Chapter 1272: Hardening
The scene instantly descended into chaos. The numerous Human Grades had no idea what was happening before they saw a group of them spring into action.
They lunged at Earth Rat, who had just collapsed to the ground. Four of them pinned his limbs while another stuffed a handful of Dao talismans into his mouth. At the same time, Human Monkey pulled two fountain pens from her pocket and stabbed them viciously toward his eyes.
In an instant, agonized screams erupted, blood splattered everywhere, and the two pens plunged deep into Earth Rat's eye sockets.
He had never expected that half of the Human Grades standing before him were rebels. Caught off guard, he lost his sight in both eyes in that moment.
Although these Zodiacs were idly gathered there trying to break down the door, for all the rebels, this was a critical moment of life or death. Their killing intent was on an entirely different level. Human Monkey and her companions acted without any hesitation.
"Mmgh!!! Mmgh!!!" Earth Rat shrieked and thrashed violently, flinging the people on top of him aside.
Human Monkey wanted to pull out the pens and stab him again in the neck, but clearly the opportunity was gone.
She rolled to one side, gathered her thoughts, and lifted her head to address the many Zodiacs still standing dumbfounded: "This Earth Rat is a rebel! We can't let him live!"
"What…?"
After her words, everyone was stunned.
Human Pig, who had just knocked Earth Rat down, scrambled to his feet from the ground. "Goddamn right!! I figured he was a traitor a long time ago!"
Aunt Tong stared blankly at the obese Human Pig in front of her. She felt his build was very familiar, but how could he be Human Pig?
Except for Earth Tiger's students, all the Zodiacs fell into brief confusion, no longer sure who was on their side.
The only Earth Grade capable of moving at the moment stood still. He was a lean figure wearing glasses, with a calm expression—Earth Monkey.
Seeing no one heeding his command, Human Pig had no choice but to step forward himself, raising his pudgy fist and throwing a punch at the writhing Earth Rat on the ground.
"Let's see you be a traitor!"
*Slap.*
Just before his fist landed on Earth Rat's face, the bespectacled Earth Monkey reached out and seized his wrist.
Holding this wrist as hard as diamond, Earth Monkey's brow furrowed instantly. The Human Pig before him looked obese, but his wrist felt as if it had undergone the most rigorous training.
"What's the matter…?" Human Pig asked.
"Hold on. From now on, no one is to act on their own," Earth Monkey replied coldly.
Human Pig slowly swallowed his saliva. "Aren't we going to kill this traitor?"
"Not yet," Earth Monkey said. "I can't tell who to trust right now. If I've wronged you, I'll apologize in person later."
"Oh…" Human Pig nodded as if he half-understood, then slowly withdrew his fist, though his eyes kept darting toward Earth Monkey.
Why did this Zodiac, representing intelligence, have to show up here of all places?
Earth Monkey said to a Human Grade behind him, "Go pull out the Dao from Earth Rat's mouth. I want to hear what he has to say. The rest of you, don't move."
"Oh… okay, got it." The Human Grade nodded and hurried over to start clearing the foreign objects from Earth Rat's mouth.
Human Pig's eyes darted left and right as he thought about how to deal with what was about to happen.
Earth Monkey fixed a cold stare on him and then asked, "Just now you said… 'Xiao Chan, run.' What did you mean by that?"
"Uh…" Human Pig froze, apparently not having prepared an answer to that question.
"Just now, this Earth Rat tried to kill the participant. How did you deduce from that action that he was a traitor?" Earth Monkey pressed further.
"I…"
These two questions nailed Human Pig to the spot.
Human Monkey wiped the blood off her pens and quickly assessed the situation. Though she didn't know who this Human Pig really was, at a moment like this, only someone on their side would act, right?
She took a slow step forward and said to Earth Monkey in as calm a voice as possible, "Earth Monkey, you might not know, but it's probably because…"
"I wasn't asking you," Earth Monkey cut her off coldly. "I'll deal with your issue later."
Human Monkey paused, her expression serious as she glanced at the classmates beside her, falling silent for a moment.
It seemed this Earth Monkey had taken control of the scene, but from another perspective, that was a good thing. If he planned to investigate here, it would naturally take some time, buying a few precious minutes for the people fighting downstairs.
Earth Monkey turned his gaze back to Human Pig. "I'm asking you."
"Heh…" Human Pig gave a silly grin, then scratched his head. "Well… you see, there's actually a special unit in charge of this 'suppression' this time. We Zodiacs hired some participants…"
Hearing this vague answer, Earth Monkey frowned. He looked at Human Pig, then pushed up his glasses. "You're saying they were hired by you?"
"Exactly!" Human Pig slapped his thigh. "Almost caused a misunderstanding."
"Fine. One last question," Earth Monkey said. "Who is your teacher? When did he hire these people?"
"I…" Human Pig paused again, then put on a mysterious air. "That… seems a bit hard to say. I might have to tell you in private…"
Earth Monkey nodded. "Fine."
Knowing he had few chances left, Human Pig deliberately slowed his movements, leaned in close, and brought his mouth near Earth Monkey's ear.
Before he could even speak, Earth Rat, who had finally had all the Dao cleared from his mouth, howled in agony: "Cough… He's lying!!"
Earth Monkey's face instantly turned icy. He was about to strike at the Human Pig beside him, but Human Pig suddenly jerked his head forward and slammed it hard into Earth Monkey's temple.
A loud crack rang out. Earth Monkey's glasses flew off. Human Pig screamed, clutching his forehead. Both staggered back several steps.
Earth Tiger's many students seized the moment while the two Earth Grades were incapacitated, pouncing once again.
The few Extreme Grades hidden inside the door had also roughly identified who the enemies were and seized the opportunity to release their Echoes, launching attacks at Earth Monkey's body.
The scene instantly degenerated into utter chaos. Some Human Grade Zodiacs who had no idea what was going on were tackled to the ground by other Human Grade Zodiacs before they could even figure out who their enemies were.
Aunt Tong hurried over to Human Pig's side. "Oh my!! Old Lv! What are you doing?! How did you become a Zodiac?!"
"Damn, that hurt like hell!!" Old Lv roared, clutching his head. "Xiao Chan, get back inside the door! I'll hold them off for you here!"