Chapter 199: Behemoth Lizard
Chapter 199: Behemoth Lizard
As soon as Ji Xinghuo's magnetic field sensing swept across a peculiar target, he immediately confirmed that it was the monster he was looking for!
Its magnetic field shape basically matched Lu Yunhai's previous judgment.
It was a giant lizard!
With a pointed head, four legs under its belly, and sharp, long claws on its five toes, it had a slender body, and a tail that was almost half the length of its entire body. Its magnetic field strength was extremely high, and even from such a distance, they could sense the strong etheric energy fluctuations emanating from it.
A Calamity-level monster, Behemoth-tier!
Ji Xinghuo's eyes turned solemn. Any Calamity-level monster was formidable and extremely dangerous.
This mutated and evolved Nile giant lizard was even more dangerous than the Behemoth-tier stone sickle giant demon they had encountered in the Valley of Extremes last year.
Seeing that Ji Xinghuo remained silent for a long time, his teammates knew that he was scouting.
After a while,
Jing Ji released a silent illusion, concealing the team's presence and preventing their voices from spreading, and asked, "Well?"
"I have some good news and some bad news," Ji Xinghuo replied. "The good news is that we've found the monster. It's that one."
Chi Zhonglin immediately asked, "What's the bad news then?"
"It's a Behemoth-tier monster."
Everyone's expressions changed slightly.
A Behemoth-tier monster was equivalent to a second-stage Legend. Although almost all of them were experts on the Tower, working together to kill a Legend, there was still a significant chance that someone would be severely injured or even die.
"That 30% probability guess of mine turned out to be right after all," Jing Ji shook his head helplessly.
"We're taking on the Behemoth anyway!"
"Yeah, we've been tracking it for several days now. It wasn't easy to find it, so we might as well give it a shot."
"Fortune favors the bold!" Zhuo Liguotu said in a low voice, "If we take it down, we'll earn at least two or three hundred million. It's worth risking our lives for this."
The group discussed in low voices, but apart from Lu Yunhai, everyone else was experienced, and despite their excited words, they hadn't lost their rationality.
"Listen to my plan,"
Ji Xinghuo, as the team leader, resolutely took on the responsibility and began to devise their tactics.
He had already scouted the surroundings using his magnetic field sensing.
The monster was over two thousand meters away. At that moment, it was basking on the shore of a river bend. Checking the map for its location, he saw that the river was one of the upstream tributaries of the Congo River, the "Aruwimi River," a typical tropical rainforest river surrounded by dense forests and complex terrain.
The tropical rainforest on the equator in Africa had little climate change all year round, with evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year and very humid air.
Even now, in early May, the rainforest was still sweltering.
The nearest city was an obscure small town called "Mambasa," dozens of kilometers away, and there were rarely any human traces within a radius of tens of thousands of square kilometers.
It was the perfect place to ambush the monster without worrying about being sneak-attacked.
"Old Yuan, Jing Ji, you two will take the lead."
"Old Yuan, you need to hold its attention from the front and create an opportunity for Jing Ji to strike." Ji Xinghuo explained, considering that Yuan Chongzhen could transform into a "Black Iron Giant Ape," possessing a formidable physique, strength, and defense, enough to withstand the first wave of the monster's attacks.
"I understand," Yuan Chongzhen nodded solemnly. When he was a bounty hunter, he had always been the first to rush into battle.
"Zhonglin and Zhuo Liguotu, your speeds aren't fast enough. Once the attack begins, don't worry about anything else and rush towards the monster to join the fight."
"Zhonglin, you take the Skyfury Crimson Blood Gun and make sure to inflict enough damage."
"Zhuo Liguotu, you know what to do. Attack the target or heal your teammates, the timing is up to you."
Both of them indicated that they understood.
"The first arrow I shoot will be the signal to begin the offense."
Ji Xinghuo instructed the team, "The Nile giant lizard has excellent aquatic abilities, and there are rumors that it can manipulate water currents. Its current position is more than four hundred meters away from the river surface, which is the best opportunity for us to strike. Our first goal in this battle is to prevent it from entering the river!"
"Are we clear on what we need to do?" he asked once more for confirmation.
Everyone nodded.
"What about me, Xinghuo?" Lu Yunhai couldn't help but speak up.
Ji Xinghuo had already made arrangements and said seriously, "The Behemoth-tier battle is too dangerous for you. Therefore, no matter what happens, you must not approach the monster. Your only task is to stay at the furthest distance and use your firearms for long-range attacks to supplement our firepower. If there's any sign of trouble, retreat immediately. Don't let your battle pet get too close either; keep it by your side for vigilance."
"Okay," Lu Yunhai agreed without hesitation.
He knew that Ji Xinghuo was looking out for him. In a Behemoth-tier battle, even a single aftershock could result in his instant death.
"Get ready."
As Ji Xinghuo finished speaking, Jing Ji activated the mental necklace, enabling the team to communicate quickly and seamlessly.
Zhuo Liguotu's eyes turned bloodshot, and he let out a low roar. A circle of bloody light burst forth from his body, spreading to everyone, causing them to feel their strength and speed increase.
Zhuo Liguotu then reached out and touched each of his teammates, as if instilling courage into their hearts, making them fearless.
White Knight's "Firm Will," in addition to being effective on himself, could also empower others once it reached Level 3, granting them partial immunity to mental attacks during battle, strengthening their will, and making them unwavering. Although it was not as powerful as Iron Will, it was still very practical.
