Chapter Sixty-Eight: Eighty Percent

This type of beast is not particularly fast, but its hide is thick and its flesh dense, granting it formidable defenses. Its strength is truly terrifying—a single swipe can easily snap a tree trunk. Its innate ability, Furious Fan, can even shatter stone and cleave through monuments. Although it lacks any ranged attack skills, it is categorized as a level-five beast due to its extraordinary power.

The Earth Bear is not known for speed, so those ahead have not yet met their doom. Still, as a beast, it is much swifter than an ordinary black bear and possesses remarkable endurance. Some people have already fallen victim to it, and the Earth Bear remains relentless, determined to annihilate all humans.

Those people were running from the side. If the Wild Wolf Mercenary Corps had promptly driven their giant lizards away from the scene, the slow-moving Earth Bear would be unable to catch up, thus avoiding the danger altogether. However, the members of the mercenary group were not cold-blooded enough to ignore those in peril. The captain, Hayes, shouted to the beast handler who controlled the giant lizard, "Blair, slow down a bit!"

Six level-five beasts appearing simultaneously was a troublesome matter—the Wild Wolf Mercenary Corps dared not claim victory with certainty. But their priority was to save lives, not to slay beasts. There was still hope: if the refugees could be seated atop the giant lizards and make use of their speed, they could escape the threat.

But a little time had to be created for the refugees.

"Yes, Captain!" Blair whistled, and the giant lizard slowed its pace. The people being pursued by the Earth Bears saw hope and, reinvigorated, pushed themselves to run harder toward them.

"We'll help hold the beasts off. Get onto the giant lizards behind us, quickly and in order—distribute yourselves evenly to avoid overloading any lizard!" Hayes commanded loudly, his voice full and resolute—a true level-six Psychic Warrior.

Then, the five mercenaries, acting in perfect unison, each confronted an Earth Bear. They had fought together for over a decade and knew precisely what to do, even without Hayes's orders.

When battle commenced, Carlo shed his usual carefree demeanor, becoming solemn. His brave and fierce nature was revealed in full as he roared, gripping his sword in both hands and cleaving downward with explosive force. Spiritual energy surged, enveloping his wrists and blade with a heavy, imposing aura, capable of splitting mountains.

Level-three Combat Technique—Heavy Strike!

This was one of Carlo’s most powerful skills, with the added effect of knocking the opponent back.

The Earth Bear sensed Carlo’s strength and reared up, swinging its broad paw with a gust of wind that crashed into Carlo’s sword. The immense force surged forth, and Carlo lowered his stance, sinking his knees and shifting his weight, but he still slid four meters back, leaving a two-inch-deep groove in the earth.

Damn, the Earth Bear’s Furious Fan is truly formidable! Carlo’s wrist was numbed by the impact, and he silently thanked his lucky stars that his sword was a silver-grade weapon, further reinforced by psychic energy. Otherwise, it would have been snapped in two.

Fortunately, Heavy Strike was not lacking in power—the Earth Bear was forced back several steps by the recoil.

Compared to Carlo’s boldness, Captain Hayes was steadier. Facing the Earth Bear’s raised paw, he swiftly drew his sword through the air. With a piercing cry, a crescent-shaped blast of energy shot forth.

Level-four Combat Technique—Crescent Slash!

The Earth Bear shattered the energy with its Furious Fan but staggered five or six steps backward, landing heavily on its haunches. Yet it roared angrily, then climbed to its feet, seemingly barely injured. The beast’s defenses were too strong—only a level-six Psychic Warrior or higher could hope to inflict real harm in a single blow.

The other three mercenaries also unleashed their powerful skills, resisting the Earth Bears’ massive paws. Except for Hayes, none could gain an advantage.

Just then, the mercenaries realized with alarm that one Earth Bear had slipped past them. Aside from Blair, who was handling the giant lizard, there were five of them, but six bears.

The remaining Earth Bear was chasing a woman who clutched a baby in her arms, running slower than the others. The infant wailed loudly, and in her panic, the woman stumbled and fell. She desperately shielded the child, ensuring he remained unharmed even as her own arms were scraped and bloodied. At that moment, the Earth Bear loomed behind, raising its paw high.

The mercenaries cursed inwardly—there was a gap between them and the woman, so they could only hurl several throwing weapons, hoping to stall the beast. But if their strongest combat skills were unable to harm the Earth Bear, what hope was there for these simple weapons?

The woman closed her eyes, holding the child tightly. She hoped her body could shield the infant from the bear’s massive paw, even at the cost of her own life, so the mercenaries might at least rescue her child.

A tragedy seemed inevitable. Suddenly, a figure darted toward the Earth Bear, swift as a cannonball. The mercenaries quickly recognized him—it was the young man who had gone to study at Blue Emperor Academy.

Carlo was startled. Before jumping off the giant lizard, he had told Luo Chen not to wander, yet the boy had recklessly left the lizard and thrown himself into the battle.

How strong could someone just graduated from the elementary academy be? He was facing a level-five beast, the Earth Bear!

Luo Chen’s agility was impressive, but to reach the woman and pull her out of danger before the bear’s paw struck—he was just a little too late. The mercenaries’ judgment was accurate; they lamented the missed chance.

But Luo Chen did something wholly unexpected—he did not attempt to carry the woman away, but instead met the Earth Bear’s paw head-on with his own palm.

His hand rapidly expanded, growing several times larger, almost matching the size of the bear’s paw.

Level-two Combat Technique—Great Hand Seal!

There was little time to save the woman, but enough to exchange blows. His actions shocked the mercenaries—Luo Chen’s Great Hand Seal, a level-two combat skill, was at most the strength of a level-four Psychic Warrior. Yet he dared to take on the Earth Bear’s Furious Fan, famous for its power, head-on. It was sheer recklessness.

Bang!

An unmistakable collision. To everyone’s surprise, the massive Earth Bear was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

The mercenaries’ eyes widened—were they seeing things? Of course, it wasn’t impossible for someone to fell an Earth Bear with Great Hand Seal, but it required at least a level-six Psychic Warrior!

Indeed, Luo Chen used a level-two combat skill, but it was a Great Hand Seal boosted by eighty percent with vortex compression, astonishing the mercenaries.

Even Luo Chen himself was surprised—the power of the Great Hand Seal, augmented by eighty percent vortex force, was far stronger than he had imagined.