Cunning Monster

A foul wind rushed straight at him.

Roger calmly leaped backward, effortlessly evading the monster's Bone Claw.

The Red Tide Corpse Queen let out a muffled growl and pressed the attack, lunging forward again with savage speed as her Bone Claws clawed at Roger's vital points one after another.

Fortunately, the Hidden Hero profession was naturally adept at evasion.

In just a few seconds,

Roger displayed nimble footwork, dodging that heart-stopping barrage. He then found a gap in the monster's attacks and performed a practiced Rolling on the Ground, widening the distance between them.

"Her attacks are fast. Her attack speed bonus is at least +5."

"The pus and stench on her body are highly toxic. I can't touch them."

"Her intelligence level is still uncertain, but she definitely isn't a monster that only knows how to charge headfirst."

Roger stared coolly at the temporarily halted Red Tide Corpse Queen, his mind racing as he rapidly analyzed the monster's traits.

Thanks to the Qi Divination Technique, he could predict the Red Tide Corpse Queen's attack paths to a certain extent, allowing him to gain the upper hand in close combat.

In fact, during that last exchange, he had at least five or six opportunities to strike, each with a seventy or eighty percent chance of dealing considerable damage to the monster.

Yet he still had not attacked.

Because for the Hidden Hero profession, regardless of the weapon used, charging up was the most crucial part.

This profession's combat philosophy was to remain silent until the moment came to astonish the world! Combined with Roger's cautious nature, he would not attack lightly without absolute certainty.

"I need to observe her a little longer."

As he thought that, the Red Tide Corpse Queen moved again.

This time, she did not launch the same ferocious assault as before. Instead, she advanced steadily and methodically! Although the terrain outside the canyon was more open than within, it was still overgrown with weeds and littered with piles of jagged rocks.

She seemed to want to use the terrain to force Roger into making a mistake.

Roger remained completely calm.

With the Qi Divination Technique and the Hidden Hero's naturally agile movements, he simply started playing hide-and-seek with the Red Tide Corpse Queen in the grass.

Twenty minutes later.

Roger stood on a patch of scorched ground, regulating his breathing.

Not far away, the Red Tide Corpse Queen let out a chilling roar, but the clusters of blue-green flames surrounding her were gradually fading away.

The Qi Divination Technique showed that her condition was rapidly deteriorating.

"Looks like it's about time."

Roger tightened his grip on his sword, his attention focused to the utmost.

More than twenty minutes of attrition and entanglement had given him a comprehensive understanding of the Red Tide Corpse Queen:

This was a monster with immense explosive power! In her burst state, both her speed and strength approached the peak of a First-Circle Profession.

Her commonly used moves were:

"Pounce," "Claw Strike," "Enhanced Claw Strike," "Ghost Fire Art," "Dizzying Art," and "Acid Mist Art."

Among them, Pounce, Claw Strike, and Enhanced Claw Strike were all close-combat skills.

The Red Tide Corpse Queen's claws carried corpse poison. If she caught someone with them, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The spells she had mastered were also highly practical.

Whether Ghostfire or acid mist, both could restrict an opponent's room to dodge and maneuver to some degree, creating perfect opportunities for close-quarters killing.

And a sudden Dizzying Art could make an unsuspecting Adventurer stumble badly! Unfortunately for her, she had encountered Roger.

His maxed-out Magic Resistance meant that, unless he faced ring-level suppression, he could negate the effects of all spells!

Roger was not afraid of this monster's magical skills at all.

However, during the early probing phase, he had still made every effort to avoid the Red Tide Corpse Queen's spells, creating the illusion that he feared Ghostfire and acid mist.

In reality, if he wanted to, he could have swum in an acid mist pool of even greater concentration...

"The opportunity is here."

Gradually, the Red Tide Corpse Queen's desire to attack greatly diminished.

Meanwhile, Roger abandoned his previous evasive style and began inching toward the monster along the edge of the blue-green flames.

This annoyed the Red Tide Corpse Queen, and she waved her Bone Claws with a fierce but hollow show of strength.

But both her speed and force were far inferior to before.

Suddenly.

Roger burst forward in a single step, crossing directly through two layers of Ghostfire and closing in on the Red Tide Corpse Queen.

The monster was startled and hurriedly responded.

A vast mass of Ghostfire curled back, converging around her body.

