Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Some of the Inferno King Crab’s brothers and sisters were burned alive for gorging themselves on their favorite snack. This reminded Gao Peng of mankind’s own self-destructive behavior in its eternal quest for profit.
The Inferno King Crab stared at Gao Peng and company, motionless. After a while, as if its eyes had grown tired from all that staring, it turned around and gave them a sideways glance.
The Inferno King Crab had an intense look on its face, as if wondering why all these people had decided to bother it.
Bang! One of its huge pincers slammed into the desert, raising a 20-foot-tall geyser of sand. Thinking’s too hard! Time to smash!
Flames erupted from the crab’s body before converging into a massive ball of fire that hurtled through the air towards Gao Peng. The inferno screamed in the wind. Tongues of fire licked at the ground ravenously. The ground cracked in its path, every particle of water in the air being evaporated by the intense heat.
Stripey took a step forward and plunged its claws into the earth. Boom!
It took a few steps back, eyeing the Inferno King Crab in surprise. This thing’s strong. Ever since it had become an actual mountain, it had been a long time since Stripey had encountered any other creature capable of pushing it back.
“This crab is strong,” said Gao Peng in amazement.
“Yes, its strength is incredible. I probably would have to activate my passive ability at least a few hundred times just to push Stripey back like that,” said Goldie, who was impressed as well.
“I guess miracles do happen,” said Flamy pensively.
Dumby was looking at the Inferno King Crab with admiration. It certainly has the air of a tyrant. It would make a fine addition to my undead army.
“Wow, you’re so strong. Don’t be shy; show us a few more tricks. Here, have some oranges,” shouted Bei Zhi and Nan Ju as they threw a couple of oranges at the Inferno King Crab from Stripey’s head.
The oranges landed on the crab’s head. In an instant, they melted in the heat that the crab’s shell was giving off. At that moment, Gao Peng and his familiars were pointing and gawking at the crab, in awe of its awesome strength.
The Inferno King Crab was livid. What do you take me for? A circus attraction?
The crab angrily slammed its body against Stripey. Anger was coming off of it in waves.
It was like watching Gong Gong crashing into Bu Zhou mountain. Boom!
This time, Stripey was prepared. Impressive as it might have seemed on the outside, the impact barely budged Stripey. Stripey had recently reached Level 59, just a few levels away from the Emperor tier.
It might not have been as powerful as other Emperor-tier monsters in terms of elemental mastery or pure physical strength, but when it came to raw power, nothing could compare to Stripey.
The Inferno King Crab was stunned. Strange. Why can’t I push it over? This thing’s only taller than me by a few feet. When did it suddenly become so strong?
Thanks to the Guise Fruit’s size-altering effect, Stripey looked about as tall as a 30-story building.
The Inferno King Crab’s torso was at least 30 feet long. If it were to stand up on its hind legs, it could probably reach 20 feet tall. The heights of both monsters were in the double digits.
The crab might have been a dullard and a tyrant, but it certainly wasn’t a fool. It took a few steps back and held up its pincers over its eyes. It then opened one of its pincers and peered through it at Gao Peng and the others.
Something seemed off. These people should have long fled by now.
Gao Peng began weighing his options. The White Steel Bladed Beast’s monster tier was too low. It could easily hurt itself if it tried to pick a fight with the Inferno King Crab. Goldie would have to activate its passive effect a number of times before it could take on the crab. Desolion’s monster tier wasn’t high enough to challenge the crab, either…
Gao Peng didn’t think that it would be wise to let Dumby enter the battlefield just yet. None of his familiars were capable of countering the Inferno King Crab’s skillset. Most of the crab’s abilities were also a few levels higher than those of his familiars.
It seemed to rely heavily on brute strength to overwhelm its opponents. However, its movements were sluggish. It also didn’t seem to have any high-level elemental abilities.
Gao Peng figured that they should proceed with caution. In addition, this was also a good opportunity to raise his familiars’ combat power.
“Dumby and Stripey, you two stay put. The rest of you, move in on the crab together,” ordered Gao Peng.
“Goldie, hang back just a bit and let Flamy attack you. Flamy, attack Goldie so that it can build up its passive effect. Desolion, distract the Inferno King Crab by attacking it head-on. Flowing Light, back Desolion up. Focus your attacks on any redlines that appear around the crab’s appendages and joints.
“As for the Dragon Slaying Chapter… just stay there and maybe flip a few pages if you’re feeling bored. Xiao Cao, you’re on healing duty. Any time any of them gets hurt, heal them. Silly… make sure nothing drops out of your portable space.”
Gao Peng didn’t let Flamy attack the Inferno King Crab with its flames, as he knew the crab might turn them against Flamy and the others with its flame-devouring ability. Things could become a touch dicey if the crab was allowed to replicate Flamy’s flames and use them against it.
Flamy’s fire wasn’t any ordinary fire; it was able to inflict burning damage on its opponent’s soul.
Gao Peng could only give his familiars a somewhat broad plan on how to proceed with the upcoming battle. His familiars would have to figure out the specifics on their own along the way. He was like a hunter giving his hunting dog only a general idea of how best to approach its quarry and the occasional order to pull out when things seemed a little dodgy. It would be unrealistic of him to micromanage his familiars’ every moves.
If that were the case, his familiars would become so used to being told what to do by him that they wouldn’t even bat an eye if they were told to jump off a cliff.
“Chirrup?” Moneymaker was hugging Gao Peng’s pants. What about me? You didn’t give me any orders.
“You’re their cheerleader,” said Gao Peng encouragingly.
Desolion leapt forth, leaving a trail of ice and swirling mist in its wake. This immediately caught the Inferno King Crab’s attention.
Flowing Light crept around the crab and nestled in the sand, where it quietly observed the crab’s every move. It saw a faint red line floating up from the Inferno King Crab’s shell.
Flowing Light shook its head. Not this one. Master told me to strike at its joints and legs. I’ll wait for the next one.
Goldie shut its eyes and opened its arms wide, bracing itself for Flamy’s attacks, which Flamy subsequently unleashed upon it. In an instant, Goldie was engulfed in flames. Flashes of light appeared across its body as Flamy’s fire burned around it.
Is this dumb duck being roasted alive? thought Flamy. A shiver ran down its spine.
Xiao Cao had rooted itself on Stripey’s head. It was now swaying gently in the wind, letting dandelions float down from its head. Soon, points of white light filled the air over the battlefield.
Boom! Fire and ice clashed against one another. The Inferno King Crab angrily slammed its pincer into the desert, leaving a huge crater in it.
A streak of white light shot through the falling sand. Desolion instantly froze the air around it with one swing of its paw before landing heavily on the crab’s head.
Clang! Its frozen claws clanged against the crab’s shell, sending shards of ice flying into the air upon impact. The lion’s attack barely left a scratch on the latter.
That’s a really hard shell.
