The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

Page 27

The other two crocodile lizards used their hind legs to push against the wall, trying to leap onto the relatively safe roof.

The survivors on the rooftop, armed with a jumble of weapons, frantically slapped the crocodile lizards on the head to keep them away.

"Old Zhang, hold on! Don't let go!"

A burly man with a thick beard, who seemed to be the leader, gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his arms, and tightly gripped his companion's arm.

Old Zhang, who was being dragged, was as pale as a sheet. His legs had been ripped open by the crocodile lizard's claws, leaving several deep cuts that exposed bone, from which blood flowed freely.

"I can't take it anymore... I can't hold on... My hand is going to break..."

Old Zhang's voice was choked with sobs, and his rain-soaked face trembled and contorted uncontrollably.

Just as the crocodile lizard that was scratching at the roof opened its mouth full of fine, sharp teeth and was about to bite Old Zhang's calf, it was a critical moment.

"Roar!!"

A deep, distinctly different roar, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, drowned out all other sounds.

Immediately afterwards, a grayish-white shadow tore through the rain and darted out from behind the billboard at an astonishing speed.

Its powerful hind legs pushed off the floating garbage, and its body shot out like an arrow toward the crocodile lizard that was about to attack.

"Pfft!"

The snow cake, with its large mouth full of sharp teeth, skillfully bit into the side of the crocodile lizard's neck.

"Gah!!"

The powerful impact sent it flying off the edge of the roof, tumbling and crashing into the murky water, creating a huge splash.

at the same time.

Twelve dark green vines shot in from all directions with a series of whooshing sounds.

They precisely wrapped themselves around the bodies of three other crocodile lizards.

The survivors on the rooftop were stunned by the sudden turn of events.

They stared blankly at the vines that had appeared out of nowhere and the ferocious crocodile lizard.

"Quick! Pull him up!" Han Ning shouted at the burly, bearded man who was still standing there in a daze on the roof.

He found it quite difficult to control all three crocodile lizards at once.

He saved these people not because he was overly compassionate, but because he needed to kill these monsters to get into the convenience store.

Furthermore, his druid training was just one step away from completion, and these monsters weren't very strong.

The big man suddenly jolted awake and, together with his companion, unleashed their last bit of strength, finally dragging the half-dead Old Zhang onto the relatively safe rooftop.

"Awooo!" Snowcake released its grip, letting the badly injured crocodile lizard sink to the bottom of the water.

Its yellow, vertical pupils coldly locked onto the other three crocodile lizards entangled in vines, and a low growl burst from its throat, exuding a powerful sense of intimidation.

"Stay on the roof and don't move!" Han Ning ordered again, while simultaneously channeling his spiritual power to the fullest extent.

[Vine Technique Proficiency +2, currently 199/200]

[Spiritual Power: 7/20]

Under his control, the vines suddenly tightened, tightly binding the bodies of the three crocodile lizards.

"Aww!" "Woo!!" "Hiss..."

The scales of the crocodile lizards began to deform under the strangulation of the tough vines and sharp wood thorns.

"Snowflakes, finish them off!"

"Roar!"

Upon receiving the command, Xuebing did not hesitate at all and once again transformed into a gray shadow and pounced out.

It first pounced on the smallest of the alligator lizards.

"Crack!"

The sound of bones cracking rang out.

Then, without stopping, Xuebing swung its thick tail and struck another crocodile lizard on the head, knocking it dizzy and disoriented. It then pounced on the crocodile lizard and delivered the fatal blow!

"Hey! Hiss!"

Seeing its two companions die one after another, the last crocodile lizard struggled even more frantically.

"Hold on!"

Han Ning's eyes sharpened, and his spiritual energy surged towards the vines.

[Vine Technique Proficiency +6, current 205/200, skill level increased!]

[Vine Spell (Intermediate) → Vine Spell (Advanced)]

The moment the vine technique broke through, the few remaining vines suddenly burst forth with a deep, dark green light, becoming even thicker and stronger, with mysterious, ghostly green patterns faintly appearing on their surface.

