Chapter Forty-Four: Slaying the Epic Creature
Page (1/3)
A creature covered in cracked, dried earth was crawling on the ground.
Li Shan tried to get a clearer look at its current condition.
However, his perspective suddenly shifted, returning to the character he controlled.
Though he felt it was a shame, it wasn’t much of a problem.
To him, this epic creature was already in the bag.
The stage summary flashed quickly before his eyes.
Li Shan glanced at it; nothing particularly noteworthy.
The reward was a talent within a building.
It granted higher creativity in that area.
After checking his gains, Li Shan addressed the audience in his livestream: “The epic creature is already trapped; let's gather our people and take it down now!”
‘We’ve waited so long, finally the main event begins.’
‘Old Devil, I’m watching you first, but still, I have to say, one shouldn’t—and can’t—but we can try.’
‘Let’s give it a shot. Charge! Charge!’
Amid the cheerful barrage of comments, Li Shan swiftly assembled a force of thirty thousand.
With the assistance of the Warrior Pyramids, he no longer worried about losing any followers.
Once the team was formed, the Pyramids, armed with homemade weapons, marched in grand formation behind Li Shan towards the swamp.
The wild beasts they encountered along the way fled at the mere sight of such an imposing force.
The group soon reached their destination.
Li Shan sent most of the Pyramids to gather dry wood.
He himself led a small elite squad, stealthily approaching the location of the pit.
Arriving at the pit, he noticed the scene had changed dramatically since his last visit.
The murky water had vanished, and tall weeds covered the muddy ground.
After scanning the surroundings, Li Shan focused his gaze on the bottom of the pit.
There, a massive mound filled the entire pit.
It resembled the shell of a turtle, but on closer inspection, it was nothing but earth.
“Could it be dead?” he frowned, seeing not a hint of movement below.
If it had perished, all his preparations would have been for nothing.
‘Should we go down and check first?’
‘Forget fire; just overwhelm it with numbers. I want to see a grand spectacle.’
‘Better send a few underlings first, don’t waste all that effort for nothing.’
‘Old Devil should go himself, no need to torture the minions.’
Seeing the comments, Li Shan shook his head:
Page (2/3)
“Let’s play it safe—use fire.”
“With no advanced weapons, our numbers aren’t enough; a few kicks from that thing would wipe us out.”
With that, Li Shan fell silent.
The comment stream in the livestream gradually dwindled, everyone quietly waiting.
After five or six minutes, the Pyramids who had gone for wood returned one after another.
Under his command, they threw all the wood into the pit.
Once the pile was high enough, the Pyramids, torches at the ready, awaited his signal.
At his command, they tossed their torches in.
The dry wood was instantly ignited, flames spreading rapidly in all directions.
Thick smoke billowed up.
The orange blaze soon engulfed the pit, growing ever more intense.
After sending the onlookers away, Li Shan fixed his gaze on the depths of the pit.
When he saw movement below, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Seems my luck isn’t too... too... Holy—!”
“Boom!”
Li Shan’s words were cut short as the fire suddenly exploded in the pit.
Burning logs were flung outwards by a tremendous force.
Had he not evacuated the crowd beforehand, he might have lost a good number of people.
But Li Shan paid no attention to the flaming debris.
His focus was entirely captured by the colossal creature rising from the earth.
A gigantic worm, its body wrapped thickly in earth.
Because it was encased, its true form was hidden, but—
Its sheer size was awe-inspiring.
It was so massive, so thick.
Bursting from underground, Li Shan felt as if it might pierce the sky.
“Too tough, retreat!”
This beast dwarfed anything he’d seen in the deep sea, not a chance of winning.
Without hesitation, Li Shan ordered a retreat.
This time, not a single viewer questioned his decision.
After all, the epic creature before them was far beyond what the tribe's current manpower could handle.
Even ten times their numbers wouldn’t suffice.
A swarm of ants can fell an elephant, but only if they can break its defenses.
Yet this thing was wrapped tightly in thick earth, not a single weakness exposed—who could argue with that?
“Crack crack crack~”
But as Li Shan turned to escape, a change occurred in the pit behind him.
Page (3/3)
The earth armor encasing the massive worm started to fracture, inch by inch.
Soon, cracks covered its entire body.
Li Shan, seeing this, didn’t stop. He ran to a safer spot before pausing to observe.
“Clatter…”
Chunks of earth and stone fell from the giant worm, turning to sand and gravel as they hit the ground.
Layer by layer, the mud armor shed.
At last, its innermost form was revealed—a milky white creature.
It resembled a gecko, but its body was covered in flower-like tendrils.
At first glance, it was stunning.
Yet at that moment, the creature seemed in poor condition.
Once its earth armor had fallen away, it collapsed heavily to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Though still huge, it was no longer as terrifying as when it first appeared.
Its size had shrunk to a tenth of its original form.
It was a mystery how it had moved while burdened with such heavy armor.
Li Shan didn’t know.
He only knew now was the time to strike.
“Charge!”
With a roar, he led the assault with a homemade stone axe.
His followers, directed by the Warrior Pyramids, followed close behind.
...
[You have slain the epic creature ‘Lei’]
[This is the first epic creature to die on the planet]
[Your race has etched a bold mark in the planet’s history]
[All intelligent races will instinctively revere you and your people]
[Every epic creature is unique]
[They possess miraculous genes]
[Upon slaying it]
[Your race has acquired from its genes...]
[Mineral Skin (Epic)]
[Your race can now absorb earth minerals, covering their skin and no longer fearing harm]
After slaying ‘Lei,’ Li Shan immediately equipped the newly acquired gene.
After a few trials, realizing the power of this gene, his lips curled into a smile.
“Brothers, once we find metal ore, we’ll step straight into the Iron Age.”