The moment they burst out of the town, the view ahead opened wide, and everyone felt like they had narrowly escaped death.
Zhu Yuan was certain—
Even with the four of them working together, they stood no chance against that massive Geo-attribute beast.
Still on high alert, she glanced nervously at the rearview mirror.
"Jane, don't slow down. That thing is still behind us."
Jane frowned slightly.
"Don't worry, I'm already accelerating."
Once they were out of the town, Jane floored the gas pedal, pushing the truck faster than before.
Beside her, Seth finally let out a deep breath, his nerves beginning to ease.
"Captain Zhu Yuan, Senior Qingyi, the Lion Tooth Gang's main force should be wiped out by now, and Perlman's missing. What do we do next?"
According to their intel, Perlman had joined the Lion Tooth Gang in the attack on the Bangboo Gang.
But now, with the appearance of that massive beast, the Lion Tooth Gang's core was likely annihilated.
Even if Perlman was still alive, he was probably hiding somewhere in the town.
To capture Perlman, they'd have to go back.
But Seth had no desire to face that monstrous beast again.
Just as they were pondering their next move,
Seth suddenly noticed something off—the truck was shaking too violently.
He glanced at the side mirror, and his expression changed instantly.
"Crap! That thing is still behind us! Why won't it give up?!"
Hearing this, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, and Jane all looked toward the back of the truck.
Sure enough, just as Seth had said, the massive beast had followed them out of the town.
What shocked everyone was that it had grown even larger in that short time—
Now towering over sixty or seventy meters, like a moving mountain.
Each step sent tremors rippling through the ground.
And it wasn't just its size.
The golden glow on its body had intensified. Two golden horns radiated with dazzling light, and its eyes, like burning fireballs, glowed with a menacing red.
The sight was more terrifying than even the high-level Ethereals in the Hollows.
Zhu Yuan frowned deeply.
"What's going on? Why is it evolving so fast?"
Normally, Ethereals evolved to higher stages only after being injured—getting bigger, stronger.
But none of them had attacked the beast.
Yet it was evolving at breakneck speed—its body, strength, and presence all far stronger than before.
Qingyi narrowed her eyes.
"Its Geo power has intensified…"
Even at this distance, she could feel the oppressive force and dense Geo energy radiating from the beast.
The last time she felt this level of elemental pressure was when he received a blessing from the god statue in the Fedler District.
In other words…
The Geo-attribute beast behind them might be on the same level as that statue.
Suddenly, Seth shouted,
"Jane! Faster—step on it!"
Jane stayed calm.
"Stop yelling. This is already top speed. Don't worry—it might look big, but it's slow and clunky. There's no way it can catch up to us."
But right as she finished speaking,
Seth saw the giant beast rear up and slam its claw into the ground.
A thunderous rumble followed—
The earth shook violently, even jolting their truck into the air. They nearly flipped over.
Just like Jane said, in open terrain like this, the beast struggled to keep up despite its size.
They would have made it—
If nothing else happened.
But then—
Boom!
A massive stone spike, several meters long, crashed down from the sky, smashing into the road just ahead of them and obliterating the pavement.
It came out of nowhere.
Jane's reflexes kicked in. She yanked the wheel hard, barely dodging the falling spike.
But the swerve was so sharp that two wheels lifted off the ground.
They almost rolled straight into the ditch.
"Hold on!" Jane shouted.
Seth was in shock.
"Where did that rock come from?!"
Qingyi, gripping her seat, looked back.
"From the beast's back. Watch out—there's more where that came from!"
Hearing that, Zhu Yuan and Seth immediately turned to look.
Just as Qingyi warned, they saw it—
Huge chunks of rock launching from the beast's back like artillery shells, arcing through the sky and hurtling toward them.
"Jane, dodge left! Left!" Seth yelled.
Jane didn't hesitate.
With another sharp swerve, the truck careened off the road—just in time.
Three or four massive, cone-shaped rocks smashed into the stretch of road they had just driven over.
They'd dodged the attack—for now.
But the rough terrain of the wilderness slowed them down immediately.
The truck's speed dropped sharply.
Forced to avoid the attacks, Jane had to steer back onto the road to regain speed and stay ahead of the Geo beast.
Beside her, Seth was drenched in sweat, as if he'd just fought a war.
Even against high-level Ethereals, he'd never felt this tense.
Then—
He looked back again.
The massive Geo beast was nowhere in sight.
Seth let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank god… We finally lost that thing."
Zhu Yuan looked back too, but frowned.
"Strange… Even if it stopped chasing us, it shouldn't have disappeared this quickly."
For something that size, they should still see it from kilometers away.
But it had vanished without a trace.
Then Qingyi noticed something.
"Wait… Look at the ground over there. Something's moving underneath."
Zhu Yuan blinked.
"What is it?"
Just as she and Seth turned to look—
Boom! The ground erupted, and a huge tail burst out from beneath the earth.
In that instant, they understood.
They hadn't lost the Geo beast.
It had gone underground—and it was still chasing them.
What shocked them even more was that burrowing underground hadn't slowed it down.
It had gotten even faster.
In a flash, it was already upon them.
"Jane! Hurry—it's catching up again!"
"We didn't even provoke it! Why won't it stop chasing us?!"