The binding force suddenly increased!

"hiss--"

The last crocodile lizard was firmly immobilized in place by the advanced vine spell, unable to move.

Seizing this excellent opportunity, Snowcake continued to flick its tail, slapping it repeatedly on the back of the crocodile lizard's neck.

"Crack!"

The last crocodile lizard completely collapsed.

The battle ended unusually quickly.

In just a dozen breaths, all four ferocious crocodile lizards were dead.

The carcasses of crocodile lizards floated on the murky water, and the air was thick with the stench of blood, mingling with the cold rain.

On the rooftop, the few survivors who had narrowly escaped death collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, their eyes filled with indescribable awe as they looked at Han Ning and Xue Bing.

Four pure blue orbs of light emanated from the four crocodile lizard corpses and entered Han Ning's chest.

"Uh……"

Han Ning's body stiffened, as if he had been pierced by a high-voltage current.

A surge of warmth exploded within him.

The muscles all over my body felt as if they were soaking in a hot spring, with a faint tearing and swelling sensation.

These crocodile lizards were all very small, so the total energy they collected wasn't much.

But that's enough to help Han Ning break through that barrier!

Druid growth progress +53

[Druid level increased, Lv3 → Lv4, current 1/600]

[Spiritual power limit increased from 20 to 25]

Current Spiritual Power: 15/25

[New Awakening Skills: Nature's Blessing, Fish Gills Technique]

Chapter 29 Kowtow

【Nature's Blessing】: Gathers abundant natural energy and infuses it into the target organism to heal some of its injuries, purify its spirit, and has a small probability of optimizing the target organism's genetic material, causing it to evolve. However, the optimized target organism's level cannot be higher than the Druid's own level. The simpler the organism's life structure, the higher the probability of optimization.

Note: The direction of optimization is uncontrollable.

【Gill Technique】: Druids mimic the form of aquatic creatures, control natural energy, and grow gills and fins similar to fish, gaining the ability to breathe underwater and swim for a short period of time.

"Hiss... These two skills both look pretty good."

Before Han Ning could fully appreciate the special effects of the two skills...

Suddenly, a high-pitched roar interrupted his thoughts.

"Roar!!!"

His attention was immediately drawn to the snow cake.

The snow cake kept wriggling, splashing up large sprays of water.

It looked like it was in a lot of pain, and there were cracking and popping sounds coming from its body, like joints popping.

It felt as if the muscle fibers throughout my body were being repeatedly torn, stretched, and crushed by an invisible, enormous force.

Then, under an even stronger force of life, it rapidly reorganized, woven, and strengthened.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Xuebing's body grew outward at a speed visible to the naked eye!

A dozen seconds later, the rice cake stopped growing.

A grayish-white crocodile lizard, about 1.3 meters long, appeared before Han Ning.

Its overall appearance is very similar to that of a wild crocodile lizard.

But the claws at the ends of the limbs are different.

On the claws covered with tough scales, a ring of light green wood grain, like the annual rings of an ancient tree, quietly appeared.

[Swamp Crocodile Lizard Growth Progress +20]

【Swamp Crocodile Lizard Lv1→ Lv2】

[Learn a new skill: Paralyzing Poison Claw]

【Paralyzing Poison Claws】: As the Druid's animal companion, the Swamp Crocodile Lizard is blessed by the Druid. When its claws tear through the flesh of an enemy, the wood poison at the tip of the claws will automatically seep into the enemy's body, causing paralysis and poisoning effects.

"Hiss..."

The now stronger Snowcake moved its body, flicked its thick, long tail, and made a crisp "snap" sound.

Then it obediently returned to Han Ning's feet and rubbed its head against its master's leg.

On the rooftop, the four survivors were stunned.

The burly man with a thick beard stared wide-eyed at the carcasses of the crocodile lizards floating on the water.

His gaze fell on Han Ning and Xue Bing again, looking like he wanted to speak but dared not.