Chapter 1451: Stoneshell
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The cricket struggled as hard as it could, but eventually, the ruby on its head began to shine. And then, something else appeared on the creature's head.
Han Sen saw a one-meter-wide red saw manifest. It began to spin around and around like a rotor, trimming all the vines that had ensnared it. The Holy Vines were thick like arms, but they were weed-whacked away in just a couple of seconds.
Han Sen ran. There were no other creatures around to occupy the cricket and buy him the time to build up a coin with immense power. He knew there was no hope of fighting the cricket under the circumstances.
While the red cricket was still trapped, Han Sen wanted to run as far as he could, and hopefully get out of its sight for good. But after two miles of running, Han Sen heard the Tzi Tzi sounds again. It was catching up swiftly.
The scariest thing was that its ruby saws were still spinning as it pursued Han Sen. If it could tear the Holy Vines to shreds, Han Sen would be sliced in two with little to no effort.
Han Sen kept on running, but the cricket was closing the gap. The situation became even worse when Han Sen noticed he was racing towards a dead end.
"D*mn it!" Han Sen thought to himself. He scanned the walls all around, hoping there was a passage he could slip into and keep up the escape.
There were so many caves and tunnels in the Underworld, but unfortunately, this one big wall didn't have the slightest crevice.
Han Sen ducked to the left. Fortunately, there, the cave was wide and he did not have to go back.
Han Sen stopped after a few more steps. Nothing was blocking him or anything, but the cricket had stopped thirty meters away from him.
If Han Sen ran back now, the distance between him and the cricket would reduce.
The redheaded cricket screeched and squealed at Han Sen, but it did not move or come any closer. As Han Sen thought the scenario strange, and pondered what it meant, Bao'er said, "Dad, look behind you."
"Isn't that just a wall?" Han Sen wondered, but he still looked back. And what he saw gave him a shock.
The uneven wall that seemed comprised of discs was actually populated by a number of shells. The shellfish on the wall were all opening up, revealing the red meat that was inside them.
There were many of them, all within a few hundred meters. And they all opened up their shells, showing off the sickly red meat inside.
Some of these Stoneshells had pearls inside. The jewels they possessed were the size of a man's fist and had a pinkish hue.
Han Sen didn't plan to take anything, of course. He couldn't even tell what level the Stoneshells were, but the cricket must have had a reason to stop chasing him. Han Sen wagered it must have had something to do with the shells.
Han Sen gave them a scan with his Dongxuan Aura, but the results surprised him. While there were a few sacred-blood variants amongst them, the horde of shells was primarily composed of primitive and mutant types.
They didn't seem like the sort of enemy the cricket might fear. The fact that the cricket had stopped perplexed Han Sen.
Han Sen was sandwiched, with a cricket behind him and a wall comprised of shells in front of him. While the Stoneshells did not seem that strong, there had to be something wrong with them that made the cricket not dare take a step closer. They must have had a special power or something, that struck fear into the hearts of super creatures.
As Han Sen wondered what was going on, the meat of each shell reached out like a tongue. They were all going right for Han Sen.
You could not imagine how strange it was to have a wall full of wretched tongues reach out for you. The tongues were incredibly stretchy, and they became longer and longer as if their lengths were infinite.
Han Sen saw the meat and saw the cricket. Defiantly standing his ground, he pulled out Taia to cut the tongues down.
The shells were not very powerful, and Han Sen was thankful they were foes he was able to deal with. He knew for sure he could not take out the red cricket.
Taia's sharpness was useless in the Fourth God's Sanctuary, but its hardness was still good enough. If you had enough power, the weapon could still be useful. With Taia and his strength, Han Sen was able to cut through the incoming tongues. After the blade was driven through, they immediately fell to the ground and stopped moving.
Where the tongues had been cut would profusely bleed pink blood. They reeled back to their shells with alarming speed, to lick their wounds.
"They really are just mutant creatures. They don't seem very strong." Han Sen was happy to learn how weak they were.
Han Sen continued to wave Taia, dropping all the tongues coming for him. After a while, they all gave up.
"The shells aren't very special. What is the cricket afraid of?" Han Sen asked himself, observing the cricket.
The red cricket was slowly stepping backward.
But this just gave Han Sen a heightened chill. Although it had not been revealed, he knew there was something up with the shells. It could not have been that simple.
Before Han Sen could turn around to take a look, the entire cavern began to shake and rumble. Rocks broke from the ceiling, falling down dangerously.
Han Sen dodged the falling stones and took a look at the wall. His eyes opened wide with shock, and he found himself immediately running back towards the cricket.
Now Han Sen understood what the cricket was afraid of, and he'd much rather fight the insect than the new threat.
Chapter 1452: Shell King
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There was a wall behind Han Sen that was a few hundred meters long. And suddenly, a large crack had developed horizontally across it. It was like a crevice to hell, and a red light bled out from its opening, as if it was ready to swallow all that gazed upon it.
The wall was a giant Stoneshell, and the mini Stoneshells Han Sen had previously been dealing with were all fixed to its body.