Yuan Chongzhen also transformed into a "Forest Elk Spirit," bestowing upon the team the effect of "Quick Recovery," which would last for fifteen minutes.
Then, he turned into a Shadow Panther.
Chi Zhonglin used an odor neutralizer spray on everyone. The giant lizard's sense of smell was very sensitive, and this would prevent it from detecting them as they drew closer.
Ji Xinghuo distributed a batch of potions to the team.
These were primary neural enhancers that accelerated thought processes, equivalent to Level 1 high-frequency thinking, but with side effects that included a few hours of headaches after the drug wore off.
This was a hard-to-find combat drug on the market, which he had obtained from the Sword Bureau. He didn't need it himself, but it could be useful for his teammates.
Everyone readied their weapons and firearms, tying the velociraptors to nearby trees to prevent them from running amok.
"Let's go."
Ji Xinghuo took the lead.
Jing Ji maintained the silent illusion, cloaking the team as they stealthily made their way through the forest towards the monster under Ji Xinghuo's guidance.
Soon, a spacious riverbank came into view.
Here, the Aruwimi River formed a large bay, with the river beach surrounded by water on three sides. The grass and bushes on the shore had been washed away by the river, exposing the soil. Due to the lack of rain in the past few days, the ground had baked into a hard, dry surface. A colossal creature could be seen lounging leisurely on a large stone, soaking in the sun.
Even at a distance of over 500 meters, everyone could sense the terrifying aura of this monster.
Its appearance was almost identical to that of a Nile giant lizard.
However, its size had been magnified several dozen times! This giant lizard had grayish-black scales, thick as armor, with yellow spots on its back and banded markings around its tail.
The most striking difference between it and a normal Nile giant lizard was its head, which was originally pointed but now resembled a crocodile's, with two fin-like bony plates extending from the top of its head to its shoulders.
At that moment, it lay contentedly in the sun, its eyes half-closed, completely unaware of the impending danger.
Zhuo Liguotu's voice sounded in everyone's minds: "If it weren't for the fear of damaging the exotic beast, I'd really like to blow it to smithereens with a rocket launcher!"
With the destructive power of a plasma rocket launcher, a direct hit would indeed be a potential one-hit kill.
But that would render their efforts pointless.
Ji Xinghuo drew out the Invisible Sting and loaded it with a capacitive arrow, but he didn't draw the bowstring right away. Instead, he nodded slightly to Jing Ji and Yuan Chongzhen, "You two go ahead."
They injected themselves with neural enhancers and sprang into action.
Jing Ji merged with the shadows and disappeared from view.
Yuan Chongzhen, transformed into a Shadow Panther, also left the range of the silent illusion and crept into the shadows of the forest.
The two circled around, approaching the giant lizard from the other side, hiding in the shadows just over 300 meters away from the beast. Any closer, and they risked being detected.
At the same time, Qinghong, in its mini form, quickly climbed upstream, dove into the water, and swam along the riverbed towards the river beach where the monster lay.
Chi Zhonglin gripped his long spear, activating the "Endless Fury" ability on the weapon and the recently fused "Bloody Frenzy" skill, causing his body hair to turn green and his form to shift into that of a two-meter-tall fungal giant with a layer of tungsten dragon scales covering his body.
In this frenzied state, the 2.2-meter-long Skyfury Crimson Blood Gun became the perfect tool, amplifying his strength to a terrifying degree!
Zhuo Liguotu also leaped onto his Ferocious Battle Bear, shield in one hand and morning star mace in the other.
Lu Yunhai raised his electromagnetic rifle.
Everyone was in position.
"Ready, 3, 2, 1!"
As Ji Xinghuo counted down to 1 in his mind, his right eye pupil flashed with a circle of light, and he entered the state of Omniscience.
Suddenly, the world became quiet and vivid.
An invisible line extended from the capacitive arrowhead of the Invisible Sting, aiming at the giant lizard's eye. Countless streams of light appeared before his eyes, showing him various possible outcomes, but none of them resulted in him taking down the powerful creature with a single arrow.
The best result he could hope for was to blind one of its eyes.
That would have to do! Without hesitation, Ji Xinghuo released the arrow, and it shot out, glowing with electric light. The moment it left the bowstring, it turned transparent, making it nearly impossible to track with the naked eye.
The capacitive arrow sped like an invisible lightning bolt, covering the distance of over 500 meters in the blink of an eye and reaching the giant lizard.
Its eyes snapped open.
An invisible force field automatically deployed, and the surrounding air crackled with electricity. The capacitive arrow entered the force field and immediately interacted with it, erupting into a dazzling display of lightning.
The arrow's speed decreased sharply, but it was too close.
Before the giant lizard could react further, the arrow struck its eye, piercing the eye socket and leaving only half of the arrow shaft protruding.
"ROAR!"
The giant lizard let out a piercing, furious roar that echoed through the clouds.
At the same time, Yuan Chongzhen, in the form of a Shadow Panther, transformed into a black blur, leaping through the shadows of the trees, onto the riverbank, and then into a three-meter-tall Black Iron Giant Ape. He charged forward like a speeding train, crashing into the giant lizard.
Close behind was Jing Ji.
On the other side, Chi Zhonglin and Zhuo Liguotu also launched their assault.
Bang, bang, bang...
Ji Xinghuo ran forward, his Invisible Sting transformed into an iron hammer, and he began firing shots with his gun, each one landing on the giant lizard's head and spraying blood.
The battle had officially begun!
(End of Chapter)
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