The Earth Tiger panted heavily as he stood up, glaring at the Earth Dragon beneath him.
This once-arrogant giant lizard was now battered and bruised, worse than even what Goat Brother had ever inflicted.
“You old bastard…” the Earth Tiger growled between ragged breaths. “You have *no* idea how long I’ve wanted to beat the crap out of you. I can’t stand self-righteous, power-abusing trash like you.”
The Earth Dragon was clearly dazed from the beating. Normally, even if others had grievances against him, they’d hesitate out of respect for his status as a “Dragon.”
After all, as the overseer of all “Earth-level” beings, he represented the Azure Dragon to some extent. But today, this Earth Tiger seemed to have completely disregarded the “Train’s” rules.
Seeing the Earth Dragon unresponsive, the Earth Tiger turned his gaze to the brawling “Human-level” fighters nearby.
Among them were both his students and the Earth Dragon’s—nearly twenty “Human-level” beings entangled in what might be the largest battlefield on the “Train” since the rebellion began.
Countless “Participants” boarded the train, only to witness the chaotic clash of “Zodiacs,” inadvertently strengthening their resolve to join the resistance.
Compared to the “Earth-level” fight, the “Human-level” skirmish was far simpler—just ordinary humans brawling like street thugs. The only difference was that, bound by their “Zodiac” identities, they mostly aimed to tear off each other’s masks.
But when several masks were ripped away, something unexpected happened.
No “Divine Beasts” intervened. Not even the Azure Dragon or the “Heaven-level” made an appearance.
The “Human-level” fighters who had sided with the Earth Dragon to suppress the rebellion suddenly felt isolated—perhaps the only ones on the entire “Train” still enforcing order. Despite their desperate struggle, no reinforcements came.
But thinking about it, this wasn’t surprising. If even the White Tiger hadn’t stepped in to stop the brutal fight among “Zodiacs,” why would the Vermilion Bird appear just because masks were removed?
A creeping sense of dissonance spread among all the “Zodiacs.” Though the Earth Tiger and Earth Dragon’s battle hadn’t yet concluded, the news that *”removing the mask doesn’t kill you”* spread like wildfire, igniting a growing sentiment of *dissolution* in their hearts.
If taking off the mask *now* didn’t mean death… did that mean they could shed their “Zodiac” identities and return to being “Participants”?
After all, everyone had their own reasons for becoming a “Zodiac”—some sought power, others survival, and some had no choice but to wear the mask in self-defense.
The Earth Tiger and Earth Dragon’s public battle at the heart of the “Train” had, intentionally or not, shown every “Human-level Zodiac” that they now had a chance to *regret.*
“Damn it…” The Earth Tiger watched his students overwhelmingly beating the Earth Dragon’s followers, irritation flaring. “You little shits act all respectful to me, but in a fight, you go harder than I do?!”
Seizing the moment while the Earth Dragon was still down, the Earth Tiger stormed over, effortlessly hurling the Earth Dragon’s students aside and ending the fight in seconds.
Realizing their defeat, the Earth Dragon’s students scrambled to help their fallen teacher.
The Earth Tiger checked on his own students, relieved to see none were seriously hurt—until he suddenly noticed one was missing.
“*What the hell—*” His fur bristled, heart lurching. “Where’s Human Monkey?! How did all of you fail to protect *one* teammate?!”
He frantically scanned the area, but none of the nearby fighters wore a “Monkey” mask.
Just then, a fair-skinned young woman cleared her throat awkwardly. “Uh… Teacher, I’m right here.”
“…Huh?”
Hearing her familiar voice, the Earth Tiger froze. He turned to the girl, her delicate face a stark contrast to the grotesque monkey mask. There was *no way* anyone would’ve recognized her like this.
Under her gaze, the Earth Tiger silently thanked his white fur for hiding the heat in his face.
“Why didn’t you *say something* after taking off the mask?” he snapped. “You scared the hell out of me!”
“Um…” Human Monkey sighed. “Teacher, I *did* speak up immediately.”
“I don’t care,” the Earth Tiger huffed. “As long as everyone’s fine. The only thing I really learned from Goat Brother is: *‘My people are mine to deal with—no one else touches them.’*”
Watching from the crowd, a portly Earth Monkey couldn’t help but take interest in the Earth Tiger.
If he remembered right, the Earth Tiger had only recently ascended to “Earth-level”—just a few cycles ago. Yet in such a short time, he’d earned such loyalty that his students would fight *and rebel* for him without hesitation. They’d known each other barely a month. There *had* to be something special about him.
“Old bastard.”
The Earth Tiger glared at the Earth Dragon, now barely standing with his students’ support, still disoriented from the beating.
“Still wanna fight?”
“You—” The Earth Dragon spat a mouthful of blood mid-sentence. Even without further fighting, he likely wouldn’t last long.
“Let me repeat myself,” the Earth Tiger roared to the surrounding crowd. “This rebellion targets *all* ‘Heaven-level’ Zodiacs! You ‘Earth-level’ lot—stay the hell out of it! If we fail, it’s *our* problem, not yours!”
His booming voice silenced the crowd. Some “Earth-level” Zodiacs even retreated to their rooms, shutting their doors as if nothing had happened.
“Ha…” The Earth Dragon clutched his chest, forcing a grim smile. “No matter what you say… I *have* to die here.”
“Why’s that?”
“The other ‘Earth-level’ can wait for the ‘Heaven-level’ to fall…” The Earth Dragon coughed blood again. “But I’m the *Dragon.* You expect me to stand by while the *Celestial Dragon* dies?”
“Yeah?” The Earth Tiger shot back. “What about the Celestial Dragon? Isn’t he ‘Heaven-level’ too?”
“You—”
“I *just* made it clear,” the Earth Tiger stepped closer. “Our goal is *all* ‘Heaven-level’—Celestial Dragon *included.*”
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