Then she noticed that the group of low-level corpse beasts hadn’t followed them. Instead, they veered off in another direction, gnawing on the carcasses of the water rat beasts that Su Li and Ding Longyun had killed. Whether it was because they feared the dominance of the giant crab and dared not approach, or because they were drawn by the flesh and blood of the water rat beasts’ remains, she couldn’t tell. After all, water rat beasts were second-level creatures; devouring their flesh and blood would greatly benefit the evolution of these low-level corpse beasts, giving them hope of advancing into higher-level ones.
On the rooftop, aside from the piled-up corpses of corpse beasts and marine iguanas, only the giant crab remained as a monster. Su Li walked out holding an iron rod, every muscle in his body trembling as he entered the “Muscle Boost Type 2” state. The muscles he was activating on the surface of his body slowly swelled, and on the back of his right hand gripping the rod, veins bulged one by one. All his focus was locked onto the enemy before him.
The giant crab was an elite among third-level monsters, absolutely terrifying—far more fearsome than ordinary third-level monsters like the marine iguana. The crab, which had been knocked rolling away with them, propped itself up with its two pincers and flipped over, letting out a strange “squeaking” sound—its expression of rage. Then it began to move, crawling sideways but with surprising speed, charging toward Ding Longyun, who was closer to it.
The distance between them instantly shrank to within four meters. The giant crab raised its pincers high, swung them forward, and snapped them at Ding Longyun. “Its whole body is covered in hard shell, only the belly is soft. We need to find a way to attack its belly,” Su Li said, having learned the crab’s weakness through his “Peep Rune.” He quickly warned Ding Longyun while starting to circle around behind the crab to attack and harass it.
“Got it!” Ding Longyun let out a low shout. Instead of retreating, he gripped his steel shovel with both hands and swung it at the incoming pincer. Though the giant crab was entirely encased in hard shell with only its belly as a weak point, Ding Longyun had no intention of targeting its belly. He wanted to get close to the crab and strike its head, because his unique “Soul Devour” ability could infiltrate an enemy’s interior and cause destruction. He didn’t believe that no matter how hard the crab’s shell was, it could withstand his “Soul Devour.” Hard shells might defend against physical, violent attacks, but “Soul Devour” was different from all physical attacks—it was a very special, mysterious energy with penetrative power.
The steel shovel accurately struck the snapping pincer with a metallic clang. Su Li, who had circled behind the crab, also made his move, swinging his iron rod. From his current angle, he couldn’t attack the crab’s belly, so his target was the row of thin legs on either side of the crab’s body. The crab had two large pincers in front, making it too difficult to attack its underside head-on. Su Li decided to first break off those thin legs.
Sensing Su Li’s attack and intent from behind, the crab immediately turned its body toward Su Li, its pincer shooting out like lightning to clamp at him. “Hit the legs!” Su Li dodged and retreated, while reminding Ding Longyun to take this chance to smash the crab’s small thin legs. With one in front and one behind, the crab was outnumbered, struggling to defend both sides at once.
But Ding Longyun had his own plan. Instead of following Su Li’s advice to smash the crab’s thin legs with his steel shovel, he seized the opportunity to step forward, closing in on the crab. He transferred the shovel to his left hand, reached out with his right, and slapped it against the hard shell of the crab’s head. He activated “Soul Devour,” aiming to finish the crab off in the instant it turned to attack Su Li. Getting this close to the crab was risky, since the crab still had another pincer raised in the air, but Ding Longyun had calculated that even if that pincer swung back to attack him, his left hand gripping the steel shovel would immediately raise it to block, ensuring his right hand’s “Soul Devour” could strike the crab’s head in that moment.
But he never expected that the crab wouldn’t use that pincer to attack him. Instead, it flexed the eight thin legs on both sides of its body, pushing hard against the ground, and rammed its massive body—larger than a typical ten-person round table—straight into him. The giant crab was covered in hard shell, like wearing heavy armor, and with its immense strength, the force of this charge was terrifying.
Caught off guard, Ding Longyun was hit with a scream, blood spraying from his mouth. His body flew like a kite with a broken string, tumbling twice before crashing to the ground with a thud. His chest caved in slightly, three ribs broken inside. The sudden turn of events shocked Su Li as well. He never expected Ding Longyun to take such a risky approach by getting so close to the crab, nor did he anticipate the crab suddenly charging with such force. He couldn’t even dodge in time.
“Brother Ding!” Su Li cried out in alarm. He watched as the crab, having knocked Ding Longyun flying, immediately moved forward to press the attack, its pincers extending. If those pincers clamped down, they would instantly cut Ding Longyun in half, and no one could save him then. Su Li roared, pushing off with both feet to charge forward at full speed, trying to stop the crab, but he was still too late. The crab’s pincers reached out, aiming to clamp Ding Longyun, who was lying on the ground.
Ding Longyun, just knocked flying, was reeling from surging blood and energy, with three ribs broken in his chest and his head dizzy. He didn’t even think to dodge as the crab charged at him. Just as the crab’s pincers were about to clamp him, Ding Longyun’s body slid across the ground, narrowly avoiding the pincer attack. It was Xu Xuehui who had rushed over, grabbed one of Ding Longyun’s legs as he lay on the ground, and dragged him away, evading the crab’s pincer strike.
Su Li had thought Ding Longyun was doomed, but he breathed a sigh of relief at this sight. The crab turned, ready to attack Xu Xuehui, but Su Li had already caught up. With a sharp shout, he swung his iron rod down at the four thin legs on the crab’s side. His guess was right: the crab seemed to know those thin legs couldn’t be hit, so it quickly shifted and turned, extending its pincers to snap at Su Li. Su Li stepped back slightly, holding his iron rod horizontally to block the incoming pincer, when he suddenly saw the eight thin legs on the crab’s sides flex. Sensing trouble, he immediately dodged to the side, swinging his iron rod at the same time.
Sure enough, the crab repeated its tactic, flexing its eight thin legs to ram its body into Su Li and severely injure him. Fortunately, Su Li had just witnessed Ding Longyun’s fate and dodged in time. The crab’s body brushed past him, missing its target, but his swinging iron rod didn’t miss. It struck two of the crab’s thin legs on its side with full force. Though those eight legs were protected by hard shell, they were slender. Hit by Su Li’s iron rod with the force of a thousand pounds, the two struck legs snapped instantly, with a white substance oozing from the breaks.