I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom - Chapter 237

Chapter 237: A Monster Crawls from the Corpse

Shu Li opened a small gap in the Light Barrier, allowing the three of them to exit before sealing it again.

Celius advanced cautiously, Silver Sword in hand, while Amanda casually slung his greatsword over his shoulder and swaggered behind him. Shu Li brought up the rear, expanding his Perception to scan the surroundings for any lurking ambushers.

Soon, they reached the edge of the massive crater.

The crater was enormous, roughly six meters in diameter and three meters deep. The ground was charred black by fire, wisps of white smoke rising from the scorched earth, with sparks still flickering within.

“That… thing’s turned into charcoal,” Amanda said, lowering his greatsword and pointing at the “Humanoid Black Charcoal” at the crater’s center. “It’s gotta be dead, right?”

Shu Li frowned slightly as he examined the “corpse,” which was clearly twice the size of a normal human.

It made such a dramatic entrance, radiating intense Dark Force, only to die this easily?

“I’ll go down and check,” he said.

If it wasn’t completely dead, he’d deliver the final blow to ensure absolute certainty.

High-level magical beasts typically possessed survival mechanisms, and these monsters imbued with Dark Force undoubtedly had their own countermeasures.

“Sperien, let me go down and take a look!” Amanda volunteered, hoisting his greatsword and leaping into the pit.

“Be careful! If anything seems off, get out of there immediately!” Shu Li called out anxiously.

“Got it!” Amanda waved back.

Celius said gravely, “I should be the one to investigate.”

Amanda was wearing only a standard magic robe, offering limited protection, and his true strength remained unknown.

Shu Li smiled reassuringly. “It’s fine. We need to trust Amanda.”

Despite his refined appearance, Amanda was surprisingly tough. Even as a young dragon, his scales were incredibly durable, rendering ordinary swords and blades useless against him.

Celius’s eyes flickered slightly.

From that moment onward, countless questions swirled in his mind. He resolved to demand thorough answers once this crisis was resolved.

After all, as a member of the Light Squad, he had a right to know.

Amanda dodged the scattered sparks on the ground as he approached the “Humanoid Black Charcoal” at the pit’s center. When he was about half a meter away, he poked it with his greatsword.

The Humanoid Black Charcoal remained motionless, devoid of any aura.

Amanda blinked, shifted his position, and circled around to the Humanoid Black Charcoal’s head. He tapped it again with his greatsword.

Crack!

The Humanoid Black Charcoal’s head abruptly separated from its body.

Amanda startled and took two steps back.

“What happened?” Shu Li asked anxiously.

Amanda turned and waved dismissively. “Nothing, nothing. Just this guy’s head came off.”

In this state, it was undoubtedly dead, with no chance of survival.

Hearing this, Shu Li let out a long sigh of relief. “Great! We finally took it down.”

Amanda hoisted his greatsword and left the center of the giant pit, saying regretfully, “There wasn’t even a chance for me to show off.”

Shu Li grinned. “If you’d switched to your magic wand earlier, you could have joined the bombardment.”

Amanda stuck out his tongue. “The magic wand Brother gave me isn’t as high-level as yours.”

After walking a few steps, Amanda glanced back at the decapitated Humanoid Black Charcoal and asked, “Should we bury it?”

Ideally, they should bury all the monster corpses on the ground too. Otherwise, future adventurer teams passing by might be frightened by the sight of so many grotesque bodies.

Shu Li raised an eyebrow. “Burying them is simple.”

He lifted his magic wand, preparing to use Wind Magic to “transport” the nearby monster corpses into the pit, then bury them all with Earth-Type Magic.

Seeing this, Amanda scurried forward. “Wait for me to get up there!”

Whoosh—

“Watch out!” Celius’s expression sharpened, and he lunged into the giant pit like an arrow.

Amanda felt a chill behind him and instinctively swung his sword.

Hiss!

A tentacle resembling an octopus’s leg landed on the scorched ground, writhing as green blood oozed from its severed end.

What is this? Amanda wondered in shock.

“Don’t freeze up!” Celius swung his Silver Sword, slicing through another tentacle.

But more tentacles surged toward them, as fierce and agile as snakes. Amanda and Celius swung their swords without hesitation, hacking through over a dozen tentacles.

Yet these tentacles possessed an uncanny regenerative ability: one split into two, two into four, four into eight… In the blink of an eye, they had multiplied into hundreds.

From the moment Amanda severed the first tentacle to the current swarm of hundreds, only ten seconds had passed.

