landbeastnovel Chapter 56 The Little Devil Egg, the Golem in the Lake!
Chapter 56 The Little Devil Egg, the Golem in the Lake!
The moment Su Chen emerged from the crack, his eyes were suddenly filled with light.
The beam of the flashlight swept out, but it couldn't illuminate the opposite rock face.
He stood on the edge of a crevice in the middle of a rock wall, with a protruding rock platform beneath his feet and a vast underground space in front of him.
It resembles a karst cave hall formed by the erosion of an underground river over millions of years.
Su Chen quickly surveyed his surroundings.
The rift they were in was located in mid-air within this space.
Looking down, there is a drop of about twenty meters, and a narrow underground river flows below.
The river water was a deep green, with an eerie fluorescent glow, and it floated gently on the surface.
The river is not wide, probably only about ten meters wide.
The two banks are wide river beaches, scattered with pebbles of all sizes. In the crevices of the pebbles, some dark red crystals are glowing.
Su Chen's gaze froze.
The color of those crystals was somewhat similar to that of the Abyss Crystals, but not in the dark, dull way. Instead, they had a more translucent quality, like ruby fragments.
"Abyss Ore!" Zhou Chengjie's voice came from behind him, tinged with surprise.
He held up his flashlight and shone it on the riverbank below.
"The concentration isn't high; it's probably just loose ore on the edge of a vein, not worth mining. But if there's a large quantity, it could be valuable!"
Zhang Yan leaned closer for a look, her eyes lighting up: "Valuable? How much is it worth?"
"It's about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per ton," Zhou Chengjie said.
Zhang Yan was stunned for a moment.
"Uh...we simply can't move it!"
Zhou Chengjie didn't give her a chance to continue the conversation. He quickly stood up and glanced at the terrain of the riverbank below.
The overall height is thirty meters and the width is also thirty meters, which is much better compared to this narrow area.
"Jump!"
Zhou Chengjie made a decisive decision.
"This riverbank is wide enough to deploy our forces. Let's go down first, take up a good position, and then fight them!"
No one hesitated.
Su Chen was the first to jump.
A height of twenty meters is nothing to him now.
He tapped his toes twice on the rock face to dissipate the force of the fall, and landed steadily on the riverbank.
Zhang Yan was the last one.
She had barely landed and hadn't even had time to steady herself when a dark shadow surged out from the crack.
Abyssal Demon Worm!
They emerged densely from the crack, their six legs climbing the rock face like a black torrent cascading down.
"Disgusting guy!"
Zhang Yan cursed, pulled two super-powered grenades from her waist with her right hand, and threw them violently towards the crack.
The first one landed directly below the crack and exploded where the demonic insects were most concentrated.
"boom!"
Flames and shockwaves spread in all directions, blasting the demonic insect's body into pieces.
The second one was thrown a little deeper, landing inside the crack.
The sound of an explosion came from the crack, accompanied by a dull echo.
Zhou Chengjie had already surveyed the terrain and said, "Follow the riverbank, fighting as you retreat!"
"Only one Spirit Armor soldier is with our team. Even if we are forced to be eliminated, the team must not be separated!"
"Once you're alone, it's extremely dangerous!"
"clear!"
The crowd responded in unison.
The group moved deeper into the riverbed.
Su Chen ran in the middle of the group, slightly ahead, with Xiao Zi following at his feet.
The riverbank was easier to walk on than expected; the pebbles were small and didn't hurt your feet, and the fine sand actually provided some cushioning.
He ran while observing his surroundings.
The underground space was much larger than he had imagined.
The underground river is only 6 to 10 meters wide and doesn't look deep.
Including the riverbank, the entire underground space is 30 to 40 meters wide.
There are also cracks on both sides of the cave walls, large and small, some of which are bottomless.
But Su Chen didn't notice the crack.
It's a dark red egg!
These eggs were embedded in the crevices of the rock wall. Each one was the size of a washbasin, and its shell was covered with dark red lines, like blood vessels.
He stared at the nearest egg, and the panel appeared in his field of vision.
Little Devil - Unhatched
Remaining incubation time: approximately 15 days
"The Incubator for Little Devil!"
Zhang Yan leaned closer to take a look, her expression changing: "So many?"
She glanced at the clusters of incubators.
In the most densely packed area, at least forty or fifty eggs were crammed together, like a huge bunch of grapes hanging inside a gap in the rock wall.
Without wasting words, Su Chen strode over to the pile of incubators, raised his long knife, and stabbed it down hard.
The sound of the knife tip piercing the eggshell was muffled, a "plop" sound, as if it had pierced a thick layer of leather.
Su Chen did not stop.
One cut, two cuts, three cuts!
Zhang Yan followed, using her spear like a club. With one sweep of her spear, she smashed three or four eggs to pieces.
Zhou Chengjie, bringing up the rear of the column, saw the situation and shouted, "This is too inefficient! Don't waste time here, the pursuers are almost here!"
