A streak of cyan lightning, carrying searing heat, shot toward the Melon-pult in the blink of an eye.
The Melon-pult jolted in fright and immediately bolted. The four leaves underneath it twisted frantically, carving a fresh groove through the dirt as it fled.
Buzzshock flickered forward and caught up in just a couple of breaths.
Trembling with rage, the Melon-pult widened its pitch-black eyes and hastily gathered energy, launching several huge watermelons from behind that came crashing down at Buzzshock.
Buzzshock slapped the Omnitrix on his chest and switched to Blitzwolfer.
After firing off electricity again and again, the power inside that body was nearly drained. In this forest, there was no way to recharge.
Blitzwolfer threw back his head and let out a high, piercing howl. His muscular frame was covered in gray-blue fur that gleamed under the moonlight.
He spread his stark-white claws—sharp as daggers—and sliced through the incoming watermelons with ease.
He caught the last one in his hand.
With a quick swipe, he split the rind open, revealing the fresh red flesh inside.
Blitzwolfer grinned and started eating, clearly enjoying himself.
Sweet watermelon flooded his senses, bursting across his tongue.
The Melon-pult froze in place, looking innocent and utterly stunned, like it was about to cry from sheer frustration.
Blitzwolfer finished it in two or three bites.
He licked his lips. "Mm. Not bad. Sweeter than a normal watermelon."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The words had barely left his mouth when the furious Melon-pult attacked again.
This time the watermelons were even more vicious, each one wrapped in green energy. The impact they carried was terrifying.
Blitzwolfer yawned.
Then he opened his mouth, splitting it into four sections like a flower blooming.
A cyan ultrasonic wave burst out in a ring and surged toward the Melon-pult.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
With a series of heavy, muffled thumps, every glowing watermelon shattered, bursting into scattered red mist that drifted through the air.
Blitzwolfer moved like a blur, using the surrounding trees as springboards. In an instant, he was right in front of the Melon-pult.
Thud!
One punch, and the Melon-pult exploded into pieces, its life force snuffed out completely.
Rustle, rustle!
The dark forest stirred—like a whole swarm of mutated plants was closing in.
"I'm not playing with you anymore."
Blitzwolfer snorted, turned, and became a gray afterimage as he raced toward the camp...
...
Camp area, outside the restaurant.
A towering Tree of Wisdom stood in front of everyone, its bark wrinkled and its body bristling with squid-like tentacles.
This mutated tree creature was terrifying in both strength and defense.
Wildmutt was fierce enough that every strike tore off chunks of wood and strips of shriveled bark, but against something over ten meters tall, that damage hardly mattered.
Gwen stood beside Wildmutt, fighting shoulder to shoulder against the monstrous Tree of Wisdom.
The Fume-shrooms and Scaredy-shrooms had already been dealt with by the Water Dragon Soul.
"I'll help you!"
Gilbert steadied his bow with one hand while gripping a sharpened branch in the other, repeatedly aiming for the Tree of Wisdom's head and striking whenever he could.
Andy and Mandy were shaking with fear, but they joined the fight too.
They clutched a pile of bowling balls and hurled them at any monster they saw.
Surprisingly, it worked. The bowling balls didn't hit that hard, but they sent plenty of creatures slipping and tumbling, buying the others precious time.
Chomper, Peashooter... Wall-nuts—more and more mutated plants surged in their direction.
The Wall-nuts were the worst. Round, hard, and rolling nonstop like living cannonballs, they were far more dangerous than they looked.
Everyone was close to being overwhelmed.
"Roar!"
The Tree of Wisdom let out a savage bellow, like some ancient beast awakening. It stretched out a massive hand that blotted out the sky and slammed it down.
As the shadow closed in, Wildmutt's heart sank.
Was this really how it ended...?
Gwen's face went pale. She hadn't even gotten into an Ivy League school yet. She didn't want to die!
Gilbert clung to the twins as they screamed and cried.
Wildmutt roared and raised both arms, bracing to take the blow.
Even if it couldn't stop it, it wasn't going to just lie down and die!
In the next instant, a gray afterimage shot in and planted itself in front of everyone...