Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The white claw marks on the crab’s shell began to fade away. A few seconds later, it was back to normal.
Desolion frowned. There was no way it could penetrate the crab’s defenses at its current power level. Even back in its prime, the crab would probably still give it a hard time. Though it had reached King-tier, it was still a long way from Emperor tier.
Despite being equipped with years of experience on the battlefield, there was only so much Desolion could do to it, especially against an opponent which was just as experienced as itself in the art of combat.
The Inferno King Crab was now swathed in flames. The inferno raging around it had scorched the desert red.
Gao Peng finally understood how this desert had come to be. The earth had probably been desiccated by this ill-tempered Inferno King Crab every time it threw a tantrum until the place was completely transformed into a desert, bereft of water and nutrients.
The crab angrily clacked its pincers at its opponent. Flames swirled around them in the form of a fiery cyclone that consumed everything in its path. A long tongue of fire lashed out from one of the pincers’ maw. Flames cascaded from the crab’s body on all sides.
The desert was instantly turned into a sea of fire, in the middle of which the Inferno King Crab held its pincers aloft like a pair of red-hot hammers.
Bam! The crab slammed its pincers against each other. Both of them seemed to be throbbing with heat.
Then it swung its red-hot pincers towards Desolion. The latter could feel an oppressive pressure weighing down on it as the crab’s pincers drew closer. Desolion roared as it conjured multiple ice walls before itself in an attempt to block the crab’s pincers.
However, the pincers managed to break through the ice walls with ease. Upon impact, they cleaved through the ice walls that the lion had put up before itself as if they were mere sheets of paper.
A sudden gust of wind blew around the Desolate Frost Lion, threatening to pull it towards the oncoming pincers.
Seeing that Desolion was in danger, Flowing Light launched itself across the desert to come to the lion’s aid. It could see countless crimson lines bisecting the Inferno King Crab’s body, one of which was positioned near the joint connecting one of its legs to its torso.
It lunged at the crab, blade flashing out. The tip of its blade broke through the crab’s shell like a hot knife through butter.
There was a flash of red light. An unseen force seeped into the crab’s wound. The Inferno King Crab, which was standing solidly on the ground like a mountain, suddenly tipped to the left.
This slight slant in the crab’s posture was enough to deviate its pincers’ trajectory by a few degrees. The pincers grazed past the Desolate Frost Lion as they fell to the ground.
Boom! A nearby dune was leveled by the impact.
The Inferno King Crab’s pincers were wedged deep in the sand, which threatened to pull the crab’s entire body underground.
It managed to pull its pincers out of the sand, but not before struggling for a bit. Thick streams of sand flowed down from them as they hung above its head once more.
Flowing Light immediately ran off as soon as its blade found its mark, then hid in the sand, safely away from the Inferno King Crab, where it continued watching the ongoing battle.
The Desolate Frost Lion had pulled itself away from the Inferno King Crab. Even though the crab’s pincer attack had missed it by mere inches, the heat it gave off was enough to burn the fur on the lion’s forehead and chest to a scorched black.
Before it could tend to its fur, the enraged Inferno King Crab was already charging towards it, holding its pincers up in the air menacingly like a pair of shields. They were, after all, its sturdiest weapons.
There was a sudden rush of air. Goldie, whose body had expanded considerably thanks to Flamy’s repeated attacks, rushed forward to intercept the Inferno King Crab’s advances.
Goldie now towered over the Inferno King Crab, which barely even had time to contemplate the appearance of its new opponent. The massive duck was able to catch the crab’s pincers with its bare hands.
The Inferno King Crab’s pupils shrank. It felt as if its pincers had suddenly hit something hard.
Goldie was now holding the crab’s pincers in its hands. The tiny barbs on the pincers’ surface managed to pierce through its skin, causing it to bleed from its palms. There was a grim smile on Goldie’s face. “I’m going to teach you how to be a proper monster,” it said through gritted teeth.
Goldie then leaped atop the Inferno King Crab’s back. A sharp pain stabbed its buttocks as soon as they hit the crab’s shell.
Tiny hook-shaped barbs covered the Inferno King Crab’s entire shell. As there was no way around it, Goldie had no choice but to endure the pain as it slammed its fists repeatedly against the crab’s head.
The Inferno King Crab’s low-level flames didn’t seem to have any effect on Goldie other than activating Goldie’s passive effect a couple more times. Goldie and the Inferno King Crab began wrestling with each other.
Soon, the Inferno King Crab was able to turn the tables against Goldie. It pinned the latter to the ground, one of its pincers piercing into the duck’s elbow.
Goldie could feel that its arm was about to be torn off. The crab’s pincer was relentlessly tearing through its muscles.
Goldie tried to pull its arm out of the crab’s pincer. However, the crab tightened its grip around the duck’s arm even more.
“Baldie!” shouted Flamy. A sharp cry escaped its beak. It seemed to resonate with the souls of every living creature in the vicinity.
Bi Fang Soul Dispersal Technique! Even though every living creature could hear it, that didn’t mean that it would bring harm to those within earshot.
To Gao Peng, Flamy’s cry came only as a minor irritant to his ears. However, to the Inferno King Crab, it was not unlike having a sharp thorn embedded deep in its soul. An excruciating pain gripped its body at that moment.
Goldie immediately seized the opportunity to break free from the crab’s grip. It was shocked and somewhat disorientated from its fight with the Inferno King Crab. This crab is strong. It completely outclassed me.
The white points of light that Xiao Cao had released into the air settled upon Goldie’s injuries, which immediately stopped bleeding and began healing.
Doesn’t matter. I might not be a match for you right now, but soon… I’ll be able to put you in your place. Goldie cricked its neck menacingly. After resting for a while, it charged back onto the battlefield, raring to resume its fight with the Inferno King Crab.
Boom, boom, boom!
With Dumby’s support, the battle finally came to a conclusion.
Goldie was now standing 160 feet tall, so tall that Flamy barely reached its heel. Its body was riddled with wounds that seemed to have been caused by something sharp. Scabs had formed over most of them, giving Goldie a battered look.
There were a few close calls during the fight. Dumby and the others had to intervene a couple of times in order to allow Goldie to persist in its fight with the Inferno King Crab.
The Inferno King Crab lay lifelessly on the desert surface, its eyes glazed. Its corpse was still warm. Its crimson shell had cracked, its appendages torn off. The bottom of its torso was covered with a network of spidery cracks. Yellow bodily fluids were oozing profusely from its injuries.
“Break the corpse apart and see if you can find something nice inside,” said Gao Peng hopefully. It was like opening a treasure chest in an RPG game; he had no idea what he was going to get until the crab’s corpse was properly disassembled to its barest components.
“Before I forget, I would like to ask you something.” Gao Peng turned to the altar. “Can you filter the traits of other monsters as well?”
The dwarf on the altar asked, “What do you mean by ‘traits’?”
Gao Peng raised an eyebrow. It would seem that the word “trait” didn’t exist in the local vernacular.
“I meant the unique characters a monster has awakened in itself,” explained Gao Peng.
The dwarf hesitated for a moment. “I’m not sure. It depends on one’s luck. A monster’s innate abilities are harder to process compared to its flesh and soul. The element of chance plays a huge role in the process. I’ve only ever done this twice.”
