The ground shook as a sharp spike rose from underneath the granite crocodile and tried to pierce it. This was Robert's most powerful move. A silver rank martial skill of the earth element.
The spike grew from the region under the belly of the granite crocodile. It manager to lift up the granite crocodile and a trace of blood could be seen flowing on the spike. It seemed that it had managed to injure the crocodile a little. However, to what extent, no one knew.
Robert was panting heavily on his knees as he surveyed his work. He was already exhausted and the last attack drained him of all his qi. However, before he could catch his breath, the massive spike crumbled under the weight of the massive beast. The beast landed with a thud as it roared in anger towards its opponent. These 'prey' that were only about the size of one of its claws had managed to injured it twice which made it mad.
It made its way to where Robert was still kneeling down. Robert, after seeing the granite crocodile approaching felt the aura of death enveloping him. A wave of emotions enveloped him as he knew that he wasn't going to be able to escape this. Fear towards the massive beast approaching, regret for invading it's territory and a tinge of anger towards Adrian for telling them about this location was even present.
A massive claw swiped towards him as he resigned himself to his fate. Massive gashes appeared all across his body as he was flung towards a corner by the creature. It was unknown whether he was alive or dead. Surprisingly, after dealing with Robert, the creature didn't decide to eat him right away. There would be plenty of chances to do that later. Instead, it turned it's attention towards the remaining escapees. Lily shuddered as she felt the cold and bloodthirsty gaze fall on her back. She didn't have to turn around to notice that she had been targeted.
She kept pushing her qi and trying to increase her speed.
She wasn't the only one to notice the beast's gaze. The remaining trio has also felt the killing intent lurking behind them. Adrian even turned his head and snuck a glance at the magical beast. Seeing how fast it was moving filled him with dread.
He realized that they wouldn't be able to escape before the granite crocodile caught up to them. Even if they were able to escape from the valley before being captured, there was nothing stopping the crocodile from chasing them either way. He soon turned his head to stare at the person next to him. It was Bryce.
He was initially a bit surprised when he saw that the expert had caught up to him and Daniel, but upon further consideration, he found it reasonable. Bryce had the highest cultivation level among them. In fact, heh would have left them behind if he wasn't injured earlier by the granite crocodile.
"What the f*ck are you staring at?" Bruce spat out after noticing Adrian's gaze. His usual facade of aloofness was gone as he ran for his life.
"We have to fight it." Adrian said while ignoring the venom in his words.
"What the f*ck are you talking about?" Bryce said angrily. It was bad enough that we're trying to escape but this nut job wanted them to fight the beast.
"We can't escape. After dealing with the girl, we're going to be next. Our only chance would be now when we still have a decent number of fighters." Adrian explained as he continued running.
Bryce was about to retort, but when he saw how fast the granite crocodile was closing in on Lily, he realized that Adrian's words were the truth. Daniel, who had been quietly listening to the conversation suddenly spoke up.
"How are we even going to fight it. It's a rank 3 magical beast."
His tone surprised Bryce. It seemed like he was already considering the plan.
"You're at the peak of the foundation establishment realm. You should be able to at least put up a fight against it. The rest of us will strike while it's distracted and slowly wear it down. If we're lucky it will try to escape if we injure it enough."
Adrian replied while turning towards Bryce. The whole plan relied on whether Bryce can keep the creature occupied long enough for then to inflict serious injuries on it.
Bryce didn't reply immediately. Rather, he glanced behind him to take another look at the situation. The granite crocodile had shortened the distance and had almost caught up with Lily. That sight convinced him enough as he yelled out
"Ah f*ck. Let's go." The three experts halted their tracks simultaneously and turned around and started running towards the beast. Lily, who was already despairing about her current situation saw a ray of hope when she saw the three individuals turn around and started running in her direction.
Adrian and Bryce had already wielded their swords while Daniel brought out his saber.
They ran swiftly with Bryce taking the lead while yelling at Lily.
"Help us kill the beast." Bryce ordered while charging forward at full speed. Lily was slightly taken aback but didn't hesitate to ready her weapons. She didn't turn around immediately but a pair of twin daggers appeared in her hands while running towards the group in the distance. The beast roared when it noticed the individuals that were approaching it at a rapid speed. It felt annoyed that the ants that it was chasing suddenly decided to approach it. To it, this was a blatant challenge which it could not accept.
With the help of it's tail, it stood up on its hind legs while releasing another roar as if it was accepting the challenge.
By this time, Bryce and the others had already rendezvous with Lily. Bryce charged towards the beast while yelling and channeling his qi. The air surrounding his sword started swirling as a massive gale accumulated around it. Just as he was about to reach the standing figure of the granite crocodile, he sent out the toenado-like slash as he shouted in his mind.
'Gale slash!'
The tornado increased in size as more wind was drawn into the attack before crashing into the crocodile's belly.