“Shall we come up with a plan?” Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his chin in contemplation.
While a black-spotted colossal lizard was not considered unreasonably strong, attempting to take it down would not be something that was completely free from danger, either.
After all, this was still a monster with strength equivalent to the Essence Gathering realm.
“Do we really need a plan?” Nie Hanchang raised three fingers in front of him. “Three shots. That’s the maximum number of arrows I would need to take it down.”
Zhao Yunxiao looked at Nie Hanchang in surprise.
He understood the general traits of a black-spotted colossal lizard.
Even though it was an inhabitant of the swamps, its thick scales were not exactly the easiest to penetrate.
If it were up to him, Zhao Yunxiao would choose to play the endurance game with the lizard monster, circumventing its tough exterior by using poison to slowly wear it down over time.
But Nie Hanchang was actually confident about taking it down within three shots?
Through those thick and hard scales?
Still, Zhao Yunxiao did not doubt Nie Hanchang’s words.
Nie Hanchang was not a person who would brag for no reason. Since he had said this, there must be a good reason why.
“In that case, I’ll be relying on Senior Martial Brother Nie then,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “I will help buy you time for the three shots.”
“Leave it to me,” Nie Hanchang nodded.
Zhao Yunxiao leapt out of their hiding place without hesitation, instantly drawing the attention of the black-spotted colossal lizard which looked up from its dinner... at a creature that it probably regarded as its next meal.
Whoosh-! Whoosh-!
Two daggers flew out towards the lizard monster.
The black-spotted colossal lizard was too slow to react, and the two daggers hit it directly on the legs.
Unfortunately, its scales were as tough as Zhao Yunxiao had heard.
Clank-! Clank-!
With the sound of metal striking metal, the two daggers bounced right off the hard scales of the lizard monster.
Yet despite not causing any real harm to the black-spotted colossal lizard, Zhao Yunxiao’s attack definitely succeeded in incurring the wrath of the creature.
Hiss-!
The enraged black-spotted colossal lizard left his half-eaten meal behind as it suddenly shot towards Zhao Yunxiao, determined to take him down in an instant.
Zhao Yunxiao immediately retreated by leaping backwards.
With a flick of his wrist, his halberd appeared in his hands as he got ready to defend himself.
This was when a thin ray of light appeared from the side, piercing straight through the black-spotted colossal lizard’s body.
Smoke sizzled from both ends and blood spurted out in pulses, a testament to how the lizard monster’s tough defences had definitely been penetrated straight through.
Zhao Yunxiao widened his eyes in astonishment.
To penetrate the defences of the black-spotted colossal lizard like it was nothing... Nie Hanchang’s offensive power was truly incredible!
No wonder he had been so confident about taking it down.
Had Zhao Yunxiao possessed the same level of offensive power, he would have been filled with confidence as well!
Hiss-!
The lizard monster expressed its pain by crying out, but it still did not slow down one bit in its charge towards Zhao Yunxiao.
Zhao Yunxiao had expected as much, and calmly brought up his halberd as a guard.
Digging his heels into the ground and shrouding himself in a layer of protective essence energy, Zhao Yunxiao braced himself for the inevitable collision.
Bang-!
The black-spotted colossal lizard’s powerful jaws slammed against Zhao Yunxiao’s halberd with such impact that it sent out a thunderous clap, but Zhao Yunxiao held his ground.
He stood firm and remained exactly where he was, not pushed back by a single inch.
The black-spotted colossal lizard was a massive creature, but Zhao Yunxiao’s endurance capability was above most of his peers as well.
That allowed him to resist the powerful charge in the most straightforward manner – a feat that most of his peers would fail to replicate.
That said, Zhao Yunxiao would usually have leapt back to further reduce the impact from the collision, but that was not the ideal move right now.
His current role was not to drag things out, but to distract.
[Unyielding Stone Bind]
Two chains of earth and stone shot out from the ground, wrapping around the legs of the black-spotted colossal lizard to lock it down even further.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
And his partner definitely did not miss this window of opportunity that he had created.
Whoosh-!
A ray of light directly carved through the air, not stopping even upon coming into contact with the black-spotted colossal lizard.
This time, it was not aimed at the body, but directly penetrated the head of the lizard monster.
Fresh blood spurted out from both sides of the head, mixed with bits of brain matter.
Thud-!
There was a brief moment of silence before the lizard monster’s legs gave way in unison, causing its heavy body to collapse onto the ground.
Zhao Yunxiao took a few steps away and observed it cautiously, eventually confirming that there were no longer any signs of life coming from the motionless black-spotted colossal lizard.
Huu-!
He could not help but let out a deep sigh of relief, though it was also complicated by a tinge of disbelief.
It’s over just like that?
In the end, it only took two arrows, not three.
What amazing offensive power!
“Are you all right, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?” Nie Hanchang finally appeared from behind a tree with the Grand Annihilator in hand.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Zhao Yunxiao answered with a smile. “Today, I’ve finally witnessed the might of the Grand Annihilator in your hands. The two of you really are amazing together!”
Brr-!
The Grand Annihilator vibrated slightly.
“Haha, looks like it is happy to be complimented by you,” Nie Hanchang laughed. “That said, you are amazing as well. At the very least, I know for sure that I would never be able to stop the lizard monster’s charge in such a direct manner!”
“Senior Martial Brother Nie is too kind with your words,” Zhao Yunxiao answered with a smile. “Now then, let’s get down to business!”
