A Strange Scene

Within Graystone Forest, thick, enormous stone pillars stood everywhere, forming complex terrain.

Lu Yuan ran swiftly through the gaps between the stone pillars. Ahead, two Graystone Beetles were happily enjoying a meal of rocks.

As Lu Yuan drew near, the two Graystone Beetles froze at the same time. Their antennae twitched, and they turned to look at Lu Yuan rushing toward them.

After discovering the culprit who had interrupted their meal, the two Graystone Beetles let out furious shrieks and charged at Lu Yuan, opening their vicious mandibles as they tried to tear him apart.

Lu Yuan's expression did not change. His feet shifted, and his figure flickered as he passed through the encirclement of the two Graystone Beetles and continued running forward.

Screech! Screech!

Watching Lu Yuan's departing back, the two Graystone Beetles seemed to feel insulted. They let out even angrier roars and chased after him.

However, the two Graystone Beetles had not pursued him for long before two dark blade flashes swept past and sent them flying.

They crashed into stone pillars and landed on their backs, their eight short legs struggling as they desperately tried to flip over.

Two grim-faced kobolds glanced at the Graystone Beetles before continuing their pursuit of Lu Yuan.

By the time the two Graystone Beetles flipped themselves over, they looked around and realized their opponents were nowhere to be found. Their antennae touched briefly, and then they slowly returned to eating rocks.

Not far away, the two kobolds watched Lu Yuan's back. One gray-furred kobold sneered.

"Human, stop running! You can't escape!"

"Hahaha! You only have one Alloy Weapon on you? This is the first time I've seen such a poor Gene Warrior. Just wait obediently for death!"

The two kobolds' Tempering Levels were clearly higher than Lu Yuan's. Their physical abilities were stronger, and they were faster.

Although Lu Yuan had secretly gained several dozen meters on them earlier, they were gradually about to catch up.

Lu Yuan's expression darkened.

Was he really going to die here?

This was his first time entering Origin Land. If he died and got sent out, all his previous efforts would have been wasted.

Moreover, after dying, his mind would be damaged. He would have to wait for his mind to recover before he could enter again. How much time would that waste?

That was something he could not accept.

Lu Yuan looked around, his thoughts racing as he considered a solution.

At that moment, three more Graystone Beetles appeared in the distance. Sensing Lu Yuan's approach, they dropped the rocks by their mouths and pounced toward him.

Tsk!

Lu Yuan clicked his tongue irritably.

He was already being chased, and now he had to avoid attacks from Graystone Beetles too. If he slowed down, would he not be caught even sooner?

But his body was not as hard as rock. If he did not dodge, would he not be bitten to pieces?

With no other choice, Lu Yuan shifted his body again and dodged the attacks of the three Graystone Beetles.

Fortunately, the Graystone Beetles' attack patterns were simple. Lu Yuan was now quite adept at avoiding them.

Screech! Screech! Screech!

The three Graystone Beetles missed their targets and shrieked angrily, preparing to pounce on Lu Yuan again.

Just then, the two kobolds approached the three Graystone Beetles. The beetles' antennae twitched again, and they turned toward the kobolds before shrieking and pouncing at them.

"Troublesome bugs!"

The gray-furred kobold frowned and sent one Graystone Beetle flying with a slash. He kicked another away, while the other kobold slashed the third Graystone Beetle into the air.

Delayed by the Graystone Beetles, the two kobolds slowed down again.

Hearing the commotion, Lu Yuan looked back and saw the scene. His eyes lit up as a bold idea occurred to him.

The Graystone Beetles were definitely not as fast as him.

As long as anyone entered a certain range around them, the Graystone Beetles would attack, no matter who it was.

If that was the case...

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled.

He continued running while bending down to pick up some broken stones.

Seeing Lu Yuan bend down to pick up stones, the two kobolds in the distance were both puzzled.

"What is that human up to?"

"Who knows? That human is slippery! Don't let him get away!"

"Relax, he can't escape. Judging by him, he must have only recently awakened. How could he compare to us? Even if the difference in speed is small, his stamina definitely can't match ours. Once he gets tired, can't we do whatever we want to him?"

Sinister smiles appeared on both kobolds' faces.

However, when they saw Lu Yuan's next move, their eyes widened.

In some areas between the stone pillars of Graystone Forest, the gaps were thirty or forty meters wide. Graystone Beetles generally only ate on the surfaces of the stone pillars—though no one knew why their appetites were so good that they never grew tired of eating rocks.

When they came across a particularly wide area, people could pass through without disturbing the Graystone Beetles.

Yet after Lu Yuan ran past an area where three Graystone Beetles were gathered, he casually threw a stone backward and struck one Graystone Beetle on the head.

The Graystone Beetle that had been chewing on a rock stopped moving.

It silently turned its head and saw Lu Yuan, who had thrown the stone, not far away.

After a moment of silence, the Graystone Beetle shrieked. The other two Graystone Beetles tilted their heads and began shrieking as well.

The three Graystone Beetles dropped the rocks by their mouths and chased after Lu Yuan.

The two kobolds in the distance widened their eyes.

"...What is he doing?"

