Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle

When they drew within thirty meters, Lin Manshan finally saw the Spirit Beast's full form through a gap in the leaves. His pupils contracted, and he quickly raised a hand to signal everyone to stop and keep quiet.

Following Lin Manshan's gaze, Xiao Zizai could only see a glint of gold refracted in the sunlight.

He could not help muttering softly.

"Golden and glowing—what kind of Spirit Beast is that? I can't see clearly from where I am."

"That's a Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle, also known as a Two-horned Golden Rhinoceros Turtle. It's a mutated Unicorn Beetle. Compared to an ordinary Golden-horned Beetle, it has greater strength and stronger defenses." Lin Manshan stared at the Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle clinging to a dead tree in the distance. Its shell was Dark Gold, with one long horn before its head and another on its back. He could barely suppress his excitement. "Unicorn Beetles shed their shells once every hundred years. This one is about two palms long, so it should have shed four times and be over four hundred years old. It's perfect for me."

A mutated Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle. It's much fiercer than a Thousand-pound Ant of the same age... Lin Manshan sighed inwardly. Thousand-pound Ants only displayed exceptional strength after growing into ten-thousand-year Thousand-pound Ant Kings. At the hundred-year level, they could only be considered decent.

This mutated Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle, however, was different. In both strength and defense, it far surpassed most Spirit Beasts of the same rank. Looking more closely, he could almost certainly say that it was over four hundred and fifty years old.

It could not have been more suitable.

Turning to the others, Lin Manshan continued, "Brother Xiao, everyone, the Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle is incredibly strong, highly defensive, and capable of flight. But once it lands on the ground, it becomes an ordinary Spirit Beast with no means of attack. It's small, and it crawls extremely slowly."

"Also, the soft membranes on its lower abdomen and where its side limbs connect are poorly defended. Those are its weak points."

"Brother Stick, Brother Hoe, Brother Rake, the three of you have Weapon Martial Souls. I'll find a way to knock it down. Once it hits the ground, use your Martial Souls to smash it as hard as you can. Focus on its leg joints. Even if you can't break them, you can limit its ability to fly."

"Best case, you can flip it over and expose its lower abdomen, giving me a chance to kill it."

After saying that, Lin Manshan's expression turned serious.

"One more thing. Remember to keep your distance and don't let your legs get close. Its limbs are tremendously strong and have hooks on them. If it catches hold of your thigh, even if it can't snap it, those hooks will pierce your bones."

"Mm, we'll remember. A'man, just give the orders. We'll listen to you." The three nodded.

Though they had only known each other for half a day, they already regarded Lin Manshan as a true friend.

Along the way, Lin Manshan had freely taught them plenty of precious knowledge about Spirit Beasts—knowledge that even the academy's Mentor was unwilling to share. They had benefited greatly from him.

Before long, Lin Manshan finished explaining the hunting plan and cupped his hands slightly. "Then I'll be relying on you all."

"Trivial matter." The three smiled and began acting according to plan, creeping forward on tiptoe.

"Damn, I suddenly hate that I have a Beast Martial Soul." Xiao Zizai shook his head helplessly. Of the four who had stayed behind, all possessed close-combat Beast Martial Souls, and their soul skills also favored melee combat. According to Lin Manshan, they could easily get caught in a leg-hugging death grip, so they would not be much help.

"Little brother A'man is only thinking of our safety." Brother Dog sighed helplessly beside him.

Meanwhile, Lin Manshan split off alone and slowly approached from the other side until he was ten meters away, hiding behind the Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle.

Looks like this hollow giant tree is this fellow's nest. The Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle stood on the trunk of a fallen giant tree spanning a small stream. The trunk was wide enough for two people to wrap their arms around it. It had not completely rotted and was probably still alive, with many lush green branches and leaves sprouting from it. Behind the beetle, in the shade beneath the foliage, was a bowl-sized hole, with fairly fresh wood chips around its edges.

He glanced toward the three men assigned to strike. They had already reached their designated positions.

Lin Manshan immediately raised his left hand and aimed at the beetle's soft rear, which was mostly covered by its shell and exposed only a finger-width of flesh.

He had spent two years forging in the Blacksmith Shop, so he had naturally assembled his own enhanced Silent Sleeve Arrow. Its conical spiral arrowhead had blood grooves, granting it stronger piercing power. Its four tiny divided fins kept it stable and silent in flight. It had a range of thirty meters; fired from ten meters away, its force would absolutely knock this not-so-large Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle off the tree along with the bark.

After all, the fallen tree was beside the water. Though it was still alive, its bark had long been soaked soft and rotten, crumbling with a little force.

He released the safety, adjusted his aim, and pressed the trigger without hesitation.

"Whoosh!" A streak of silver shot forward.

"Pfft!" It struck the Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle squarely in the rear, the arrowhead sinking in more than halfway. Its hooked limbs clawed at the bark, reducing it to flying wood chips. The golden shell on its back trembled and opened, revealing thin wing covers within as a buzzing sound burst forth.

"Nicely done, A'man!" the three hitters cried out. They immediately summoned their Martial Souls and sprang out of the grass.

"Take this!" A wooden staff, hoe, and rake struck the Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle's limbs one after another as it landed on the bank.

"Damn, A'man, that shot was dead-on! Look at it—it's clearly not doing too well!" Brother Hoe shouted in admiration. "Brother Stick, your staff is longer and easier to use. Hurry and jab downward to flip it over. It'll be easier to hit that way."

"Fuck, it's so dangerous—why don't you do it yourself?" Brother Stick cursed, but his hands never stopped moving as he hurriedly thrust his staff downward.

The next second, he screamed in terror, "Fuck! It grabbed my Martial Soul!"

"It's so strong! It feels like my Martial Soul is about to break!"

"..."

By the time Lin Manshan arrived, the Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle had already been flipped onto its back. Its limbs on both sides had been beaten crooked, and a long arrow still protruded from its rear. Its body twitched faintly, clearly on the verge of death. It was only a Hundred-year Spirit Beast, after all, and its vulnerable joints had been continuously battered by three burly men.

Who could withstand that?

There really was strength in numbers. If he had come alone, he would probably have had to chase it for a while.

"Looks like I got lucky. I thought it wouldn't be so easy to break through its defenses." Lin Manshan smiled.

"Mainly because your first shot was so good. I'd wager it was numb from the pain right then." Brother Stick said with a Laughing smile.

"Alright! Little brother A'man, hurry up and finish it so you can absorb the Soul Ring. We'll keep watch for you."

"That's right. Looking at it, if you don't make a move soon, it'll probably die anyway."

"Alright, then I'll trouble you, brothers." Lin Manshan nodded. He quickly picked up a large stone nearby and pressed it onto the Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle, preventing it from pulling off an arm-hugging kill. Then he grabbed the arrow fins behind its rear and gave them a hard yank. The Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle shuddered all over, its pointed limbs twitching a few times before it went still. A yellow Soul Ring soon floated out.

"???" I was planning to use this arrow to stab you. Why did you give out first?

Lin Manshan held the arrow in his hand, somewhat bewildered.

"Did it... die from the pain?" Xiao Zizai and the others, who had rushed over, instinctively clenched their thighs at the sight.

"Probably." Lin Manshan opened his mouth.

After greeting the others, he quickly went to the stream to wash the arrow and put it into his pack. Then he returned to the Golden Armored Rhinoceros Beetle and sat down cross-legged beside it.

As he closed his eyes and focused, an exceptionally tiny blade-shaped Martial Soul appeared out of thin air above his palm.

The next moment, as though summoned, the yellow Soul Ring floating in the air swiftly drifted toward him.