After taking down the monster, Xu Xiaoyou finally saw its appearance clearly.
It was draped in tattered clothes, its snout elongated and bare, its fur sparse, dirty, and stiff, its belly bloated and swollen, and its limbs severely degenerated and withered, though a few human characteristics could still be distinguished; a pair of cracked, simple glasses hung from its snout.
Now that she had killed it, foul-smelling dark green pus seeped from its seven orifices, dripping onto the ground with a sizzling sound and corroding tiny holes into the surface.
A strong stench of decay wafted over her in waves, causing Xu Xiaoyou to frown slightly and cover her nose and mouth.
Just as she had initially judged, this monster was a giant black rat transformed from a pan-human.
The Gnawing Parasite Miracle had descended upon Pangard, transforming over ninety percent of the city's NPCs into these monsters.
Leaving the basement, she arrived at the street. Oddly shaped dark clouds gathered in the leaden sky like the tentacles of an evil god.
An apocalyptic scene unfolded before Xu Xiaoyou's eyes; in this medieval European-style town, every street and alley was filled with Gnawer creatures, foul-smelling monsters running and climbing over streets and buildings, chasing survivors and devouring them after pinning them down.
Screams and wails echoed under the gray sky as a bell tower not far away was struck by a beam of dark green light, collapsing instantly. A massive creature, shaped like a cross between a rodent and a bat with a wingspan of nearly a hundred meters, whistled across the city sky. It let out a sharp sonic boom from its mouth, shattering buildings along the ground as it passed.
The dark green light beam from before had been fired from this monster's mouth; it appeared to be a boss-type creature, and it was currently hurtling toward a stronghold just captured by players, slamming straight into the building.
A vomit monster as massive as a small mountain walked from the other end of the street, making the earth tremble with every step; its skin was so rotten that none of it remained intact, and its mangled flesh barely clung to its skeletal frame. Corrosive dark green saliva dripped down, instantly dissolving a player running past its feet into a skeleton.
This was a vomit monster transformed from a troll, an elite-type Gnawer creature, with a daunting health pool of four thousand five hundred points.
It roared and beat its chest, its thunderous voice making the very world seem to lose its color as it accelerated, crushing an armored tank underfoot and charging toward the silver mecha on the left side of the street.
The two behemoths collided head-on in the street, the resulting shockwave blasting surrounding buildings into debris and causing entire sections to collapse.
The player-controlled silver mecha was knocked into the building behind Xu Xiaoyou with a deafening crash, kicking up countless stones and crushing the players below, leaving them dead or injured.
Simultaneously, the silver mecha's power arm deployed a glowing-red thermal blade; the mechanical hand plowed five deep marks into the building's surface as it slashed forward in an orange-red arc, neatly severing the monster's arm.
The monster let out a howl of pain and swiped away the silver mecha's blocking arm; its thick fingers suddenly thrust into the mecha's cockpit, forcefully pulling out the pilot along with several bundles of cables.
"Ah!" The pilot let out a terrified scream, struggling with hands and feet.
In the next moment, he was crushed into a bloody pulp, his health bar clearing instantly.
The unmanned silver mecha tilted and fell against the building, looking like it was about to be dismantled into parts by the frenzied vomit monster, and Xu Xiaoyou slowly raised her head.
"Quickly, go protect our 'Zero-Hour Flash'!" a player cried out in shock. "Our entire guild crowdfunded the credits to rent that; our hope of getting a good ranking in this world-class dungeon depends entirely on it!"
"Wait, look, is that person the Great Dark Gold Rose?"
At that moment, someone shouted toward the golden figure standing in the shadows of the building. Her long, beautiful golden hair was draped over her shoulders, and the falling rain of stones kicked up a gale that blew her shawl about, making the Queen of Hearts choker at her collar incredibly prominent.
"It really is Dark Gold Rose!"
"Lady Dark Gold Rose, please help us deal with this monster!"
Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Xu Xiaoyou's lips curled upward. "Of course."
In an instant, she leaped into the air like a cannonball, smashing through the thick smoke and slamming into the chest of the rotten troll, sending it stumbling backward.
Before the monster could roar in pain, Xu Xiaoyou's raised black skirt fused with the building's shadows; a massive dark silhouette extended from beneath her feet, enveloping the monster's mountain-like body.
In the following instant, invisible giant hands broke free from the shadows, opening a bloody maw that bit off half of the monster's body. Viscous blood erupted into the air like a downpour of dark green rain, corroding deep pits wherever it landed.
Flames ignited in Xu Xiaoyou's hand as she stood on the mecha's shoulder, her head slightly turned; the golden-red firelight illuminated her face.
It began as a faint spark, then suddenly the flame's core exploded, a pillar of fire rising toward the heavens and swirling into a fiery storm. The silhouette of a fire demon laughed behind the girl as the scorching, destructive wind of the inferno swept across the entire street!
The players below were blinded by the light and heat, shielding their eyes with their arms as waves of flame washed over them, melting the steel and concrete nearby.
They were once again stunned by the sheer power displayed by the golden-haired girl.
"Is this the power of Dark Gold Rose?"
Seeing that her goal was achieved, Xu Xiaoyou's smile relaxed. She swept her hand downward, and the fire snakes swimming in the air opened their fangs, biting into the troll and instantly setting its foul body ablaze!
"HP -500! You have dealt burning damage to 'Vomit Monster (Elite)'. This damage has triggered a critical hit and added the 'Burn' effect!"
"HP -63. You have dealt burning damage to 'Vomit Monster (Elite)', with continuous 'Burn' damage applied."
A series of damage notification boxes popped up. The rotten troll could not endure the bone-searing pain and roared as it crashed into a nearby building; before long, it let out a final skyward howl and burned to ash, scattering with the wind.
It was no joke; a Fireball Bombardment with a proficiency level of sublime was essentially a death sentence once abnormal effects were applied. For a monster of this size, it was practically a specialized counter-attack.
Xu Xiaoyou was not at all surprised by the result.
The players stood with their mouths agape, eyes full of admiration. Dark Gold Rose had taken down an elite boss the moment she stepped in. They marveled at how, despite all being grade 3, the gap between them was so immense.
At this point, the guild leader stepped forward with a face full of gratitude. "Lady Dark Gold Rose, thank you so much for your help. I, Li, have no way to repay you, but if you ever need anything in the future, we are willing to serve you with everything we have..."
"There's no need. I've already taken the reward I wanted," Xu Xiaoyou said nonchalantly.
The players were stunned, and the guild leader felt a faint sense of unease. Just as he was about to speak, the shadow beneath Xu Xiaoyou enveloped the entire silver mecha. The mecha, which had been slumped over powerless, suddenly stood back up, moving its limbs with a slight stiffness.
"I'll take this Zero-Hour Flash off your hands. Don't mention it."
"Wait, it works like that?"
"Hold on, Lady Dark Gold Rose! We spent a huge amount to rent that mecha!"
"This is bad, stop her!"
Before they could react, the golden-haired girl familiarized herself with the mecha's controls in the blink of an eye. The crowd watched in stunned silence as she steered the Zero-Hour Flash away with style, leaving them standing there in a daze.
Rate on N.U.
