Shark Lizard Beast

"Everyone, please be careful."

Lonely as Snow carefully held up the giant shield and said in a low voice.

He now not only had to guard against the monsters in the maze, but also against his own unreliable teammates. Thinking of the miserable state he had just been turned into a sheep, Lonely as Snow subconsciously took a few steps to increase the distance between himself and the Flying Witch.

"Oh dear, that was just an accident."

"No damage was caused, was it?"

The Flying Witch scratched her head sheepishly and chuckled.

Lucky Emperor and Jiu Li followed timidly at the back of the group, fearing that some strange thing might jump out of the shadows and instantly kill them, the two novice mage apprentices.

"Watch me speedrun this mission."

The Flying Witch used magic to guide her, moving swiftly through the maze.

It's clear that she's trying hard to make amends and maintain her dignity as a "senior".

Lonely as Snow frowned again; the Paladin's Divine Sense allowed him to perceive some subtle details.

He turned to look at his teammates behind him.

Have you noticed?

"The ground nearby is shaking."

"What's the meaning?"

The Flying Witch tilted her head and asked, puzzled.

"Click, click."

Before Lonely as Snow could finish speaking, with the sound of churning earth, the surrounding soil and rocks trembled violently, and a huge mound suddenly rose in front of him.

He shouted anxiously, "Scatter! There's danger!"

"Roar--"

The mound suddenly exploded, sending dirt flying everywhere.

With a roar, the enormous black shadow leaped out from the ground.

"Boom!"

The colossal beast pounced down, its terrifying weight suddenly pressing down, causing the labyrinth floor to tremble once more, dust to billow up, and even small stones to fall from the overhead rock walls.

Fortunately, the four of them managed to get away early, and Lonely as Snow rolled with all her might to prevent the giant beast from pouncing on them.

But the shockwave from that fatal leap alone sent them flying several meters away, or even knocking them to the ground.

When the smoke cleared, everyone could finally see the true face of this uninvited guest.

This behemoth resembled a hybrid of a shark and a lizard, standing over four meters tall, almost like a small mountain. Its body was covered in thick armor, its surface caked with dirt, and its claws, used for digging, were particularly large and powerful. This was the Shark Lizard Beast, the absolute overlord of the Underdark.

At this moment, its tiny, bean-sized eyes gleamed, staring intently at the crowd. Foul-smelling, viscous saliva dripped from the edge of its gaping maw, as if it were already impatient to devour these humans who had trespassed into its territory.

Lonely as Snow lay on the ground, gazing up at the terrifying beast.

[Shark Lizard Beast]

Challenge Rating: 5 (1800xp)

"Holy crap, what a high-level monster."

The Flying Witch boasted smugly from the side, "You newbies are making a fuss over nothing. Back in the day, I killed several level eight Frost Giant with a single spell."

"Aww—"

Before she could finish speaking, the Shark Lizard Beast leaped over again with unstoppable force.

Lonely Blows Snow quickly shouldered the giant shield and stepped forward to block. As the team's only tank, he was quite clear about his role.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the heavy shield blocked the Shark Lizard Beast's attack, but Lonely as Snow was also sent flying several meters away by the force, rolling more than ten times on the ground.

"Big sister, can you please concentrate a little?"

He didn't forget to wail.

Seeing the Shark Lizard Beast open its blood-red maw and charge towards the Lucky Emperor, intending to swallow him whole.

"What a bunch of idiots!"

Lonely as Snow steeled her heart, ignoring the numbness all over her body, gritted her teeth, raised her shield, and once again unleashed her Channel Divinity.

[Channel Divinity: Defending Against the Challenge]

With a white glow, an illusory chain appeared between the Shark Lizard Beast and Lonely as Snow, creating an arena where they could only engage in a one-on-one duel.

Watching the Shark Lizard Beast hurtle in with the tremors of the ground, he gripped his shield tightly and muttered to himself:

In the end, I bore the brunt of it all.

"I'll hold him off, you guys deal damage!"

Lonely as Snow, roared loudly.

"Wizardry Arrow!"

Jiu Li raised his staff high, and a crackling beam of cyan energy shot toward the Shark Lizard Beast, forming a continuous arc of electricity between him and the giant beast.

However, this giant beast was thick-skinned and didn't care about this weak electric current at all.

"Color Spray!"

Since the Lucky Emperor couldn't afford a staff, he could only cast spells with his bare hands.

A large amount of dazzling, multicolored flashes erupted from his hands, and then—all of them struck the ground.

"Lucky Emperor! You fucking hit the mark!"

Lonely as Snow barely managed to hold her own against the Shark Lizard Beast, not forgetting to curse it angrily.

The Lucky Emperor scratched his head and weakly defended himself in a low voice, "My spellcasting level is too low, I'm not very skilled, please forgive me."

"Watch me!"

The Flying Witch said confidently.

Fireball!

As soon as she finished speaking, a chaotic surge of magic erupted, butterflies and petals fluttered in the air, but the expected fireball did not appear.

"Huh? That's pretty romantic."

The Flying Witch paused for a moment, then smiled and said...

Lonely as Snow dodged the Shark Lizard Beast's slap once again, but was then rammed and sent flying several meters away, crashing into the maze wall and creating a human-shaped crater.

"Romantic my foot! Get your damage output up!"

He cried out helplessly from inside the pit.

If it weren't for the protection of the Adamantine Armor, Lonely as Snow would probably have been turned into mincemeat long ago.

"A spell is being cast! A spell is being cast!"

The Flying Witch immediately came to her senses and hurriedly replied.

She can't leave these newcomers with the impression that she's "unreliable"; she has to work hard to become a reliable senior!

Thinking of this, she gritted her teeth and stretched out her hands, which were wrapped around the electric arc.

"Lightning Beam!"

"Boom--"

Instantly, a thick bolt of lightning roared out from the direction she was pointing, piercing through the Shark Lizard Beast in an instant.

She was exceptionally lucky this time; influenced by the trend of wild magic, the power of this bolt of lightning was far greater than she had anticipated.

"Aww!"

The Shark Lizard Beast let out a deep roar.

Large patches of charred black appeared on its body, and its massive form collapsed with a crash under the force of lightning, causing the ground to tremble once more.

"Hehe, it still has to be me who takes action."

The Flying Witch said with a smug look on her face.

However, she overlooked the fact that [Lightning Beam] deals piercing damage, and along this path there were not only Shark Lizard Beast, but also Lonely as Snow trapped in the wall.

"Sister witch, you've forgotten about me."

A faint sound came from ahead.

"No way, could it be—"

As if she had guessed something, the Flying Witch looked apologetic and tiptoed forward.

Lonely as Snow lay on the ground, barely alive, her eyes beneath the helmet filled with exhaustion.

His entire body was charred black, and the hair under his helmet had been burned off completely. Tiny arcs of electricity even crackled around his Adamantine Armor.

Despite the Shark Lizard Beast blocking most of the damage for him, and the Adamantine Armor greatly reducing the power of the lightning, Lonely as Snow still couldn't forget the despair of being almost charred by a Lightning Beam from his teammate.

"Alas, if only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."

Lonely as Snow stubbornly tilted its head and exhaled a puff of blue smoke from its mouth.

The Paladin of yesteryear now resemble the products of barbecue.

He shouldn't have joined that lousy guild!