Chapter 166 Scolopendra



Zayne ran forward, looking around carefully. He didn't know if there were spiders or other monsters nearby, but he was sure of one thing.

'That scolopendra will definitely stay in this forest for a long. Last time it let me go, I don't know if it was luck or if there's some special reason, but... it won't happen again.' Zayne pondered with a frown.

Whoooooooooosh.

Zayne pulled out of the forest grove as he abruptly had to stop, raising a cloud of dust as he reached the cliff.

Ahead was still the same forest, covered in thick fog, but, there was something noteworthy in the distance, and it made Zayne smile slightly.

He was looking at a massive rock that was split in two. Near it, various flashes occasionally appeared, clearly indicating that something was going on there.

'If I'm not mistaken, someone is fighting there, right? It's pretty far away, but now I'm pretty sure I'm not lost.' Zayne smiled cheerfully before looking down.

There wasn't a single place in his sight where it was safe to go down, all the trails were too far away if they ever existed, so Zayne gripped his sword tighter and jumped off the edge.

He did the same as he fell into the hole, digging his sword deep into the wall and gradually sliding down.

'Good... Just a little longer, and I can jump off.' Zayne muttered when cracks started to run down the wall.

Zayne's eyes went wide as he quickly tried to grab onto something, but it was too late since the loose soil collapsed, taking Zayne down with it.

"Argh!!!" Zayne cried out in pain as his back hit the ground, with a splash of blood from his mouth. Several chunks of earth fell beside him, miraculously not collapsing right on him.

[Your rib was broken!]

[You lost a large amount of HP!]

[Several of your bones cracked!]

Lots of messages with similar content appeared in front of Zayne, but he didn't even read them as he felt everything himself.

"Fuck... That hurts..." Zayne muttered, trying to get up and clutching the earth as dirt got under his fingernails while blood dripped from the corners of his mouth.

Zayne got up on his two feet, but no sooner had he taken a few steps than he trembled and, unable to keep his balance, fell to the ground again.

"SHIT!!!" Zayne exclaimed furiously, slamming his fist as his eyes filled with blood from bursting vessels.

"I've defeated a hundred spiders, but now I'm wounded by a simple mishap! I have wings, but I can't use them to fly! This is fucking ridiculous!" Zayne clenched his teeth in anger, gathered all his strength, and stood up, leaning on his sword like a cane.

Each step was difficult for Zayne, his whole body was wounded both outside and inside, all of it pressing against his bones, which were severely damaged.

The shattered rock was getting closer and closer, no matter how much time passed, Zayne wasn't going to stop.

'Damn, now I'm starting to think that taking Solomon's advice was a mistake... hopefully not, but, if I had put those Status Points into Endurance or Vitality, my damage would have been much weaker.' Zayne frowned, lifting his sword from the ground and taking the next step.

Whooooooooooooosh!

A powerful gust of wind ripped at Zayne, fluttering his coat and practically knocking him off his feet. Zayne wanted to keep moving, but the wind grew stronger and stronger as it left his face scratched like a vicious whirlwind.

"What the hell...! Why is the simple wind so hard!" Zayne exclaimed, looking up as his eyes went wide and his back ran cold.

Above him towered a massive scolopendra, slowly moving from side to side, making an eerie crackling sound from its growths rubbing against the armored scales.

Zayne froze, afraid to even breathe, he might have had some chance of escape before, but now... he was too weak to just hold his sword firmly in his hands.

Scolopendra headed toward him, just as it had done the last time, Zayne faced its jaw with hundreds of sharp teeth going deep inside.

Goosebumps went up through Zayne's body, his instincts screaming for him to run, but his mind restrained him from suicidal acts.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The scolopendra moved slightly closer, the corpse smell from its jaw headed straight for Zayne, then the spiraling rows of teeth began to rotate.

"No!" Zayne exclaimed, trying to back away from the real meat grinder that was coming right at him.

"Flaming Whip!" A voice sounded from the side as a long spit of fire appeared over the scolopendra, with a purple flash came crashing down on the monster.

The whip easily shattered several of its protective scales, frying its flesh and bringing vivid pain.

"Roooooooaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!!!" The scolopendra roared furiously as its howl spread throughout the forest, reaching its farthest corners, and bringing fear to everyone who got in its way.

Though compared to the overall size of the scolopendra's body this wound was like a scratch on a giant's body, it was enough to make the monster retreat from Zayne, watching him from the sidelines.

"Agh...?" Zayne was puzzled as he looked at the man with gray hair and green eyes. He paced leisurely toward Zayne, leaning on a wooden cane like an old man, though he certainly was not.

"Young man, you're lucky it rained here recently, or I wouldn't have decided to come here today." The man smiled, then he stared at the scolopendra.

He looked weak, the average bandit would surely have tried to rob him if given the opportunity, however, the huge creature ruling the area, gazing fearfully at the man.

"Go away. You have experienced something terrible in the past, or you would not have awakened a few days ago... You will not succeed in absorbing this young man's energy." The man said calmly, "Though I must admit, waiting it out was a good strategy."

The Scolopendra surrounded them, observing from above before quickly disappearing in an unknown direction.