Chapter 283: Be Careful!

"Watch out!" Lin Xuan reacted instantly, dodging violently to the side while loudly warning the other two. The Long Sword in his hand had already been unsheathed, carving a cold, icy gleam into the dim space. But that light was swallowed by the surrounding darkness in an instant, as if even light were unwilling to linger here for too long.

Wang Zhenqiu had already leaped into the air upon hearing the sound, his agile body rotating to avoid the most ferocious strike. The moment he landed, scorching flames ignited on his hands, and he smashed them directly toward the octopus's eyes: "Damn thing, you still won't give up? Take this!"

However, such an attack did not seem to cause this giant monster much fear; instead, it waved its tentacles even more frantically. "Fighting like this is too passive!" Lin Xuan frowned, dodging the nearly inescapable onslaught coming from all directions while thinking of a countermeasure. "We must find this guy's fatal weakness as soon as possible."

Just then, Xiao Qing, who had been observing the entire battle, suddenly shouted: "Wait, I have an idea. Have you noticed? Every time it suffers a heavy blow, it uses one of its particularly thick, spotted tentacles to cover the wound, and it recovers quickly. That might be one of its lifelines!"

Hearing this, Lin Xuan and Wang Zhenqiu immediately turned their attention to that special tentacle. Sure enough, they discovered that its color was subtly different from other parts, looking as hidden yet distinct as camouflage. "Very good, now the target is clear—attack that spot with everything we've got!" As the command was given, the tacit understanding between the three seemed to reach a new level.

Following this, amidst round after round of closely coordinated, rapid-fire attacks, that tentacle with the mysterious power finally developed a crack. Although they had all sustained minor injuries in the process, seeing the results now boosted their morale significantly, and they had no intention of stopping. "Hold on, just a little more effort, and we can win!" Lin Xuan's voice, though trembling slightly, remained full of encouragement.

And just when everyone thought victory was within their grasp, the unexpected happened. The seemingly dying Huang Zhangyu actually let out a deafening roar, and immediately after, a powerful energy fluctuation surged within the surrounding space.

"Not good, retreat quickly!" The experienced Lin Xuan realized the danger before it arrived and shouted a warning.

A strong golden light suddenly emerged from Huang Zhangyu's body, like countless golden needles rapidly condensing in the air. This light grew increasingly intense, making it almost impossible to look at directly. Immediately following, a powerful force swept toward Lin Xuan, Xiao Qing, and Wang Zhenqiu with lightning speed.

"Are you ready, everyone!" Lin Xuan shouted, his eyes full of vigilance and determination. He had already quickly taken out a Long Sword he carried with him; although it looked unremarkable, it always proved useful at critical moments.

"Don't worry, Captain." Xiao Qing responded softly, while a small, transparent blue crystal ball appeared in her hand out of nowhere, spinning at her fingertips and releasing a faint halo, giving the impression that she possessed the ability to control Elemental Power. "I will try my best to buy us time!"

On the other side, Wang Zhenqiu, who was much sturdier than the other two, also clenched his fists, the sound of his bones cracking echoing incessantly. "Let this monster see the power of us humans!" His voice was low and powerful, his whole person like a volcano about to erupt, full of explosive force.

As soon as he finished speaking, the golden light from Huang Zhangyu had already arrived before them. Xiao Qing suddenly threw the crystal ball in her hand into the air, and a violent storm instantly blew up all around, forming a semi-circular shield that temporarily blocked part of the attack. Despite this, the remaining force still flooded their position like a tide, forcing everyone to jump backward to dodge.

Just at this moment, catching the enemy off guard, Lin Xuan seized the opportunity and charged forward. As he swung his Long Sword, it brought forth bursts of sound as it tore through the air, aiming directly at the giant creature's eye—which was clearly its weakest part. "Hiyah—" Accompanied by a shout, the sharp, peerless sword tip instantly pierced the barrier of air and stabbed into the monster's body.

This blow directly enraged the giant beast. It thrashed its tentacles wildly, trying to shake off the injury, while also counterattacking even more fiercely. However, the other two were not idle either. Wang Zhenqiu used his powerful physical strength to slam into one of the soft yet unusually thick tentacles, gripping it tightly with both hands and pulling outward with all his might; meanwhile, on the other side, following a crisp ringing sound, a new round of attacks composed of countless ice crystal fragments descended from the sky, covering the entire battlefield...

The battle continued for a while, and Huang Zhangyu gradually showed signs of fatigue, but its terrifying attack power had not weakened by even half. "We can't give it a chance to breathe!" Lin Xuan gritted his teeth and reminded his partners, "Keep intensifying the attack!"

Just at this moment, as everyone was preparing to deliver the final blow, an accident happened again...

"Watch your feet!" Suddenly, a patch of ground collapsed without warning, as if some unknown secret were hidden beneath it. "What on earth is going on? Could it be that there are traps hidden here?!" Wang Zhenqiu said, astonished.

Before anyone could react to what was happening, the octopus monster that had already been suppressed miraculously crawled out from the dirt, and its condition had actually recovered quite a bit! More importantly, at this very moment, it seemed to have become even more manic...

Before Wang Zhenqiu and Lin Xuan could react, the octopus monster had already lunged at them. The three felt a vibration under their feet almost simultaneously, followed by a "Crack!" sound all around, and countless traps and mechanisms were quietly triggered.

"How many traps are in this hellhole!" Xiao Qing exclaimed, her figure flashing to dodge a blade attack from the side.

Wang Zhenqiu watched the six directions and listened to the eight sides; for a time, various powers intertwined, colliding, rubbing, and bursting in the air. "Don't get distracted! Focus!" he said in a low voice, "We have to find a breakthrough as soon as possible, otherwise we'll only be passively beaten if this continues."

Lin Xuan gritted his teeth and swung the special Black Long Blade in his hand to meet the giant tentacle approaching again. A cold light flashed, and a roar like metal colliding echoed in the air as a thick piece of flesh was sliced clean off the tentacle. But immediately after, several new tentacles curled over, binding Lin Xuan tightly. "You two hurry and find a way out, I'll hold it off for now!" Lin Xuan shouted.

"What are you saying? We came together; we live together, and if we die, we won't leave anyone behind." Xiao Qing quickly turned back and used a short sword to cut the thin vines wrapped around Lin Xuan's arm. "Buy me a little more time, I'm going to finish this thing off completely."