Shu Li stood at the edge of the massive pit, peering down into its depths. The tentacles were actually sprouting from the body of the “Humanoid Black Charcoal.”

Without hesitation, he unleashed Light Magic.

Two bolts of lightning shot forth, striking the Humanoid Black Charcoal.

“Get back here, quick!” he shouted to Amanda and Celius. “This thing isn’t dead yet!”

Not only was it still alive, but it had enough strength to retaliate. The tentacles emerging from the Humanoid Black Charcoal were utterly bizarre.

Amanda and Celius, showing no reluctance to abandon the fight, immediately seized the opportunity Shu Li had created and charged out of the pit.

“Heh heh heh… Don’t leave, little darlings… Stay and play with me a little longer… Heh heh heh…”

A chilling voice suddenly echoed through the air. The hundreds of writhing tentacles retracted into the Humanoid Black Charcoal’s body, and then the “charcoal” was ripped open from within by a pair of violet claws.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The charcoal fractured into countless fragments. Simultaneously, a human-like head emerged from the “corpse’s” abdomen, followed by a torso and limbs.

In moments, a naked human figure stood where the Humanoid Black Charcoal had been.

No, it couldn’t be called human.

Humans don’t have curved demonic horns sprouting from their heads, nor black scales covering their foreheads and cheeks.

It was a monster that resembled a human.

Its massive body stood at least two and a half meters tall. Sharp, backward-pointing spines lined its shoulders and arms, while thick golden armor covered its chest. Below the waist, instead of legs, it had a mass of tentacles of varying sizes. Two pairs of black wings, each spanning about four meters when fully extended, sprouted from its back.

The creature possessed violet hair and surprisingly handsome features. Its eyes, as clear as amethyst crystals, gleamed with an icy light. Its skin was pale, its lips a dark purple, and its ears were long and pointed, with serrated edges.

Amanda stared in disbelief, nearly forgetting to run. Celius, after a moment of shock, quickly regained his composure, grabbed Amanda, and fled like the wind.

But as fast as they were, the humanoid monster was faster.

With a flap of its wings, it teleported behind them, leaned in with morbid curiosity, and flicked out its crimson tongue to lick its purple lips.

“Why are you running? Wouldn’t it be more fun to stay and play with me?” it purred, its tone gentle and its expression friendly. If one ignored the demonic horns on its head and the tentacles below, it could have passed for a kind-hearted neighbor, as warm and approachable as a big brother.

Amanda and Celius shuddered at its words, drawing their swords and slashing at the monster.

The creature flickered backward several meters, chuckling. “I’m being so polite,” it said, “so why are you attacking me with your swords?”

Zzzzt— A light orb materialized above the monster’s head without warning, exploding in a blinding flash. The monster tilted its head in surprise, taking the full force of the blast.

Amanda and Celius seized the opportunity to escape, leaping out of the massive crater and landing beside Shu Li.

Raising his magic wand high, Shu Li said gravely, “It’s not a magical beast… and it’s incredibly strong!”

As a little fairy who had grown up in the Faerie Forest, Shu Li had encountered countless high-level magical beasts. He could instantly discern their strength with a single glance.

The monster in the crater was unfathomably deep, radiating not Dark Force, but a chilling death aura.

“Heh heh heh, little fairy, you have better judgment than that little dragon,” the monster rasped, spreading its wings and slowly levitating upward, its voice dripping with sinister amusement.

Shu Li and Amanda’s pupils constricted sharply.

The monster had discovered their true identities.

Celius turned incredulously to look at Shu Li and Amanda, thinking he must have misheard.

The monster spoke in Continental Common Language, its accent slightly odd, some words pronounced incorrectly or in an archaic manner.

Little fairy? Little dragon?

Aren’t Sperien and Amanda humans?

As if sensing Celius’s confusion wasn’t enough, the monster raised a clawed hand and pointed toward the distant Light Barrier.

“Over there, there are four little fairies, three Dark Elves, and four humans. Heh heh, what an interesting combination.”

It licked its lips, a greedy glint in its purple eyes.

“It’s been ages since I last tasted fairy flesh. Today’s my lucky day—five juvenile fairies all at once! Their meat must be incredibly tender.”

As its body rose, the people inside the Light Barrier finally saw its full form. A collective gasp swept through the group.

“The monster’s still alive!” Decio exclaimed in shock.

“What kind of monster is that? It’s hideous!” Budno frowned.

“After all that Magic bombardment, it’s completely unscathed?” Angele murmured.

