Chapter 1249: Various Ethnic Elites

Those who were about to leap but hadn't yet acted were terrified and scrambled back to the shore on all fours.

Only then did everyone clearly see what was happening in the lake. On the left, there was a giant alligator, tens of feet long. Its scaly armor looked thick and tough, and even from a distance, one could feel the cold glint emanating from the rows of sharp teeth in its gaping maw. Moreover, there were still some remnants of the demon race's bodies on it, causing some of the more timid individuals to vomit in the grass at the sight.

At that moment, the large alligator stared at the people on the shore with a pair of yellowish-brown eyes, as if sizing up its prey, its gaze filled with greed.

On the right, a giant praying mantis was flying. Its body was a mix of red and white, covered in thorns, making it look like a thorny flower.

Someone recognized it and shouted, "The Crimson Thornflower Mantis!"

Everyone's expressions changed. This was a notoriously fierce creature. Its two front limbs were like sharp scythes, densely covered with serrations. The demon experts flying in the air earlier had been cut into pieces by these two scythe-like limbs. At that moment, it was gripping and devouring a demon. The demon had been cut in half at the waist, only its upper body remaining. Yet it was still alive, being eaten alive by the mantis, letting out agonizing wails. Reaching out to a peacock clan woman nearby, it pleaded, "Princess... save me..."

The woman, known as Princess Changning, subtly changed her expression and instinctively stepped back. This scene was truly too shocking to behold. At this point, the giant mantis seemed to find its prey too noisy. With a crunch, its mouthparts bit through the demon's head and it began to gurgle as it sucked out the demon's brain marrow.

The demon's body stiffened and it died completely. Its eyes remained wide open in death, clearly unwilling to rest in peace due to its companions' failure to help. Those on shore couldn't help but swallow. It wasn't that they cared about the demon's death, as such incidents were commonplace among the demon race. Rather, they were more concerned by the deterrent effect of the mantis eating its prey alive. The mantis's giant compound eyes intensified a sense of inexplicable dread.

At this moment, Jin Shi, the young lord of the Golden Roc clan, said gravely, "Everyone, fighting individually like this is not going to work. How about we join forces to eliminate these monsters, and then cross the swamp?"

"Alright!" Princess Changning of the Peacock clan immediately agreed. She had just lost a lot of favor by not helping her subordinate and needed to seize this opportunity to regain some prestige.

From the other side, Xiong Da and Xiong Er's voices rumbled, "Alright, our brothers will handle this big toad." After speaking, they roared, their muscles bulged, and their bodies swelled to several times their original size. One wielded a bone mace, and the other a large iron hammer, as they charged at the large toad, howling. With every step, they left deep imprints in the ground, and the entire earth seemed to tremble.

Zu An and his companions were astonished. The Bear clan truly were born berserkers. Their aura was simply too fierce. If there were a large number of such Bear clan members, the human armies would indeed find them very difficult to deal with.

At this moment, the giant toad was clearly enraged. It opened its huge mouth and croaked, "Guh!" A visible sound wave attacked. Wherever it passed, the ground was torn up, demonstrating its immense power. At this, Xiong Da and Xiong Er roared, charging directly at the sound wave with their mace and heavy hammer, meeting the powerful sound wave head-on and dispelling it by force. Just then, the toad's tongue shot out like lightning. Xiong Da quickly pushed Xiong Er away, shouting, "Watch out!" But he was too late to dodge. He could only barely shift his vital spots, and his shoulder was directly pierced by the tongue. A large cloud of blood mist erupted in the air, mixed with some bone fragments, clearly indicating his shoulder was shattered.

Others were aghast. An arm was incapacitated right at the start of the fight. If even a top expert of the Bear clan suffered this, how could anyone else hope to fight? Who knew that at this moment, Xiong Da roared and directly bit down hard on the tongue impaling his shoulder, biting off a small segment of the tongue by sheer force. The toad cried out in pain and instantly retracted its tongue. The other onlookers cheered and applauded. However, Yun Jianyue, Yan Xuehen, and a few other women frowned in disgust, commenting, "Isn't that disgusting?" Zu An's mouth felt a bit dry. That slimy toad tongue—Xiong Da really had the stomach for it.

