Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 974: Water

Once the lungfish was released, it suddenly made sense why the Gold Scaled Porcelain Crocodile was released. The croc had a very unusual look, but its actual abilities had already proven to not be all that impressive. At least when it was on its own. Now that an aquatic monster was released, the crocodiles purpose was revealed. It was only here to pave the way for other beasts.

The black scaled lungfish was quite large and imposing, yet it had already lost an eye as soon as it was brought out. Sage avoided the beasts counterattack and was ready to strike again, but he withdrew once he got a peak at what was coming. Another beast appeared near where he was standing, released by Beast Keeper Deng. This one was a barrel sized bullfrog with a mass of black horns on its head arranged like a crown. A tongue as thick as an arm shot through the empty air where Sage was just standing with bullet-like speed. It retracted at only a fraction of the speed, but that initial attack was extremely fast. Sage wasnt sure how much damage it would do or if it carried any other special properties, but he wasnt eager to take a hit from an unknown source. After the bullfrog appeared it hopped over to interpose itself between Sage and the lungfish.

Discipline Keeper, look out!

The man with the huge cleaver was focused entirely on the Gold Scaled Porcelain Crocodile, so Sages shout surprised him. He was forced to give up on the furious attacks he was raining down upon the croc and losing the initiative in the battle, but he stepped away just in time to avoid the bullfrogs tongue attack. Sage took this chance to advance and slash the blade on his wrist through the air. He chopped the tongue as it was retracting to the bullfrog's mouth and the flailing appendage flipped through the air, landing with a splash in the muddy water.

The croc, now free of the unending assault, scampered away on its long legs, skipping through the water and flipping its tail to move faster as it too ran around behind the bullfrog. All along the way it was still pouring out a huge volume of water from its mouth, drooling out a waterfall as it went. The lungfish was wiggling around in the back, seemingly pained from the loss of its eye, but the bullfrog did not seem as affected by the loss of its tongue. Its eyes seemed to twist sharply with anger, and Sage suddenly rolled sideways onto the ground. At that same time another tongue shot out of the bullfrogs mouth and smashed into the water where Sage had just been standing.

Unlike Sage, who could see the near future, the rest of the group were quite surprised. Theyd all just watched the frogs tongue getting sliced off, yet it had attacked with another. After seeing it three times, Sage stood his ground as the next tongue attack came shooting towards him as soon as the last retracted into the frogs mouth. This time he swung his hand forward and caught the tip of the tongue as it was in motion, stopping it and slapping it away. The tip of the tongue was wider and much tougher than the rest of its length. When the blade of Poison Qi contacted this part of the tongue it only dug in a few inches without splitting it apart completely. The tongue was deflected, but not severed as before. It retracted rapidly and then the bullfrog let out a loud croak.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment while the two sides on the field took this as an opportunity to regroup. Teacher Gray and Teacher Zhou broke away from the Charming Slate Boar, returning to join the Discipline Keeper beside the circular wall of wood that had grown into a cone shaped tree over the librarian and four students. Sage placed his hands on the strangely shaped tree and sent some energy into it, rapidly reshaping it to open an arched entrance while strengthening the rest of it by doubling the thickness. It might seem foolish to open up an obvious door, but it was a strategic move. If there was no entrance then the only way inside would be to smash the wall down. The defenders on their side would have to try and protect the tree as a whole to keep it from being knocked down or destroyed. On the other hand, if there was an obvious entrance, the enemy would focus on the easy way to reach those on the inside. Channeling the enemy into an obvious choke point was much better than facing attacks from all sides.

The Beast Keepers plan is about to come into play. Focus on defense for now.

Sage had more requests for the Discipline Keeper, who looked somewhat annoyed at being given orders by a nobody. At the same time, the Discipline Keeper didnt hesitate to move into the position he specified. Despite his distaste, the man was aware that Sage had been quite instrumental in the battle so far. Teacher Zhou and Teacher Gray stood behind the Discipline Keeper, the three of them blocking the entrance.

Getting into position the three of them were surprised to see that Sage had already darted off, skipping to the left and right to dodge the lightning fast strikes of the bullfrogs tongue. Then he was past the frog and leapt into the air, avoiding the spray of water and slash of the Golden Scaled Porcelain Crocodiles tail. The lungfish spun in place, doing a high speed spin and throwing muddy water in every direction. Sage took on a diving pose and avoided the lungfishs tail while getting splashed with a forceful blast of water. He ignored the big fish eel and made it to the Charming Slate Boar. The silken baffles on its tusks had already been gnawed up by the crocs teeth and now it was grinding its tusks onto the bars of the pen to remove them completely.

With so many new elements appearing in the battle, Sage had to tie up a loose end now before it became more dangerous again. Without being around to stop it, it was very likely the Beast Keepers plan would advance while Sage was occupied. Since things were still far from driving Sage to the edge, he chose to prioritize the safety of the students. If he focused on what the lungfish was doing, then the Charming Slate Boar would be free to kill the students or force Sage into a defensive position again.

Sage rushed towards the boar. It was rubbing one tusk against the bars and Sage circled around towards the direction its rear was facing. The boar spun and put its butt up against the bars so he couldnt get behind it. Sage rushed around towards the other direction, dodging another strike by the lungfishs tail in the process. Then he leapt into the air, avoiding another tail strike and also attacking the boar from above. The big beast was swinging around from side to side to cover its butt and so it wasnt expecting Sage to suddenly close with it. Sage had run close and then traced a semi-circle around the boar, putting it off guard against a sudden charge forward.

In mid-air, Sage opened his hand and from his palm released a thick cloud of gas. The green mist shot out at high speed towards not just the Charming Slate Boar, but Beast Keeper Feng who was on the other side of the bars.