Chapter 140 - 139: Pseudo-Mantis
Chapter 140: Chapter 139: Pseudo-Mantis
Marcus pushed aside the bushes and looked ahead.
In the center of the clearing, five flowers of various shapes were in full bloom. They were huge, nearly two meters tall, their lush blossoms spilling all the way to the ground.
Zelir realized something was wrong.
The area was too quiet. Not even a single insect could be heard.
"They’re Demons," Rivaya hissed, his hand already on the dagger at his waist.
The moment the words left his mouth, the flowers began to writhe grotesquely!
The pristine white petals snapped open, transforming into a pair of enormous, shimmering wing casings!
From within the alluring red pistils, two hideous heads covered in compound eyes emerged.
The stem-like torsos twisted and stretched, sprouting segmented limbs and sharp, serrated forelimbs like scythes.
In an instant, the five beautiful flowers vanished, replaced by mantis-shaped Demons.
A wave of malice washed over them.
Adventurer’s Association Universal Monster Atlas
[Tier Forty]: Pseudo-Mantis.
Individual Threat Level: [Difficulty]
Appearance:
A large, arthropod-like Demon. Its form is similar to a mantis, with its body covered in a special carapace made from a mix of plant fiber and chitin.
Behavior:
It enjoys using elaborate camouflage to lie in wait near Magic Plants, ambushing its prey.
It is also extremely patient, capable of disguising itself as a plant and remaining in the same spot for days or even weeks.
Special Abilities:
The Pseudo-Mantis is a master of camouflage. It can alter its carapace’s shape, color, and even its scent to mimic various plants in its environment.
Its forelimbs have evolved into a pair of enormous, sharp scythes with finely serrated edges, capable of easily slicing through leather and even thin iron armor.
Core Weakness:
Although its carapace is tough, the joints connecting its limbs are relatively fragile and are the best targets for physical attacks.
Association Notes:
Never let yourself be dazzled by the rare Magic Plants in certain areas. These cunning hunters love to wait by treasures for Adventurers to arrive.
Don’t let greed cost you your life.
"Interesting." Lena raised an eyebrow slightly, a smile on her face as if she were watching a good show.
"Engage!" Marcus roared.
No more words were needed. After countless missions together, the team had developed a synergy that was pure muscle memory.
The instant Marcus’s roar sounded, the entire squad snapped into a combat stance.
The atmosphere instantly grew taut.
Bev, Yanni, and Lante, knowing their own limits, retreated to a safe distance to avoid dragging the team down.
Marcus let out a furious roar, taunting the Pseudo-Mantises to draw their attention and prevent them from scattering to attack and break the team’s formation.
Gray drew his sword.
He didn’t charge in recklessly. Instead, he guarded Zelir’s side, wary of any potential surprise attacks.
Rivaya’s figure had already vanished. He prowled the edges of the battlefield, searching for an opening to launch a surprise attack.
Behind them, Valles and Zelir raised their weapons almost simultaneously and began to channel their attacks.
The squad’s reaction time was incredibly fast. From spotting the enemy to entering combat formation, the entire process was seamless.
The Pseudo-Mantises, held by the taunting Battle Cry, were the first to attack Marcus.
Two of them charged from the front, their shimmering scythe-blades slashing down in a cross pattern, letting out a sharp whistle as they tore through the air!
"CLANG! CLANG!"
With two ear-piercing clashes of metal on metal, Marcus firmly blocked the attack with his Shield.
He stood his ground firmly. He even seized a gap in the Pseudo-Mantis’s attack, slamming the edge of his Shield into one of them and sending it stumbling back.
Then, following up, he slashed his Battle Saber into its leg joint, sending a shower of sparks flying as he completed his counterattack!
However, the other three Demons flanked him.
Using their incredible speed, they tried to bypass Marcus’s frontal defense and strike at his vulnerable flanks and back.
