Chapter 320

And as Gervas and the others advanced deeper into the Black Pine Forest.

At the foot of a low hill in the heart of the Black Pine Forest, a deep earth cave suddenly stirred.

Instantly, two golden eyes flared to life in the pitch-black interior, like two lanterns in the dark.

Soon, as the eyes drew nearer to the cave's mouth, the next instant saw a massive head emerge into the sunlight.

It was none other than the Iron-Scaled Mother Lizard, who had roamed and made her home in the Black Pine Forest for over half a year.

If Gervas were standing here, he would be stunned to find that the Iron-Scaled Mother Lizard had grown a full circle larger since then.

And the aura she now radiated was unmistakably Fourth Tier.

This was because, after consuming a large quantity of demonic creatures, she had accidentally ascended.

Originally, she could have returned to the Death Mountains.

After all, the mountains held far more prey.

But she could not bear to abandon her lost offspring, hoping one day to find them.

As for how likely that was, she clearly did not dwell on it.

And with her long-term settlement, the wild beasts and demonic beasts in this region of the Black Pine Forest had all vanished.

Yet today, movement at the forest's edge had alerted her.

Because the birds startled into the sky indicated the intruders were either very large in size or numerous.

After observing for a moment and confirming the intruders were still advancing into her territory, she shifted her thick limbs and emerged from the earth cave.

Only now did her full form become visible—a terrifying beast thirteen meters long and three meters tall.

Her body was covered in thick, fiery-red scales like iron plates; her tail was powerful and rigid, resembling a thick steel whip.

Yet to avoid alarming them, she deliberately raised her body and slowed her pace.

Thus, despite her enormous size, her movement produced none of the thunderous rumbles she normally made.

This was her greatest enhancement since ascending to the Fourth Tier.

Soon, her massive body slipped into the dense undergrowth, and the striking red hue vanished.

"My lord, wasn't this where we took the two little ones back then?"

As they advanced, Gervas and his group reached the giant rock where it had all happened.

The Iron-Scaled Mother Lizard had been attacked by a demonic wolf here, and after the two battled their way off, Gervas and the others seized their chance.

"That's right—this is the place. Come to think of it, I feel a bit nostalgic, and I'm impressed by our guts—we dared to target the cub of a Third-Tier demonic beast!" Gervas mused, truly terrified of poverty back then, only thinking of grabbing benefits, never considering what would happen if the mother lizard caught them—she'd leave not even a shred of flesh behind.

Lei Meng and Knight Mi Gen strongly agreed with him.

But just then, Zhuī Yuè suddenly halted.

"What's wrong, Zhuī Yuè?"

The moment Gervas asked, his expression instantly turned grim.

Because Zhuī Yuè had issued a warning.

Seeing this, Lei Meng and Knight Mi Gen naturally understood.

"My lord, is it here?" Knight Mi Gen swallowed hard.

Even though they held the offspring, who knew if it would work at all?

After all, many animals no longer recognized their young after being separated for long periods.

"It's almost certainly her!"

Demonic beasts guard territory fiercely, so with this Iron-Scaled Mother Lizard present, no second demonic beast could possibly dwell nearby.

Hoo-hoo!

At that moment, the two young lizards, sensing danger, began to growl uneasily.

Clearly, their perception was far weaker than Zhuī Yuè's—they only noticed the threat much later.

And this situation meant the mother lizard was drawing closer.

"My lord, be careful—in normal circumstances, the Iron-Scaled Fire Lizard is enormous, and if she approaches, we'd sense something."

"But even now, we haven't felt a single tremor in the ground!" Lei Meng listened carefully for a moment, yet heard nothing.

This made him extremely tense.

Seeing this, Gervas chose to act first, stepping onto the giant rock ahead.

"Iron-Scaled Fire Lizard, I know you're nearby. We're not here to harm you—we only wish to speak with you!"

"My lord!" Lei Meng and Knight Mi Gen both couldn't help but worry.

But Gervas signaled them not to rush.

He waited quietly for a moment, yet found no response.

This made Gervas frown.

What he didn't know was that, thirty meters away, hidden in a thicket, a massive golden eye was watching him.

And that eye held equal confusion.

Seeing no movement after so long, Gervas finally decided to try another approach.

"Lei Meng, Knight Mi Gen, bring the young lizards up onto the rock pile, then retreat thirty meters yourselves!"

"Also, if the mother lizard doesn't recognize the two cubs, immediately call them away!"

"My lord, what about you?"

"I have Zhuī Yuè—don't worry!" Gervas dismissed it casually; though risk remained, if he didn't say this, his subordinates wouldn't trust his actions. "Enough—begin!"

Knight Mi Gen and Zhuī Yuè had no choice but to soothe the young lizards, then guided the two little ones up onto the three-meter-high rock pile.

Meanwhile, the two of them slowly retreated backward.

When the two little ones appeared atop the rock pile.

The iron-armored mother lizard's pupils instantly contracted.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

It was in that very instant that Gervas and the others heard the commotion from afar.

Subsequently, the noise grew louder and louder, heading straight toward the stone pile.

Just a moment later, Gervas spotted a crimson figure darting through the black pine forest.

"Roar!"

At this moment, the iron-armored fire lizard was less than fifteen meters away from him.

Such a distance was merely one body length for the iron-armored mother lizard.

If it launched an attack, a single leap would suffice.

"Fourth tier? It actually evolved?!" Gervas felt a chill run down his spine.

A third-tier iron-armored lizard could already be treated as a fourth-tier demon beast, for it was a proper tank.

And now that it had reached the fourth tier, it could be treated as a fifth-tier beast...

Therefore, its strength had now surged by more than seven or eight times.

"Heavens, why has this iron-armored fire lizard become so long?"

"Oh no, it has completed its evolution and broken through to become a fourth-tier iron-armored fire lizard!"

"Fourth tier? What shall we do? Is my lord not in grave danger?"

Not far away, Lei Meng and Knight Mi Gen also saw the mother lizard's new form and were immediately stunned.

"Knight Mi Gen, if anything unexpected happens later, you and I will take the two little fire lizards and hold it off, buying my lord time to escape!"

While Knight Mi Gen and Lei Meng prepared to support their lord at a moment's notice, Gervas in front forced himself to calm down.

The iron-armored mother lizard did not attack directly; instead, its gaze fixed intently on him and the two little ones.

Its nostrils continued to inhale repeatedly, as if distinguishing something.

Gervas knew this was absolutely a good sign.

"Iron-armored mother lizard, I bear no ill will; I have simply brought your two children to see you!"

Gervas first spoke loudly in the human tongue.

Then, speaking softly in the beast language, he said, "You should be able to smell now that they are the children you lost! I have brought them to see you!"

Since all three iron-armored fire lizards were lowly growling, there was no need to worry about Knight Mi Gen and Lei Meng overhearing these words.

Of course, in truth, Gervas did not need to conceal anything from Knight Mi Gen and Lei Meng; they were absolutely Gervas's most reliable subordinates.

It was just that mimicking the beasts' roars was somewhat shameful, so Gervas tried to keep it secret.

The iron-armored mother lizard's body trembled; whether it was shocked that Gervas could speak the beast language, or that Gervas had confirmed the two little lizards were its offspring, was unknown.