Chapter 53: The Cato Monster: Misfortune and Fortune

In the center of the crossroads ahead lay a small mud pit.

It was completely different from the flat stone brick floor before.

A large creature over four meters tall crouched beside the mud pit.

It resembled a bloated water buffalo, its body covered in muddy yellow water, with short, thick, powerful legs like a hippo's.

Its neck was long and thin, barely able to support the weight of its head, so it always kept its head lowered.

Its face resembled a warthog's, but was far uglier.

It also had a powerful tail, nearly two meters long, capable of moving like lightning.

Combined with its 26 points of supernatural strength and its Tier 1 creature status.

Plus the strength bonus for being a super-large creature.

It was equivalent to a Tier 0 human with 40 points of strength.

Although the tail had little muscle and its power was limited.

It could still exert two or three tons of force, easily lifting a small car.

Not to mention the chitinous node at the tip of the tail, which was incredibly hard.

Once it struck the ground, it would create a deep pit.

That wasn't even the worst of it; its eyes could also shoot out streams of green threads with a range of up to 50 meters.

Any creature hit by the green threads had to make a DC 18 Fortitude saving throw.

Failure meant instant death.

This was the Level 6 overlord of the mud pit—the Cato Monster.

To be honest, Fang Shi wasn't particularly afraid of such large creatures.

Although these creatures had high strength, their agility was low, their weight was great, and naturally their speed wasn't very fast.

As long as one's reaction speed was sufficient and strength was adequate.

One could dodge freely when facing such large creatures.

Even the Cato Monster's lightning-fast tail attacks had a fatal flaw.

That was its own tailbone.

What did 10 points of natural armor matter?

It was far too slender and could easily be severed by a single strike.

The only thing Fang Shi feared was the Cato Monster's unreasonable death ray.

Without at least 18 points of Fortitude, one could not be immune.

Even with 17 points of Fortitude, bad luck could send one straight to heaven.

Fang Shi had only 12 points of Fortitude 【3 Constitution (16-10)/2 + 5 Class Level + 4 Toughness I】.

If hit by the death ray, whether he could survive would depend on luck.

He did not think his luck was very good.

If his luck were good, how could he have encountered powerful creatures like Rune Hounds and Cato Monsters consecutively?

"I can only dodge; the Cato Monster gives a warning before firing its death ray."

"Its eyes will become bloodshot and red; as long as I pay attention, I can predict it in advance."

"Fortunately, it's not those treacherous liches, who not only conceal the casting movements of Finger of Death but also use metamagic techniques to accelerate casting."

"Those enemies are the most terrifying."

Bang!

Hearing the sound, the Cato Monster stood up and whipped its tail like a steel lash at the charging Fang Shi.

Somewhere in the maze, Zhang Di and Jiang Xian frantically waved their legs.

Both men's faces were flushed red, panting heavily, with sweat constantly sliding down their faces and flung behind them.

Yet neither dared to stop for a single step.

Behind them now, blobs of green, viscous protoplasm were constantly writhing their bodies and advancing rapidly.

These monsters also had a common name among the people—Slimes.

In the species classification of mages, they were called Oozes.

And the group chasing Zhang Di and the other was a pack of Level 2 Garden Oozes.

They usually lived on plants and looked like a mass of diseased fibrous tissue.

People with insufficient observation skills could not detect anything different.

Therefore, when Zhang Di and the other passed the crossroads, they did not even notice their existence.

Moreover, Garden Oozes only attacked creatures that approached them.

The center of the crossroads was very wide; in theory, as long as one was careful and cautious, one could pass through smoothly without even fighting the Garden Oozes.

Unfortunately, Zhang Di's hand was itchy, and he broke a branch from a vine to play with in his hand.

The result was attracting an attack from a Garden Ooze.

The strength of a Garden Ooze was average; as long as one prevented it from pouncing on one's body and releasing its strong acid to corrode flesh and blood.

And endured the stench it released, it could be easily killed.

Jiang Xian reacted quickly and immediately shot an arrow from his crossbow through the Garden Ooze.

But it was still too late.

After being attacked, the Garden Ooze immediately released the foul stench it had stored.

The smell was worse than canned herring.

Zhang Di, unable to hold back any longer, waved his kitchen knife and hacked wildly at the courtyard slime.

As a result, he accidentally chopped the surrounding branches and leaves again.

This stirred up a hornet's nest; swarms of courtyard slimes mobilized and pursued Zhang Di and Jiang Xian relentlessly.

"It's all your fault! Before, everything was fine. We crossed ten intersections just like that, and this one could have been safe too, but you had to be so clumsy!"

Jiang Xian shouted in anger; he felt not only physically exhausted but mentally drained as well.

"I don't want this either. What good does scolding me do? If we don't think of a solution right now, both of us are doomed."