All five Pseudo-Mantises were [Difficulty]-rated Demons. Although Marcus was a Middle Level Warrior, facing them alone left him looking quite battered.
He could only continuously adjust the angle of his Shield, barely managing to block the attacks coming from all sides.
However, this trouble of being outnumbered lasted for only a single round of attacks before it was over.
Valles’s first Thunder Arrow perfectly seized the moment, flying through the gap between two of the Demons’ crossing attacks.
"WHOOSH!"
It pierced through the relatively soft abdomen of one of the Pseudo-Mantises!
With a dull explosion, a large amount of green fluid mixed with shattered organs burst out. The Pseudo-Mantis died on the spot!
Zelir’s Arcane Missiles swept out, locking directly onto the Pseudo-Mantis that was screeching the loudest.
Without any flashy attempts to find a weak point, the Arcane Missiles struck its head with unerring accuracy.
"BANG!"
The hideous, compound-eye-covered head exploded on the spot.
With all the Pseudo-Mantises frantically attacking Marcus, it created the perfect assassination opportunity for Rivaya.
The Demons were completely unguarded against a threat from the shadows.
His figure shot out from beneath an ancient tree, his dagger wreathed in the power of a Fighting Spirit Vortex Slash.
"SQUELCH!"
The fragile connection between one Pseudo-Mantis’s head and its torso was shredded.
Its massive head rolled to the ground, while its headless body continued to wave its scythes in vain.
In the blink of an eye, three of the five were gone!
"Come on!"
Marcus slammed his Battle Saber against his Shield, letting out a Battle Cry to intimidate the Demons.
The movements of the two remaining Pseudo-Mantises froze for an instant.
Marcus swung his Shield with his left hand, the fierce Shield Strike leaving the Pseudo-Mantis disoriented.
Then, his right hand swung his Battle Saber in a horizontal slash, shearing off the wing casings the Pseudo-Mantis used for gliding.
Having lost its balance and ability to fly, the Demon became a complete sitting duck.
Zelir followed up with a final Arcane Missile, blowing its head to pieces.
And so, four of the five [Difficulty]-rated Pseudo-Mantises were killed in a single counterattack.
The fluid and seamless slaughter left the spectating Third Squad completely stunned.
The last Pseudo-Mantis, jolted from its bloodlust, realized something was wrong and turned to flee.
Bev and Lante hadn’t just been watching from the sidelines either. Their Wind Blade and Ice Cone shot out one after another, striking squarely on the thin wings unfurling from the Pseudo-Mantis’s back and hindering its movement.
Yanni’s Thorn Technique also erupted from the ground, piercing the Pseudo-Mantis’s abdomen and dealing considerable damage.
The final blow was still delivered by Zelir’s Arcane Missile.
After a violent explosion, all five Pseudo-Mantises were annihilated.
"Zelir, you’re too fast! Let us get some practice in, too," Bev pouted.
She had already seen the perfect opportunity and was about to use a Wind Blade to take off the Pseudo-Mantis’s head.
Tempered by their previous battles and guided by Zelir’s words and example, the Bev of today was gradually getting the hang of it.
She was no longer the little girl who would just panic in the back.
"Sorry, sorry. Next time for sure."
Zelir looked back at her and smiled. "I’ll let you guys get plenty of practice on the next Demons."
After all, this was experience from [Difficulty]-rated Demons; Zelir really didn’t want to pass it up.
Sure enough, the Experience Points on his data panel shot up by a large amount.
Level 12 (113/375) -> Level 13 (8/400). Level up!
A warm current from the level-up spread through his entire body once again.
Without hesitation, Zelir continued to invest his attribute points into Spirit.
At the same time, he added the extra points granted by his Magic Contract to Agility.
Power: 91 -> 92
Agility: 93 -> 94 -> 96
Constitution: 94 -> 95
Spirit: 103 -> 107
Intelligence: 114
Perception: 32
Charm: 54
Lucky: 51
Talent Skills:
Technique Celestial Calculation
Magic Contract
’This feels so good...’ Zelir sighed inwardly.