Kumandi gripped his magic wand tightly, bracing himself for battle.

Hector, Cindy, and Nasha huddled together in terror. The situation had spiraled far beyond their wildest nightmares.

They had only set out on a simple mission to gather medicinal herbs. Why were they encountering one disaster after another?

First, they were swarmed by countless black snakes, then ambushed by a horde of ferocious monsters, and now they’ve stumbled upon a colossal, menacing creature.

How could this be happening?

They hadn’t even ventured deep into the Canyon—they were just gathering herbs near the edge!

Five thousand gold coins were proving to be a deadly bargain. One wrong move, and they might lose their lives.

Was it too late to escape?

“The monster! It’s evolved again!” Lanno cried, his voice trembling with fear as he stared at the purple-haired creature hovering in the air. “Every time it dies, it resurrects stronger than before. We can’t kill it!”

“Ephit, we have to run!” Luka tugged at Ephit’s hand.

They had been gathering herbs when the monster suddenly ambushed them. After killing it with a single strike, it quickly revived, growing larger and summoning more monsters.

Realizing they couldn’t defeat it, Luka and Lanno turned and fled. They had been running for two days, repeatedly killing the monster, only to see it grow stronger each time. Finally, they encountered an adventurer team who helped them hold it off briefly.

They had hoped the adventurers could stop the monster, but it had caught up to them far too quickly.

Now, it was even more powerful. Had it finally reached its ultimate form?

Ephit stared coldly at the monster, pulling the two cubs close. “We can’t run,” he said in a low voice.

They hadn’t left before, and they couldn’t abandon Sperien now.

“This is a High-Ranking Hell Demon,” Est said, a book suddenly appearing in his hand. The yellowed pages displayed an illustration of a monster identical to the purple-haired creature hovering above them.

Among the crowd, only Est remained calm, reciting the book’s annotations in a steady voice.

“It’s a Baseo Demon Race, possessing infinite regenerative abilities. Each death provides it with energy for evolution. After ten resurrections, it reaches its perfect form.”

Budno swallowed hard. “Does that mean it’s invincible?”

Kumandi frowned. “Demons… shouldn’t they be in Hell?”

During the Great Divine War of Ten Thousand Years Ago, the Elven King, along with the Celestial Beings, sealed the God of Darkness and countless demons within Hell. Unless the seal is broken, they cannot return to the Human Realm.

Est closed the book, his expression solemn. “No race in this world is immortal. Even Celestial Beings eventually fall. The same applies to demons.”

“Let’s fight!” He gripped his magic wand tightly, his gaze resolute.

“Right! Invincible or not, we’ll just kill it!” Decio declared, his fighting spirit ablaze.

Inspired by his fervor, the others cast aside their fear and bravely faced the demon.

As the demon spread its wings and soared into the sky, Shu Li, Celius, and Amanda retreated cautiously toward the Light Barrier, naturally only hearing Est’s explanation.

This creature was a High-Ranked Demon from Hell, possessing an indestructible body. With their current strength, killing it wouldn’t be easy.

Gritting his teeth, Shu Li roused Falm, who was lazily napping within the Fire God’s Mark.

A crimson light erupted from the back of Shu Li’s right hand, and Falm’s round, diminutive form floated into the air, yawning sleepily.

“What is it now? I was having such a good dream!”

Earlier, they had slain a horde of black snakes, depriving Falm of his meal. Bored, he had retreated to the Fire God’s Mark for a nap. In his dream, he had just captured an Eighth-Tier Magical Beast on Amitai Mountain and was about to feast when he was rudely awakened.

“Falm, I’m giving you permission to eat your fill!” Shu Li pointed at the Purple-Haired Monster hovering in the air. “Drop your disguise, grow to your full size, and swallow it whole!”

If we can’t kill it, we’ll eat it!

As the Fire God’s mount, having lived for tens of thousands of years, Falm’s power far surpassed that of Tenth-Tier Magical Beasts. He should be more than capable of devouring a High-Ranking Hell Demon.

Dazed, Falm followed Shu Li’s gaze.

“Huh? That thing?!”

Falm’s beastly eyes widened as he scrutinized the Purple-Haired Monster. Suddenly, he roared, “Ansedram! You bastard! You’re still alive?!”

In the next instant, the small red sphere shot forward, transforming mid-air into a colossal magical beast.

“ROAARRR—”

Falm unleashed his power, reverting to his true form as a Fire Dragon Lizard over ten meters long. He opened his jaws, unleashing a deafening roar that shook the very air.