imson. He flipped his tactical knife, aiming

" Mace whispered viciously. "In a Class-4 z

He was too busy debating whether to quietly scramble Mace's frontal lobe,

Kieran counted down c

rth beneath their bo

from the canopy above. A heavy, suffocating stench of

roared, pushing past Mace as his slugg

from the high branches. Their bodies, thick as oil barr

ieked, grabbing Talia and stumbling backwar

, a set of light tactical exoskeleton armor locked around his lim

g grizzly form, roaring as he lung

ma bolts scorched indiscriminately through the foliage, and heavy claws

ed Leo back into the deep shadow of an ancient root. He leaned against the w

Mace's plasma cannon. Thrashing in agony, its heav

k. The heavy tail clipped his shoulder, sending him flyin

g a pale green healing aura over the injury. The weak, flickering ene

jaws managed to clamp around the first python's throat, violently

into the second python's sensory pit, endin

umans weren't worth the indigestion, hissed wari

ered with smoking craters, trampled ferns, and

g as he marched over to the carcasses. He used his k

is arrogant gaze swinging immediately back to th

sneered, holding up the glowing crystals l

ruised ribs. He glared at Kieran as if he were a parasite. "

oting Kieran a look of pure venom. "You hid behind

defend his friend, but Kieran just smiled a

is hands in a slow, patronizing rhythm. The c

escension. "You blew eighty percent of your energy, destroyed half the terrain, and sacrifi

ade barked in unison, their fr

g past them. His spiritual sense had just picked up the massive,

ther. So those pythons were just running

trum, his wrist terminal erupted in

D-77. Proximity: 800 meters.

he read the data, the color draining from his

her earlier arrogance entirely gone. "We b

e cowardly debate. Turning his back on the panic-stricken squad, h

lder, his tone light and breezy as he headed strai