New Novel
Chapter 11: Defense Maxed Out

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Defense Maxed Out

The situation was unclear, but the team members didn’t doubt Lu Jingyu’s decision and sped up their retreat.

The column didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking them.

Everyone decided to focus their efforts on escaping first; they could worry about clearing the level later.

As the group continued to retreat, the column grew smaller and smaller in their vision.

Just as it was about to shrink into a thin line, they began to slow their pace.

"I think we’re clear, everyone..."

Lu Jingyu hadn’t even finished speaking when the ground beneath them began to shake violently again.

In their shock, a massive column flashed through the water above them.

The ground beneath them lurched. Thrown off balance, they saw the entire seabed begin to tilt and rise.

In a flash, they found themselves suspended in the water.

They barely managed to steady themselves by grabbing onto the surrounding broken coral pillars.

Xu Qingsui looked down, her eyes widening in sudden shock.

"We were wrong! We’ve been standing on the Mutant this whole time!"

Seeing another seabed far below and taking in their current predicament, Xu Qingsui finally understood.

Her words made the others realize it too.

Lu Jingyu’s expression darkened. ’So this is an SS level Mutant... We were on it for so long without even realizing.’

While they were still reeling from the shock, the massive column appeared again, coming to a stop right in front of them.

Only then did they realize that the column was actually a neck, as thick as a large water tank.

Dark green veins bulged from the neck. A single one was as thick as a grown man’s arm.

Atop the neck was a triangular head with rounded edges, the size of a small car.

On either side of its head, two scarlet eyes like great red lanterns were fixed upon their group.

"ROAR..."

The head opened its cavernous maw and let out a deafening roar. The blast of air carried a heavy, foul stench that nearly made them pass out.

"It’s a Mutant turtle! It must have lived for thousands of years even before it mutated."

Lu Jingyu finally recognized the Mutant before them and couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.

’Turtles live for thousands of years, tortoises for ten thousand.’

A creature that has lived for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, might naturally develop all sorts of mutations over its long lifespan.

Get infected on top of that, and all sorts of unpredictable factors come into play, making the Mutant even more difficult to handle.

When they heard Lu Jingyu identify the Mutant, a cold sweat soaked through their clothes.

They instinctively huddled together, back to back, warily watching the enormous turtle head.

As they were locked in a standoff with the creature, a strange sensation came from beneath their feet.

Then, from other directions, several more necks of the same thickness shot out.

Several more enormous turtle heads stretched toward them, their eyes locking onto the team members.

There was one for each of them, a perfect one-to-one matchup.

’This Mutant... it actually split off a whole bunch of heads.’

And based on the situation, they suspected the Mutant had even more heads in reserve.

It had probably only extended six heads because there were only six of them.

Now, standing on the giant Mutant turtle’s shell, they were surrounded by its massive heads. It was as if they were trapped in a cage of its own making, completely encircled.

In this situation, escape was clearly impossible.

With a flick of his wrists, two short swords appeared in Lu Jingyu’s hands. Seeing this, the other team members drew their own weapons and took up defensive stances.

’It’s do or die now. Our only choice is to fight.’

Worried he wouldn’t be able to protect Xu Qingsui once the fighting began, Lu Jingyu pushed her into the center of the team’s defensive circle and took on two of the giant turtle heads by himself.

Seeing this, Xu Qingsui knew she wouldn’t be much help in a physical fight against the turtle heads.

Remembering her own ability, she slowly crouched down and reached out to touch the turtle’s shell.

’My ability is to devour spirit bodies. If I can just devour the Mutant’s spirit body, wouldn’t that solve the problem?’

’Besides, this is an SS level Mutant. Its spirit body would be a huge boost to my spiritual power.’

Eager to try, Xu Qingsui immediately attempted to enter the Mutant turtle’s Sea of Consciousness.

But when she sent out her spiritual power, it was like she’d hit a solid wall. The force slammed right back into her, repelling her spiritual power.

The backlash of spiritual power sent her reeling, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

It took a long moment for the feeling to subside.

She looked at the turtle shell with a puzzled expression. ’So this is its natural defense? It can even block spiritual power!’

Seeing that going through the shell was a dead end, Xu Qingsui turned her attention to the necks and heads.

’It looks like if I want to enter its Sea of Consciousness, I’ll have to go through a neck or a head.’

But seeing how seriously Lu Jingyu was taking his fight with the turtle head, Xu Qingsui’s confidence wavered.

’My physical abilities are nowhere near Lu Jingyu’s. If even he doesn’t dare to be careless, it’ll be even tougher for me.’

Xu Qingsui studied the turtle heads, a shrewd glint in her eyes. ’Looks like I’ll have to use my wits.’

Just as she was planning to wait for the others to engage before making her move, the Golden Octopus appeared again.

[Host, I must warn you. If you try to devour a spirit body that is stronger than your own Spiritual Power, you will suffer a backlash. At best, you’ll become an imbecile. At worst, your spiritual power will be completely obliterated, and your body will die along with it.]

Xu Qingsui frowned. "Are you saying this turtle’s spirit body is too strong for me to devour?"

[Your ability is to devour spirit bodies to enhance your own Spiritual Power, Host. Of course you can devour this turtle’s spirit body.]

[However, because your current Spiritual Power is weaker than the turtle’s spirit body, you cannot devour it by force. Otherwise, you will suffer a backlash.]

"Then how can I devour its spirit body?"

’Such a delicious meal is right in front of me. There’s no way I’m giving up.’

[In a situation like this, you must choose the right moment to strike. For example, when the Mutant is heavily wounded and its spirit body is weakened—like with the Orca Whale before—or when the Mutant is too preoccupied to defend itself, you can exploit the opening.]

Xu Qingsui nodded thoughtfully.

"I was able to devour the spirit body of that S Level Mutant directly. How strong do I have to be to directly devour the spirit body of an SS level Mutant?"

[Allow me to correct a point, Host. The strength of a Mutant’s spirit body doesn’t always correspond directly to its level. While the spirit body of a higher-level Mutant is certainly stronger than that of a lower-level one, Mutants also specialize. Much like the distinction between Sentinels and guides, Mutants can be categorized as either spirit-focused or power-focused.]

[The S Level blue-ringed octopus you encountered before was more focused on physical power, so its spirit body was relatively weak.]

[As for how you can devour them directly, it’s possible as long as your Spiritual Power is strong enough to overwhelm the Mutant’s. So please, Host, work hard to improve yourself. You can do it! I believe in you!]

’This damn seafood knows how to act cute!’