Annihilation

The remaining three reacted swiftly. The olfactory-enhanced operative spun and fled—his gift was scent, not combat. The other two attacked Huo Xuan from both sides.

Their hands were grotesquely enlarged, veins bulging like cables. Each swipe carried terrifying force. Towering over two meters with corded muscles, their strikes sliced through the air with audible ​whooshes.

Huo Xuan didn't block. Instead, he activated Dragon-Riding Step, phasing behind them before executing Tai Chi Axe—a devastating chop to the left attacker's skull.

CRACK!

The man's brain reverberated from the impact, freezing him in blank-faced stupor.

His partner roared, whirling to crush Huo Xuan in a vein-strangled bear hug. Huo Xuan dropped low, then kicked off the ground while driving an uppercut skyward—

Soaring Momentum, a technique inspired by hares fighting eagles. The punch carried enough force to ​snap the man's chin upward, severing his cervical spine. His head lolled grotesquely, eyes glazing with terror.

Before the corpse collapsed, Huo Xuan pivoted to the stunned operative. A Single Whip Strike crushed his temple, extinguishing life instantly.

Seeing three comrades slaughtered in seconds, the last man turned and sprinted.

Huo Xuan closed the gap in three strides, seizing his neck mid-flight. "Locations of the others," he demanded in accented but intelligible English.

The man trembled. "Spare me, and I'll talk!"

A derisive snort. "Talk, or die now."

Bloodied evidence surrounded them. Resistance crumbled in seconds. "F-for God's sake, mercy! Fourteen of us total—split into four squads. The other three took wrong routes. Only we found you because of my—" He actually preened. "—unmatched nose."

Huo Xuan pressed further: "Why kidnap Shangguan Meixue?"

"You mean that Asian woman? We were just following orders—no idea why. Rumor says it's tied to U.S. strategic plans in Africa. But the actual kidnappers were this country's opposition forces, backed by America."

Huo Xuan grilled him on other U.S. secrets in the region. The man cooperated fully, divulging everything he knew.

Finally, the operative ventured, "So... will you let me go?"

"I won't kill you," Huo Xuan said with a faint smile. "But your nose makes me uneasy."

Fear twisted the man's face as he staggered back. "W-what do you mean?"

Huo Xuan's gaze turned icy. "If you were me, what would you do?"

Mercy to enemies is cruelty to oneself. Fang Lingtian had drilled this into him repeatedly.

Suddenly, the man whipped out a dagger and—squelch!—hacked off his own nose. Blood gushed as he panted, "Satisfied now?"

Huo Xuan sighed. "Go."

Severed nose, blood loss, no scent—the savannah's predators would finish the job.

Stumbling away, the man seethed inwardly: That fool doesn't know our genetic advantage. My nose will regrow in a week. Then I'll hunt him down!

After miles of frantic flight, he froze. Blue-green eyes flickered around him—a wolf pack, drawn by his blood trail.

African wolves weren't the strongest, but they feared nothing, including humans.

For ten minutes, screams tore through the night.

By dawn, only tattered clothes, shoes, and tufts of hair remained.

Over half an hour had passed since Huo Xuan left. Shangguan Meixue sat hugging her knees, motionless, following his instructions to wait one hour before moving on.

Waiting could be torture. Her heart ached with worry for Huo Xuan's safety. If he didn't return, she'd be forced to survive alone in the savannah—a perilous prospect, even briefly.

"You damn bastard, you better come back!" she muttered under her breath.

Minutes dragged like days. Then—rustle—a faint sound from the grass. Her heart leapt. Was that him?

But the next moment, her breath caught in her throat, nearly choking her. Emerging from the undergrowth wasn't Huo Xuan, but a gaunt, scarred male lion.

Moonlight revealed its emaciated frame, its movements sluggish. Yet when its gaze locked onto her, the primal ferocity of a predator still burned in its eyes. It was, after all, the king of this land.

Shangguan Meixue felt her soul freeze. Paralyzed, she watched as the lion advanced step by step. Tears spilled uncontrollably. "You bastard, where are you? I hate you!" she sobbed.

The lion paused briefly at the sound but soon resumed its approach, its predatory glare intensifying.

She wanted to run, but her legs had turned to jelly. Despair flooded her. As the lion coiled to pounce, her mind didn't conjure images of family or friends—only Huo Xuan.

That lecherous rogue who groped her, the man who moved through the savannah like a force of nature, the demon who could kill crocodiles barehanded and mow down enemies like grass.

"Hey. Over here."

A familiar voice. Shangguan Meixue jerked her head up—and there he stood, suddenly at the lion's flank, his cold gaze fixed on the beast.