Chapter 1229: Stable Twins

The Earth Dog froze on the spot, and the many “Earth-level” figures around him quickly took a few steps back, maintaining a safe distance from him.

“I’m really laughing…” Earth Dog sneered angrily. “Am I the only one who thinks this tactic is downright pathetic?”

Earth Rat glanced at the other Zodiacs with a smirk. Of course, the tactic was low-level—but in war, deception was fair game.

Just moments ago, the Zodiacs had seemed to gather at the door, surrounding those inside the room. But now, they suspected Earth Dog of being a traitor, leaving them vulnerable to a potential pincer attack.

From here on out, they’d have to fight while constantly looking over their shoulders, unable to fully commit.

With just a single sentence, Earth Rat had torn a hole in their encirclement.

But he clearly wasn’t satisfied—after all, Earth Dog was leaving far too many openings.

“Boss… now you’re calling it a ‘low-level tactic’…” Earth Rat feigned hesitation before speaking. “That’s not what you said when you led us into your room earlier…”

“What do you mean *my* room—” Earth Dog reflexively started to argue, then suddenly remembered that it *was* his room. “Even if it is my room, so what?”

“Forget it…” Earth Rat sighed. “Strike when you think it’s best. I’ll pave the way for you first.”

With that, he leaped up and kicked at a towering Earth Boar, who effortlessly blocked the attack.

Before Earth Dog could react, the Zodiacs in front of him erupted into chaotic combat—though “chaotic” wasn’t quite accurate. It looked more like four Earth-level figures ganging up on Earth Rat.

Under such pressure, Earth Rat could only frantically block attacks, barely managing a few weak counterstrikes. Soon, his face was covered in bruises.

Just as Chu Tianqiu had predicted, Earth Rat wasn’t skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Even with enhanced physical abilities, his fighting prowess was below average among the Earth-level Zodiacs.

Fortunately, none of the Zodiacs were armed, so they could only injure Earth Rat with their fists and feet—for now, they couldn’t kill him outright.

Chu Tianqiu glanced at the Human-level Zodiacs standing behind the Earth-level fighters. Strangely, they were all keeping a wary eye on Earth Dog.

Originally, their plan must have been to wait for their “teachers” to pin down Earth Rat before rushing in to capture their targets. But now, with Earth Dog’s allegiance unclear, the Human-level fighters had no choice but to watch him, ensuring he didn’t attack their mentors.

Earth Dog grew increasingly uncomfortable under their scrutiny.

The awkward part was that he couldn’t even yell at them—doing so would only make him seem more like an enemy.

After a moment of thought, he realized his only option was to join the assault on Earth Rat. Otherwise, the label of “traitor” would be permanently stuck to him.

Chu Tianqiu narrowed his eyes, observing Earth Dog’s every move before slowly smiling.

Earth Dog took a deep breath and stepped forward, preparing to find an angle to attack that damn rat—when suddenly, Chu Tianqiu spoke up.

“Hey, Zodiacs! Over here!”

His shout made all the attacking Zodiacs pause and look his way—only to find the man standing perfectly still, doing nothing after his words.

If he wasn’t going to act, why distract them?

The sheer absurdity of it made the Zodiacs hesitate.

A few sharp-minded ones quickly realized the man must be trying to divert their attention so someone else could ambush them from behind.

They whirled around—and sure enough, Earth Dog was right behind them.

“What the hell are you doing?!” one Zodiac demanded warily.

“Huh?” Earth Dog was caught off guard, quickly forcing an awkward laugh. “No, seriously—I’m here to *help*.”

“Help?”

The Zodiacs remained suspicious. The timing of that distraction had been way too precise.

“If you wanted to help, why wait until now?” a scrawny Earth Tiger asked. “What’s your game?”

“I—I just didn’t react fast enough!” Earth Dog protested. “Forget it. If you don’t believe me, fine. My good intentions wasted. I’m not gonna argue.”

He turned to leave, but the other Zodiacs weren’t letting him off so easily. The seeds of distrust had already sprouted.

After all, Earth Dog was a stranger to them. Trusting strangers took time—but suspicion could bloom in an instant.

Earth Rat watched the scene unfold, shaking his head with a smirk before wiping blood from his lip.

He glanced back at Chu Tianqiu, a thought flashing through his mind—*How many brain cells does Earth Dog even have to try outsmarting these people?*

“Boss… thanks for the assist. If you die, I’ll burn more paper money for you than anyone else.”

Chu Tianqiu shook his head and steadied Earth Rat with a hand on his arm. “Still running your mouth? Did none of those hits land on it?”

Earth Rat shrugged. “You don’t know me. Even if I’m beaten to the ground, I’ll still compliment the other guy—‘Tiger-like ferocity!’—before I croak.”

Chu Tianqiu chuckled before turning to check on Qian Wu and the others.

Leaving aside how Qiao Jiajin and Zhang Shan were faring with the “Twin Flowers” connection, Qian Wu alone looked like he was in bad shape.

Whether it was due to excessive “Echo” backlash or the Zodiacs’ interference, his face was deathly pale, his eyes bloodshot, and his cheeks sunken. Yet he remained utterly focused, gripping the other two’s arms tightly, not even wiping the sweat from his brow.

At this point, it could only end one of two ways—either the “Twin Flowers” would succeed, or they’d fail completely.

After a long, fruitless argument with the Zodiacs at the door, Earth Dog finally convinced them to let him stand far to the side—no help, no interference. One more step forward, and they’d treat him as an enemy.

Once the Zodiacs regrouped at the entrance, Chu Tianqiu assessed Earth Rat’s condition. If he had to fight four opponents again, he’d be beaten to death. Sighing, Chu Tianqiu tightened his grip on the eyeball in his hand and motioned for Earth Rat to step back and rest.

Earth Rat reluctantly retreated, his ribs aching from the earlier barrage of attacks.

Chu Tianqiu stepped forward, facing the four Earth-level Zodiacs, and took a deep breath.

He knew he wasn’t a fighter either. All he could do now was buy time.

But just as he raised the eyeball to his lips, Qian Wu’s voice came from behind him.

“No need,” Qian Wu said weakly. “The ‘Twin’ link is stable now…”