Chapter 1242: Including the Heavenly Dragon
Earth Tiger stood up panting, looking down at the Earth Dragon beneath him.
This once arrogant big lizard had now been beaten black and blue by him—even Brother Goat hadn't gone this hard on him back in the day.
"Old bastard..." Earth Tiger panted a few heavy breaths and said gruffly, "You know I've wanted to beat you up for a long time? I can't stand parasites like you who bully others and throw your weight around just because you're old."
The Earth Dragon was clearly dazed from the beating. Normally, even if others had a grudge against him, they'd show some restraint out of respect for his status as a "Dragon." After all, as the manager of all "Earth-tier" members, he represented the Azure Dragon to a certain extent. But today, this Earth Tiger seemed to have completely thrown the rules of the "train" out the window.
Seeing the Earth Dragon completely unresponsive, Earth Tiger turned his head and looked at the brawl between the numerous "Human-tier" members beside them.
Among them were both his own students and the Earth Dragon's students—nearly twenty "Human-tier" members were tangled in a fight nearby. This was perhaps the largest battlefield on the "train" since the "rebellion" began.
Countless "Participants" boarded from the sides, only to witness the melee between so many "Zodiacs," which invisibly strengthened their resolve to join the rebellion.
The so-called "Human-tier" fight seemed much simpler than the "Earth-tier" one. They were essentially ordinary people, and their fighting wasn't much different from a street brawl. However, bound by their "Zodiac" identities, they often chose to tear off each other's masks during the fight.
As several masks were torn off, something unexpected happened.
Not only did no "Divine Beasts" intervene, but even the Azure Dragon and Heaven-tier members didn't show up.
The numerous "Human-tier" members who had followed the Earth Dragon to suppress the rebels felt isolated. They might have been the only ones on this "train" choosing to suppress the rebellion. Though they had been fighting hard, there was no backup behind them.
But thinking it over, it wasn't strange at all. Even when the "Zodiacs" were fighting so fiercely, the White Tiger hadn't appeared to stop them. Why would tearing off a mask bring the Vermilion Bird?
A sense of dissonance spread through the hearts of all the "Zodiacs." Although the fight between Earth Tiger and Earth Dragon hadn't fully concluded yet, the news that "tearing off your mask won't kill you" spread like wildfire. It quickly reached the ears of many "Human-tier" members, gradually brewing an emotion called "disintegration" in the hearts of the "Zodiacs."
If tearing off your mask wouldn't kill you right now... then did that mean they could quit being "Zodiacs" and become "Participants" again?
After all, everyone had different reasons for becoming a "Zodiac." Some wanted to rise above the crowd, some wanted to survive, and some even did it just to protect themselves, putting on the mask reluctantly.
Earth Tiger and Earth Dragon's open battle right in the center of the "train" undoubtedly told all "Human-tier Zodiacs" that they had a chance to regret their choices.
"Damn it..." Earth Tiger saw that his students were almost unilaterally beating up the Earth Dragon's people, and he couldn't help but get pissed off. "You little shits usually act all respectful to me, but when it comes to fighting, you're even more ruthless than I am!"
Before the Earth Dragon could get up, Earth Tiger walked over and, in a few swift moves, picked up all the Earth Dragon's students and tossed them aside, instantly ending the fight.
The Earth Dragon's students knew the tide had turned. They scrambled to their feet and hurried to support their teacher.
Earth Tiger, on the other hand, checked on his own students. Seeing that they weren't seriously injured, he was about to relax when he suddenly realized someone was missing.
"Holy shit..." The fur on Earth Tiger's face twitched, and his heart jumped. "Where's the Human Monkey?! How did all of you not protect a single teammate?!"
He looked around frantically but noticed that none of the nearby people wore a "Monkey" mask.
Just then, a fair-skinned, clean-looking girl hesitated for a moment and then spoke up awkwardly, "Teacher... I'm right here."
"Ah...?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Earth Tiger was momentarily speechless. He turned to look at the girl and found that her face was completely different from that ugly monkey mask. There was no way anyone could recognize her under these circumstances.
Under the girl's gaze, Earth Tiger thought to himself, if he didn't have a face full of white fur, he'd probably be blushing right now.
"You took off your mask, why didn't you say something?" Earth Tiger said with irritation. "You had me worried for nothing!"
"Uh..." The Human Monkey still felt helpless with this teacher. Although he was a good person, his recklessness was a real headache. "Teacher, I think I spoke up right away."
"I don't care about that," Earth Tiger said. "As long as everyone's fine, that's what matters. I didn't learn much from Brother Goat except one thing: 'No one touches my people except me.'"
An obese Earth Monkey mixed in the crowd watched this scene and became somewhat interested in Earth Tiger.
If he remembered correctly, Earth Tiger had only been promoted to "Earth-tier" for a very short time—just a few cycles. Yet in such a short period, he had made all his students willing to fight for him, even in something as dangerous as a "rebellion." None of them had backed down. They had only known each other for at most a month, which showed that Earth Tiger had some real qualities.
"Old bastard."
Earth Tiger looked at the Earth Dragon, who was being helped up by his students. The Earth Dragon was already in a daze from the beating, barely standing now.
"Want to keep fighting?"
"You..." The Earth Dragon barely opened his mouth before spitting out a mouthful of blood. It seemed that even if they stopped, he wouldn't live much longer.
"I'll say it one more time." Earth Tiger shouted to the crowd nearby, "This 'rebellion' is aimed at all the 'Heaven-tier' members. You 'Earth-tier' guys better not come looking for trouble and get yourselves killed. If we fail, it has nothing to do with you!"
His booming voice silenced everyone around. Some "Earth-tier" members even went back to their rooms and closed the doors, pretending nothing had happened.
"Ha..." The Earth Dragon clutched his chest and forced a bitter smile. "Even if you talk until the sky falls... I have to die here."
"Oh yeah?"
"Other 'Earth-tier' can wait for the 'Heaven-tier' to die... but I'm a 'Dragon'..." The Earth Dragon laughed bitterly, then coughed up more blood. "You want me to stand by and wait for the Heavenly Dragon to die?"
"So what?" Earth Tiger shot back. "What about the Heavenly Dragon? Isn't the Heavenly Dragon a 'Heaven-tier'?"
"You..."
"I made myself very clear just now," Earth Tiger said as he stepped forward. "This time, our target is all the 'Heaven-tier' members, including the Heavenly Dragon."