Toxic Gland (4k)

Whoosh!

The fierce wind kicked up by his high-speed movement whipped Xia Nan's black bangs wildly across his forehead.

A shadow flashed through his vision, and Wood, daggers in hand, had already arrived before him.

"Young master, are you all right?"

His anxious, concerned gaze carefully swept over the Half-Elf's body several times.

Only after seeing that he had suffered no obvious external injuries did he finally let out a breath of relief.

In truth, Wood was simply too worried. With no obstacles in the way, he had seen everything that had happened while rushing over.

He naturally knew that the Rust Monster had never even touched Hai An before its head was cut off.

Yet the urgency born of his own failure to protect him, along with the lingering fear of what might have happened, still left him unable to stop blaming himself.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

Wood rejoiced inwardly.

Then he turned and looked with utter seriousness at Xia Nan, who stood beside them with his longsword in hand, preparing to go support the others.

He nodded sincerely.

The battle was urgent, and Wood was not particularly good with words.

But at this moment, he had truly accepted this young man in the team—someone he had once doubted, but who had now proven through his actions that he was worthy of trust.

Whoosh.

Like a phantom, the figure clad in black Leather Armor vanished once more.

Only then did the Half-Elf Hai An, who had just endured a brush with death, finally come back to his senses.

"Phew... phew..."

He gasped for breath, sweat already covering his originally fair face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Thank you!"

Hai An apologized incoherently to Xia Nan beside him.

Xia Nan did not even respond before dashing away from the Half-Elf.

On one hand, even though Hai An and the others had been complete strangers to him only a few days ago—

Now that they had joined the party and become members of the team,

Even for the sake of those hundred Gold Coins, he ought to fulfill his responsibilities within his abilities.

On the other hand, it was because—

One of the two remaining Rust Monsters had seized this opportunity to crawl right up in front of them.

Screeeech!!!

The piercing, shrill cry seemed capable of rupturing eardrums.

Its long Fin Tail, covered in wavelike yellowish-brown Carapace, swung through the air, kicking up countless bits of grass with every lash.

Unlike Greenskin Goblins, whose "numbers" determined their "combat strength," Rust Monsters, which rarely gathered in large groups, did not feel Terror or anger over the deaths of their kind.

These huge insects, which usually Roamed through deep caves, seemed to have been provoked by something and displayed an extraordinarily fierce aggression.

Even with metal weapons corroded by venom lying at their feet, fit to be eaten, they showed no interest at all. They only crazily attacked the living creatures before them.

Holding the iron-gray Beheading Longsword horizontally before his chest, Xia Nan did not rush to attack. Instead, he circled the Rust Monster, sword in hand, Roaming along its flank.

His mind raced.

Everything that had happened since the battle began flashed through his mind one by one.

First, the greatest threat to him was naturally the corrosive venom sprayed from the Rust Monster's mouth.

Whether it splashed onto his body or accidentally got onto his sword, he would find it unbearably painful to accept.

He had to be extra careful!

Second, the Rust Monster's entire body was covered in thick, sturdy Carapace.

Judging from the blow Larry had dealt with his One-handed Hammer earlier, Xia Nan could not be sure whether one strike of his sword could break through that armor.

If he failed to slice through the insect's defenses in an instant, with no flesh to carry away the force from his blade, the resulting backlash would leave him rigid and exposed.

The Fault Tolerance was extremely low!

Therefore, following Wood's earlier example and finding an opening along the gaps in the Rust Monster's Carapace was undoubtedly the best way to deal with this type of insect Monster.

But...

A trace of hesitation flashed through Xia Nan's dark eyes.

A few seconds earlier, he had indeed used [Whirlwind Slash] to cut off a Rust Monster's head.

But at the time, he had not thought much at all. Seeing his teammate in danger, he had instinctively copied Wood's method and brought his sword down in a single strike.

He had not even aimed particularly carefully before the blade had sunk into the Bug Beast's Carapace.

Thinking back on it now, had it been a coincidence, or some sort of talent for battle?

He did not really understand.

Nor would he allow such a highly uncertain illusion to interfere with the battle now at stake with his life.

Bang!

The powerful Fin Tail struck the ground like a whip, sending countless clumps of mud flying.

Xia Nan barely dodged it.

His longsword swept with the motion, sending bursts of sparks dancing across the yellowish-brown Carapace.

