The Terrifying Shikelang

[Despicable Wing Blade] [Sharpness +5] [Attack Speed Boost: 40%] [Special Effect: 30% chance for the blade to turn invisible while attacking, and slash speed is increased by 100%.] [Note: Bafentang finally realized that compared to an honorable and fair fight, despicable shamelessness might be dirty, but it works.] Holding the blade, Yu Xian read through its attributes with a conflicted expression, wanting to curse something yet unable to get the words out. He was a hundred percent certain the note was hurling abuse directly at him. The problem was that Bafentang was already dead, so what was the point of cursing back? Besides, his skill was just designed that way. What else was he supposed to do—refrain from using a skill he possessed? Bafentang dying to the effect of his skill only proved that Bafentang himself wasn't strong or well-rounded enough. How could that be blamed on him? He stowed the blade away and picked up the other one. It was likewise a Despicable Wing Blade, with identical attributes. Clearly, these paired blades were meant for dual-wielders. If a speed-oriented class user wielded them, the resulting spectacle would likely be terrifying. A flickering, disappearing blade paired with extreme attack speed—most enemies would probably be dead before they could even blink. Yu Xian put the blade into his inventory. His next priority was to reinforce Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye; he had no idea how their battle against the Combat Chief was going. "Big Brother, are you alright?" Little Nora called out loudly from atop the mountain. When the mountain ridge was cleaved by Bafentang earlier and collapsed in a landslide, Little Nora hadn't been in the path of the slide. Just as it tried to find a way down, Bafentang unleashed its Great Harmony Slash, scaring the little creature into retreating. It had only dared to show its head again after Bafentang died. "I'm fine! Come on down!" Yu Xian replied with a smile, looking up at Little Nora. It was fortunate Little Nora hadn't fallen down earlier; otherwise, Bafentang's ultimate move really would have put it in danger. Of course, had Little Nora been around, Bafentang might not have dared to unleash that ultimate move in the first place. After all, Little Nora could have seized an opportunity to hit Bafentang with Star of Sustenance and sent it straight to see the God of Cookery. "Big Brother, I leveled up!" Having found a safe path down, Little Nora dashed forward like lightning and happily announced the news as soon as it reached Yu Xian. Yu Xian stroked Little Nora's head and chuckled. "Let's go. We need to hurry and support Wangcai and the others." He and Little Nora had always been in a party together. When he leveled up, Little Nora naturally leveled up too, as their experience was set to an even split; otherwise, killing Bafentang would have granted Yu Xian at least two levels. Leveling up was no longer difficult for him now anyway, thanks to Xielina. At first, he had been the one power-leveling Xielina. But once Xielina's level rose, the tables completely turned, and she became the one power-leveling him. Reaching level 40 within three months was a nearly impossible task. Yu Xian had managed to level up so rapidly entirely because Xielina could summon massive swarms of troops. In the later stages, countless skeleton soldiers farmed monsters around the clock without rest. With Yu Xian and Little Nora sharing that experience, their leveling speed skyrocketed. Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye had originally been the highest-level members in the Sparkle Troupe. Yet now Yu Xian and Little Nora were level 40, while Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye were only level 33. Such was the disparity between manual grinding and automated swarm-farming. *** Inside the Class Hunter Society's base. On the third sub-level down, cracks spiderwebbed across the surrounding walls. Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye were covered in wounds, their expressions exceedingly grim. True to its title, this Combat Chief possessed terrifying combat prowess. Yet what was even more horrifying was the way this Combat Chief fought. It was actually flinging feces! Shikelang had a head resembling a wolf's, but its body was encased in heavy armor plating. Along its fingers were suction-cup-like apertures, which served as its excretory organs. In truth, one could tell from its name alone: it was a mutated variant of a dung beetle. It possessed three active skills: Super Dung Bowling Ball, Super Dung Split Bowling Ball, and Super Dung Meteor Ball. Setting aside whether its attacks were powerful, the sheer revulsion was enough to make Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye sick to death. Neither dared to parry Shikelang's attacks head-on, leaving them completely suppressed. "What do we do? We can't beat it at all... and even if we could, I really don't want to fight it! Should we lure it outside and leave it to the troupe leader?" Ximen Wangcai gagged, fighting back nausea as he endured the stench. Situ Xingye frowned. "There's already a Base Chief outside. If this thing regroups with the Base Chief, not even the troupe leader might be able to handle both of them." "Damn it, if I'd known, I wouldn't have come. Why did we have to raid the Class Hunter Society?" Ximen Wangcai grumbled, his face dark. At that moment, Shikelang, who had been searching for Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye, overheard their conversation and growled in a raspy voice, "Found you, little bugs!" As it spoke, it opened its right hand. A massive surge of pitch-black dung erupted from the holes in its fingers, rapidly forming into a sphere in its palm. It resembled a black bowling ball, except it emanated a nauseating stench. Once it struck a target, it would burst apart, coating them in a sticky sludge that inflicted continuous foul-odor damage. From the moment the skill activated to the formation of the Super Dung Bowling Ball took only about a tenth of a second. An instant later, Shikelang drew back its arm in a bowling motion and forcefully hurled the Super Dung Bowling Ball toward where Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye were hiding. Before hitting its target, the Super Dung Bowling Ball possessed considerable hardness. It smashed through several walls before slamming into the final barrier, where it violently exploded. Countless fragments of dung splattered in all directions, unleashing an overpowering blast of rancid filth. Fortunately, Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye had already relocated; otherwise, even if it didn't kill them, the sheer disgust would have. *** On the level directly above where Ximen Wangcai and his partner were fighting. Yu Xian and Little Nora walked forward at a steady pace, preceded by several skeleton soldiers scouting the way. Because the passage was too narrow, Wolf King Bolaiye hadn't followed; only Xielina had entered the base alongside Yu Xian. "Big Brother, it sounds like there are tremors and noises down below," Little Nora said. Yu Xian nodded. "Looks like Wangcai and the others should be on the next level down. Let's move." With that, the skeleton soldiers ahead quickened their pace, and Yu Xian followed closely behind. But as they pressed on, Yu Xian's expression subtly shifted. In truth, human feces wasn't overwhelmingly, unbearably foul if produced on a normal diet. Anyone who had smelled the feces of carnivorous animals knew that was where true, eye-watering stench lay. And right now, as Yu Xian walked, an odor drifted toward him. It smelled as if the feces of humans, dogs, cattle, horses, tigers, lions, hyenas, and countless other beasts had all been blended together, mingled with numerous unidentifiable yet sickeningly foul scents. Just catching a faint whiff of it was enough to make Yu Xian's complexion change. His lifted foot froze midair, refusing to come down, as though his body fundamentally refused to take another step forward.