Chapter 1014 - 1012 Mutated Animals Acquired 3
Chapter 1014: Chapter 1012 Mutated Animals Acquired 3
That alone would have been frightening enough.
But the most terrifying part was its speed.
Despite its colossal size, the mutated rhinoceros was charging forward at an incredible pace, kicking up clouds of dust and broken earth behind it as it thundered across the ground. The distance between it and Ethan was closing fast. One wrong step and it could easily trample him flat.
At that moment, Kisha finally understood.
Ethan hadn’t just poked a hornet’s nest; he had provoked something far worse.
And suddenly, running sounded like a very good idea.
But when Kisha quickly opened the creature’s status window, she immediately changed her mind about running.
The mutated rhinoceros’ stats were impressive, its abilities were just as promising as the mutated black wolf and the mutated porcupine she had already captured. Instead of fleeing, she realized this was exactly the kind of specimen she had been searching for.
In fact, she should probably thank Ethan for unintentionally luring such a perfect candidate straight to her.
Without hesitation, Kisha raised her hand slightly. Her telekinesis activated instantly as an invisible force wrapped around Ethan and pulled him toward her. At the same time, she lifted herself off the ground, levitating about three meters into the air.
Now safely above the ground, the charging rhinoceros could no longer reach either of them no matter how violently it charged.
Meanwhile, Zeus, her massive mastiff dog, seemed to have finally found the fight it had been waiting for. Earlier, it hadn’t even had the chance to properly warm up against the mutated wolf as Kisha didn’t allowed it to fight then. But now its tail wagged excitedly as it stared at the enormous rhinoceros in front.
"Master! Master! I want to bite! Bite!"
Its eager barking echoed directly inside Kisha’s mind through their mental link.
Kisha couldn’t help but smile faintly before giving her command.
"Alright. Stop it from moving," she said calmly. "But don’t bite it to death."
If anyone else had heard her instructions, they might have burst out laughing. From an outsider’s perspective, Zeus, despite being larger than an ordinary dog, still looked ridiculously small compared to the towering rhinoceros that could easily crush it underfoot.
However, Kisha had already checked the rhinoceros’ status window.
Although the creature possessed a useful ability, ’Size Manipulation’, allowing it to double or lessen its body size, its attack and defense stats still fell short of Zeus’s.
In simple terms, no matter how big the rhinoceros became, Zeus was still the stronger one.
Sure enough, the moment Zeus stepped forward to confront the mutated rhinoceros, the mutated animal reacted instantly.
As if sensing the overwhelming strength radiating from Zeus, the rhinoceros activated its ability without hesitation. Its already massive body began to expand, muscles bulging and bones stretching as its frame grew larger and larger.
When it had been chasing Ethan earlier, it hadn’t even bothered to use its size-manipulation skill. Because Ethan had looked insignificant to it, just a small human that could be crushed without effort. Its natural size had already been more than enough.
But facing Zeus was different.
The mutated rhinoceros’ instincts screamed danger. The moment it recognized Zeus as a real threat, it immediately shifted into a defensive posture and unleashed the full effect of its ability.
The ground trembled as the mutated animal’s body swelled to an even greater size than before. In a matter of seconds, it looked less like an animal and more like a moving mountain of flesh and horn.
Compared to that towering mass, Zeus suddenly appeared tiny, like a small mouse standing before a massive lion.
Even though Kisha was levitating three meters above the ground, the rhinoceros now seemed tall enough that its horn could still reach her if it reared up.
Her brows knit together in surprise.
Earlier, she had assumed the creature’s original form had already been its enlarged state after using ’Size Manipulation’. But now it was obvious she had been mistaken.
This rhinoceros had just shown its true transformation.
And no matter how she looked at it now, the enormous mutated animal truly seemed capable of trampling Zeus flat in a single charge.
For the first time since the fight began, even Kisha felt a small flicker of nervousness rise in her chest.
Just then, Bell flew up beside Kisha, its wings buzzing softly as it hovered in the air. It’s head tilted slightly, observing the standoff below where Zeus faced the towering mutated rhinoceros.
