"It’s enormous."
Feng Zhiyuan, the director of the archery range, lowered his night-vision goggles, his expression grave. "Even the cubs are likely larger than a full-grown Asiatic black bear."
As for the mother bear, not even a polar bear could compare in size. In fact, it might even have outclassed the heaviest bear species in Earth’s history.
It looked to weigh about 1.5 tons, with shoulders like a small hill and limbs as thick as tree trunks. Crashing into it with a modified muscle SUV would be pure suicide.
"The last thing we want to do is hit that bear."
Some of the drivers were ready to call it quits. Compared to this thing, the Exotic Tigers and Leopards were practically nothing—in terms of sheer size, they weren’t even in the same league.
No wonder the tigers and leopards that had been attacking the base fled the moment dusk fell.
This giant bear was undoubtedly one of the rulers of this region.
"Here they come."
Many people held their breath, their voices dropping to whispers. They noticed that after taking a few bites of carrion from the pile of corpses, the cubs seemed to lose interest and turned in unison toward the campsite.
"They can’t resist, can they?"
Watching from the bed of a pickup truck, Feng Zhiyuan smiled. The leftover meat from their evening barbecue was still on the grill, its aroma lingering in the air. The scent of high-protein fat mixed with cumin and spices was a fatal temptation for a creature with a bear’s keen sense of smell.
But the mother bear clearly didn’t want her cubs to approach the camp.
It let out a low growl and swatted forward with a paw, gently pushing the cub in the lead to the ground.
But the other two cubs seized the opportunity to dart around their mother and continue their charge.
She couldn’t watch them all at once.
The frustration of a mother bear trying to wrangle her cubs was on full display.
Perhaps wary of the unknown human camp, or perhaps fearful of the "big bird" that posed a lethal threat to her cubs, the mother bear remained reluctant to let her children venture into the large clearing ahead.
But things didn’t go as planned.
The cubs surged forward, emerging from the dim shadows and into the far edge of the area illuminated by the high-mast lamps.
A few seconds later, one of the cubs leaped over a painted line. The Archers had drawn it as a 70-meter baseline to help them judge the distance.
This was crucial.
The intercollegiate archery championship they were participating in used high-level standards, which included 70-meter standard targets.
And that wasn’t all. To make things easier, rough lines had also been drawn at 50 and 30 meters—distances well within the comfort zone for many of the Archers.
Aided by the ample light, everyone could now see the cubs’ earth-yellow fur. They looked tough and thick-hided.
As the two cubs were about to cross the 50-meter line, several Archers who had been waiting patiently took their positions behind the vehicles for cover. They all drew their bowstrings, tilted their heads to focus, and locked onto the targets through the crosshairs of their sights.
At that exact moment, the Wind fell silent.
The moment had come.
The next second, bowstrings twanged in unison.
The two charging, earth-yellow figures didn’t collapse as expected. Instead, an earthy-yellow glow suddenly flared around their bodies, like a shield, and managed to block an arrow.
But at least six people had fired, and their arrows flew true. One Flame Burst Arrow killed a cub on the spot, while the other took an arrow to the head and another to the chest. It fled in a panic for several meters before finally collapsing to the ground.
They were all crack shots!
Beyond the high-precision sights, a major factor was that taking cover behind the vehicles gave the Archers a crucial sense of security, allowing them to remain calm and steady.
"Damn. That must be a type of Earth Element we’ve never seen before. Seems like it has a defensive effect."
The one who had fired the Flame Burst Arrow was none other than Director Feng’s son, Feng Yuanjie. As a Level 1 competitive archer, he had sharp eyes. He, at least, had noticed the resistance as the arrows hit flesh.
Just then, the mother bear reached her dead cub. She repeatedly nudged the still-warm body with her nose, but no matter how she prodded or licked it, the little one gave no reaction.
From that moment on, the mother bear was enraged.
It slowly raised its head, its scarlet eyes sweeping over the human figures behind the vehicle barricade.
The mother bear threw its head back and roared, the sound wave booming like thunder. It seemed to draw surging Elemental Power from the very veins of the earth as a thick layer of Barbaric Armor coalesced over its fur.
More arrows were fired, but they simply snapped on impact. Even a Flame Burst Arrow only managed to dirty its fur and blast away a few pieces of the rocky layer.
"Everyone, run!"
Feng Yuanjie’s heart seized. Watching the creature thunder toward them on all fours like a charging heavy tank, his only thought was to run.
In the midst of the tense atmosphere, the area ahead, illuminated by the high-mast lamps, suddenly grew dim.
"There are bugs eating the lights!"
Drawn to the light, many insects had indeed gathered around the lamps. What was unexpected, however, was that several beetles were chewing on the light panels. One of them even flashed with a brilliant golden light.
The horrifying thing was, their mandibles were strong enough to gnaw through carbon steel, let alone a lighting panel.
...
’What is this thing?’
As the enormous earth bear tore through the western defenses, Su Chen had already left the central clearing, heading toward the commercial street to the east.
Partway there, he spotted a beetle gleaming with golden light crawling on a decorative roadside lamp.
CRUNCH...
Accompanied by a harsh, tooth-grinding noise, the beetle chewed through the light panel in a short time. The pixels in that section went dark. Looking closely, one could even see that the stainless steel edges had been gnawed away.
’Is this what they call an Iron-Eating Insect?’
His curiosity piqued, Su Chen pulled a Small Straight Knife from the pouch at his waist.
From five meters away—a perfect distance for a small test.
With a flick of his wrist, the blade shot out like a bolt of lightning, precisely piercing the beetle’s head and pinning it firmly to the light panel.
The golden light vanished instantly; the beetle was dead.
However, the strike seemed to have drawn the aggro of its kind.
BZZZT!!
From the crevices of the surrounding decorative lamps, several more beetles took flight, their wings buzzing. Unflustered, Su Chen’s right fist suddenly ignited with crimson flames.
FWOOSH!
He seized his chance and threw a straight punch. A wave of flame swept out like an explosive ring of Fire, instantly vaporizing the beetles. Only charred embers drifted to the ground.
’A bite from one of those things would take out a real chunk of flesh,’ Su Chen thought. ’If they can gnaw through stainless steel, human flesh would be no problem at all.’
And then...
’Is that Gold Element essence?’
Su Chen looked toward the pinned Iron-Eating Insect. A small orb of Gold Element light emerged from the beetle’s carcass and was drawn toward the cold, straight blade of the Small Straight Knife, gathering on its surface.
It was just like the time his axe blade had received an unintentional Enchantment. Considering he could probably extract it later even if the blade broke, he did nothing to stop the process.
Soon, when he pulled the knife from the light panel, intricate, dazzling golden patterns had already appeared on the blade.
When Su Chen wiped a hand over it, he drew out the latent Gold Element energy. A faint golden aura quietly spread across the surface of the blade, and the sharp fluctuations it emitted made the very air around it seem to distort.
He experimentally thrust the knife into the lamp post. It slid in without the slightest resistance, the blade sinking completely into the iron pole.
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