"Tch, what a pity. So close."

It was not some motionless toy sitting on a table. Through countless years of reproduction and inheritance, Rust Monsters naturally understood the weaknesses of their own body structure.

Their uneven, wave-like Carapace made the gaps between the plates exceptionally narrow and difficult to penetrate.

Combined with their constantly moving bodies and their long tails that whipped and howled behind them like iron lashes—

Only a Professional like Wood, one who had already attained a Profession Level and possessed skills far beyond those of ordinary people, could seize the opening in this insect during intense combat.

Unless...

Whoosh!

A sharp sound of something slicing through the air suddenly rang out behind him.

Xia Nan's body paused involuntarily, but he immediately understood.

He leaped backward.

Whether it was to gather strength or retreat temporarily, he left ample space behind him.

Then a Wooden Arrow, its tip fitted with a white Tail Feather, tore through the mist and buzzed past his side.

Having recovered his wits after the ambush, the Half-Elf Hai An immediately supported his teammate.

Unlike his previous rapid, straight shots, this arrow in Xia Nan's sight appeared noticeably slower.

Yet it was as if the Half-Elf had used some unique technique. While its Tail Feather vibrated violently, the entire arrow also spun at high speed.

Like the contrail left behind by an airplane crossing the sky, the Wooden Arrow streaked through the misty air, leaving a clear path in its wake.

Squelch!

It was incredibly precise.

The Metal Arrowhead spun into the Rust Monster's tiny eye, hidden beneath its Carapace, with unbelievable accuracy.

The force carried by the arrow even caused half the Monster's insect face to burst apart and twist grotesquely.

Screee—

The insect's cry rang out!

The overwhelming pain made the Rust Monster instinctively rear up, shaking its head as if trying to throw off the deeply embedded arrow.

"Now!"

Xia Nan did not hesitate in the slightest.

His legs, already prepared to exert force, surged forward.

His slightly disadvantaged position made [Whirlwind Slash] unsuitable at the moment, so he instinctively thrust the iron-gray longsword in his hand diagonally upward.

Squelch!

Insect blood sprayed!

Driven by the strength of his entire body, the blade almost instantly pierced through the Rust Monster's relatively vulnerable lower jaw.

Neck, spine... all the way upward!

Bang—

The Rust Monster's heavily raised body toppled backward under the momentum of Xia Nan's thrust, crashing onto the ground with a dull thud.

Its arrow-pierced head rolled onto the grass.

Its clawed limbs twitched unconsciously.

Xia Nan did not dare relax in the slightest. The instant he confirmed that the Rust Monster was dead, he erupted with even greater strength than before.

Stepping on the Bug Beast's abdomen, he forcefully pulled the Beheading Longsword embedded in its Carapace free!

Then he carefully inspected the blade!

Don't let it get on it. Please, don't let it get on it...

He prayed inwardly with utmost sincerity.

The opportunity had been rare. He had not been able to care about venom during that strike—once he caught it, he had simply slashed.

He could not exactly call it regret now, but he could not help worrying that the Bug Beast's saliva might have rusted his blade.

Fortunately,

Although several obvious new scratches had appeared on the blade, and its surface was covered in thick green insect blood,

It had ultimately avoided the Rust Monster venom, the natural enemy of metal equipment.

Roam, pause, thrust.

In truly fierce battles, victory was often decided in mere seconds.

When Xia Nan panted and pulled his longsword from the Bug Beast, Wood at the other end of the camp had also finished off the last Rust Monster.

The battle was over.

The Rust Monster attack had come suddenly.

If it had been an ordinary low-level adventurer party facing the encirclement of four disgusting Bug Beasts, even if they were not wiped out entirely, the whole team would likely have suffered severe losses.

Fortunately, Xia Nan's party had an experienced Professional.

Not only had he made everyone wary of the attack by setting traps around the camp in advance,

He had also immediately and succinctly pointed out the Rust Monsters' danger. He had even taken the lead, efficiently dealing with one of them and revealing its weakness.

Together with the cooperation of Xia Nan, Hai An, and the others,

Only Larry had suffered a minor injury after accidentally getting Rust Monster saliva on himself while fleeing. The other four were unharmed.

Sizzle—

Larry somewhat disgustedly flung the venom clinging to his One-handed Hammer onto the nearby grass.

