Breaking out of the encirclement with Chen Feng, its ferocious ** and lightning-fast speed allowed it to slay one Ninth-Level Dragon Knight and severely wound two others! Yet, under the relentless assault, one of its hind legs was broken, and it suffered seven or eight other injuries, its fur soaked crimson.
To achieve this while surrounded by several Dragon Knights was already an astonishing success!
Was this the day he would die here?
Memories flared unbidden in his mind, skipping back eight months to a single morning.
It was just after his first month of life, while his parents were peacefully watching over him in their cave, when a figure in red abruptly burst in. Without a word, the intruder attacked, killing his parents instantly!
His parents, both high-level Illusionary Demon Beasts of the Ninth Level, hadn't even managed a single counterattack!
He, at only a month old, possessed no true awareness; even a high-level Illusionary Demon Beast wouldn't have much intellect at that age.
But his father knew death was certain. He actually burned his own soul, using a secret technique to channel its essence into sustaining his son!
This soul transfusion was horrific, inflicting the greatest agony imaginable upon the caster, and ensuring his spirit would scatter, utterly vanishing from this world with no hope of recovery!
However, the recipient of this terrible gift gained unparalleled benefits! Under the selfless transfusion, his young soul mutated strangely, acquiring peculiar inherited memories, and his intellect developed far sooner than a normal demon beast's... plus, he gained all the knowledge his father possessed in life...
His father’s soul burning was not in vain. The figure in red did not press the slaughter. Instead, he allowed the cub to live! Perhaps, in the eyes of the red-clothed man, lives like theirs were mere ants, holding no interest whatsoever!
Having received his father’s soul essence, Xiaohu gained the wisdom to discern right from wrong, indelibly etching the entire scene of his parents' murder into his mind! He remembered the appearance of the figure in red!
Now, seeing that figure about to be killed by others ignited a fury born of remembering his parents' final moments! How could he not be enraged? How could he not feel agonizing grief? How could he not yearn for revenge!
Therefore, seeing the Dragon Knights about to kill the man who had become his leader, Xiaohu leaped out in desperate haste!
Fight. Kill. As long as these men were slain, he could personally avenge his parents! Xiaohu was frantic, yet utterly resolute!
Crack!
Xiaohu took another devastating punch from a Ninth-Level Dragon Knight, tumbling over itself several times before crashing to the ground. Every bone and sinew felt shattered; he couldn't summon any strength at all!
Was he really going to die? Xiaohu wondered.
Sorry, Boss. I dragged you into this.
You didn't have to come out, but you did it for me without hesitation...
Knowing it was certain death, yet standing beside me—how can I ever repay such kindness!
Memories flooded back of his time with the Boss—how the Boss never treated him like a mere demon beast, but as a true companion, a friend, a brother! Time and again, he fought opponents far stronger than himself just for Xiaohu's sake!
And yet, Xiaohu had concealed so much from the Boss...
Thinking of this brought overwhelming guilt. He turned his head toward his Boss, and suddenly, an expression of stark terror flashed across his round eyes!
"Boss..."
A call in his mind, a roar from his throat—the once soft and powerless body suddenly summoned boundless strength from nowhere. He sprang high, hurling himself toward Chen Feng!
...........
Chen Feng saw the longsword streaking toward his back and shifted his feet, ready to leap away. However, the recent battle had utterly drained his stamina; before he could move, his limbs went weak.
"Ah!" Chen Feng roared again, rolling on the ground in an attempt to evade, but his body felt as if bound by ropes, utterly immobile!
Magic Binding! Chen Feng’s heart lurched, then settled into a strange resignation—was this the end? To die by a Magic Sword, of all things!
Time didn't allow for further thought; the Magic Sword before him suddenly redirected, stabbing toward the sky!
Chen Feng followed the tip of the blade, shouting in sharp alarm: "Xiaohu..."
Mid-air, Xiaohu struck with full force in his forepaws, aiming directly at the Leader’s head!
