Suddenly, three giant hedgehog-like monsters emerged from the water below, each over two meters tall, marking them as different from the ordinary monsters. They moved with incredible speed, scaling the wall and climbing up in the blink of an eye.
Su Li stepped back as he saw them, activating his "Peep Rune" to observe the three monsters. "Name: Thorn Beast, Level: Level 4 Elite Beast. Thorn Beasts possess ranged attack capabilities, able to compress their muscles and fire the spines from their bodies. These spines have considerable penetrating power. In life-threatening situations, they will release all their spines indiscriminately. Thorn Beasts have a certain chance of evolving into the more powerful Thorn King. Killing a Thorn Beast has a chance of granting the special ability 'Thorn Barrage.'"
Encountering three identical elite beasts at once was a first for Su Li. "These are Level 4 elite beasts. Everyone be careful—their spines can be fired," he warned in a deep voice.
Hearing they were elite beasts, Ding Longyun immediately laughed heartily and leaped up. Now a Level 5 Spirit Source user with greatly enhanced strength, he didn't think much of these Level 4 elite beasts. Gong Xiao and Xu Haishui also joined in, but Su Li was the fastest among them. He reached his right hand to his chest, grabbed the Dragon Rhino Sword, and drew it. Finally encountering a slightly stronger elite beast, he wanted to test the sword's power.
With the Dragon Rhino Sword in hand, Su Li didn't use "Spider Walk." Instead, he leaped up, swinging the sword in a downward slash through the air. With a sharp "shiiing," the Thorn Beast in front of him had no time to react and was cleaved in two. Watching the massive Thorn Beast split apart before him, Su Li paused, then looked at the Dragon Rhino Sword, which wasn't stained with a single drop of blood. Its sharpness and power exceeded his expectations.
At his current level, killing a Level 4 elite beast only yielded one Spirit Source. Su Li took down one Thorn Beast, while Ding Longyun and Gong Xiao quickly finished theirs. Xu Haishui also acted but didn't compete for the elite beasts. Su Li watched Ding Longyun and Gong Xiao swiftly kill their Thorn Beasts, thinking that everyone was unknowingly growing stronger. The three of them killed the three Thorn Beasts, but neither Su Li nor Ding Longyun gained a special ability—only Gong Xiao learned the "Thorn Barrage" skill.
"Xuehui, how many more?" Su Li asked, watching Xu Xuehui diligently deliver the final blows to the monsters scattered across the ground. They had all been severely wounded by the group, but the killing strikes were left for her. "Twenty-nine," Xu Xuehui reported. She now had twenty-one Spirit Sources. "Good." Su Li picked up one Thorn Beast corpse, tossed it down, then did the same with the second and third. Xu Xuehui still needed twenty-nine Spirit Sources, so they needed to attract more monsters.
The flesh of the three elite beasts drew a horde of monsters once again. Swarms of Sea Scorpion Beasts surged toward the rooftop. "Kid, your chance is here," Ding Longyun said, seeing so many Sea Scorpion Beasts—well over thirty. Killing them all would give Xu Xuehui enough Spirit Sources. As before, the group severely wounded the Sea Scorpion Beasts, leaving the final blows to Xu Xuehui. She kept collecting Spirit Sources, inching closer to her breakthrough. Soon, she gained twelve more, reducing the needed count to seventeen.
Su Li watched her steadily kill the Sea Scorpion Beasts, silently calculating the remaining Spirit Sources. "Fifteen left now. Hmm, two more down, so thirteen should be left."
At the edge of the building, a silver-white monster suddenly climbed up. It was a massive lizard with silver-white skin covered in a thin layer of scales, five meters long. From its open mouth, a translucent liquid dripped onto the concrete rooftop, causing it to blacken, smoke, and show signs of corrosion. Clearly, the giant lizard's saliva was highly corrosive. As it climbed onto the roof, the Sea Scorpion Beasts that had been attacking the group began to retreat and shrink back.
Su Li looked at this sudden giant lizard, his mind stirring. "Could this be the strongest creature in the monster nest below this building?" If so, he thought, he'd been waiting for it for a long time, and the Dragon Rhino Sword in his hand was already itching for action. A vertical slit-like mark appeared on his brow as he activated the "Peep Rune." "Name: Poison Armor Lizard King, Level: Level 6, Leader-type Spirit Source user. The Poison Armor Lizard King is covered in deadly poison. The venom in its mouth is highly corrosive and flammable. Its mouth has evolved a flint-like mechanism at the tip that can ignite the sprayed venom, turning it into more lethal poison fire. Killing the Poison Armor Lizard King guarantees the special ability 'Poison Armor Fire.'"
"Everyone be careful—this monster can spit poison fire," Su Li warned, gripping the Dragon Rhino Sword, ready to strike. The Poison Armor Lizard King, a Level 6 leader-type monster, should be inferior to the Level 6 rare-type Dragon Rhino Beast. With the Dragon Rhino Sword in hand, Su Li felt no fear.
The Poison Armor Lizard King climbed onto the roof, suddenly opened its mouth, and let out a beastly roar. Its entire body silver-white, it charged toward the group at incredible speed, kicking up a gust of wind like a speeding silver chariot. Su Li moved to circle around to its side for a decapitation strike, but the Poison Armor Lizard King stopped abruptly in front of them, opened its massive jaws, and spewed a stream of greenish flame. With a loud "whoosh," the torrent of fire ignited the monster corpses on the ground, spreading rapidly and forming a massive wall of fire in an instant.
The Poison Armor Lizard King stood still, its mouth wide open like a giant flamethrower, continuously blasting green flames like a huge fire dragon toward the group. Though Su Li knew it could spit poison fire, the sheer intensity of the flames exceeded his expectations. The rising wall of fire blocked his path. Faced with such ferocious poison fire, he abandoned the idea of flanking the lizard, pulling Xu Xuehui back to create distance and think of another plan. Ding Longyun and Xu Haishui had the same idea, retreating to dodge the raging flames. Ding Longyun cursed under his breath—this was the first time he'd seen a monster that could breathe fire.