"Who knows? Maybe he doesn't want to die by our hands and wants to die by the Graystone Beetles'?"

"Heh, wishful thinking!"

As they spoke, they suddenly saw Lu Yuan start throwing stones again, luring over four more Graystone Beetles from the other side.

Together with the previous three, the seven Graystone Beetles formed a rather intimidating procession.

However, the Graystone Beetles' speed was what it was. They were slower than the two kobolds and were quickly caught up to.

The two kobolds caught up with the Graystone Beetles. The Graystone Beetles turned around at the same time and pounced at them.

"Troublesome bugs!"

Targeted by seven Graystone Beetles at once, even they could not help frowning slightly.

Just then, the gray-furred kobold's pupils contracted as he realized something.

"Damn it! I know why that human lured those Graystone Beetles over! He wants to use them to stop us!"

The other brown-haired kobold realized it too and flew into a rage.

"What? Despicable human! You actually used such a method! If you have the guts, let us chop you openly and fairly!"

After they frantically sent all seven Graystone Beetles flying, Lu Yuan had widened the distance between them again.

The distance had even reached nearly fifty meters, farther than it had been at the beginning.

Seeing the distance grow wider, the two kobolds roared and chased after Lu Yuan again.

Lu Yuan turned around and saw the enraged kobolds. He tossed the stones in his hand, the corners of his lips lifting into a smile.

The effect was not bad.

He casually threw another stone, hitting the head of a Graystone Beetle that was clinging to a stone pillar and happily gnawing on it.

The Graystone Beetle immediately developed a grudge against Lu Yuan for interrupting its meal. Shrinking angrily, it charged at him along with its other two companions.

Lu Yuan had already started throwing stones at other Graystone Beetles.

Before long, when the two kobolds once again closed to within roughly thirty meters of Lu Yuan, ten Graystone Beetles were following behind him.

The two kobolds' faces darkened as they looked at so many Graystone Beetles.

"Despicable human! You actually used such a method!"

The brown-haired kobold cursed nonstop, wildly swinging the long blade in his hand in rage.

The gray-furred kobold's expression was icy. He stared at Lu Yuan in the distance and spoke.

"It's fine. Slow down and follow him like this."

"Huh? Big Brother, aren't we going after him?"

"If we rush in, we'll trigger the Graystone Beetles' attacks again. With this many Graystone Beetles, it'll take us some time to deal with them, enough for him to escape."

"Then what do we do?"

The gray-furred kobold sneered.

"Doesn't he want to run? As a mature hunter, you need enough patience. We'll wait until he runs himself exhausted, then move in."

The brown-haired kobold understood and laughed.

"That's right, his stamina definitely can't compare to ours!"

The two kobolds followed behind the massive swarm of Graystone Beetles with sinister smiles, no longer pressing forward recklessly.

And so, a strange scene appeared in Graystone Forest.

A handsome human raced ahead, followed by a swarm of Graystone Beetles, followed by two kobolds wearing extremely sinister smiles.

In one area of Graystone Forest.

A four-man team had killed four Graystone Beetles. The handsome elf man in yellow leather armor looked at the four Spirit Crystals in his hand, coughed lightly, and put them away.

"I'll hold onto these for now. We'll distribute them together later."

Of the other three, one was a tall, thin elf, one was a kobold, and one was a human.

The ordinary-looking human man scratched his head.

"Boss, how many Spirit Crystals do we have now?"

The kobold, covered in mottled grayish-yellow fur, smiled.

"I've kept track. We have forty-six Spirit Crystals this time. The haul isn't bad."

The tall, thin elf widened his eyes. "A Huang, you remembered wrong! It's clearly forty-seven!"

"Is... is it?"

A Huang widened his eyes.

The Elf Boss glared. "What are you talking about? It's obviously forty-four!"

"Boss, why did you say fewer? You're not trying to pocket some, are you?"

The human man widened his eyes, looking unhappy.

"How could that be? How long have we known each other? Don't you know what kind of person I am? How could I possibly pocket anything? You don't trust my math? I was first in my class back then!"

"Really?"

The tall, thin elf glanced at the Elf Boss and smiled.

"I can vouch for that. I was his classmate."

"Fine, then."

The human man and A Huang both nodded.

Just then, they heard movement in the distance and all turned to look.

Then they saw Lu Yuan rush past not far away.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan, the Elf Boss's eyes widened slightly.

"That human... isn't he the one we didn't deceive... cough, didn't invite earlier?"

A Huang scratched his head.

"Boss, you remember what he looks like? Humans, elves, and catfolk all look the same to me. Like hairless monkeys."

"Of course I remember. There aren't many humans that handsome. If his ears were not different, I would have thought he was an elf."

"What is he doing here?"

The tall, thin elf asked curiously.

The next moment, he got his answer.

A huge swarm of Graystone Beetles rushed out from the passage Lu Yuan had emerged from and chased in the direction he had gone.

Their shrieks rang out without end.

The four of them: "..."

They looked at one another, somewhat dumbfounded.

Then they saw two kobolds run past, cursing as they went.

I recommend a friend's new book. It's by the great author who wrote Heavenly Canopy Divine Constable: "Immortal Path Begins with Digital Life."

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