But changing direction while airborne was difficult, and coupled with his exhaustion, he was already at his absolute limit. His claws hadn't even reached the Leader when the opponent's Magic Sword pierced straight through his body!
"Boss! Do it now..."
"Xiaohu..." Tears instantly streamed down Chen Feng's face. He understood Xiaohu’s intent—using his own body to draw the enemy's focus, creating an opening for Chen Feng to strike and kill the foe...
He did it to save him!
"Aaaargh..."
Chen Feng felt a massive surge in his head; a wild howl erupted, and another thread of powerful vortex surged from his Dantian, an immensely powerful aura manifesting within him!
Clang!
A blinding radiance exploded into existence out of thin air! The surrounding frigid atmosphere instantly ignited!
"Secret Ultimate Art: One Hundred and Eight Forms - Great Serpent Pheasant!"
He looked like a God of Fire, his entire form engulfed in crimson flame. The overwhelming power of the Great Serpent Pheasant directly consumed the Leader...
The Leader didn't even manage a scream; he, along with the Magic Sword in his hand, instantly disintegrated into ash!
The surrounding Dragon Knights, witnessing Chen Feng’s overwhelmingly powerful technique, collectively took a step back, daring not to approach. A powerful sense of dread rose from their hearts! A single thought echoed in all their minds—Monster. That is not human power!
CRASH!
Xiaohu plummeted heavily to the ground! Blood had dyed every inch of his fur!
"Boss..."
Xiaohu managed a weak call!
"I, Xiaohu... in all my... life, the most... discerning thing... I ever did was... choosing you as... Boss!" Xiaohu’s strength slowly receded from his body, and blood began to pour steadily from his wounds.
"Don't speak..." Chen Feng choked down his surging sorrow, hastily pulling out water from the Azure Spring to staunch the bleeding.
Xiaohu shook his large tiger head: "It's useless... the Magic Sword... has a bloodlusting ability... I'm finished!"
"Xiaohu!" Grief struck Chen Feng like a giant hammer, and tears fell uncontrollably once more.
"Boss, don't... be sad... When I first... signed the contract with you... I didn't have good intentions... I... have a secret art... that can break... the Soul Blood Pact... and I planned to... eat you... use your soul... to nurture myself..."
Xiaohu's voice, transmitted through the Blood Pact, was intermittent, threatening to cease at any moment!
"Stop talking!" Chen Feng’s voice was steeped in devastating sorrow: "I know all of it! When we first met Austin and the others, when you said you had a way to break the contract, I already guessed!"
A faint smile seemed to grace Xiaohu's face: "Then, Boss... do you... forgive me..."
Chen Feng nodded: "I never blamed you!"
Xiaohu whispered: "Then we... are still... good friends..."
"We are!" Chen Feng confirmed: "And we always will be!"
Xiaohu closed his eyes with relief: "Too bad... in the end... I didn't... get my revenge..." With that, his body went slack, his great tiger form collapsing onto the earth, devoid of any spark of life!
"Xiaohu..." Chen Feng roared internally, feeling as if his sanity was shattering!
...........
"Master..."
"I'm only three months old! Master."
"Xiaohu? Boss? Hmm, okay!"
"Boss, is that really... you? You're not... planning to kill me to keep quiet, are you..."
"Boss, jump up, climb onto my back!"
"Then we... are still... good friends..."
Every moment spent with Xiaohu flashed through Chen Feng's mind. Thinking of Xiaohu’s round eyes being unable to open again, a crushing wave of grief pulverized his heart!
"Xiaohu..."
"Argh!"
Chen Feng rose with a deafening roar. Suddenly, a strange transformation began taking hold of his entire body!
His once pitch-black hair instantaneously turned a brilliant crimson. The flame-like battle aura surrounding him shifted, becoming chillingly spectral. His entire presence surged skyward in a single breath!
Beneath the pale moonlight, such an bizarre spectacle looked utterly eerie.