Chapter 14: The Rapidly Growing Vine Technique

"Watch out!" Zhou Wan shouted a warning, drawing her compound bow to its limit. A sharp arrow, whistling as it cut through the air, flew straight toward the giant lizard's eye.

The giant lizard merely tilted its head abruptly.

With a metallic "ding," the arrow grazed its rough, thick eyelid scales, sparking against them without managing to pierce the armored hide.

The momentum of its long tail did not diminish in the slightest.

Lu Minghu was extremely fast. Even as Zhou Wan shouted her warning, he had already begun to dodge, narrowly avoiding the tail strike. His body vaulted in mid-air, his speed surging as he blurred into a series of afterimages, leaping toward the giant crocodile-lizard.

"Die!"

Lu Minghu’s eyes widened as he raised his chainsaw, swinging it horizontally toward the creature's skull.

The giant crocodile-lizard had not expected such a strange creature to move with such speed; it could only watch as the high-speed blade of the chainsaw grew larger in its vision.

*Puff!*

Dark red blood sprayed.

The chainsaw, possessing terrifying cutting power, struggled to slice through the lizard's surface scales, leaving behind a crimson gash.

*Skree, skree, skree!*

Lu Minghu gritted his teeth, pushing the chainsaw with all his might into the lizard's skull. However, the flesh and muscle of the creature's head were incredibly tough, wedging the chainsaw and preventing Lu Minghu from cutting any deeper.

Fortunately, Lu Minghu reacted quickly. Seeing he could not continue the attack, he immediately released the chainsaw and pushed off into the air, attempting to retreat.

The giant crocodile-lizard finally reacted.

"Roar!!"

The injury only fueled its madness. It whipped its head around, opened its foul-smelling maw, and spat forcefully toward the direction of Lu Minghu’s retreat.

*Whoosh!*

A glob of turbid mucus flew from its mouth, striking Lu Minghu with speed equal to that of a flying arrow.

"Ugh!" Lu Minghu’s right shoulder was pierced clean through by the viscous, murky fluid. He collapsed into a pile of shattered tables and chairs, falling silent.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The maddened giant crocodile-lizard tried to pursue, determined to tear the man who had wounded it to shreds.

Ten vines arrived just in time, narrowly entangling its limbs and temporarily suppressing its frantic momentum.

But just as Han Ning was controlling the vines to restrain the giant lizard, a black shadow leaped from the stairwell—slightly smaller than the giant one, yet still the size of an adult human.

Its target was not Han Ning, nor was it Lu Minghu; it was Zhou Wan, who stood at the very back!

"Zhou Wan!" Liu Feng’s eyes nearly split open as he unleashed his mental power to its limit.

The scattered debris of tables, chairs, and plates in the dining hall were swept up by an invisible storm, whistling as they smashed into the smaller crocodile-lizard lunging at Zhou Wan.

However, the little beast was exceptionally cunning and fast. It twisted strangely in mid-air, causing most of the debris to fly past its scaled body; only a heavy solid-wood chair slammed into its back.

*Bang!*

The small lizard stumbled, its tough leather armor absorbing most of the impact. Its speed slowed only slightly, and its lunge continued. Its massive mouth, filled with sharp teeth, opened wide, and a wave of foul, hot air washed over her.

Zhou Wan’s reaction was also lightning-fast. The moment Liu Feng made his move, she had already retreated rapidly, simultaneously nocking another arrow. But the space on the second floor of the restaurant was limited; she had nowhere left to run. With the giant maw right before her, there was simply no time to draw the bow!

The situation turned dire.

One person was seriously injured, another had lost their weapon and was hurt, and their core scout was facing a fatal threat.

The terrifying power displayed by the two crocodile-lizards filled the five of them with despair.

"These monsters... they're just too strong."

Han Ning’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed by a cold hand; the immense sense of crisis nearly suffocated him. Chen Yan’s tragic state, Lu Minghu’s failure, and Zhou Wan being on the brink of death—all of this had happened in less than three seconds.

His intermediate Vine Binding technique seemed helpless against such ferocious monsters. The restraint on the smaller lizard had been broken, and it was difficult to cause any effective damage to the larger one.

"What do I do? What do I do? If this keeps up, we're all going to die!"

Han Ning’s heart pounded faster and faster. A strange, electric tingling sensation, brought on by the life-or-death crisis, constantly exploded across his skin.

"Vine Binding, Rapid Growth, Animal Companion, Rejuvenation... which one can be useful?"

His brain raced.

"Vine Binding, Rapid Growth?"

Suddenly, a thought struck Han Ning’s mind, which was nearly drowning in despair, like lightning in the dark.

"Rapid Growth can accelerate the growth cycle of plants, and the vines from Vine Binding are plants too!"

"If... if I combine them, using Rapid Growth to catalyze the Vine Binding, could I instantly grant the vines power and scale far beyond their limits?"

There was no time to consider the feasibility, and even less time to hesitate. Despite Liu Feng’s desperate attempts to block, the small crocodile-lizard’s sharp teeth were less than half a meter from Zhou Wan’s throat.

Acting almost on instinct, Han Ning split the remaining spiritual power in his body into two parts. One part surged into his hands, straining to maintain the Vine Binding on the giant lizard. The other part was released as Rapid Growth.

The target was—his own Vine Binding.

"Rapid Growth, grow, damn you!"

Han Ning roared in his heart, green light flashing repeatedly in his palms.

As Rapid Growth was unleashed upon the Vine Binding, in an instant, centered around Han Ning, more than twenty green vines, each as thick as three fingers, burst forth from the floor, walls, and gaps in the ceiling in front of, beside, and behind him.

These vines were nearly a third thicker than the previous ones. Every sharp wooden thorn covering their surfaces shimmered with a dark, somber luster.

Even more startlingly, the moment they appeared, they began to twist, expand, interweave, and entangle at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if they were exhausting their very last bits of life force.

Releasing two techniques simultaneously, Han Ning felt his vision go dark. His brain felt as if it had been hollowed out, and a wave of intense dizziness and weakness surged over him. His legs went soft, and he could barely stand.

But the effect was remarkable.

The small crocodile-lizard lunging at Zhou Wan was caught head-on and entangled by seven or eight frantically dancing vines. Its tough scales were tightened by the barbed vines, emitting a teeth-grinding "creak."

"Hiss-scree!"

The small crocodile-lizard let out a shrill scream, struggling and twisting constantly. Its sharp claws raked at the vines, but it could not break free from this cage of steel. The immense power even lifted it into the air and slammed it against the wall.

As for the giant crocodile-lizard still entangled by Han Ning, the vines around it surged in diameter, quickly covering its entire body like ivy.

The new vines growing from around Han Ning shot out one after another, wrapping around the creature. In just a few seconds, the number had grown from ten to dozens!

Its massive torso, thick neck, powerful limbs, sweeping long tail, and even its hideous head were tightly bound by the vines.

"Roar!"

The giant crocodile-lizard felt an unprecedented level of binding force. Its massive body erupted with terrifying power, twisting wildly. The tables, chairs, and partitions of the restaurant were torn to shreds under its violent strength.

The vines wrapped around it were pulled taut, emitting a groaning sound of being stretched to their breaking point.

However, as soon as one was snapped, three or four even thicker vines immediately replaced it.

Everyone was stunned by the scene before them.

"What are you standing there for? Get the chainsaws and cut their heads off!"

It wasn't until Han Ning’s weak voice rang out that their brief moment of shock was broken.