"This thing should still be usable, right...?"

Staring at the badly warped metal hammerhead before him, which looked as though it had been gnawed over by rats after being corroded by Rust Monster saliva, he muttered under his breath.

His arm was already wrapped in a thick layer of bandages.

"Larry, what are you doing over there? Come help out!"

Behind him, Doris packed their luggage while calling softly in a lowered voice.

"Coming!"

The noise created by the battle, along with the fishy stench of insect blood, meant this place was no longer safe.

Before it became completely dark, they had to quickly find another place to set up camp.

Elsewhere, Xia Nan stood before the corpse of a Rust Monster. The Beheading Longsword on his back had already been wiped clean.

At that moment, he frowned as he carefully flipped through the [Adventurer's Manual] in his hands.

"Rust Monster... Rust Monster..."

"Why isn't it in here?"

Having finally ended the battle, he naturally did not want to give up the spoils before him just like that.

With Xia Nan's relatively shallow knowledge of adventurers, a bug this large should be worth quite a bit of money from those incredibly defensive Chitin shells alone.

But judging by the current situation, the shells were too heavy to carry back.

Even if he buried them somewhere and left a marker, by the time they returned after finishing their mission, they would most likely have been dug up and eaten by the sharp-smelling creatures of the Thin Mist Forest.

Therefore, he wondered whether Rust Monsters had anything that was easy to carry and valuable on the market, something he could collect while he had the chance.

Yet the Adventurer's Manual in his hands contained no records of this type of Monster.

This is a bit troublesome.

He fretted inwardly.

Just then, as if he had noticed Xia Nan's thoughts,

Wood, clad in black Leather Armor, silently approached.

Unlike the vigilance and silence he had maintained throughout the journey, he took the initiative to speak in a calm tone.

"The most valuable thing on a Rust Monster is the Poison Gland located in the upper left side of its abdominal cavity."

"It's dark Purple, about the size of a thumb, and easy to spot. Turn it over a few times and you'll find it—its outer skin is somewhat tough, so it won't rupture easily. Just put it in any cloth bag, but be careful not to keep it with metal objects. They might corrode."

"I suggest forgetting about the Carapace. First, it's inconvenient to carry. Second, because of the Thin Mist Forest environment, this stuff rots quickly once the creature dies unless you brought preservation materials."

"If you ever get the chance to visit a town near a Dwarf settlement and come across these bugs again, you can also take their antennae with you."

"Just like cutting off a Goblin's left ear, the Dwarves there will give you an additional bounty."

This was the first time Xia Nan had heard Wood say such a long stretch of words.

Knowing that the other man was helping him, he could not help thanking him.

"Got it. Thanks."

He pulled out a dagger from his waist, just about to hurry and collect the Poison Gland.

The Half-Elf Hai An had already walked over.

"Here, I dug out the poison glands from the other three bugs for you. Altogether, they should be worth a bit of money."

His pale hand was smeared with dark green insect blood, and three blackish-purple oval organs rested in his palm.

Xia Nan could not help but pause.

"You..."

"Think of it as compensation for this mission." The Half-Elf put the poison glands into a cloth bag and stuffed it into Xia Nan's hand with a smile. "After all, we agreed that we would only be operating around the outskirts of the Thin Mist Forest, where there wouldn't be any danger."

"Yet we ended up running into Monsters on the level of Rust Monsters. It wouldn't be realistic for you to just pretend nothing happened."

"Besides, you saved me just now... As for that, once this mission is over and we return to Newm..."

"We'll talk about it then." Xia Nan waved a hand, cutting him off.

He was not the sort to demand repayment for a favor. His intervention during the battle had merely been a matter of course.

They were teammates, and his own situation had not been particularly dire at the time. He could hardly just stand by and watch the other man die.

So he did not care much about any so-called "life-saving favor."

The three poison glands in the other man's hand interested him far more.

I wonder how much they'll sell for when we get back. Before setting out, Xia Nan had only 24 gold, 2 silver, and 7 copper left in savings.

Meanwhile, Wood stood beside them, staring at the Rust Monster corpses on the grass. Though the battle was already over, his expression had grown even more solemn.

"These bugs usually live in caves in the Underdark."

"Why did so many of them suddenly appear in the Thin Mist Forest?"

"Did someone drive these Rust Monsters out of their habitat? Or was there something here that attracted them?"