Chapter 30: Exoskeleton

Wood was highly professional.

Whether viewed from the perspective of a “guard” or an “adventurer,” he was the most experienced individual in the entire squad. Even during a brief, temporary rest on the road, he would meticulously arrange flawless warning traps in the surrounding area.

However, tightly coupled with this, perhaps because he was too professional, the traps he set were often overly delicate and strict. Many times, when Xia Nan and the others caught the warning sound and tensed up ready for battle, they would ultimately discover that the trigger had merely been a few harmless little forest beasts.

Regarding this, although Xia Nan sometimes felt mentally exhausted, he didn’t actually harbor much resentment. Nor would he let his guard down due to the frequent false alarms, as in the old fable of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

Being a bit tired was always better than dying silently beneath the claws of some magical beast. The scene of the gnome Erki’s head splitting open under the goblins’ ambush was still fresh in his mind.

Snap… tinkle-tinkle!

At twilight, amidst the dense bushes enveloped in thin mist, a sudden sound of a snapping branch rang out, instantly followed by a flurry of rapid, loud metallic bell chimes.

A trap had been triggered!

Xia Nan surged to his feet, both hands tightly gripping his Beheading Longsword. His eyes locked onto the direction the sound had come from, while he simultaneously maintained wariness of his immediate surroundings, terrified that something might flank him from behind.

He did not slacken in the slightest.

The half-elf and his guard did the exact same.

The very instant the bells rang, Haian picked up the wooden longbow resting at his feet, bending the bow and notching an arrow. The razor-sharp arrowhead aimed from afar at the swaying thickets in the distance.

Wood’s figure, which had been fairly distinct in Xia Nan’s line of sight just a moment ago, suddenly dimmed. It was as if he had been cloaked in a blurry, hazy shadow, and his entire personal presence plummeted abruptly.

By comparison, Larry and Doris’s reactions were half a beat slower.

After all, one was a plump scion of wealth, and the other was a slender girl who had been repeatedly frightened. Walking through the Mist Forest for this entire day had already left them thoroughly exhausted and drained of stamina.

Fortunately, at the very least, their attitude was serious. Even though they knew in their hearts that the entity triggering the trap this time was highly likely another wild rabbit or fawn, they still grabbed their weapons, stood up, and assumed combat postures.

Crackle.

The campfire flickered.

It seemed only the light pops of burning firewood remained in the air.

Nightfall was imminent, and the permeating mist seemed to grow denser along with it, making the dim twilight scattering through it appear exceptionally decadent and powerless. Visibility was far inferior to the daytime.

The environment was complex, so the few members of the squad did not rashly step forward, but merely stood their ground on alert.

Pitter-patter… pitter-patter…

Xia Nan leaned his back against a massive tree, his expression taut. His black pupils reflected the contours of the distant bushes and tall grass, his nostrils flaring slightly with his breath.

This time, things seemed a bit different.

According to the commotion during previous trap triggers, those naturally timid herbivores would usually scatter their legs and flee in panic when startled by the bells. Back in the camp, what they would hear was a brief flurry of footsteps gradually growing distant, occasionally accompanied by a sharp, terrified cry.

Yet the current situation was completely the opposite.

After the bells were jolted, the movement in the thickets only paused for a single fraction of a second before starting up again. In fact, it was as if the creature had discerned the squad’s location because of it, moving straight toward them.

The crisp sounds of branches and grass stems being crushed under weight, the bizarre footsteps resembling sharp objects driving into the ground, and even a hard-to-stomach noise produced by some rough object rubbing together…

Like the increasingly intense and piercing background music before the “climax” of a horror movie, Xia Nan watched the shaking bushes ahead, his heart beating faster and faster.

Finally, accompanied by a sharp, ear-splitting screech unique to insects that threatened to rupture one’s eardrums, four creeping, hideous figures appeared before everyone’s eyes.

A wavy exoskeleton, as coarse and thick as rock, encased their entire bodies. Four thick, powerful pedipalps extended toward both sides, their joints heavily studded with sharp spikes.

Mili-sized compound eyes reflected the faint light, and split mouthparts opened and closed slightly amid the screeching. Through those pale, jagged teeth flashing with cold light, one could faintly see the contracting esophagus and viscous saliva within.

And most eye-catching of all were the feather-like antennae extending upward from the sides of their heads, as well as the fin-like long tails branching at the tip like a fish.

“Rust Monsters!”

Wood’s low growl, filled with astonishment, echoed by their ears.

“Damn it, how can they be here…”

“Prepare for battle!”

The moment the words fell, a wooden arrow adorned with white tail feathers tore through the air, spinning as it traversed the thin mist.

As a marksman who had already completed his aiming sequence the very next second after the warning bell arrived, Haian executed the squad’s first attack once Wood confirmed the combat.

However, the overly dark and blurry environment caused the half-elf’s arrow to misalign slightly. Even though he had deliberately aimed at the Rust Monster’s tiny eyes hidden beneath the thick exoskeleton, he still failed to score an accurate hit.

Clang!

The metal arrowhead collided violently with the yellow-brown chitinous exoskeleton, sparking a stray flash of fire in the twilight. It rubbed and deflected off, leaving only a dark-brown scratch on the surface of the monster’s coarse carapace.

The battle erupted instantly!

Four Rust Monsters, each roughly five feet tall, charged toward the squad amid sharp screeches.

First up was Larry, who was positioned closest.

Whether it was the courage granted by the blonde girl behind him or because his clumsy performance facing the insect swarm during the day made him feel like he had lost face, this wealthy scion actually displayed courage far exceeding the norm at this moment.

One could see him raising the one-handed hammer high in his hand, completely disregarding the fair, greasy fat exposed between his tight short outfit as he lunged forward in a stride. The iron hammer, gleaming with metallic luster, smashed violently toward the Rust Monster’s narrow head.

Bang… Ah!

The sharp ring of hard objects colliding erupted abruptly within the woods. Closely following it was a scream filled with agony.

Facing that hard iron implement—the crystallization of human wisdom and craftsmanship—the Rust Monster’s yellow-brown chitinous exoskeleton was dented into a dense ring of fine cracks almost the instant contact was made.

But… it ended just there.

Because in the next second, the violent counter-force transmitted through the hammer body jolted Larry’s entire right side from his fingertips to his arm, and even into his chest cavity, numbing it as if he had lost all sensation in an instant.

The iron hammer slipped from his grip and fell onto the meadow. Larry’s face contorted in pain as he stumbled backward in a wretched retreat.

Yet how could two legs ever compare to four pedipalps?

Hiss—

The grating insect screech practically kicked up invisible waves in the air. Razor-sharp mouthparts opened and closed, the scent of death growing heavier.

Right at this critical juncture, Doris—who had consistently been hiding behind Larry—actually summoned every ounce of her strength and violently hurled another one-handed hammer over!

Clang!

By a stroke of serendipity, the hammer body smashed squarely into the Rust Monster’s fragile mouthparts, causing its entire body to stall. Larry scrambled on all fours, taking the opportunity to retreat.

Deep green saliva dripped from the Rust Monster’s smashed mouthparts, splashing onto the iron hammer.

Sizzle…

Accompanied by a pungent, thick smoke, the metal face of the hammer—which was strong enough to crack the carapace of insect beasts—actually softened and charred instantly, as if it had encountered its natural enemy.

“Watch out! The Rust Monster’s fluid can corrode metal!” Wood, who had long since vanished from sight, urgently warned.

“Huh!?”

Holding the polished Beheading Longsword tightly in his hands and just about to rush forward to offer support, Xia Nan’s footsteps instantly faltered.

(End of Chapter)