Chapter 613 - 386: Nonsensical, and the Group Left in Disarray in the Wind

Chapter 613: Chapter 386: Nonsensical, and the Group Left in Disarray in the Wind

This was evident from the fact that even after such a long and intense battle, the Spiritual Energy waves radiating from its body hadn’t weakened significantly.

Having consumed a great deal of Spiritual Energy, Lin Li knew that if he wanted to defeat the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast without resorting to special tactics, he would likely pay a heavy price for victory.

ROAR...

The Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast also sensed that the Spiritual Energy waves from Lin Li had weakened considerably compared to the start of the fight. Its anxiety immediately subsided, and it let out a triumphant roar.

’Sigh, this Elemental Body is useful, but the Spiritual Energy consumption is just too high. If I can’t recover my energy quickly and this Mutant Beast lands a few more hits, I’m going to lose...’

Lin Li looked at the gloating Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast, showing no signs of anxiety.

He muttered a few words under his breath, then extended his half-clenched left hand and aimed it at the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast.

??? The Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast, which felt the scales of victory tipping back in its favor, could only stare in confusion at Lin Li’s gesture. It had no idea what its now-disadvantaged opponent was up to.

With a flash of intent from Lin Li, something happened on the Mysterious Small Island, which was shrouded in a vast, white mist.

On the southern side of the island, a two-meter-tall Spirit Plant, its branches laden with fruits that looked exactly like the cherry tomatoes of Blue Star, suddenly trembled. A moment later, several of the fruits vanished from its branches.

As he opened his half-clenched left hand, five fruits that looked just like cherry tomatoes appeared in his palm.

The Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast watched in confusion as the objects appeared in Lin Li’s hand. Then, it saw Lin Li pop them all into his mouth.

A few seconds later, the anxiety that had just subsided in the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast flared up again. Its large, scarlet eyes stared at Lin Li, filled with utter disbelief.

After his fierce battle with the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast, the Spiritual Energy in Lin Li’s Dantian had been depleted to less than thirty percent.

But after he ate the five Spirit Fruits, his nearly empty Dantian was flooded with a massive, surging wave of Spiritual Energy. In just a few seconds, the Spiritual Energy in his Dantian was restored to seventy or eighty percent of its capacity.

With his energy restored, the Spiritual Energy waves that had weakened from overuse immediately returned to their former intensity. Sensing this change, the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast was, naturally, stunned.

"Heh heh, didn’t see that coming, did you?" Lin Li taunted the stunned Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast. "I can recover my Spiritual Energy this fast. So sorry to have gotten your hopes up for nothing."

ROAR...

The Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast sensed that its enemy had recovered and was now in far better condition than it was. Faced with the taunt, it grew furious and frantic. With a guttural roar, fire gathered in its maw, and a pillar of flame a meter in diameter once again spewed from its gaping mouth.

This time, thanks to the distance between them, Lin Li had plenty of time to react to the incoming pillar of fire. He didn’t need to use Elementalization to evade it.

With a single leap to the side, Lin Li easily dodged the blazing, radiant pillar of fire.

After dodging the attack, the smile vanished from Lin Li’s face. He was about to press his advantage and finish the opponent he’d been fighting for so long when he suddenly heard a cry of alarm from behind him.

Liu Jialin and her team, hidden in the dense grass, saw the pillar of fire that Lin Li had dodged hurtling straight toward their position. Their hearts sank.

"Get clear!"

Liu Jialin, reacting first, yelled out and grabbed the rookie Investigator, Xiaowang, by the arm. She yanked him along as she leaped out of the tall grass. The other veteran Investigators followed a split second behind.

Luckily, their hiding spot was quite far from where the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast had launched its attack; otherwise, they would have been in serious trouble.

The blazing pillar of fire slammed into their hiding spot, instantly igniting a large patch of the tall grass.

With their cover of dense grass gone, the five of them were instantly exposed. The light from the nearby blaze clearly illuminated their uniforms.

’There were Investigators hiding there?!’ Lin Li was stunned.

Due to the distance and the poor lighting, he couldn’t make out their faces, but he could vaguely see the style of their uniforms and thus deduce their identities.

It wasn’t just Lin Li who was shocked; the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast was also startled by the humans who had suddenly appeared from the grass.

In the heat of their fierce, back-and-forth battle, both man and beast had been completely focused on each other, failing to notice any of the subtle sounds around them.

With the exposure of Liu Jialin’s group, the life-or-death atmosphere between Lin Li and the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast shifted. It became... subtle. In that instant, the same thought simultaneously crossed both their minds: retreat.

’I can’t reveal my Tier Two Peak cultivation level right now. I have to get out of here, fast.’

Lin Li had never wanted to reveal his true strength to outsiders to begin with. Now that he knew an unknown enemy was targeting him, he was even more determined to keep it hidden.

’Grrr... So the human has helpers! My remaining Spiritual Energy is far less than his. If this keeps up, I’ll soon be no match for him. And now he has these helpers... if they surround me, I’m dead for sure. No, I have to retreat. Now!’ the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast analyzed frantically.

Seeing both Lin Li and the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast turn to look at them, Liu Jialin and her team felt a sudden pang of awkwardness—probably because they had been caught secretly watching the fight from the grass.

Earlier, when the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast was at its peak, Liu Jialin’s team couldn’t have possibly intervened, even if they’d wanted to help Lin Li. But now, things were completely different.

Though the weakened Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast was still dangerous, the threat it posed to them had dropped by several orders of magnitude. If they went to help now, they could make a real difference.

"Sir, we..." As the team’s leader, Liu Jialin reacted instantly. She was about to propose they help Lin Li surround and kill the greatly weakened Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast.

But before she could finish, what happened next left Liu Jialin and her teammates utterly dumbfounded.

ROAR... The Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast, its strength depleted and now just putting on a brave front, let out a roar, then turned and fled.

It fled with incredible speed, its massive body plunging into the head-high grass and vanishing in moments. It was clearly using every last ounce of its strength to escape.

The moment the Red-Horned Purple-Scaled Lizard Beast began to flee, Lin Li also turned around and retreated, his back to Liu Jialin and her team. His pace was much slower than the beast’s, however; after all, his life wasn’t in any danger.

"This..." Liu Jialin stared, dumbfounded, as the two combatants vanished into the grass in the blink of an eye, disappearing without a trace. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

"Captain, what just happened?" the rookie Investigator Xiaowang asked in a daze.

"I have no idea," Liu Jialin replied, completely exasperated. "I can understand the Mutant Beast running away, but why did that man run away too?"

In all her years as an Investigator, she had never encountered a situation like this. If she went back and told her colleagues at the bureau, they’d probably never believe her.

Under the hazy glow of the night, the Investigators stood beside the burning patch of grass, feeling utterly bewildered as a sudden gust of wind swept through, leaving them in disarray.

...