Chapter 392: Centipede
After hearing the noise, Leo instinctively wanted to rush toward its source to check what was happening. But removing these leeches was just as important—if they burrowed inside Howl’s body, he would have to heat his body again, and for a thorough cleanse, the heat would need to be intense.
Just then, Bigfoot ca running toward him, its heavy steps thudding against the ground.
"Guugugoogu!" the beast spoke, its voice rough and urgent. Leo couldn’t understand a word. Only when Howl relayed Bigfoot’s intent—about helping remove the leeches—did Leo grasp the situation.
"Alright. You and Kaelion handle this. I’m going ahead," Leo said, already moving.
With that, he dashed toward the source of the noise.
Even before he saw anything, the girls’ shouts reached him.
"Aina! Shoot fire arrows, it’s a wood-type beast!" Sylva shouted.
Hm? Wood type? Now those are rare... Leo thought. This would be the first wood-type beast he’d seen since the tree behemoth back on the trial.
"Ah, damn it! It has healing abilities! Back away!" Sylva shouted again as Aina and Mira leapt toward a tall tree branch, creating distance from whatever the beast was.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But it seed soone wasn’t backing away.
When Leo finally reached the scene, he was stunned.
Virat was engaged in combat with a centipede over 15 ters long.
Verdant Thorncrawler (Mid 3-star) – Mortal Bloodline
It was a multi-segnted centipede, its body covered in bark-like armour with thorny protrusions. Its brown and faintly greenish texture blended seamlessly with the dense forest.
Though its body appeared divided into countless segnts, not all bore equal weight. Reinforced core segnts anchored thick, powerful, spike-like legs, while smaller interlinking segnts granted flexibility and fluid motion. This layered structure distributed its imnse mass efficiently, allowing the creature to move with both strength and fluidity.
*pic*
But what truly stood out was Virat.
He moved with astonishing agility, manoeuvring around the centipede faster than its attacks could reach him. Using the crossbow strapped to his arm like a grappling tool, he swung around the beast in wide arcs as it struggled to track him. Since the beast was a physical body, reach wasn’t much higher, and Virat was taking advantage of being airborne.
Twip! Twip! Twip!
Virat fired more grappling hooks—pulling them from his spatial ring—and latched them precisely onto a single armoured segnt.
In one fluid motion, he disengaged the rope ends from the crossbow, gripped all three tightly, then leapt across a tree branch. Using it like a pulley, he yanked hard—
Crriiipp—!
The armor over the segnt tore away, exposing the soft flesh beneath.
Leo found himself instantly captivated, his eyes following every movent.
"Hmm... as I thought. His superior body talent makes him almost superhuman—enhanced senses, enhanced control and strength... no wonder he performs far beyond his rank," Leo muttered, signaling Naelith and Bigfoot’s summon to hold back for now.
Naelith was already itching to join the fight, but she restrained herself. Sylrael had warned her not to misbehave in front of Leo. Over the past few days, she had grown sowhat attached to the territory—mostly because of Lily, who treated her and the other elves not as outsiders or inferiors. Lily reminded her of her elder sister, who had stayed behind at their original settlent back in her previous world.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Twip!
Virat fired his Desert Eagle with uncanny precision at the exposed flesh, then imdiately drove another grappling hook into the sa wound. The rope looped around a tree branch, forcing the beast to twist violently as the tension pulled against its injured segnt.
tk... tk... KRRK!
The centipede snapped its head upward toward Virat, who hovered above it. Its jaws opened wide, releasing a dense spore mist at terrifying speed.
Virat gritted his teeth, pulling the pins from the bombs he had prepared earlier. He tossed them down, then fired another grappling hook to the side.
Twip!
But before he could pull himself away completely, the spore mist engulfed him just as the bombs detonated inside the exposed wound.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
GRRRRRRKKKKKK!!!
The centipede let out a piercing roar of pain. Leo watched as it activated a healing ability, trying to nd the seared flesh. But the grappling hook embedded within the wound only intensified its agony.
Leo could sense its rising irritation. With a violent jerk, the beast snapped the rope binding it to the tree—but the hook remained lodged in its body, even as the wound began to close around it.
The centipede rolled across the ground, thrashing onto its back in an attempt to dislodge the hook. But the wound had already sealed, and the embedded sharp tal now tore at its flesh with every movent.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Off to the side, Virat collapsed, coughing violently. Blood stained his lips, his eyes reddened and strained. Even so, he had managed to retreat within the safety of the territory boundary before falling.
Aina, the girls, and the 2-star elves were still busy dealing with the worm beasts. With no one engaging it now, the enraged centipede beca even more dangerous.
"Elirin, heal Virat. Naelith, take down that beast."
Leo could have sent the python, but he deliberately chose Naelith. The others in the territory needed to witness her strength.
As if she had been waiting for this mont, Naelith released an arrow.
From an incredible distance, it arced high into the sky—rising 10s of ters above the ground.
Yet despite that distance, the presence behind the arrow was overwhelming.
Everyone felt it.
Heads snapped upward. Even the thrashing worms froze mid-motion before abruptly burrowing back into the ground.
"L-Lord... Sister Naelith seems to have used more strength than necessary. Please order the others to retreat, or they might get injured," one of the elves, Naewyn, inford Leo through the mind link.
Leo’s eyes narrowed as he tracked the arrow’s path.
"Good call. Inform everyone to prepare and retreat accordingly. Don’t worry—I won’t let anyone get hurt," he replied calmly, his voice steady with quiet confidence.
In the distance, Naewyn let out a sigh of relief.
Before contacting Leo, the elves had hesitated among themselves, debating who would dare speak up. In the end, Naewyn had gathered the courage, fully expecting a reprimand.
Instead, she found him composed.
That alone elevated Leo’s image in her eyes.
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