At this point, battles also broke out on other fronts. Jin Shi, the young lord of the Golden Roc clan, wielded a long spear, while Princess Changning of the Peacock clan, holding a long sword, charged at the Crimson Thornflower Mantis in the sky. Although neither of them had reached the Grandmaster realm, being from the Feathered Race, they possessed a certain degree of flying ability. Their combined attacks created dazzling bursts of light, but the Crimson Thornflower Mantis blocked each one with the twin blades it wielded.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Princess Solun, her eyes glowing with purple energy, was about to step forward to deal with the remaining giant alligator. The Silver Shark Prince next to her approached and said with a fawning expression, "Why trouble Your Highness to personally deal with this monster? Allow this humble prince to take care of it." After speaking, he turned with a flourish, then transformed into a great white shark and plunged into the water to battle the giant alligator.

"Are all sea folk so driven by lust?" Yun Jianyue, from a distance, remarked disdainfully. With her discerning eye, she could naturally tell that the Silver Shark Prince's strength was not weak, but it was still inferior to the giant alligator's. They would have had the upper hand if he had teamed up with the demon princess, yet he insisted on acting alone. The Chiwen they had encountered earlier was the same; he disregarded everything upon seeing Tu Shan-yu's beauty. Considering that the Dragon King was also a philanderer, it was hard not to question the conduct of these sea folk.

"You can't generalize," Zu An thought, recalling the serene demeanor of Shang Liuyu, who was completely unlike these individuals.

As Yun Jianyue had expected, initially, the great white shark could contend equally with the giant alligator, even relying on its extreme agility to bite the alligator several times. Unfortunately, the alligator's armor was incredibly tough. He not only failed to inflict any serious damage but was even bitten back by the alligator several times. Soon, he was covered in blood and instantly at a disadvantage. Fortunately, Princess Solun was not a mere decorative figure. She had already prepared to act, and upon seeing this, she immediately formed hand seals, sending beams of purple light towards the alligator, which finally gave the Silver Shark Prince a moment to breathe. Seeing this scene, Zu An was momentarily lost in thought. Princess Solun's spellcasting reminded him of Yun Yuqing from the past. "Alas, I wonder how she is doing now."

At this point, the remaining experts saw that the others were at a disadvantage against the various beasts. A young man roared, "I'll help you brothers!" His Lion's Roar directly blocked one of the toad's fatal attacks. He then leaped and slammed a fist onto the toad's head, causing its island-like body to sink significantly. The surrounding demon experts exclaimed, "Lion Spirit truly lives up to his reputation as the second most talented among the eight Lion clan princes! He's only thirteen, yet he has already reached this level!"

Zu An looked at Yu Yanluo curiously. "Who is the most talented in the Lion clan?"

Before Yu Yanluo could answer, from the other side, a handsome elf man laughed loudly, "Brother Jin, Miss Kong, I, Qiao, will also lend you a hand." After speaking, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot it towards the Crimson Thornflower Mantis in the sky. The arrow was wrapped in vital energy, emitting dazzling light as it frictioned with the air. It precisely took advantage of the opening created by Jin Shi and Princess Changning Kong Nanjin to pierce a small section of the mantis's wing.

Zu An's heart stirred. This person also had the surname Qiao. He wondered if he knew Xue'er. Just as Qiao Heng was about to shoot a second arrow, his expression suddenly changed, and he hastily changed direction, firing into the void on the other side. At the same time, he quickly dodged to the side. Unfortunately, he was still a step too slow. A slender, jet-black sword blade emerged from the shadows, leaving a long wound across his chest. The slender sword did not stop, pursuing him relentlessly like a festering wound, clearly not intending to give up until it took his life. Qiao Heng had just focused all his energy on shooting the mantis in the sky and was now abruptly interrupted. His internal energy surged violently. How could he possibly dodge?