The giant Stoneshell King opened up its few-hundred-meter-long body, and the meat that swiftly flooded out was like a tidal wave.
Han Sen was unable to dodge, and he soon found himself tongue-tied.
The Redhead Cricket was also snared, and the two were dragged back toward the shell.
There was a liquid coating the meat, and it worked like an adhesive. It prevented the Redhead Cricket from escaping. The cricket used its ruby-colored saw to try to shred its way free.
The ruby saw was surprisingly effective, too, as it chipped away much of the meat holding it in place. But more of that meat came from elsewhere, catching the ruby saw.
Like a grinder, the saw began to spin, but it was soon clogged. The meat came in from behind and slowed it down more and more until it was jammed and rendered ineffective.
Han Sen waved Taia at the meat that had grabbed hold of him, and he got himself free.
The liquid did not work on Han Sen's super king spirit body.
As quick as he could, Han Sen gripped Bao'er tighter and tried flying away to get out of that cave. But the water-like flesh tried to stop and consume them once more.
Han Sen dodged as best as he could, but he was eventually grabbed by the meat.
The meat was like a sleeping bag, and it managed to wrap up Han Sen and Bao'er both. With his limbs all tied up, Han Sen found himself unable to do anything that might help him escape now.
The red meat was like the tide of the sea, washing out and pulling back into the ocean that was the shell. The few-hundred-meter-long crevice that formed its mouth was like a veritable hellmouth. And it was ready to swallow Han Sen and the cricket.
Han Sen did not know in what way the Stoneshell King could kill its prey, as the meat could only trap him. And it was difficult for Han Sen to tell whether or not he was inside the shell.
Han Sen was unable to escape the meat, as it was a super creature's body. Han Sen had nowhere near enough strength to break free at his current stage.
The weakest of super creatures had one-hundred-thousand fitness, and right now, Han Sen only had a fitness level of forty-thousand. Not even super king spirit mode could balance those odds.
But because Han Sen had escaped the meat at first and gained a bit of distance before being grabbed back, the cricket was the first to end up in the shell. And inside there, Han Sen could see a big white ball residing in its center.
It must have been the pearl possessed by the shell king. It was a few meters wide, like one large orb. When the cricket was pulled inside, that pearl lit up with an ominous, red-colored glow.
The red light inside the shell looked alive, in a suppressed and mysterious manner.
The red light shined on the cricket, turning the would-be victim a shade of red, too. And soon after, its hardy body was like steel dropped into a vat of acid. It began to melt and fizz away.
Han Sen was horrified upon seeing this. If the cricket had no chance of withstanding such a wretched power, then he wouldn't last a second.
The soft meat was pulling him in quickly, and Han Sen did not have the time to get away.
He struggled the best he could, thinking, "Over... it's all over. I even dragged Bao'er into this."
Han Sen looked at Bao'er, and he was surprised to see she had managed to get away from the meat. Her eyes were fixed on the red, hellish object inside the shell.
"Bao'er, throw the Grenade Mushroom inside!" Han Sen transferred the super beast soul Grenade Mushroom to her.
"Why?" Bao'er asked, with a look of confusion.
Han Sen was only two meters from certain doom. He didn't have the time to explain, so he shouted, "Just throw it in!"
Bao'er blinked and summoned the super Grenade Mushroom. Then, she lobbed it inside the shell.
The moment Han Sen was about to be dragged inside, the grenade rolled along the plush meat of the interior.
Han Sen thought he could escape when it exploded. But when the mushroom hit the meat, it must have been too soft. The mushroom didn't detonate.
"Oh sh*t!" Han Sen screamed, as he was dragged into the shell.
The red light shined on him, and immediately, he felt his skin bubble as if he was being fried alive. It felt terrible.
With no hesitation, Han Sen summoned his Bulwark Umbrella. But the red light was able to melt the umbrella as well, and its shielding wouldn't last very long.
"Bronze geno cores are too weak, but still, holding on for a few seconds against the powers of a super geno core is nothing to scoff at," Han Sen said to himself, while his mind raced for a way he might escape this predicament. Unfortunately, his entire body was tied up and he couldn't even wiggle his fingers.
Bao'er looked uncomfortable, too, and she tried getting herself snug beneath the umbrella.
"Dad, the light is annoying. Let's get out of here," Bao'er pleaded.
Han Sen gave a wry smile, as he wanted to leave, as well. He told Bao'er, "You get out of here first, I'll catch up with you later."
"If Dad doesn't leave, then I won't leave." Bao'er shook her head.
Han Sen wished to say something more, but he suddenly felt loose. He felt as if he was miraculously made free again.
Han Sen was delighted by this, but the sudden release didn't mean he was free; it was because the shell had already closed. The meat let him go so the light could incinerate him a little faster.
The cricket was released, too. It desperately tried to claw the shell to get free, but its ruby saw was still wrapped up. It seemed even the shell king was afraid of the insect using that to slice its way out.
Bulwark Umbrella began to develop a few holes, and Han Sen did not have much time. He knew he had to do something.
Han Sen summoned his Crystal Egg, pulled his arm back, and launched it towards the Grenade Mushroom.