Boom!
A tremendous blast of resonant power bent a tree at the thickest part of its trunk. Li Luo’s figure was sent flying through the trees.
A dark figure appeared behind him, supporting his back and breaking his fall. The two landed safely.
Whoosh.
Li Luo was winded. The dead tree was breaking down in front of them. It was a wily one, looking exactly like a tree except for two gigantic human hands.
An Other.
It had stood there quietly, blending in with the environment, and it had even resisted attacking their illusions. When the real trio passed, it had struck.
It was a close shave.
The ambush had caught them off guard, but luckily it had a limited attack radius. The three managed to escape, catch their breath, and regroup before finishing it off.
Bai Mengmeng carefully picked up the fragment it left behind. As she stretched out her hand, she saw a long, black gash on her arm.
Some strange power was affecting her because of it, and her mood started to turn dark.
Li Luo quickly went over, taking her arm. Condensing a drop of liquid healing energy, he let it fall on the wound.
SPLATTER!
Faint, black smoke rose from her wound, accompanied by a hissing sound of the corruption being expelled. A moment later, her arm was as good as new.
Bai Mengmeng was delighted, running her finger experimentally over her skin, which was as smooth as new. “Thank you, Leader!”
For a girl, complexion was very important, and Li Luo’s healing result was definitely going to be popular.
“Leader, me too.”
A blackened arm was stuck out by a hopeful Xin Fu.
Li Luo’s kindly smile faded away. “Look here, Xin Fu,” he said with the air of a remonstrating parent, “scars are the mark of manliness, and this little bit of pain makes our spirits stronger. If you can’t even bear this, we should leave the Umbra Cave right now!”
Xin Fu was a little confused by the strange encouragement, but he nodded. “Er… yes. You’re right.”
Li Luo nodded approvingly. Phew. His healing cost a lot of resonant power. Bai Mengmeng was a girl, and so he should take care of her, but the two guys as well? He’d be drained before they even reached the purification tower!
“Hmm, we’ve finished off what? Four white eroders so far?” Li Luo asked.
His squad nodded.
“Judging by the direction and distance, we’re only left with one last zone to clear,” Bai Mengmeng judged, pointing to their right.
Li Luo felt a little pang of fear. That was the place he had avoided so far. The black mist was densest there.
Surely the strongest Others were waiting there.
The previous four they had met had all been white eroders, but strictly speaking, they were normal strength ones, at about Second Pattern in strength.
Stronger ones could well be Third or even Fourth Pattern… tough opponents indeed.
Xin Fu and Bai Mengmeng matched his sobering mood. They too understood that their biggest obstacle lay ahead.
“Well, let’s go see what we’re up against,” Li Luo finally said.
Xin Fu and Bai Mengmeng followed, and the three cautiously moved on.
Strangely, the zone was suspiciously devoid of any Others. Completely deserted.
“Weird. The other places had low-level Others everywhere. This place is sterile,” Li Luo said in a low tone.
Plosh!
Just then, there was a huge collision of evil energy from ahead.
They shielded their bodies with resonant power and rushed over.
When they broke out of the mist, their eyes narrowed in shock.
A scene of carnage opened up before them, blood and guts in piles.
In the middle, a monster without skin. The bloody, red flesh of its body lay exposed to the environment. The flesh bulged, and a gruesome tentacle began to grow from the body.
This fleshy Other was bound by some grey chains that prevented it from escaping, no matter how hard it struggled.
They stared, unsure of what to make of this scene. This Other was a cut stronger than any they had met so far, and probably a Third Pattern in strength.
And yet… it didn’t seem to be doing too well?
“What’s going on?” Bai Mengmeng whispered.
“A fight between Others,” Li Luo slowly replied. So Others fought among themselves too.
While processing this new information, they saw a piece of white human skin float out of the mist like a magic carpet.
Except unlike the fairytales, this one had a pair of eyes on it.
The human skin Other had to be the source of the chains, and it was quite evenly matched against the fleshy Other.
Strange roars and groans filled the air as the two nightmarish brutes duked it out.
The human skin Other expanded and expanded and then it fully encompassed the flesh Other.
Rumble!
The skin stretched and bulged, and furious struggling came from below. Occasionally, tumor-like swellings rose, distending the surface of the skin, but it was eventually squashed down.
The human skin Other was eating it.
The scene was appalling, and bizarre enough that it made their skin crawl.
Eventually, the human skin Other won, the struggle subsiding. A large, pale tentacle began to grow from the human skin’s surface, and stale blood leaked out from underneath.
“It’s getting stronger. When it finishes, it might be a Fourth, even Fifth Pattern,” Xin Fu whispered urgently.
“Shall we sneak an attack now?” Bai Mengmeng asked.
Li Luo chewed on this for a few moments, but he eventually shook his head. He sensed that they might have some small advantage now, but it wouldn’t be enough to put them in a good situation.
“Let’s not panic. Human Skin over there will need some time to fully absorb Fleshy…
“Let’s use this chance to reactivate the purification tower. If it can’t stop us because of its feeding, that would be ideal. When the tower is activated, it’ll be dealt with naturally.
“And if it comes…
“We’ll have to prepare a nice, warm welcome for it.”