When the Crystal-Armored Crocodile bit down a second time, Lin Yuan did not retreat.
He sidestepped the closing maw, pressed his palm against the monster's upper jaw, and abruptly shortened the distance between himself and the other end of the platform.
The massive crocodile body was carried away from the waterway.
boom!
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile slammed onto the wooden platform, its four short legs kicking wildly. Its thick tail swept out, smashing through two railings in succession.
Kaben dragged his injured left arm as he ran backward, shouting, "Don't let it go back into the water! If it gets into the mud, we won't be able to find it!"
Lin Yuan grabbed the pillar to steady himself.
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile was no stronger than the Iron-Feathered Vulture Chieftain, and much slower. The problem was that the entire medicine field was built over the waterway, so he couldn't use his roar, nor could he smash the monster along with the platform.
The Zero-Distance Crushing Fist can hit, but it cannot penetrate armor.
The Space God's Folding Wings can restrict movement, but if the two curved surfaces close from the left and right, they will only continue to transmit the impact to the entire back armor.
He needs an attack that doesn't rely on brute force.
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile suddenly turned around, its long tail sweeping towards the platform pillar once more.
Lin Yuan took a step forward, his fist covering several meters, and collided head-on with the tail end.
The monster's movement veered off course.
The platform then shook violently. The force of the punch traveled forward along the transparent scales, eventually gushing into the wooden planks from the crocodile's head and limbs. Several bamboo baskets filled with herbs were overturned, scattering dried leaves everywhere.
Kaben's eyes twitched. "Those baskets are three thousand J each!"
"Record it under the loss incurred during the entrustment process."
"We're the ones who pay for it!"
Lin Yuan did not throw another punch.
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile has hundreds of scales on its back, each pressing down on the next, with their edges tightly joined to form a complete shell that can disperse impacts.
But they are not a single piece.
As the monster turned around, several scales near its forelegs opened with the movement, revealing a line of grayish-white skin underneath. When it lowered its body again, the gap was covered by another layer of scales.
" Kaben, are they changing their armor?"
"It's changed every spring! Why are you asking this now?"
"Where do the old scales fall off first?"
Kaben paused for a moment, then pointed to the monster's shoulder and neck. "Behind its front legs! They rub against that area with tree trunks!"
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile had already lowered its body and charged.
Lin Yuan raised his right hand.
Black and silver magic extended outward from the palm, neither condensing into a fist nor unfolding into a folded wing. The spatial rift was continuously stretched and compressed, eventually transforming into a black and silver blade nearly four feet long.
Lin Yuan gripped the magic node, which resembled a knife hilt, and swung it down to meet the giant crocodile.
The blade struck the crystal armor on the top of the head head-on.
A sharp scraping sound suddenly rang out. The fracture left a white mark on the transparent scales, but the entire sword was bounced aside by the force transmitted back from the back armor. Lin Yuan's wrist followed suit, and the tip of the sword almost hit the platform beneath his feet.
He immediately dispersed half of the blade.
It's sharp enough, but the swing is terrible.
That last strike was less of a slash and more like hitting someone with a thinner object.
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile gave him no second chance. Its massive jaws snapped at him from the side, and Lin Yuan held his blade horizontally in front of him, only to realize a moment later that this position was no match for that mouth.
He shortened the distance between his feet and the wooden stake behind him, retreating close to the fangs. The blade grazed the corner of the crocodile's mouth, cutting off only a small piece of gray skin.
"Left!" Kaben suddenly shouted.
Lin Yuan did not turn around.
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile's injured left foreleg landed a moment slower, and the scales behind its shoulder opened wider than on the other side. It wasn't a target it needed to chase and cut, but a gap that would appear on its own with the movement.
He lowered the blade again.
It neither slashes, nor blocks, nor collides with the carapace.
Simply place the blade in the correct position.
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile lunged again. Lin Yuan shifted half a step to the side, his black-silver blade grazing the front leg as he slashed upwards. The beast's own momentum sent its shoulder and neck through the blade, and the seams of its open scales were sliced open from front to back.
The three pieces of crystal armor slid off intact and crashed onto the wooden board.
After losing its continuous structure, the vibration of the entire carapace suddenly became chaotic. The Crystal-Armored Crocodile let out a low growl and swept its long tail towards Lin Yuan's waist.
He intended to twist his wrist and slash back, but the blade tip was a beat too slow.
Without swordsmanship as a foundation, no matter how sharp the blade he conjures, he cannot magically master the correct footwork, distance, and angle of attack.
Lin Yuan simply loosened his grip on the knife handle.
The black-silver blade hovered in place as he veered to the other side of the giant crocodile. The sweeping tail struck the still spatial rift, tearing off several scales at its tip.
He gripped the knife again and slashed down along the exposed seam.
The black-silver blade didn't cut through the hardest crystal armor; instead, it severed the spatial connection between the scales that transmitted power. Cracks suddenly spread along the back, and large sections of the shell lost support, sliding to both sides.
Lin Yuan sheathed his sword, his left fist making a final leap across the distance, landing on the unprotected shoulder and neck.
Zero-Distance Crushing Fist!
The Crystal-Armored Crocodile's head slammed heavily into the wooden plank, its massive body sliding forward several meters before coming to a stop at the edge of the waterway.
This time, it couldn't get up again.
Kaben waited a moment before approaching. He picked up the intact crystal scale, then looked at the black and silver longsword in Lin Yuan's hand that was gradually dissipating.
You can use a knife?
"Won't."
"Then what did you just now—"
"It just so happens to have a gap, and I just happen to need a knife."
Lin Yuan looked down at his right hand.
The Boundary-Severing Blade could indeed take shape and cut through targets that a fist couldn't handle. But if the opponent had been any faster, or if the seams between the armor plates hadn't been so obvious, his rough slashes would have wasted the blade's sharpness.
There just happens to be someone in the guild who is truly skilled at using all kinds of weapons.
Lin Yuan looked at the waterways that were still bubbling, and re-condensed the blade.
"Clear this area first."
"Then go back to find Erza."