"The school will definitely deal with these things after this battle. We need to withstand the pressure and kill the abyss monsters to get high scores!"
Su Chen gritted his teeth.
His goals are different from others.
He's aiming for a high dungeon score!
If you can clear out a few hundred demon eggs, that would definitely be a significant achievement in your dungeon rating.
He hesitated for a moment and glanced at Xiao Zi.
"Little Purple!"
Xiao Zi, who was covering the rear, heard the sound and immediately ran over, looking up at him with questioning eyes in her light gold eyes.
"See that pile of eggs?" Su Chen pointed to the dense cluster of incubators. "Lightning Release. Destroyed them all!"
"Awoo~"
Upon receiving the order, Xiao Zi immediately took action.
Lightning Release, activate!
Xiao Zi's figure disappeared from the spot, turning into a dazzling blue lightning bolt, shuttling between the incubators in a Z-shaped trajectory.
"boom!"
The first egg was pierced by lightning, its shell shattered, and dark red liquid splattered everywhere.
The second one.
The third one.
...
The thirty-seventh.
Less than three seconds later, Xiao Zi's figure reappeared.
It landed at Su Chen's feet, catching its breath. This lightning escape had lasted a long time and had taken a toll.
Su Chen glanced at it quickly.
At least 80% of the eggs in that hatchery were destroyed.
"here you go!"
Su Chen squatted down and rubbed Xiao Zi's ears.
But this enjoyment didn't last long.
Because... a huge roar came from the direction of the crack.
The pursuing army is here!
Su Chen stood up and shone the beam of his flashlight in that direction.
Abyssal worms, little devils...
The number is at least twice as much as before.
"Too many!" Wang Yichuan's voice came from behind, tinged with urgency. "We simply can't stop them!"
He was telling the absolute truth.
With their limited strength, fighting against thousands of monsters is simply laughable.
Unless you use Hellfire!
The notification clearly states: "[If this weapon is used, any kills will not be counted towards the combat assessment score.]"
They are not currently in a desperate situation and do not want to use it.
Zhou Chengjie hesitated for a moment, then immediately said, "Su Chen, you take Xiao Zi and go scout ahead! We'll catch up quickly!"
Su Chen, who had the same idea in mind, immediately replied, "Okay!"
"Little Purple!"
Xiao Zi immediately ran over, her back slightly arched, and Su Chen flipped over and mounted her.
"Walk!"
Little Purple slammed its four paws against the ground, propelling itself forward.
Swift Step! Full Power!
At the same time, Su Chen turned around, gripping the Beast Hunter Type 1 submachine gun in one hand, aiming the muzzle at the swarm of demonic insects behind him.
The trigger is pulled.
"Da da da da da~!"
At this moment, they were completely unconcerned about ammunition consumption.
After reloading, keep the trigger locked.
A large number of demonic insects were shot down.
[Task 2: Hundred-Enemy Slayer, Progress: 88/100]
At the same time, Su Chen also commanded Xiao Zi to destroy the demon eggs along the way.
Xiao Zi is also very clever, constantly shooting out wind blades.
50...
80...100!
The creatures of the abyss seemed to be enraged by this action.
Many monsters broke through Zhou Chengjie and the others' defenses and charged towards Su Chen.
With the pressure on Zhou Chengjie greatly reduced, he immediately said upon seeing this, "Let's go! Follow Su Chen!"
.........
Underground river area.
Su Chen rode at breakneck speed.
Beside them, the dark green river water shimmered eerily under the beam of a flashlight.
The riverbank widened, from less than ten meters at the beginning to twenty meters... thirty meters.
The height of the cave ceiling is also increasing.
Su Chen looked back.
A group of little devils, having set their sights on him, led a swarm of demonic insects in a frenzied pursuit!
Fortunately, they couldn't keep up with Little Purple's speed.
"Phew~ I feel like I need to make Xiao Zi train her speed intensively when we get back this time, so she can break into the sub-three-minute mark!"
"In that case, wouldn't I be invincible riding Little Purple?"
Despite the intense battle situation, Su Chen still had the mind to think about the skill stone rewards for Mission 1 and Mission 2.
Windwing! Thunderous Body Crash!
Wow~ After learning how to fly with a wind turbine, short-duration flights will definitely make you even more awesome in action!
There's also Lightning Body Impact, which can be considered another version of Lightning Release.
The results will definitely be good!
Su Chen couldn't help but pat Xiao Zi on the shoulder and said, "I've made you practice so hard every day. When we get back, you have to practice hard too, and try to get nine or even ten skills!"
"Awoo~"
Only Xiao Zi, who indulged him, managed to reply in this situation.
Three minutes later, Su Chen glanced at the pursuers who had temporarily slipped behind him and said, "Slow down! Lest we get lost."
Little Purple's ears twitched, and it tightened its grip on its four paws, slowing down.
Su Chen then looked around and noticed that the underground river had widened here.
The water flow is also accelerating!