Then it spoke gently to her.
"Don’t worry, Master. Zeus is strong too. Size isn’t everything," Bell said reassuringly. "And if Zeus ever falls into a disadvantage, I’ll step in and help."
Hearing that immediately eased the tension in Kisha’s chest.
She knew Bell wasn’t exaggerating, Bell’s combat capabilities were actually far superior to Zeus’s. The only reason she had felt uneasy earlier was because the rhinoceros’ massive size was simply too intimidating at first glance.
Still, now that she looked at the giant mutated animal more carefully, another thought surfaced in her mind.
If she had managed to tame a mutated animal like this before the zombie siege...
Just imagining it made her eyes brighten. A creature this large could have plowed straight through hordes of zombies, trampling dozens at a time like dry leaves beneath its feet. If they had possessed such a powerful asset back then, the battle might have consumed far fewer resources and manpower.
But that thought quickly faded.
What had happened during the siege wasn’t entirely a bad thing either. That harsh experience had forced the people in her base to face reality, pushing many of them to grow stronger instead of remaining complacent in safety.
In the end, she had no regrets.
If anything, the sight of this massive mutated rhinoceros only made her even more excited.
Because now she was determined to capture it.
"Sister... your dog might get trampled to death. You should call it back..." Ethan said anxiously, his eyes fixed on the scene below.
From where he stood, Zeus looked like nothing more than a large bear-like dog facing a towering wall of flesh and horn. The dog stood perfectly still, its fur bristling and its tail half-raised, clearly ready to lunge at any moment.
Ethan couldn’t help but admire the courage and confidence in the animal’s stance.
But admiration didn’t erase the obvious difference between the two. The size gap was ridiculous, like David standing before Goliath. In his eyes, Kisha’s dog didn’t even look like a proper opponent for the mutated rhinoceros. If anything, it looked small enough to become a quick snack... or at best a toothpick stuck between the mutatd animal’s massive teeth.
And the last thing he wanted was to watch Kisha’s pet get crushed right in front of them.
"Don’t worry," Kisha replied calmly, her confidence returning after Bell’s reassurance.
"Zeus might be smaller than that mutated rhinoceros... but it’s far stronger than it looks."
Ethan still wanted to say something. He felt that Kisha was being a little too confident in her battle pet, but at the same time, he didn’t want to upset her. In the end, he simply pursed his lips and kept quiet.
Still, he silently prepared himself.
If Zeus ever fell into a disadvantage, he would immediately launch a few fireballs at the massive mutated rhinoceros. The beast was enormous, now even slightly larger than an adult elephant, and Ethan knew his fireballs might not be strong enough to seriously injure it. But even a brief distraction could be enough.
Just enough to buy time.
If that happened, perhaps Kisha could once again use her awakened ability to pull Zeus away from danger, just like she had done earlier. And if things truly went wrong, they could still escape before it was too late.
After thinking through this desperate escape plan, Ethan gave a small nod to himself and swallowed the lump forming in his throat. His eyes stayed fixed on the battlefield, ready to act at the slightest mistake.
He was almost certain Zeus would fall in the first clash.
But he was quickly proven wrong.
Just as Ethan was about to throw his fireball, Zeus suddenly unleashed its skill "Sonic Wave." A powerful vibration burst forward, immediately followed by another skill, "Stun."
Before the mutated rhinoceros could react, Zeus lowered its head and charged straight toward the mutated animal’s massive foot.
Ethan’s heart nearly stopped.
For a split second, he thought Zeus was about to be smashed into oblivion.
Then —
Crack!
A sharp, bone-splitting sound echoed across the battlefield.
The mutated rhinoceros suddenly let out a furious roar as its massive body staggered backward as if it had suffered a devastating blow.
Ethan blinked in disbelief.
When he looked closer, he saw it clearly, a visible dent on the rhinoceros’s thick foot armor.
Only Kisha understood what had truly happened.
Aside from using "Sonic Wave" and "Stun," Zeus must have also activated its defensive skill "Armor Skin," allowing its body to withstand the impact during the collision.