During the frantic sprint, the wound on Zhang Di's abdomen had long since burst open, with streaks of blood seeping out again.

"What solution can I have? Haven't you noticed we can't get rid of these slimes at all?"

"You're usually so smart; you must have a way. Besides, if we don't think of a plan, isn't that just waiting to die?"

In fact, Jiang Xian had long understood this principle and had been racking his brains.

But he simply couldn't break the deadlock.

Life, where is the life?

The courtyard slimes are small creatures, yet their strength is not low, a full eleven points, and they move with incredible speed.

It is only because they are limited by having no feet that they haven't caught up yet.

But as time passed, the courtyard slimes' abdomens began secreting mucus.

Their movement became smoother and smoother, and their speed faster and faster.

Following this trend, they would inevitably be caught.

Damn it, why is it all straight lines? Where are the corners? Where are the left and right turns?

Is there truly not a single place to block the line of sight?

Jiang Xian was nearly going mad; he had experienced such dangers several times before.

But most of the time, while running, there would be a corner.

Once they ran past it, the monsters would lose sight of them and leave.

But now there was only a bright, open avenue.

Not a single turn had appeared.

Do we have to keep running until the next intersection?

The next intersection has monsters too; going there isn't that just suicide?

Jiang Xian made a ruthless decision in his heart: Damn it, forget it, let's just die together.

"Fatty, listen well, save some stamina. When we reach the next intersection, I'll draw the monsters, get them to fight each other, then you sprint with all your might."

Zhang Di shook his head: "Do you think your small frame drawing aggro isn't suicide? One hit and you're GG."

Jiang Xian got angry and spoke in broken gasps: "Aren't you the same? These monsters are so perverted."

"What's the use of stacking defense so high? It's still one-hit death."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't draw aggro; I'm just afraid if you do it poorly, the monsters won't fight, and I won't be able to escape."

"Huff, okay, my lungs are about to explode; I have no strength to talk to you."

Zhang Di wanted to say more but suddenly his eyes lit up: "Jiang Xian, it seems we're almost there; the intersection is right ahead."

"There's a huge monster; we can see it clearly from so far away."

"Wait! There seems to be a person too."

Jiang Xian squinted; Fatty Zhang wasn't lying; they had really reached the intersection.

And not only were there monsters, but there were people too.

That person seemed to be fighting the monster and was not losing ground.

Jiang Xian estimated that the monster was basically about the size of an elephant.

Although big doesn't necessarily mean strong, it absolutely means power.

How formidable must a human be to fight such a monster.

Zhang Di's way of expressing emotion was very simple.

"Jiang Xian, there's a big shot over there; let's go join him quickly, so we can eat and drink well from now on."

Jiang Xian was completely speechless; if a big shot was so easy to talk to, we could eat and drink well.

Maybe he'd think you're interfering with the battle and clear the whole area.

However, Jiang Xian looked back at the approaching courtyard slimes.

Regardless, better to try a dead horse as if it were alive; having a person around is always better.

Fang Shi had somewhat underestimated the combat power of the Cato Beast.

Much of his understanding of monsters came from the Monster Compendium.

This was a monster-slaying guide written by a mage before his rebirth.

Its intent was to improve human survival rates when encountering unknown monsters.

Fang Shi's own experience wasn't that rich; he hadn't really fought every kind of monster.

Therefore, often, it was a bit like discussing strategy on paper.

This Cato Beast might have fought humanoid creatures before.

It completely avoided attack methods like charging or pouncing.

Instead, it whipped its tail so densely that nothing could penetrate, like a master of whip techniques.

It created crackling explosions in the air.

The reason was simple: the tip of the Cato Beast's tail had already surpassed the speed of sound.

What concept is this? From the moment Fang Shi saw it to the moment he reacted.

This whip has already moved eight meters.

Fang Shi can only predict and rely on high perception to warn him.

Moreover, it is not blocking, merely dodging around the Gathu monster.

As for the previously imagined plan to sever the tail from the coccyx.

In actual practice, it is very difficult to achieve.

Because Fang Shi does not have complete certainty that he will remain unharmed while severing the tail.

This is an attack exceeding the speed of sound; taking one hit, broken bones and snapped tendons would be the least of it.

The tail's joint protrusions are the size of a human head; striking the limbs directly causes disability, striking the body or brain causes immediate death.

Fang Shi, having attacked for a long time without success, gradually began to have thoughts of retreating.

This Gathu monster has not yet used its Death Ray.

Continuing the fight is far too dangerous.

Fortunately, creatures of the Gathu species are naturally timid and prefer to save the Death Ray move for self-preservation.

Otherwise, who knows what the situation would be now.

"It seems my strength ends here; dealing with such a powerful creature is truly beyond me."

