Octopus Monster

"Meow!!!"

A piercing, agonized shriek exploded from beneath the blade without warning.

The shadowy figure, as if struck by immense fright, shot back over ten meters in an instant, crouching on the ground with round, unblinking eyes fixed on Xu Feng, brimming with inexplicable resentment.

"Uh... hmph... how is it a cat?"

Xu Feng's arm, still holding the kitchen knife aloft, froze mid-air, his face burning with awkwardness.

It turned out the source of that bloody smell was a pile of mangled rats, large and small huddled together—clearly a whole nest wiped out.

Next to them, a rat hole gaped open, evidently the "hunting trophy" of this black cat.

His charging approach had practically been a blatant attempt to snatch its prey.

"Meow~ Meow~~"

The black cat arched its back, fur bristling like a tiny puffball, ears flattened against its skull, growling at Xu Feng in indignant protest.

"My apologies."

Xu Feng sheepishly put away the kitchen knife, then reached into his backpack and pulled out a pack of ham sausages.

This was a freebie the shopkeeper had tossed in when he bought compressed biscuits that afternoon.

"Pspspsps~~"

He peeled one sausage and gently tossed it toward the black cat.

The cat finally smoothed down its bristling fur, but still kept its body tensely arched as it crept over, sniffed the offering, its amber eyes locked on Xu Feng.

As if judging whether this thing was poisoned.

In the end, it couldn't resist the lure of the smell and tentatively nibbled at it.

"Come on, come on, they're all yours."

A pang of guilt welled up in Xu Feng's heart again. Besides, this little black cat's round, chubby form was genuinely endearing.

He simply peeled the remaining seven sausages and laid them out neatly on the ground.

The black cat glanced at the sausages, then at Xu Feng. After hesitating for a long moment, it finally minced over in small steps.

Seeing that Xu Feng made no move, it boldly lowered its head and wolfed them down.

"Too bad my mom won't let me keep a cat—says these little things are filthy." Xu Feng reached out, gently rubbed the black cat's head, and sighed softly.

Perhaps the "bribe" of ham sausages had worked, because the little black cat was unusually docile, letting his palm stroke its head.

"Huh? Why do I smell sea brine?"

Xu Feng's nostrils suddenly flared. A stench mixed with rotting fish and shrimp invaded his senses, even more pungent than the smell of a sewer.

He glanced around in confusion. The tree shadows were dappled, the night was heavy, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary nearby.

This smell... it seemed to be wafting from beneath the little black cat.

"Meow!!!"

A shrill scream burst out. The cat under his palm suddenly thrashed violently.

Xu Feng's heart jolted. He followed the sound.

By the dim moonlight, he saw a bizarre tentacle glowing with an eerie blue cold light. It had somehow coiled around the black cat's hind leg, yanking it with force, dragging it toward the rat hole!

Swish—

A sharp sound of something cutting through the air rang out!

Xu Feng reacted almost on instinct. His right hand shot out like lightning, the kitchen knife whistling through the air as it slammed down hard on that blue-glowing tentacle.

A startling resistance traveled up the blade, numbing his tiger's-mouth grip.

The tentacle, as if struck by sudden agony, abruptly released its hold on the cat's hind leg.

The little black cat, as if granted a reprieve, let out a yowl and bolted far away, scrambling up a tree trunk in a few bounds. It licked its bleeding hind leg in lingering terror, its cat eyes fixed on the ground.

But Xu Feng didn't pause for a moment.

Seeing the tentacle writhing and trying to retreat back into the rat hole, his left hand's kitchen knife followed without delay, precisely striking the same wound.

Thud—

A dull sound. Half the tentacle fell to the ground, coiling and twisting wildly in the dirt.

"Grrrr—!"

From deep inside the rat hole, a furious roar suddenly erupted, muffled and bizarre, making one's scalp crawl.

Xu Feng ignored the twitching severed tentacle on the ground, his gaze locked onto that unremarkable hole.

The soil around the hole's edge was slowly bulging upward, the earth cracking into fine fissures.

As if some colossal creature was pushing against the dirt, slowly forcing its way out!

Crash—

A deafening explosion. Dirt sprayed everywhere!

A creature shaped like an octopus but grotesquely enlarged burst out from a rat hole.

Its body, a full half-man in height, stood firmly on the ground, its azure skin glinting coldly under the moonlight.

When it spotted Xu Feng, killing intent erupted from its two mung-bean-sized eyes.

Seven thick tentacles abruptly coiled, then snapped open like taut springs, the immense momentum launching its body into the air as it lunged straight at Xu Feng.

Under the moonlight, Xu Feng could even clearly see its gaping maw, lined with three rings of dense, overlapping, razor-sharp fangs.

Clang—!

The monster's speed was astonishing; Xu Feng could only barely raise the kitchen knife to block his chest.

A surge of Great Strength suddenly struck from the blade, slamming heavily into his chest.

The Octopus Monster's body crashed down with force, sending him stumbling back several steps. A dull, piercing pain erupted in his chest, and his arms went numb, nearly losing all feeling.

Before he could catch his breath, the monster lunged again. Three tentacles lashed down like steel whips, smashing viciously against the kitchen knife.

Ping—

With a sharp crack, a searing pain shot through Xu Feng's tiger's mouth. The kitchen knife was knocked from his hand, clattering to the ground in the distance.

"So strong!"

Xu Feng's heart shuddered. Only now did he truly grasp the terror of a magical beast.

In just a few exchanges, he had been beaten into a state of utter helplessness.

This was no mindless wild animal—it even knew to disarm him first, then wait for a fatal opening!

"But my strongest... isn't the blade!"