CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: HOT-BLOODED YOUTHS

The battle between the two sides was on the verge of breaking out, but neither made the first move.

The Iron Armor Giant Lizard was still in a weakened state; if it couldn’t fend off the Cyan-Back Bear, Lei Yao’s four Guardian Beasts would certainly be injured, or even face death.

Chu Chen stared at the Cyan-Back Bear with a puzzled expression. Normally, bear-type Star Beasts forage during the day, yet this Cyan-Back Bear was active at night, which was quite peculiar.

Could it be that this abandoned cave was its former home? If so, then everything could be explained.

But why would it return in the dead of night? There’s only one reason: it encountered a threat at its new residence.

Thinking of this, Chu Chen was surprised. Given the combat power of the Cyan-Back Bear, it could easily dominate the outer areas of the forest; rarely would any Star Beast dare provoke it.

The distance from here to the Ant Nest wasn’t short, could it be that this fellow lived near the Ant Nest?

While Chu Chen was pondering, the Cyan-Back Bear suddenly let out an angry roar, unleashing an astounding aura from within.

Chu Chen felt his heart tremble violently, a nameless fear sweeping over him.

The same happened to Wang Lu and the others. Cold Face, being timid, almost burst into tears at the roar of the Cyan-Back Bear.

The five Guardian Beasts instinctively took a step back upon hearing the roar, their auras weakening slightly as well.

Chu Chen forcibly suppressed the fluttering in his heart, and after a brief consideration, realized that the roar of the Cyan-Back Bear was the skill "Intimidation."

With this in mind, he hurriedly reminded, "Don’t be afraid, everyone,..."

Before Chu Chen could finish speaking, the Cyan-Back Bear struck, its limbs exerting force, charging directly towards the Angry Wind Elf and the Earth Rock Rat.

In its eyes, these two little creatures were the easiest to handle.

And indeed, this was the case; the body size of the Angry Wind Elf was only about that of five or six children, and the body length of the Earth Rock Rat was just half a meter. With a single swat, even if they didn’t die, they would surely suffer serious injuries.

Seeing this, Chu Chen hurriedly shouted, "Quick, dodge."

Upon hearing Chu Chen’s reminder, the five Beasts came to their senses.

The Angry Wind Elf and the Earth Rock Rat were terrified at seeing the Cyan-Back Bear so close, and without further thought, immediately fled.

The Angry Wind Elf flapped its wings, quickly flying upwards. Though its speed wasn’t fast, the Cyan-Back Bear was equally slow.

The Earth Rock Rat’s way of escaping was rather peculiar; like a startled cat, it sprung backward with all its limbs, swiftly turning to run towards Skinny.

Seeing this, Chu Chen immediately warned, "Don’t let it come over."

At Chu Chen’s words, Skinny was momentarily stunned, evidently not understanding Chu Chen’s intention.

Chu Chen, seeing this, could only helplessly explain, "If the Earth Rock Rat runs over, it might attract the Cyan-Back Bear as well."

Upon hearing this, Skinny shuddered with fear. If the Cyan-Back Bear charged over, the five of them would be defenseless, and the Guardian Beasts would be too wary of hurting the hostages to fully strike the Cyan-Back Bear.

The missed strike enraged the Cyan-Back Bear, and it let out an angry roar.

Seeing this, Chu Chen solemnly said, "Retreat immediately, don’t entangle with it." With that, he began to retreat.

Wang Lu and the others were momentarily stunned upon hearing this, thinking they had misheard. But seeing Chu Chen gradually moving away, they followed suit.

The five Guardian Beasts saw this and had no choice but to retreat as well.

Through the brief contact just now, Chu Chen fully realized the prowess of the Cyan-Back Bear; its combat experience was extremely rich, its hide and flesh exceptionally resilient.

Their goal was to earn points, not to stubbornly clash with the Cyan-Back Bear.

"Roar"

As the Cyan-Back Bear watched the fleeing individuals, it let out a thunderous roar, its limbs exerting force to chase after them.

Hearing the roar, Chu Chen quickly turned to look, only to see the Cyan-Back Bear in full pursuit.

Originally, Chu Chen didn’t want to entangle with it, intending to vacate the cave, but this fellow was relentless. Even a clay figure has some temper, let alone five hot-blooded youths.

"Enough running! This fellow is truly insatiable, really thinks we’re pushovers. Everyone, prepare for battle!" Chu Chen said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Wang Lu and the others immediately stopped.

"That’s more like it. Letting a big dumb bear chase us around, if word got out, I wouldn’t be able to live it down," Wang Lu grumbled angrily.

"Angry Wind Elf, attack from the air. Earth Rock Rat, use your speed advantage to harass it. Lei Yao, take charge of the main offense. Iron Armor Giant Lizard, feint. Gangzi, keep an eye on it, don’t let it get hurt again. Spring Tree Demon, use vines to limit its speed." Chu Chen quickly commanded.

Lei Yao let out a low growl, casting Thunder Armor, then leaped in front of the Cyan-Back Bear, raising its right fist to smash towards the bear’s abdomen.

The Cyan-Back Bear quickly swung its paw to intercept Lei Yao’s fist.

"Don’t go toe-to-toe with it," Chu Chen quickly reminded.

Hearing this, Lei Yao swiftly retracted its fist and sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Lei Yao’s role wasn’t to defeat the Cyan-Back Bear head-on, but to attract its attention, providing teammates the opportunity to attack.

By now, the Angry Wind Elf had flown behind the Cyan-Back Bear and, without hesitation, unleashed Wind Blade Slash.

A cyan wind blade, about a meter long, slashed towards the Cyan-Back Bear’s nape.

The Cyan-Back Bear sensed the attack from behind, but there was no time to evade.

"Screek"

The cyan wind blade sliced directly along the back of the bear’s neck, cutting through fur and leaving a wound.

The Cyan-Back Bear felt a sharp pain at the back of its neck, and bright red blood gushed out.

"Roar"

The Cyan-Back Bear let out an enraged roar, its chest and back muscles rapidly swelling, transforming it into a muscular beast.

The bulging muscles appeared like slabs of stone.

But that wasn’t all; behind it appeared the phantom of a giant bear, and its aura began to surge, rapidly breaking through to the War General Level, and didn’t stop rising until it reached the Combat Level Second Rank.

Seeing this, Chu Chen’s pupils suddenly constricted; the Cyan-Back Bear intended to risk it all, simultaneously utilizing Muscle Hardening and Beast Soul Power, enhancing its combat power by at least thirty percent.

The Cyan-Back Bear suddenly turned and charged towards the Angry Wind Elf behind it.

Unfazed, the Angry Wind Elf flapped its wings, flying high once again.

The Cyan-Back Bear lacked long-range attack methods and could only roar in frustration at the high-altitude Angry Wind Elf.

However, it soon regained its composure, turning once more to charge at Lei Yao.

Chu Chen immediately enhanced Lei Yao with the soul skill "Light Body."

Fully aware of the Cyan-Back Bear’s persistence, Lei Yao chose not to confront it but instead retreated.

With the "Light Body" enhancement, Lei Yao’s speed notably surpassed the Cyan-Back Bear’s.

Seeing this, the Cyan-Back Bear had to give up on Lei Yao and focused on chasing the Iron Armor Giant Lizard.

At this moment, Lei Yao and the Angry Wind Elf simultaneously unleashed Thunder Blade and Wind Blade Slash towards the Cyan-Back Bear.

Helpless, the Cyan-Back Bear had to stop, swinging its paws to block the attacks.

After fending off the attacks, when it went to search for a target again, it found the Iron Armor Giant Lizard had already escaped several meters.