Chapter 736: Understanding Their Patterns

To the centipede’s senses, the human wedged above was no different from a cold, dead rock.

The Layer 3 beast swept its head back and forth twice more, finding nothing above. Slowly, cautiously, it began writhing forward, its heavy tail dragged along the stone floor right beneath Sol’s position.

Sol chose that exact fraction of a second to release his grip.

FWHOOSH!

He dropped straight down.

However, this Layer 3 cave dweller was a monster born and bred in the absolute darkness of the subterranean depths. Even without a thermal signature or spiritual footprint, the subtle, microscopic displacement of air pressure caused by a two-hundred-pound human body falling thirty feet was enough to trigger its evolutionary survival instincts!

The moment Sol dropped from the ceiling, the subtle shift in air pressure triggered the centipede’s hyper-sensitive tail-bristles!

The beast didn’t try to look up. It didn’t try to verify the threat.

WHIP!

With terrifying, pre-programmed reflex, the beast’s long, sixty-pound armored tail... which was already coiled and primed along the floor... whipped upward in a terrifying, deadly counter-strike, moving like a steel flail aimed directly at space above its back.

The heavy, spiked tail cut through the air like an iron girder, its sharp chitinous ridges designed to crush anything attempting a drop-attack!

Tch! These cave dwellers really have ridiculous instincts! Sol grunted inwardly, his crimson eyes widening slightly in mild surprise.

Yet, even with his surprise, there was not a single shred of panic in Sol’s body. He remained completely relaxed, his mind as calm as a frozen lake.

Mid-fall, seeing the massive, spiked tail sweeping upward to crush his ribs, instead of trying to force a collision or dodge in vain, Sol instantly folded his legs, drawing his knees tight to his chest, presenting the thick, dense soles of his leather shoes to the incoming blow.

BOOM!

The centipede’s heavy tail smashed squarely into the soles of Sol’s boots!

The kinetic impact was massive, enough to shatter the legs of a standard Layer 2 warrior. But Sol didn’t fight the force. The moment the tail hit his feet, he stomped down against the moving tail with explosive precision, using the beast’s own violent strike as a launching pad!

PUSH!

Sol kicked off the sweeping tail with explosive power, throwing his body backward through the air in a clean, graceful reverse-flip! launching himself twenty feet away from the beast and landing lightly on his feet on the stone floor, completely unharmed.

SZZZZZT!

The moment Sol’s boots touched the slate floor, the Layer 3 centipede spun its forty-five-foot body around with terrifying agility! It opened its massive mandibles and unleashed a wide, high-pressure stream of bright green, corrosive acid straight at his chest!

"Woah, woah, slow down big guy!" Sol chuckled, his voice echoing lightly off the stone.

Sol pushed off his back foot, executing a sharp, horizontal side-flip.

The sizzling jet of acid flew past his flank, splashing against the slate wall behind him with a deafening HISSS! The corrosive liquid instantly ate through three inches of solid rock, releasing a plume of acrid, white smoke that filled the passage.

Sol landed lightly on two feet, rolling his shoulders as he straightened his posture.

"Alright," Sol drawled, his lips curling into a wicked, dangerous grin as his right hand settled firmly on the leather-bound hilt of the Dreadwing blade. "Now we’re balanced."

SKREEEEEEE!

The Layer 3 centipede let out a furious, ear-splitting shriek, its compound eyes blazing with cold, predatory rage. Seeing that its counter-strike and venom spray had failed to kill this two-legged intruder, the monster didn’t retreat into the ceiling shadows.

It dug its hundreds of yellow legs deep into the stone floor, its massive, forty-five-foot frame surging forward in a direct, head-on charge!

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!

The speed was terrifying. The beast moved like a black iron train, its heavy armor scraping against the walls, its dripping mandibles snapping open and shut as it aimed to crush, disembowel, and dissolve Sol in a single, unstoppable rush!

Sol’s crimson eyes glinted with genuine interest.

Sol didn’t use his Free Use power to lock its mind, nor did he unleash the overwhelming, explosive power of his sun core to kill the beast in a single strike.

He stood his ground, his crimson eyes half-lidded, entering a state of hyper-focused combat analysis.

This Layer 3 centipede was undeniably much stronger, faster, and far more experienced than the stragglers he had killed earlier.

It knew how to combine its mass, its agility, its venom, and its multi-segmented body into a fluid, relentless offensive.

It fought with a distinct, instinctual system designed specifically for killing mid-sized prey in narrow spaces.

Sol found himself genuinely enjoying the thrill of the clash. But more than just the fun of the fight, Sol was intentionally holding back his lethal force for a pragmatic reason: he was using this veteran monster as a living textbook.

There’s a whole colony of these bastards down in that sinkhole, Sol thought, his feet shifting smoothly as he sidestepped a crushing jaw-snap. I can’t just brute-force my way through thousands of them.

If he simply relied on brute force, swinging his greatblade with full power against every single beast, even his sun core would eventually face fatigue, and a single mistake in a crowd of a thousand would get him swarmed and drowned in acid.

If I want to slaughter the entire hive efficiently without getting swarmed or drenched in acid, I need tounderstand their movement patterns, their blind spots, their attack recovery times, and how their bodies coordinated multi-angle strikes.

SWISH! BASH! SZZZT!

For the next few minutes, the narrow tunnel became an intense sparring arena as the battle became a high-speed ballet of lethal precision and evasion.

The Layer 3 centipede drove forward, its massive head striking out like a battering ram!

Sol leaped vertically, his body spinning in mid-air as the beast’s jaw smashed into the slate beneath him. The monster immediately arched its back, its mid-body segments twisting sideways to whip its long torso across the floor like a giant scythe!