Chapter 204: Hunting an Octopus

The number of monsters Luan had to dismantle was very high. Even after an hour of doing this, he didn't see the end of it. As for meat, he clearly had a use for it. Of course, much would be used to feed and satisfy his family and relatives. After all, animal-type monster meat was more delicious if one knew how to get the poison out since it had plenty of protein, as well as plenty of qi, thus, helping to strengthen whomever ate it.

'Maybe I should give some of the already purified meat as part of the tournament prize...' It was just an idea, but in any case, he would think about it later.

Picking up a good chunk of monster beef that was in the Second Order, Luan approached Ingrid and Maira.

"Mother, I brought a camp stove and also some utensils. As you've already learned the technique, we just need to improve it a little more. Can you help Ingrid make lunch for everyone?" Luan asked.

"Of course, son," Maira nodded with a smile, taking the piece of meat from his hand.

"Mother-in-law, I can help season it," Ingrid said.

Luan then returned to dismantling the monsters. There was a pile somewhat like a pyramid made of monster corpses, and for better or worse, monsters from the sea were attracted because of it.

"Big Brother, let me do this!" Cristina felt the presence of a Qi coming from the sea and offered to fight this time.

"Have you finished learning the technique?" Luan asked.

"Yeah," she nodded obediently.

With his extra sensory perception, Luan determined the monster's level, and seeing that it was no threat to Cristina, he agreed.

"Okay, so I leave it to you," Luan said before continuing to dismantle the monsters.

"Alright!" Cristina smiled and walked away to go towards the coast of the island.

Even though he thought she was able to handle it, Luan looked towards Pooh, who was sprawling on the ground. Pooh stood up without the slightest hint of laziness when he felt Luan's gaze and understood what he had to do.

Arriving at the coast of the island, Cristina closed her eyes and waited. In her hands, a halo of fire formed, creating something like a hollow shield. Unlike ordinary flames that would burn everything, this one was perfectly shaped into a ball around Cristina's hand, without causing much undulation. Doing this did not necessarily increase attack power, but rather, control over the flames. That was the training Luan gave her.

Of course, there was a purpose to this. If she mastered this technique, Cristina could coat her attacks with Qi and make it so hot that by the time she strikes, it can have the best resistance to corrosion and oxidation at very high temperatures (up to 1450°C) while still in the First Order, and therefore the training would be entirely worth it.

Little by little, Cristina entered the water. Yes, she went into the water, but it was shallow; it didn't even reach her knee. Gradually, when the water got deeper, that's when she stopped.

Around Cristina the water turned to steam; the water around her body was boiling. It was only possible to do this because the current outfit she wore was something made by threads from monsters close to the Second Order using Catharina's powers, otherwise she herself would have turned to ashes.

"An octopus? Too big to be a simple octopus... Maybe a kraken? No, too small, I'd say," Cristina muttered and got a little excited. "I wonder if I can kill it without burning it completely. Could Mom make takoyaki with this octopus?" This idea got her excited and she even started to salivate a little.

'Then I can't use my flames.' Cristina reflected with her index finger on her lower lip and clicked her fingers as she remembered that Luan had given her a sword. 'I don't know how to use a sword, but if I'm quick and cut, it'd be okay, yes?'

Not completely confident of killing it fast enough before the 'kraken' fled, Cristina finally noticed Pooh's presence and said, "Pooh, help me. I want to take this monster out quickly and make something tasty with this big octopus."

Pooh nodded his obedient head. He didn't know what he would do with the octopus, but as a seafood lover, Pooh was even more excited than Cristina.

'Mother and Ingrid are still starting to make lunch, I hope there's time...' Holding the sword that materialized from her smartphone, Cristina thought with a look as sharp as the blade of the sword she held.

While Cristina was thinking, the head of a giant octopus appeared. The octopus' tentacles stirred in the water, heading towards Cristina. Automatically, Cristina put her thoughts aside for now and focused on the giant octopus. Her sword swung awkwardly, but quickly, and the tentacle was severed.

* Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!*

The octopus let out a strange scream, the kind that was extremely jarring on the ears. Pooh was quite annoyed by the scream and roared loudly, creating a current only with his roaring. With a fierce expression showing off his pointy teeth, Pooh advanced so fast towards the giant octopus that it didn't even look like he was in the water.

The octopus curled its tentacles around Pooh as he approached, and began to tighten its grip. However, this was like a newborn baby hug for Pooh, and with one of his claws, he cut the tentacles to pieces. The sea around them starts to turn blue. This octopus' blood, same as a standard one's, had hemocyanin instead of iron, this animal's blood protein contains copper, which gives the blood a blue color.

The screams of the octopus started to become more and more irritating, and although she couldn't make out what the monster's cries meant exactly, Cristina could at least imagine that the giant octopus had started to get scared, as it retracted its tentacles and shook them, hitting the sea and creating waves, and it started to retreat.

"Not so easy!" Cristina moved even faster than Pooh as she tried to use <Blue Impulse> and was successful.

'It also works in water...' She didn't even have time to think about it that deeply. If she didn't act soon, even if she and Pooh coordinated together, if the giant octopus fled to the bottom of the sea, it was practically suicide to keep chasing.

Caught off guard, the giant octopus had half its head cut off by Cristina's sharp sword, and before it could retreat, Pooh, who was in the front, coordinated with Cristina and attacked, aiming for the left eye.

The octopus flailed its tentacles even more, but Pooh was faster and his claw caught the giant octopus's eye. Feeling extreme pain, the octopus was in shock for a few seconds and that's when Cristina took advantage and cut from right to left, aiming at the octopus's neck. The octopus' blue blood flowed into the sea and it could no longer support its body, and with a loud sound of its body hitting the sea, the giant octopus convulsed and stopped moving.

"We got it, Pooh, yup!" screamed Cristina happily and hugged Pooh's neck. Helpless, Pooh could only let her hug him.

"Okay, let's carry this ashore." After being satisfied, Cristina smiled as she started to pull the giant octopus's body.