"If only there were a mage; whether Slow Spell, Monster Petrification, or various attribute buffs, any of them could solve the current predicament."

"Purely physical classes just suffer; no matter what, my advanced class must have supernatural power."

"I do not want to encounter the awkward scene of today again."

Before his rebirth, Fang Shi often fought in teams.

A five-person group of Warrior, Mage, Healer, Tank, and Assassin; before battle, if they didn't stack a pile of buffs, they wouldn't even dare to advance.

A complete level-five squad, even if their attributes and specializations were inferior to Fang Shi's.

Under the stacking of various buffs, a single Warrior alone would have the strength to fight Fang Shi.

Let alone a five-person squad coordinating together.

It is just that currently, human class levels are generally still low, and the system has not yet taken shape.

Otherwise, what is a first-tier creature? With coordination, they could still cross-tier slay.

Even so, Zhao Wenjun and the others found a group of people to arrange class combinations.

Combined with tools, even without Fang Shi, the Fire-winged Bird could be slain at will.

Huh? Why are there two people over there?

In Fang Shi's peripheral vision, Zhang Di and Jiang Xian were frantically rushing over here.

According to his experience, such a posture clearly indicated they were fleeing.

Whoosh!

The sound of breaking the air came; the Gathu monster seized the instant Fang Shi was distracted.

It suddenly increased the tail's movement speed.

Bang!

Fang Shi barely blocked with his high-steel sword, but his hand trembled uncontrollably.

With just this one strike, even with force deflection, he felt his hand go numb.

"I cannot fight anymore; anyway, the score for fleeing and slaying is the same."

Thinking thus, Fang Shi turned and ran toward an empty passage.

He completely ignored Zhang Di and Jiang Xian.

In the apocalypse, it is better to be wary of some things.

Besides, who knows what monsters might be on those two's backs.

Some monsters have formidable strength, but their movement speed is not necessarily fast.

If some change occurs later, who knows what will happen.

Seeing Fang Shi flee, the Gathu monster naturally chased after him.

Even though its limbs were short and stubby and its body weight massive, it still had a movement speed of about twenty meters per second.

Fang Shi, running on flat ground now, has a speed of at most sixteen or seventeen meters per second.

If he uses Use Second Layer, it can be increased to over twenty meters.

Therefore, for Fang Shi to escape completely, some time is still needed.

Zhang Di saw Fang Shi flee; the excitement on his face instantly dimmed, and even his fleeing speed seemed to decrease slightly.

"Jiang Xian, that great god ran away; what should we do?"

Jiang Xian cried out in delight: "Running is good; if he hadn't run, I wouldn't have known what to do. Hurry up and accelerate, follow me."

Having finished speaking, he grabbed Zhang Di's arm and charged straight into the mud pit.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Di was not truly stupid; seeing this posture, he understood.

He quickly closed his eyes and mouth and jumped into the mud pit.

"Splash!"

The Courtyard Mud Monster arrived by the mud pit, swayed a bit, and did not see Zhang Di and Jiang Xian.

It slid away in clumps.

According to common sense, the Courtyard Mud Monster is not afraid of the mud pit.

But the dungeon's mechanism is just like this; losing line of sight equals losing aggro.

Zhang Di and Jiang Xian escaped the danger just like that.

"Gurgle gurgle."

After about a minute, the two of them, unable to hold their breath any longer, hurriedly floated back up.

Fortunately, the proportion of mud in this mud pit was very low.

Otherwise, if it had formed a swamp, the two of them would have been committing suicide when they jumped in.

"F*ck, finally safe."

Zhang Di gasped for air forcefully, not caring even if mud water got into his mouth.

After fleeing all the way, the oxygen in his lungs was already low, and he had to hold his breath in the mud water.

If not for his intense will to survive, he would have given in long ago.

"Fatty, stop panting, hurry up and go. If the monsters at this crossroads come back, we'll be in trouble again."

Jiang Xian urged. He was thinner, so with the same constitution, he recovered faster than Zhang Di.

Zhang Di started running again as he said angrily, "F*ck, why am I so damn unlucky!"

"How the hell should I know!"

If Fang Shi knew of the two men's ordeal, he would only cry out that fate was unfair.

How could these two be unlucky? They were practically lucky.

They got a level-6 clear rating for free.

On the contrary, Fang Shi was the truly unlucky one. It's not like the labyrinth didn't have weaker monsters.

He just had to run into a strong one, and one that was very hard for a pure physical class to kill at that.

No one knew that as Zhang Di and the other man left, a pair of deep, profound eyes surfaced from behind Jiang Xian.

Gazing silently in the direction Fang Shi had fled.

PS: Thanks to Xiyue Canyun for the monthly ticket.