Chapter 302

If this twisted monster, which looked like a lobster, were in a healthy state with an intact body and full stamina.

It would become one of the most difficult opponents Xia Nan had encountered since he transmigrated.

Regarding this point, he had already been able to confirm it from just the brief close-quarters contact moments ago.

The instantaneous explosive power when waving its appendages, the exaggerated force when its pincers clamped shut, the sturdy defensive capability of its chitinous shell...

If the current Xia Nan were to truly fight it in its prime, he might have a clear advantage in mobility thanks to 【Tooth Hunting】 and 【Gravity Control】 and could circle it for a while, but the margin for error would be relatively low, and he would need to precisely find the gaps in its shell to land a fatal blow on its vitals, which would be extremely difficult.

If there were any restrictions regarding the terrain and environment, it would be even more troublesome.

But right now... it was much easier to handle.

The severed tail and lower leg limited the "Lobster Goblin's" movement, significantly reducing its ability to maneuver, while also allowing Xia Nan's high mobility to be utilized to the maximum extent;

With only one pincer left on the left side, its actual combat capability dropped by more than half. After all, being a hard appendage wrapped in an outer shell, it could not rotate three hundred and sixty degrees; losing one meant that a large number of blind spots for attacks would appear on the right side of its body;

The shell that had been pried open from its spine to its chest further solved the problem of Xia Nan being unable to break its defense without using combat techniques. As long as he targeted its wounds to strike, it was no exaggeration to say it was twice the result with half the effort.

All things considered, the actual combat power of this heavily injured monster might not be "less than one in ten," but saying it had a third left was already an overestimation.

As such, for Xia Nan, the choice of what to do next was already very clear.

It was exactly when he was short on money that a living biological material trophy was delivered before his eyes; was there any reason for him to let it go?

Still maintaining vigilance, he adjusted his position so that his back was at an angle that allowed him to retreat through the rear entrance tunnel at any time.

Xia Nan gripped his silver-white longsword tightly with both hands, suddenly exerting force with his feet. While leaving a shallow footprint on the lair floor, a high-pitched, long wolf howl suddenly rang out in the air.

With its mane swaying, the pitch-black giant wolf twisted into shape amidst the surging energy around his body, lunging fiercely toward the enemy in front.

The Rust Monster was not low in intelligence.

Although after generations of evolution, it had long since lost the special abilities of its ancestors from the ancient empire era, and its behavioral habits had gradually tended toward those of an ignorant beast.

But the survival instinct from deep within its genes still allowed it to keenly capture the sense of danger brought by this giant wolf with pitch-black fur... or rather, this human adventurer holding a longsword.

In the past, before it had suffered such injuries, if it felt it couldn't win, the Rust Monster still had the possibility of retreating.

Its shell, harder than rock, could block the vast majority of attacks from ordinary metal weapons, and its amphibious nature allowed it to retreat into the depths of the mudflats.

If the enemy dared to pursue, those sticky muds would become a spiderweb that bound the prey, allowing the attacker and defender to swap roles and the situation to reverse.

But right now, having encountered strong enemies one after another, being heavily wounded, and even being forced out of the mudflats, it naturally no longer had that option.

With the Rust Monster's current movement speed, trying to crawl back into the narrow tunnel it came from would only expose its defenseless back to the enemy in front, which was equivalent to voluntarily giving up its last ability to resist, and was undoubtedly the most foolish choice.

Unless the adventurer in front voluntarily retreated, otherwise... only one could remain alive on the field.

It was strange to say, but the Rust Monster from the Underdark had lost its original lair not long ago due to a disturbance deep underground, and it had only managed to find a decent new place to stay in an area near the outskirts of the Underdark, which even had a mudflat leading to the surface, allowing it to have a few hearty meals thanks to creatures passing by.

But what it didn't expect was that before it could enjoy it for long, an adventurer squad with strength clearly above the average level broke its peaceful life.

Causing it to suffer some minor injuries.

Fortunately, there was no targeted preparation, so they shouldn't have been coming for it.

After a slight probe, the Rust Monster decisively retreated, intending to return to the lair to avoid the limelight first and go back to the surface after some time.

But for some reason, when it returned to the underground lair, it discovered that it had already been invaded.

And the invading enemy was a solitary, weak-aura ordinary human.

The fury of its broken leg and split tail erupted at this moment; it wanted to tear the intruder before it into pieces!

As for the result... it was naturally already clear.

That seemingly weak human adventurer suddenly erupted with a dark flame that made it feel extremely repulsed and disgusted, scorching its shell, and the bizarre physical fitness displayed thereafter easily dodged its attacks and launched a counterattack.

Extremely difficult to deal with.

Dragging it out until the end, the Rust Monster only managed to trade a pincer and the shell on its spine and chest for a chance to escape.

Just like that, it went all the way up along the winding and complex tunnels of the Underdark, finally arriving here and encountering this young adventurer with pitch-black hair.

"Hiss!"

The sharp, high-pitched insect-like screech echoed endlessly between the rock walls. The only remaining giant pincer was raised high by the Rust Monster, predicting the enemy's path of movement, and smashed down fiercely.

The powerful and majestic force almost crushed the air. Amidst the explosion-like roar and splashing gravel, there was a huge depression covered in cracks on the ground.

If one hadn't defended in time and was hit head-on by such a blow, let alone those ordinary adventurers who hadn't yet obtained a professional level, even professionals above Lv5 who had walked a considerable distance on the professional path would likely suffer greatly.

Even Xia Nan, with his extraordinary stats, was no exception.

He was well aware of this.

So, when the opponent's arm muscle fibers stretched and the pincer was raised high to accumulate power, he had already prepared to respond.

Moving at high speed, his body, wrapped in a biting gale, suddenly braked hard, and thin smoke rose from the intense friction between his leather boots and the ground.

The black wolf phantom dissipated slightly, then suddenly solidified again.

Only this time, the direction had changed slightly.

From moving straight forward to close the distance, it turned to diagonally upward.

Awoooo—

The cold and sharp black wolf with swaying mane leaped up lightly, nimbly dodging the enemy's attack while jumping onto the Rust Monster's spine.

The silver-white fangs fell suddenly, piercing straight through the enemy's soft wound that lacked shell protection.

Xia Nan only felt a intermittent, resilient, and sluggish sensation coming from the sword hilt in his hand, realizing that even without the protection of the shell, this lobster monster's physical resistance was still quite impressive, and it wasn't something where one could just find a vital point and kill it with one blow.

While his brain was thinking rapidly, his wrist turned slightly, changing from the original posture of holding the longsword with both hands to a forward grip that made it easier to pull the blade out of the monster's body.

"Squelch."

The sword tip left the body, bringing out a large string of conspicuous blood mixed with mucus.

A stinging gale came from the side of his cheek.

He made a prompt decision, stepped hard on the wound on the monster's spine, activated 【Tooth Hunting】, and leaped high into the air.

The next second, that pincer had missed once again.

The force was the same as before.

But this time, what was under the pincer was not the cold ground, but the Rust Monster's own body.

Bang—

Accompanied by a crisp sound like an egg breaking, the screech echoing in the lair carried a touch of pain.