Su Chen could hear the sound of water coming from a distance!
Something is wrong!
He frowned, about to tell Xiao Zi to go slower.
The underground river makes a bend here.
The moment he rounded the bend, Su Chen's pupils constricted sharply.
There's no road ahead!
Do not!
It's not that there's no way!
The road is below!
The underground river cascades down from a cliff, forming a waterfall about twenty or thirty meters wide.
Below the waterfall lies a vast underground lake.
The lake surface glowed faintly in the darkness, a deep green light with a fluorescent quality.
Su Chen's flashlight beam swept across the lake, but couldn't reach the opposite shore.
He quickly made a calculation.
Judging from the curvature of the lake shore, the diameter of this lake is at least two hundred meters!
Above the lake is a huge arched dome, from which hang countless stalactites, some as long as twenty or thirty meters, hanging down like sharp cones.
The height of the dome... is at least fifty meters.
The entire space presents a huge cylindrical shape, with a base diameter of about 200 meters and a height of about 50 meters, resembling a naturally formed underground palace.
Su Chen stood on the edge of the cliff, his flashlight beam sweeping back and forth in the space.
"Holy crap..."
He muttered something to himself.
"Such a huge space? Is this some kind of miniature demon's lair?"
The information provided by the school stated that it was small-scale.
However, based on the current exploration, the size of this underground lake does not seem to be something that can be described as small!
"The information provided by the school shouldn't be used to completely ruin someone's life, right?"
Su Chen cursed inwardly, but his gaze never left the lake.
strange!
The passage they came from was filled with so many monsters, but they didn't see the Flame Demon.
"Leaving aside the Supreme Golem mentioned in the sixth level, where is the Flame Demon mentioned in the school's intelligence report hiding?"
He swept the beam of his flashlight around the lake several times, but there was nothing on the surface.
There wasn't any on the lake beach either.
There were none on the rock face either.
Those cracks...
Su Chen's gaze stopped.
Just as he was about to take a closer look, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something unusual on the lake's surface out of the corner of his eye.
The commotion was minimal.
At first, it was just a tiny ripple in the center of the lake, as if something had turned over underwater.
Then...
The ripples grew larger and denser, spreading outwards in concentric circles from the center of the lake.
Su Chen's heart tightened suddenly.
The flashlight beam shone towards the center of the lake.
The beam of light pierced the darkness, cutting a white fan-shaped area on the lake's surface.
He saw...
The water is churning!
It looked like something was rising from the bottom of the water.
Su Chen's hand involuntarily tightened its grip on the long sword.
His heart was pounding like a drum.
Leader-level?
Lord-level?
Or... King level?
Is it a super-devilish water monster?
No, wait! Six-star difficulty! There shouldn't be monsters that tough. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to come this far.
At that moment, a dark shadow emerged from the water in the center of the lake.
First, there was the top of my head, a dark red rock surface that looked like lava cooled and covered with cracks.
Then the shoulders...
Next is the torso, thick and robust, like a body pieced together from giant stones.
Lava Golem!
Seven meters tall.
Su Chen stared at the figure, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.
Then...
He let out a long breath.
"Seven meters?"
"I thought it would be much bigger!"
"Living in such a big place, you must be rich!"
Lava Golem (Anomaly: Absorbing Mythical Power)
Status: Unable to form a contract (abnormal life state)
Strength Rank: Third Realm - Peak Elite
Attributes: Stone/Abyss/Magic/Water
Growth potential: 6.8
HP: 8850
This was the creature with the highest growth potential that he had ever seen, apart from Little Purple.
Little Purple is 9.8, and this golem is 6.8.
And... nearly nine thousand health points!
Is this normal?
Xiao Zi has advanced to this stage, and it seems like there's a big difference!
However, after seeing the monster's stats, Su Chen felt relieved.
Even an elite-level being cannot break through the energy protection device.
It's nothing special!
but...
"Drawing on the power of mythology, an abnormal life state—what does that mean? Even if this guy is a lava golem, with its thick hide and tough flesh, having this much health definitely makes him abnormal!"
"Is it related to mythological power?"
Just as Su Chen was pondering, the golem raised its right arm.
The movement was minor; he simply raised his arm slightly and opened his palm toward Su Chen.
Deep within the lines of the palm, a dark red light was gathering.
Su Chen's pupils suddenly contracted...
I sensed a unique sense of crisis!
Dark red energy shot out from Qi's palms at such a speed that Su Chen's vision couldn't even keep up.
His body reacted faster than his brain.
Shadowless Step!
The spiritual energy in his legs burst forth at an unprecedented speed in an instant. He pushed off the rock wall with his toes and his body shot to the side.
The energy grazed past his toes and slammed into the rock wall behind him.
"boom!"
In an instant, the earth shook and the entire underground lake trembled.
Su Chen was shocked.
Are you an elite?
Are you pretending to be young?
"Little Purple, something's wrong!"
"Get out of here!"