Chapter 92: Underground Plaza

“Huh, the surrounding passage seems wider, and the ceiling is higher too,” Xu Feng observed, glancing around.

The tunnel, which originally could only fit three people walking side-by-side, could now accommodate four abreast.

“ROAR~”

A fierce bellow suddenly echoed through the passage, causing the entire tunnel to tremble slightly. Tiny rocks showered down constantly as the whole structure groaned like it might collapse.

Hearing this roar, the Giant Lizard Beast seemed agitated. It bounced restlessly, letting out faint, low growls.

Xu Feng hurriedly calmed the Giant Lizard Beast and cautiously moved forward.

After walking forward for another half an hour, the view suddenly opened up. Ahead lay a vast Underground Plaza. The Giant Lizard Beast seemed overjoyed. It shot forward, reverting to its colossal size in an instant. Lifting its head, it unleashed a triumphant roar.

Boom!

The sound reverberated deafeningly through the entire plaza.

Suffering the frustration of confinement for too long, forced into a shrunken form throughout their journey in the Mine Cave, the Giant Lizard Beast had been restless. Now, finally able to exist in its normal size, its joy was immense.

Xu Feng smiled faintly. The Giant Lizard Beast was a powerful asset. On this Underground Plaza, with its help, he would be safer and could hunt even mightier monsters.

Roar~!

Responding to the Giant Lizard Beast’s challenge, another roar sounded from the distance. This roar was filled with fury, clearly interpreting the lizard’s cry as a challenge.

Xu Feng’s heart sank. He had assumed the most powerful monsters in the Mine Cave were only Three-Star Strength. Now, it seemed this Underground Plaza housed a monster whose strength rivaled the Giant Lizard Beast.

Hearing this roar, the Giant Lizard Beast became alert too. It turned its head, fixing its gaze on the direction the sound came from, a low, rumbling growl vibrating deep in its throat.

Within moments, the distinct clanking sound of metal hitting the ground grew progressively louder, moving from far to near. Gradually, a huge dark shadow approached.

“What in the…?” Xu Feng narrowed his eyes, squinting hard to make out the shape of the enormous monster ahead.

The faint glow from the ore partially embedded in the surrounding rock walls provided minimal, dim light. Xu Feng could only see clearly for about seven or eight meters; beyond that, everything blurred.

“A… a Rock Devouring Beast?” Xu Feng’s face registered shock. This massive monster opposing them was actually a Rock Devouring Beast.

But it wasn’t like an ordinary Rock Devouring Beast. This one stood nearly four meters tall. Its four legs were encased in dark carapaces covered in sharp spikes, obsidian-black and gleaming with an almost metallic sheen. Its upper body was bare. Its two thickly muscled arms each bore a heavy iron chain. The earlier “clanking” sound was precisely these chains striking and dragging along the ground.

“Three-Star, Elite!” Xu Feng gulped, scarcely believing his eyes. Here, deep within this Mine Cave, he had encountered yet another Three-Star Elite Monster.

“Invader, die!”

A strange voice suddenly formed within Xu Feng’s consciousness. The mental message emanated directly from the Rock Devouring Beast opposite him.

A strange humming sound rose from the Elite Rock Devouring Beast’s palm. Within moments, a rock roughly the size of a human head materialized in its grasp.

Fwoosh~!

The instant the rock formed, the beast hurled it with incredible force.

CRASH!

The rock smashed directly into the Giant Lizard Beast’s side. Blood sprayed. Roaring in pain, the Giant Lizard Beast lunged straight for the Rock Devouring Beast.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh~!

A barrage of rocks, like cannonballs, flew towards the Giant Lizard Beast, but it deftly dodged every one.

Xu Feng gave a wry smile. The opposing Elite Rock Devouring Beast completely ignored him, focusing all its aggression solely on the Giant Lizard Beast.

As the two colossal creatures clashed and grappled, Xu Feng tightened his grip on his sword and charged towards the Rock Devouring Beast.

This Elite Rock Devouring Beast was far stronger than an ordinary Three-Star Rock Devouring Beast. Ordinary ones needed time to dig rocks from the cave walls to use as projectiles. But this elite variant could summon rocks into existence within its own grasp before hurling them, and the time required was even shorter than digging.

Furthermore, ordinary Rock Devouring Beasts, once engaged in close combat, couldn’t dig rocks to throw; they were forced to fight bare-handed, drastically weakening them. This Elite Rock Devouring Beast, however, wielded the heavy iron chains on its arms as weapons. In close combat against the Giant Lizard Beast, it fought evenly matched! Every strike of the iron chains whipped against the Giant Lizard Beast’s hide, leaving a fresh, bloody weal.

The Giant Lizard Beast didn’t back down either. Clawing, biting, unleashing clouds of toxic mist – it used every means at its disposal. Its attacks forced the Rock Devouring Beast into continuous, pained bellows.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The din was earth-shaking, echoing throughout the entire Underground Plaza. The Elite Rock Devouring Beast violently whipped the chains bound to its arms, slashing them heavily across the Giant Lizard Beast. Each impact sent the lizard staggering sideways, but it would instantly right itself and pounce back onto the Rock Devouring Beast, tearing and biting relentlessly.

Xu Feng darted around the periphery. He loosed bolts from a distance whenever possible. Whenever an opening appeared, he swiftly maneuvered behind the Elite Rock Devouring Beast. There, he unleashed the Swift Wind Thrust technique: three lightning-fast consecutive sword stabs, culminating in an explosive final blow. Each successful hit inflicted significant damage on the elite monster.

Soon, Xu Feng drew the Elite Rock Devouring Beast’s ire. It began trying to turn its attention toward attacking him. But each time it hesitated, shifting its focus to Xu Feng, the Giant Lizard Beast seized the chance to close in and grapple it. A blast of corrosive toxic mist would spew, hitting the beast and causing its flesh to sizzle with a dreadful hiss.

Cornered by this relentless assault from both Xu Feng and the Giant Lizard Beast, the Elite Rock Devouring Beast struggled fiercely, full of resentment, but ultimately collapsed at the Giant Lizard Beast’s feet.

“A Three-Star Elite,” Xu Feng murmured, a faint smile touching his lips. The Giant Lizard Beast truly was powerful. Without it, encountering this Three-Star Elite Rock Devouring Beast would have meant only one option: flee immediately. Now, thanks to their combined efforts, they had slain this elite monster. Xu Feng felt a surge of pleasure at his impulsive decision all that time ago to subdue the Giant Lizard Beast.

He extracted the Beast Crystal from the Three-Star Elite Rock Devouring Beast. Now, he had six Three-Star Beast Crystals in his possession. Three-Star Beast Crystals only benefited someone possessing Three-Star Strength. Anyone stronger gained virtually no Attribute Points from absorbing them. Conversely, anyone weaker than Three-Star who dared attempt absorption would be overwhelmed by the ferocious energy; their body would essentially become a bomb, exploding into bloody fragments in an instant.

The area surrounding a Three-Star Elite Monster’s lair typically saw few other creatures. This zone should be relatively safe, at least for now.

Xu Feng didn’t bother gathering loot from the Three-Star Rock Devouring Beast’s body. Instead, he immediately retrieved all his Three-Star Beast Crystals and started absorbing their energy.

Sweat quickly beaded on his forehead. His body trembled constantly with minute tremors. Sweat mixed with impurities seeped through his pores. Before long, a slightly rank, unpleasant odor clung to his skin.