelid scales, sparking as it failed to penetrate the armored hide.
The sweeping tail attack never slowed.
Lu Minghu reacted with lightning speed, dodging the tail strike the moment Zhou Wan called out. His body twisted midair as he accelerated suddenly, leaving afterimages in his wake as he lunged toward the massive crocodile lizard.
"Die!"
Eyes wide, Lu Minghu raised his chainsaw and swung horizontally at the creature's skull.
The giant lizard hadn't anticipated this strange creature's speed. It could only watch helplessly as the whirring chainsaw grew larger in its vision.
Thud!
Dark red blood sprayed.
The chainsaw's terrifying cutting power barely managed to slice through the lizard's outer scales, leaving a crimson gash.
Grrrind!
Gritting his teeth, Lu Minghu pressed the chainsaw deeper into the lizard's skull.
But the creature's tough flesh resisted stubbornly, jamming the chainsaw and preventing further penetration.
Realizing his attack had stalled, Lu Minghu released the chainsaw instantly.
He kicked off midair, attempting to retreat.
The crocodile lizard finally reacted.
"ROAR!!"
Pain only enraged it further.
It shook its head violently, opening its fetid maw toward Lu Minghu's retreating form and spat forcefully.
Whoosh!
A glob of viscous fluid shot from its mouth at arrow-like speed, striking Lu Minghu square on.
"Ugh!" The murky projectile pierced clean through Lu Minghu's right shoulder, sending him crashing into a pile of shattered furniture where he lay motionless.
All this transpired in the blink of an eye.
The enraged lizard tried to pursue, intent on tearing its attacker to shreds.
Ten vines arrived just in time, coiling around its limbs to momentarily restrain its frenzied charge.
As Han Ning manipulated the vines to immobilize the giant lizard—
A slightly smaller but still human-sized shadow leaped from the stairwell.
Its target wasn't Han Ning or Lu Minghu, but Zhou Wan standing farthest back!
"Zhou Wan!" Liu Feng's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he unleashed his full psychic might.
Tables, chairs, and shattered dishware throughout the hall lifted as if caught in an invisible storm, hurtling toward the smaller lizard attacking Zhou Wan.
Yet the cunning creature twisted unnaturally midair, dodging most debris. Only a heavy wooden chair struck its scaly back.
Bam!
The impact staggered the lizard slightly, its tough hide absorbing most of the blow.
Its pounce barely slowed as it opened its fanged maw, hot stench washing over Zhou Wan.
Already retreating the instant Liu Feng acted, Zhou Wan nocked another arrow with practiced speed.
The space on the restaurant's second floor was limited, leaving her with no room to retreat. The massive jaws were right before her—there was no time to draw her bow!
The situation had taken a dire turn.
One person severely injured, another disarmed and wounded, and the core scout facing a lethal threat.
The terrifying strength displayed by the two Crocodile Lizards plunged the five into despair.
"These monsters... are just too strong."
Han Ning's heart felt as though gripped by an icy hand, the overwhelming sense of crisis nearly suffocating him.
Chen Yan's grievous state, Lu Minghu's defeat, Zhou Wan hanging by a thread—all of this had unfolded in less than three seconds.
Even Intermediate Vine Manipulation seemed powerless against such ferocious creatures.
The vines restraining the smaller Crocodile Lizard had been broken free from, and they could barely inflict any meaningful damage on the larger one.
"What do we do? What do we do? If this continues, we'll all die!"
Han Ning's heart pounded faster, the life-or-death crisis sending eerie, electric tingles across his skin.
"Vine Manipulation, Rapid Growth, Animal Companion, Rejuvenation... Which one can be useful?"
His mind raced.
"Vine Manipulation... Rapid Growth?"
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his despair-clouded mind like lightning in the dark.
"Rapid Growth accelerates a plant's life cycle—and the vines from Vine Manipulation are plants too!"
"If... if I combine them, using Rapid Growth to catalyze Vine Manipulation, could the vines gain strength and scale far beyond their usual limits in an instant?"
There was no time to consider feasibility, no time to hesitate. Despite Liu Feng's desperate efforts to hold the line, the smaller Crocodile Lizard's fangs were less than half a meter from Zhou Wan's throat.
Acting almost on instinct, Han Ning split the last remnants of his Spiritual Power in two.
One portion surged toward his hands, fueling Vine Manipulation to restrain the larger Crocodile Lizard.
The other unleashed Rapid Growth.
The target? His own vines.
"Rapid Growth—grow, damn it!"
Han Ning roared inwardly as emerald light flickered wildly from his palms.
The moment Rapid Growth merged with Vine Manipulation—
Instantly, over twenty thick green vines, each as wide as three fingers, burst forth from the floor, walls, and even the ceiling around Han Ning.
These vines were nearly a third thicker than before, their surfaces studded with sharp wooden thorns glinting ominously.
Even more astonishing was how they twisted, swelled, and intertwined at a visible pace, as though burning through their last reserves of vitality.
Simultaneously casting both techniques left Han Ning's vision darkening, his mind feeling hollowed out as dizziness and weakness crashed over him.
His legs wobbled, barely able to keep him upright.
But the effect was undeniable.
The smaller Crocodile Lizard lunging at Zhou Wan was met by seven or eight wildly thrashing vines that coiled around it. The creature's tough scales creaked under the pressure of the barbed vines, emitting a grating screech.
"Skreee—!"
The smaller Crocodile Lizard shrieked in agony, writhing and slashing at the vines with its claws, but it couldn't break free from the steel-like prison. The sheer force even lifted it off the ground, slamming it into a nearby wall.
Meanwhile, the larger Crocodile Lizard, still entangled by Han Ning's vines, found itself engulfed as the vines thickened rapidly, spreading across its body like ivy.
The newly sprouted vines around Han Ning shot out one after another, coiling tightly around its body.
In just a few seconds, they multiplied from ten to dozens!
Its massive torso, thick neck, powerful limbs, sweeping tail, and even its ferocious head were all tightly constricted by the vines.
"Roar!"
The giant Crocodile Lizard felt an unprecedented force of restraint.
Its enormous body erupted with terrifying strength, thrashing wildly.
Tables, chairs, and partitions in the restaurant were torn apart like paper under its violent force.
The vines wrapped around its body stretched taut, emitting agonized creaks under the strain.
Yet for every vine that snapped, three or four thicker ones swiftly took its place.
Everyone was stunned by the scene before them.
"What are you waiting for? Get the chainsaws and cut off their heads!"
It wasn't until Han Ning's weak voice rang out that their momentary daze was broken.