Chapter 157: 40.5
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The earthworms filling the basin flipped around every so often, bringing up patches of soil. The earth in this basin had all been dug up, and the air was thick with a foul stench and the earthy smell of the soil.
“These earthworms enjoy loosening the soil.” It might be his occupational hazard, but Director Chen was still fond of reciting scientific facts. “Usually, when there’s nothing to do, these earthworms will dig up the earth beneath them and then keep tossing the earth back upward as they work their way down, repeating the action again and again.”
“Don’t they get tired?”
“I don’t know. But from the looks of it, they seem to be having fun.” Director Chen pointed toward an earthworm that had twisted itself into a convoluted pattern. That earthworm’s unique manner had attracted the attention of its surrounding comrades. A group of them huddled over and surrounded each other, forming a giant ball. They indeed seemed to be having a great time.
The sight of it hurt Gao Peng’s eyes, and he quietly turned away.
“So these earthworms aren’t beneficial to crops anymore, are they?” Gao Peng asked, looking at the earth that had been “loosened” beyond recognition. If these earthworms were sent to loosen the soil in a field, they would bring all the seedlings back up to the surface.
“Theoretically speaking, if we could find a large enough and hardy enough vegetable, these earthworms could still be beneficial.”
As they were chatting, a monster rushed out of the woods beside them.
They didn’t know where the monster had come from, but its giant black bat wings became two black tornadoes as the monster dove down from the sky in a flash. Its claws grabbed a particularly fat Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworm, and it flew away.
The earthworms in the basin seemed to panic a bit, but they didn’t scatter and flee in all directions. Instead, they gathered together, opening their mouths menacingly at the monsters hiding in the woods.
After a while, the giant black bat came back. Once again, it managed to grab an earthworm from the basin. It looked like it was treating this place as a giant buffet table.
Slowly, as time pa.s.sed, a strange aura began to dissipate from deep within the basin. This aura grew in strength until it stirred the depths of their souls.
A Commander tier monster hiding in the woods could no longer hold back its impulses.
Cuckookoo!
As it emerged from the forest, they saw that it was a Commander tier Five-Colored Golden Rooster with a colorful plumage. It began to beat its wings, kicking up a large gust of wind.
Chickens eat earthworms, and it was greatly drawn to this soon-to-be Lord tier Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworm.
Because it was so agitated, its crest was filled with blood, turning it bright red like a ball of flame. Slender chicken claws flew across the ground like sand in the wind.
Cuckookoo!
A Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworm raised its body upright to take a bite at the Five-Colored Golden Rooster, but in mid-air, the rooster dodged the bite with a beat of its wings. Quick as lightning, its sharp chicken claws scratched downward, tearing into the head of the Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworm under its feet.
The rooster’s claws trampled on many earthworm heads, showing a great display of agility. It was almost as impressive as Dharma’s crossing of the river on a reed.
With a flap of its wings and a graceful landing, it landed right in the middle of the basin. But suddenly, the Five-Colored Golden Rooster looked stunned. Where were the fat, juicy earthworms it was expecting?
Where did they go?!!
“Earthworms can dig underground. This Commander tier Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworm should be hiding underground while it is promoting, so, unless there is an absolute need to, we should not make a move,” said Director Chen.
The Five-Colored Golden Rooster pecked the middle of the ground in disappointment. Just as it was preparing to leave, the ground beneath it suddenly split open. A Commander tier Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworm broke through the earth and coiled around the rooster’s legs like a giant snake.
The Five-Colored Golden Rooster forcefully dragged the earthworm upward as it attempted to fly away, but the earthworm’s tail coiled into a hook, and, like a string, hooked onto another earthworm. One by one the chain of earthworms grew longer and longer, until they forcefully dragged the Five-Colored Golden Rooster back to the ground again.
Finding itself surrounded by Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworms, it unleashed a wail of despair that pierced the air.
The demise of the Five-Colored Golden Rooster seemed to have shocked the hidden onlookers in the surrounding woods.
Suddenly, from far away, there came a loud and violent rustling of leaves. The canopies of the trees shook, and they could vaguely make out a giant creature approaching at a very fast speed.
The Shadow j.a.palura next to Uncle Liu opened its eyes wide and slowly sunk its claws into the earth. Its constantly swaying tail stopped moving as it raised its head and looked cautiously in the direction of the approaching monster.
One by one, slender limbs that were over twenty feet long stepped out of the woods, revealing the true ident.i.ty of the behemoth.
[Monster Name]: Horrifying Violent Female Spider
[Monster Level]: 40.5
[Monster Attribute]: Rock
[Monster Weakness]: 1. Wood-type 2. Septic Blood Berry 3. Platinum Radish Tendril
[Monster Ability]: Spider Silk Strengthening Lv2; Toughened Skin Lv1
This was a colossal monster over fifty feet long. Its gigantic spider limbs, covered in sharp hooks, were ferocious and terrifying, and they shook the trees violently as it walked over. A deformed, partially incomplete grey halo was slowly rotating above the head of the giant female spider, its edges rough like a sharp, jagged rock.
The Horrifying Violent Female Spider’s eyes glared fixatedly at the middle of the basin. It could feel it. Right under the ground was the thing that it wanted.
Ssssss!!!
It charged toward the center of the basin, cras.h.i.+ng and breaking through everything in its way.
The group of Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworms could feel the powerful aura of a Lord tier monster coming from the female spider, even though its transformation was incomplete. The earthworms formed a temporary blockade by gathering together, but the spider continued advancing into the basin, its limbs like chopsticks stirring up a bowl of noodles.
The Commander tier Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworms leapt ahead one after another, trying to buy time for their leader. But their efforts were futile. The spider easily cut through the earthworms each time it raised its legs, and its speed never slowed.
This spider was the same one that Liu Senlin and the others had fought when they led a crusade against the nest of Brutal Grey Devil Spiders. If Gao Peng recalled correctly, that had ended in failure, and many people had died.
But halfway through the female spider’s promotion to Lord tier, it must have been interrupted. Its evolution only half-succeeded, resulting in an awkward level of 40.5.
“Let’s try our best to stall for time then…” said Director Chen Xuehe with a deep sigh.
Gao Peng stared agape at Director Chen. Are you serious? Even though it is a deformed, half-promoted Lord tier, it is still too powerful for us.
Gao Peng turned to look at the Shadow j.a.palura and Nightshadow Cat. They were the only ones with a chance to do something. The rest of them would not be much use at all. In the end, they would need to rely on Uncle Liu’s two familiars to be the main force.
Gao Peng turned to look at Uncle Liu, seeking his opinion on the matter.