’This method of following a map and killing my way through the Demon Race Tree is just too satisfying.’
As he felt the Magic Power in his sea of consciousness strengthen yet again, Zelir couldn’t help but wonder.
’If I went to the Room of Serenity to test my Magic Power Strength now, I wonder what level it would reach.’
’But the Experience Points required to level up are also slowly increasing...’
’If the experience cap increases by twenty-five points with each level, then after another dozen or so levels, killing [Difficulty]-rated Demons probably won’t be enough to meet my needs.’
’At that point, I’ll have to turn my sights to the [Challenge] rating.’
"Hmm... Do you think..."
Lena frowned in thought for a moment before saying to Manlin with some uncertainty, "Zelir seems to have gotten stronger again?"
"I was just about to say that..." Manlin pondered seriously.
The power of the Arcane Missiles Zelir just cast was indeed greater than when he fought the Goblin Community on the first day.
And those were Arcane Missiles cast in the heat of battle. If he had been able to fully charge them, their power would have been even greater.
Logically, the team members’ energy should have been drained by Monster Hunting and the long trek these past two days.
Could it be that Zelir still squeezes in time for Meditation before resting at night?
He has too much energy.
"Instructor Lena!"
Zelir waved to Instructor Lena from the front of the group.
"What is it?" Lena called back.
"We ran into these Pseudo-Mantises by chance; they weren’t on the planned route. So, could you let us handle clearing out the next Demon Creature Community, too?"
Zelir’s reason sounded perfectly legitimate.
Instructor Lena gave a somewhat helpless smile.
"Alright, alright. We’ll do it your way."
’What a young man, so full of Vigorous Energy.’
The loot from the Pseudo-Mantises was very simple, consisting only of Demon Cores that looked like crystallized plant fibers.
Marcus carved them out and handed them to Instructor Lena for safekeeping.
The Medicinal Turtle, which had been hiding in its shell nearby, no longer looked so timid and fearful after seeing the Pseudo-Mantises completely wiped out.
It slowly extended its head and limbs and swaggered to the front of the party as if nothing had happened, leading them deeper into the forest.
This time, they didn’t walk for long before the guiding Medicinal Turtle stopped in front of a forest clearing surrounded by giant, glowing mushrooms.
A pure, rich, and refreshing grassy fragrance, more potent than anywhere before, wafted out from within, invigorating the senses.
Within the clearing grew many Magic Plants of various shapes and forms.
They were bathed in a soft fluorescent light, and there were at least several dozen of them!
Zelir carefully identified them.
"Calming Flower, Earth Root Grass, and Morning Dew Grass..."
’All three ingredients for refining Low Level Recovery Potions are here.’
’Not only that, there are many other valuable Magic Plants. As long as I can get the corresponding Magic Potion Recipes, I can try to extract and refine them too.’
"Zelir... How does he know so much about the different types of Magic Plants?" Lena watched the scene, somewhat puzzled.
"What do you think?" Manlin said, looking at her with a smile.
"Did he learn Magic Potion Science too? But that doesn’t seem very useful. Isn’t that something only Empowerment Mages can do...?"
As Lena spoke, she saw the expression on Manlin’s face, paused, and then her expression turned to one of surprise.
"Don’t tell me... Zelir can use Empowerment Magic too?"
"He can," Manlin replied with a light nod.
Lena was dumbfounded. After a long moment, she shook her head as if in resignation.
"Alright, alright. When it comes to his talent, I really have no complaints..."
Seeing this large patch of Magic Plants, Gray looked on with envy.
Although he didn’t understand Magic Potion Science, he could guess that this pile of stuff wasn’t cheap and would definitely sell for a good price.
But it was just a thought.
According to the employment contract signed before they set out, the members of the Escort Team were only entitled to a share of the loot obtained from Demons in battle.
Discoveries like this in the wild belonged entirely to the Mage’s Guild.