Before Nie Hanchang could speak further, Zhao Yunxiao put away his halberd and replaced it with a carving knife as he approached the motionless lizard monster.
With the knife in hand, Zhao Yunxiao turned the lizard monster around and carefully cut open the belly.
Unlike the rest of the body that was covered in hard scales, the belly was the only part that was softer in comparison.
Many might claim that this was the weakness of the black-spotted colossal lizard. But considering how low the black-spotted colossal lizard usually positioned its body, how many would truly be able to aim at its belly during actual combat?
Of course, now that the lizard monster was already dead and defenceless, that made things much simpler for Zhao Yunxiao.
Slice-!
Half-digested meat poured out of the lizard monster’s belly along with blood and other bodily fluids, but Zhao Yunxiao did not pay them any heed.
Instead, he carefully searched through the spilt contents.
“What are you doing, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?” Nie Hanchang asked curiously.
“Remember me saying that black-spotted colossal lizards are lovers of precious gems?” Zhao Yunxiao explained without looking back. “It is not uncommon for them to swallow these gems in a bid to absorb the energy within.”
“So, you are looking to see if it has a precious gem in there?” Nie Hanchang asked.
“Yeah, but I can’t seem to find any,” Zhao Yunxiao sighed. “It looks like this one didn’t swallow any.”
“That’s a shame,” Nie Hanchang said. “Shall we get going, then?”
“Yeah, let’s get going,” Zhao Yunxiao agreed. “We have to find its burrow before anything else gets to it first.”
“We have to find what?” Nie Hanchang thought he heard wrongly.
“Its burrow,” Zhao Yunxiao answered matter-of-factly. “This black-spotted colossal lizard might not have swallowed a precious gem, but there could still be one left in its burrow. We can’t just let that slip through our fingers!”
“Hah, sure,” Nie Hanchang chuckled.
He was starting to find Zhao Yunxiao more and more interesting.
At the very least, the considerations that Zhao Yunxiao had were completely different from what he would have thought of alone.
Was it because Zhao Yunxiao had a wide range of skillsets, coupled with knowledge across various fields, which allowed him to see way more potential approaches to each situation?
Nie Hanchang could not help but wonder...
If Zhao Yunxiao had not distributed his attention and chose to focus his talents on a single path instead, just how amazing would he have become by now?
But regardless of the reason, it was no wonder that Lu Zhiying enjoyed hanging out with Zhao Yunxiao so much!
Zhao Yunxiao kept away the carcass of the black-spotted colossal lizard, and they returned to their horses to put up a simple concealing array around them.
They did not know how far away the lizard’s burrow was, and it would be a hassle if their horses got into trouble while they were gone.
With that done, the duo started to retrace the black-spotted colossal lizard’s tracks on foot.
Once again, this was not something that Nie Hanchang was adept at, so he simply took on a follower role while Zhao Yunxiao led the way forward.
Retracing the black-spotted colossal lizard’s tracks was not a difficult task for the experienced hunter Zhao Yunxiao.
Although the shortage of rainfall had resulted in the ground being harder and thus leaving less obvious tracks than usual, it also meant that any created tracks would not be quickly covered up by environmental factors.
With his spiritual sense, Zhao Yunxiao was able to pick up on even the slightest of traces, allowing him to easily lock onto the correct path starting from the deer’s carcass.
After an hour’s trek, the duo finally arrived at what appeared to be a dried up swamp.
There were obvious traces of there being small water bodies that had vanished altogether, leaving behind nothing but muddy ground.
“It looks like this is it,” Zhao Yunxiao stopped in front of a burrow that was inconspicuously hidden behind a pile of mud and rocks.
“Would there be more of those lizard monsters inside?” Nie Hanchang asked.
“Unlikely,” Zhao Yunxiao shook his head. “Black-spotted colossal lizards are very solitary creatures. If there are truly any creatures within, there can only be two explanations – they are either its newborns, or invading creatures.”
“I see,” Nie Hanchang nodded.
Just from hearing this, Nie Hanchang understood that Zhao Yunxiao had already considered the possibility of there being other creatures as well, so there was no need to speak further.
Zhao Yunxiao did not rush into the burrow.
Instead, he stayed near the entrance, closing his eyes as he extended his spiritual sense within.
The black-spotted colossal lizard was a massive creature that lived up to its name, so the inside of the burrow was naturally large and spacious as well. There were no winding trails or the like, making it extremely easy to map out the entirety of it.
It did not take long before Zhao Yunxiao found exactly what he was looking for.
“It’s there!” Zhao Yunxiao opened his eyes in excitement. “The precious gem!”
“Is there really one?” Nie Hanchang answered in surprise. “Are there any other creatures inside?”
“No, there’s nothing apart from the gem,” Zhao Yunxiao replied. “Let’s go retrieve the gem and be on our way.”
“You go retrieve the gem,” Nie Hanchang said. “I will keep watch from outside just so we don’t get trapped inside if an intruder comes along.”
“I will have to trouble Senior Martial Brother Nie to stand guard for a while, then,” Zhao Yunxiao agreed immediately.
In fact, he had thought of this as well, but was just hesitant to voice it out.
After all, suggesting something like that could easily be misconstrued as him trying to hog the precious gem for himself.
But now that Nie Hanchang had suggested this himself, Zhao Yunxiao naturally would not stand on ceremony!