Facing the Guard Bee

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..." Between the two sentences the pair exchanged to confirm the situation, two Guard Bee had already swarmed out of the food storage. What shocked Zhang Ruofeng was that the Guard Bee were a terrifying half-human size. Their two massive forelimbs had evolved into sharp, sickle-like shapes, while their abdomens—which should have been weak points—were incredibly armored. The entire body of the Guard Bee shimmered with a brighter luster, and one look told him their hardness was leagues above that of an Earth Bee.

"Should I run? Should I run?" Zhang Ruofeng heard the man muttering. Before he could even react, he saw the adventurer take a step back, turn around, and start sprinting. "Sorry, I don't think I can win this, I'm out of here!!"

Before Zhang Ruofeng could say anything, the adventurer blew past him like a gust of wind. Xin Mu tried to intercept him, but because it was so sudden, the adventurer just twisted his body slightly and slipped right past her.

"So... fast." It was the first time Xin Mu felt so frustrated. She didn't know what other abilities the adventurer had, but his reaction time and speed in fleeing were clearly those of someone who had made running away a habit; it was truly difficult for her to stop him.

"That damn guy!" Zhang Ruofeng was a beat too slow, and the two Guard Bee were already upon them. Even in the lower levels, elite monsters were not to be trifled with. Especially for low-level adventurers, most elite monsters were their nightmares. Even the elite monsters in the first few levels of the Dungeon were not something everyone could handle at will, let alone someone like Zhang Ruofeng, who had been an adventurer for less than half a month. The buzzing sound was already ringing in his ears; escaping was no longer realistic. Zhang Ruofeng suddenly stopped short, pivoted on his feet, and lunged toward the Guard Bee with a powerful kick. The Guard Bee, lacking the intelligence to react, were caught off guard. Zhang Ruofeng slammed into the lead Guard Bee, his momentum carrying it straight into the wall; the force of the full-speed charge even made the wall tremble.

Xin Mu naturally didn't stay idle. Seeing Zhang Ruofeng pin one Guard Bee, she drew her two daggers. Since both Guard Bee were now locked onto Zhang Ruofeng, Xin Mu channeled all her strength and hurled a dagger at the back of the other, still-unharmed Guard Bee. However, the overall strength of a Guard Bee was not comparable to an Earth Bee; the first dagger was deflected by its wings. As Xin Mu threw the second, the first dagger landed straight in the ground by her feet, but the second hit its mark, piercing the Guard Bee's wing. The creature instantly lost its balance and crashed to the ground.

"Hiss!" Zhang Ruofeng gritted his teeth and gasped. The Guard Bee he had pinned to the wall was surprisingly unscathed. Even though his full-force straight punch had left a dent in its abdomen, the creature seemed unmoved. Its two sharp forelimbs slashed down vertically, plunging straight into Zhang Ruofeng's shoulders. He could even hear the sound of his bones grinding against its limbs. The pain-amplifying effect of the Dragon Blood made his vision go black. But Zhang Ruofeng knew that if he retreated now, controlling this Guard Bee again would be even harder. He struggled to look back at Xin Mu, who was relying on her agility to dance around the other Guard Bee. Her supple frame allowed her to easily dodge the Guard Bee's relatively simple forelimb strikes. Although she couldn't do much damage to it, the Guard Bee couldn't land a quick blow on her either.

"Hoo." Zhang Ruofeng braced the Guard Bee's forelimbs with both hands, preventing them from digging deeper into his shoulders. He gathered his breath, suppressed the intense pain, and took a sharp step back. The Guard Bee, caught off guard, swung its limbs into empty air, causing its body to lose coordination. This step was a deliberate lure by Zhang Ruofeng. How could he miss such an opportunity? He pushed off his feet again and landed a Crushing Fist directly on the Guard Bee's head. The creature wasn't slow to react, raising its forelimbs to block, but it was too late. A sharp screeching sound erupted as his arm guard scraped against its limbs. Zhang Ruofeng's punch connected, and the pained Guard Bee began to thrash its limbs wildly. Zhang Ruofeng was forced to retreat, a new gash opening on his chest. The pain from his shoulder wounds, mixed with the itchy sensation of rapid healing, made his mood turn irritable.

Yet, Zhang Ruofeng knew he couldn't let his movements become sloppy, as he currently held a slight advantage. If he stopped now, he would likely be hunted down by the Guard Bee. After all, this was Xin Mu's first time in melee combat. Although she was barely dodging attacks, the bloodstains appearing on her body showed how dire her situation was.

"Hah!" Zhang Ruofeng spotted an opening in the Guard Bee's attack. Having been struck hard, the creature had clearly lost its vision and was now lashing out blindly. Zhang Ruofeng seized the chance, lunging forward to land another punch on its head. At the same time, the Guard Bee's wild flailing carved a wound into his back. Zhang Ruofeng didn't stop, shifting laterally to the left to clear his body from the attack. He switched his straight punch to an uppercut, bracing his left arm guard for a heavy blow. As the Guard Bee tilted to the right, he grabbed its sharp forelimb with his right hand—ignoring the instant laceration—pulled it upward, and followed through with his left fist, smashing the creature into the ground. He loosened his right hand slightly, coiled his strength, and delivered one final straight punch into its chest. The Guard Bee finally stopped its frantic thrashing and instantly dissolved into a pile of fine sand.

"Hahaha... ha..." Zhang Ruofeng panted heavily. There wasn't a single intact spot on his body; he had been slashed a dozen times, and the wounds on his shoulders were likely deep enough to expose bone. A rolling heat surged through his wounds. He knew his body was healing at an incredible speed, but instead of the fatigue the goddess had warned him about, he felt waves of hot blood rushing to his brain. A sense of rage was fermenting wildly within him.

"Impossible, no one should be able to provoke me." Zhang Ruofeng knew his anger was becoming increasingly apparent, but there was no time to find the cause. He saw the dagger Xin Mu used for defense fly to his feet, and Xin Mu herself barely rolled away from a lethal strike, though a massive gash had been opened on her shoulder. Without a moment's hesitation, Zhang Ruofeng lunged forward.