In order to save one person, over a hundred others would be sacrificed. This choice truly put him in a difficult position. Besides, he had even more important matters to attend to.

The bespectacled Mark Harris glanced over twice, unable to help but whisper, “This monster is dangerous, we can’t act rashly…”

After all, standing by and doing nothing went against his moral principles, and Mark Harris’s words were quite tactful. What he meant by not acting rashly was simply not to take unnecessary risks. Although he hadn’t spent much time with Brian Carter, he had found Brian Carter to be far more mature and composed than his peers. He believed that Brian Carter would surely understand his meaning.

Though the distance was great, Brian Carter could see the resolute look in that man’s eyes. There were no grand words, but the determination to protect his loved ones at all costs moved Brian Carter deeply.

Brian Carter said calmly, “Step back a bit, I’ll be there soon…”

Chapter 4: Outbreak

Brian Carter’s resolve left the others with nothing more to say.

Mark Harris felt even more ashamed; at this critical moment, he was less responsible and courageous than a child. He could only wave his hand and lead the others to retreat.

A man named David Bolton stepped forward and said, “I have a gun here, you can use it.”

David Bolton handed over a laser pistol, but Brian Carter shook his head and said, “I’m not old enough, I can’t use a gun.” At seventeen, he was under the legal age, and most pistols had identification systems that would forcibly prevent minors from using them.

In fact, the brutality and terror of the lizardman far exceeded what these employees could imagine. The fact that the burly man could hold his own against the lizardman showed his immense strength.

Brian Carter gripped his sword and quickly ran toward the lizardman. These lizardmen had lived underground for years, so their eyesight was poor, but their hearing and sense of smell were especially keen. They could even detect extremely subtle temperature differences.

A sneak attack was impossible, so Brian Carter simply charged out openly, also giving the strong man a bit of confidence.

When Jason Clark saw someone running over, a trace of joy appeared on his face. But when he saw Brian Carter’s somewhat youthful face, his expression turned even grimmer.

“That kid, go back! You can’t help here, get out of here…” Although Jason Clark admired Brian Carter’s courage, he didn’t want to drag him to his death. Jason Clark sighed inwardly; if only a companion could distract this monster for a minute, he could seize the chance to kill it.

In front of the lizardman, an ordinary person was as fragile as paper. Even if there were ten or eight more youths like Brian Carter, they wouldn’t last a minute against the lizardman.

Brian Carter shouted, “Hang in there, I’m coming…”

Jason Clark could only give a wry smile; if Brian Carter didn’t come, he could hold out a bit longer. But since Brian Carter was running over, he couldn’t just watch him die.

“When I make my move, you two run as fast as you can…” Jason Clark didn’t dare look back, so he could only shout instructions to the mother and daughter behind him.

“Okay…” the wife behind him replied softly.

While they spoke, Brian Carter quickly navigated various obstacles and reached the lizardman’s back. “Die!” Brian Carter shouted, stepping on a bench by the pool and leaping to stab at the lizardman’s back.

Jason Clark hadn’t expected Brian Carter to be so reckless, actually jumping up to attack with his sword. It was practically suicide. He couldn’t bear to watch Brian Carter throw his life away, so he barked at his wife behind him, “Run!”

As he spoke, the long sword in his hand turned into a flash of cold light, thrusting straight at the lizardman’s chest. With Jason Clark’s cultivation, he could stir his vital energy throughout his body, and with the sharpness of his blade, it was enough to pierce the lizardman’s thick hide.

The lizardman looked clumsy, but it possessed considerable intelligence. Billions of years of combat evolution had given it its own way of judging living beings: biological energy. In this respect, Brian Carter’s energy response was no threat at all. The real danger was the burly man before it.

Seeing Jason Clark attack, the lizardman suddenly spun around and lashed its tail. The thick tail, nearly two meters long, came whistling through the air.

Jason Clark hurriedly ducked, rolling along the bottom of the pool. The water was shallow, but the splashing slowed his movements a bit.

The lizardman’s long tail swept just above his back, leaving his back a bloody mess. The spinning tail didn’t lose momentum, whipping toward Brian Carter in midair.

As the lizardman spun, its tail traced a circle. Starting with Jason Clark, then to Brian Carter in midair, both were within the tail’s range. Having fought in the underground world for countless ages, the lizardman had a keen instinct for battle.

While airborne, Brian Carter saw a black shadow, accompanied by a surge of water, rushing toward him. Even before the shadow arrived, the howling wind pressed down on him so hard he could barely breathe.

“Too weak!” Brian Carter couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. His current body was just too frail. Even a mere lizardman posed a deadly threat to him.

However, in his memories, Brian Carter had killed tens of millions of lizardmen. He was extremely familiar with their fighting style. Leaping high was meant to provoke the lizardman into swinging its tail.

Suddenly taking a deep breath, a flash of divine light appeared in Brian Carter’s eyes. The formless spiritual will he had cultivated for ten years in his mental core stabbed like a needle into three hidden acupoints in his lower abdomen. Stimulated by this, the vital energy already circulating rapidly in his body ignited like gunpowder, erupting all at once.

Outburst: Originating from the Empire’s military low-level combat technique, in theory it can unleash up to ten times one’s strength. In practice, due to various limitations, it can only release two to five times the power.