noffsinger Chapter 330 Stone Crab
Chapter 330 Stone Crab
The battle was intense but brief.
These fluorescent bats don't seem to have much intelligence; they only have an instinctive desire to attack.
In just a few minutes, thousands of fluorescent bats were wiped out by their efficient and deadly killing spree.
The beach and the area around the rocks were covered with a thick layer of bat carcasses that emitted a faint fluorescent glow and a burnt smell.
The remaining fluorescent bats finally sensed the threat of death, let out panicked squeaks, flapped their wings and turned around, retreating like a tide, quickly disappearing into the dark depths of the forest, leaving only a mess and the gradually fading fluorescence.
The battle is over.
Yu Mo transformed into human form, his breathing steady, and his gaze towards Yuan Xiao was very gentle.
Aoshuang shook off the few specks of mucus and fluorescence that had stuck to her wings, looking disgusted.
Yuan Xiao quickly stepped forward, took out water and a clean cloth, and handed them to Ao Shuang to wipe her face.
"These things...are they from this island?" Yuan Xiao looked at the bat corpses scattered all over the ground with lingering fear.
Chi Miao nodded.
Yu Mo kicked aside the still twitching corpse of a fluorescent bat at his feet: "They are very aggressive, but they have little organization. They are more like a low-level cleaner. Their presence also shows that this island is indeed not 'clean'."
He glanced into the depths of the woods and said meaningfully, "There might be something even more troublesome inside. Let's move on later."
There was only darkness on Illusion Moon Reef, so Yuan Xiao and the others could only estimate the time by feeling.
After eating and drinking their fill, they left the relatively safe beach area and stepped into the woods of Moon Reef.
The light inside the forest was dimmer than I had imagined.
The towering trees blocked out the sun, their foliage so lush it was almost eerie, and many of the plants had forms they had never seen before.
Thick vines coiled around the tree trunk like giant pythons, hanging down.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of damp, slippery fallen leaves and moss, and the air was filled with a heavy, damp, rotten smell and a sweet, strange floral fragrance.
There were no birdsong or insect chirps; the silence was terrifying. The only sound was the rustling of their footsteps on the fallen leaves, which sounded particularly clear and jarring.
Yu Mo led the way, his deep gaze sweeping over everything around him.
Chi Miao followed closely behind, wary of the energy waves around him.
Ao Shuang stood protectively beside Yuan Xiao, ready to respond to any unexpected situations.
They maintained a defensive formation and slowly advanced towards the higher ground in the center of the island.
Logically speaking, if Chen or that fake Beast God were on the island, they would most likely be hiding in a secluded and easily defensible high place.
After walking for about half an hour, a series of subtle, dense "crackling" sounds suddenly came from the ground beneath our feet, which had been solid.
The sound didn't come from afar; it came right beneath their feet.
"Watch out for the ground."
Ao Shuang let out a low shout and reacted extremely quickly, grabbing Yuan Xiao beside her and retreating rapidly.
Chi Miao and Yu Mo reacted instantly, leaping backward.
The instant they left their original spot, the ground within a few meters of where they had just stood suddenly split open upwards.
One after another, grayish-white, sharply angled "stones" emerged from the ground.
They vary in size, from as small as a millstone to as large as a tabletop.
They burst from the ground at an incredible speed, carrying with them flying dirt and gravel.
But upon closer inspection, those weren't stones at all.
They have an incredibly hard shell, with a color and texture similar to granite, and their surfaces are covered with rough textures and moss.
Beneath the outer shell, several pairs of short, strong, and stout limbs, also covered with rock-like carapaces, extend out.
At the front, a pair of huge and ferocious pincers, as if carved from rock, protrude.
The pincers snap open and close with a chilling "click" sound.
Chi Miao's face turned grim: "Oh no, we've run into a stone crab..."
This is a type of crab that has evolved its shell to the extreme, making it comparable to the hardest rock.
They usually bury themselves halfway underground, disguising themselves as reefs, remaining motionless as if they were truly dead.
Once prey enters its attack range, it will instantly pounce, launching a deadly attack with its massive claws capable of crushing steel.
At this moment, there are more than a dozen stone crabs that have broken through the ground.
They surrounded them from all sides, blocking their path forward and backward.
The grayish-white carapace reflected a lifeless, dull texture in the dim forest light.
These stone crabs are so good at camouflage and concealment that even they were fooled.
“Their shells are very hard,” Chi Miao reminded him, his eyes fixed on the nearest stone crab.
The stone crab was the size of a small carriage, and its pincers were thicker than a human's waist.
"Hard? I'd like to see just how hard it is!"
Ao Shuang's temper flared up. She was furious after being bullied by the orca and disgusted by the fluorescent bat.
Upon seeing these "hard rocks" blocking his way, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and with a flap of his wings, he moved like lightning and launched the first attack.
Instead of charging directly, he sped towards a slightly smaller stone crab, his claws, sharp enough to tear through metal, gleaming with a cold light, as he viciously grabbed at the relatively weak joint of the stone crab's carapace.
clang--
A very piercing sound, like the clash of metal, rang out.
Sparks flew everywhere.
Ao Shuang felt as if his claws were gripping steel. A huge force of recoil came from him, making his claws numb and throbbing.
The "weak" connection point he attacked only left a few shallow white marks, failing to even break through the carapace.
The stone crab that was attacked seemed to be enraged. It suddenly turned its body and its huge pincers, accompanied by a whistling sound, clamped down on the snow eagle around the waist before it could retreat. The speed was surprisingly fast.
The snow eagle was shocked and hurriedly flapped its wings to rise, barely avoiding the blow that could have snapped it in half. It broke out in a cold sweat.
"Their shells are so hard...aren't they just shameless scoundrels!"
Ao Shuang landed back beside Yuan Xiao, looking at her trembling claws with a grim expression.
At the same time, Yu Mo also made his move.
The python-transformed black mamba stealthily approached the largest stone crab, its sharp fangs gleaming with a ghostly blue venomous light, aiming straight for the base of the eyestalks, which appeared to be crevices in the crab's carapace.
The fangs struck their target with pinpoint accuracy, but only penetrated less than an inch before being blocked by the incredibly hard carapace, preventing them from going any further.
The venom on the tooth tip adhered to the stone, making a hissing sound, but it only corroded a very thin layer of stone on the surface and could not penetrate completely.
The giant stone crab, in pain, let out a roar like stones colliding and rubbing against each other. Its huge pincers and the smaller auxiliary pincers on the other side swung simultaneously, like two giant hammers smashing down on the black mamba.
Black Mamba made a decisive move and retreated tactically.
The stone crab's claws slammed into the ground with a loud crash, sending stones and dirt flying and creating two deep craters.