Yet Roger had merely feinted. He lowered his head to evade the dense Ghostfire, then returned to his original position.

After that exchange, scarcely any flames remained on the Red Tide Corpse Queen's body.

"Has she completely run out of strength?"

Roger could not be entirely certain.

But he knew that all the groundwork had been laid.

It was time to kill her.

With that thought,

he lowered his center of gravity and charged forward with his sword.

In that instant, both his speed and momentum reached their absolute peak.

His body flashed like lightning, completely ignoring the Ghostfire and acid mist around the monster as he rushed before her.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Sword wind howled.

A plain, unadorned downward slash.

Amid the Red Tide Corpse Queen's piercing scream,

Roger's sword sliced through her Bone Claws, forearms, shoulder blades, rib cage, and pelvis as though cutting tofu, splitting them all in two!

In an instant, the Ghostfire went out and the acid mist dispersed.

The Red Tide Corpse Queen had been severed in two by a single sword stroke.

Yet Roger frowned deeply.

"No kill notification!"

A powerful sense of danger surged into his heart.

The severed corpse let out strange crackling sounds, while tiny points of Ghostfire danced across it.

"It's Corpse Explosion Art!"

Roger threw away his weapon and lunged outward without a second thought.

But it seemed he was still too late.

Centered on the monster's corpse, an utterly unexpected explosion spread outward.

For a moment, sand and stones flew while weeds scattered through the air.

The terrifying blast shook the canyon, filling it with thunderous echoes that lingered for a long time.

A massive crater had appeared where the explosion occurred.

"Hehehe..."

"What a troublesome opponent."

"Good thing I have a trump card."

A muddled voice came from within the smoke.

As the voice spoke, a pitch-black skeleton assembled itself amid clusters of Ghostfire.

Not only that, but yellowish, pus-covered flesh buds began growing over her hollow frame at a visible speed!

Not far away.

Roger crouched halfway to the ground, narrowing his eyes as he studied the cunning monster.

"Red Tide Corpse Queen LV5 (Elite Monster) Health 79 Defense 15 Weak to Thunder"

"Skills: Pounce, Claw Strike, Enhanced Claw Strike, Ghostfire, Dizzying Art, Acid Mist Art"

He blinked, and the data obtained through the Qi Divination Technique changed.

"Red Tide Corpse Queen LV6 (Elite Monster) Health 99 Defense 18 Weak to Thunder"

"Skills: Pounce, Claw Strike, Enhanced Claw Strike, Ghostfire, Dizzying Art, Acid Mist Art, Corpse Explosion Art"

He blinked again.

The flesh buds on the Red Tide Corpse Queen grew even faster!

"Red Tide Corpse Queen LV7 (Elite Monster) Health 109 Defense 21 Weak to Thunder"

"Skills: Pounce, Claw Strike, Enhanced Claw Strike, Ghostfire, Dizzying Art, Acid Mist Art, Corpse Explosion Art, Red Tide Sky Curtain"

"Damn!"

"What a sneaky monster."

Roger cursed indignantly.

"Huh?"

"You're not dead?"

Having risen two levels in quick succession, the Red Tide Corpse Queen finally noticed that Roger had survived.

There was now a hint of alarm and uncertainty in her voice.

"Your undertaker."

Roger rose to his feet and dusted himself off. Somewhat displeased, he glanced at his status panel before finally selecting confirm.

"Hehe..."

The Red Tide Corpse Queen laughed scornfully.

But she immediately discovered in horror that every time she laughed, this seemingly ordinary Adventurer before her grew a little stronger! She instantly stopped laughing.

But something even more despairing happened.

Although she had stopped laughing, Roger's strength and momentum continued rising without end! "No, that's impossible."

She lunged at him hysterically.

"What's impossible about it..."

Roger loosened up his muscles, quickly retrieved his sword, and turned to slash at her! "Who doesn't have a trump card these days?"

Lines of information continuously flashed across the status panel.

"Your level has risen to LV6"

"Your attributes have increased"

"Your level has risen to LV7"

"Your attributes have increased"

"Your level has risen to LV8"

"Your attributes have increased"

"You have gained a new skill"

"You killed the Red Tide Corpse Queen"

"You gained 5 XP"

"First time killing an Elite Monster. You gained the new milestone—Small Test of Strength"

"Your Pain Resistance has increased slightly (Red Tide Corpse Queen)"