Chapter 336

Chapter 336: Grilled Willow Meat

How should one describe this feeling?

Lin Qingliu pondered for at least two seconds.

It was akin to a homeowner discovering a burglary, engaging in a struggle that resulted in all important items being destroyed, leading to a complete loss for both parties.

Although this forest might only represent one-thousandth or even one-ten-millionth of the entire will of the mycelium, it was indeed a genuine loss.

As a life form that thrives on assimilation and parasitism, the mycelium inevitably began to develop human-like emotions after acquiring intelligence from humans.

And what lay before him now was the most prominent manifestation of that change.

Clearly, the fight had paused for two reasons: on one hand, both sides were locked in a struggle with no clear winner, and on the other hand, the will of the mycelium seemed a bit pained.

It was right to feel pain!

Lin Qingliu felt a secret delight; after all, who asked you to fight on your home ground?

Whether in Hope City or the extraordinary beast forest, the side that fought on its home turf would receive the buff of the biological field but would also inevitably suffer confined debuffs.

Since the opponent had begun to waver, it was time to stoke the flames further.

Lin Qingliu directed two of his clones and his main body to charge forward again, but this time it was not a fair one-on-one fight. Instead, all three bodies closed in on the nearest flame giant.

With no humans in the audience, there was no need to consider many factors in the battle—whether it involved environmental destruction or employing somewhat unscrupulous tactics…

When the will of the mycelium realized something was wrong, Lin Qingliu had already transformed one of his clones, using his Anomalies ability to morph it into a blood and flesh greatsword that was over five times his body’s length.

Moving at extreme speed, Lin Qingliu generated a sonic boom, piercing the giant’s chest with the greatsword before the feathered serpent could unleash its telekinesis.

This attack was the result of deep contemplation; among the three extraordinary beasts, only the flame giant could inflict irreversible damage upon him with its ability to gather flames into a concentrated point.

Yet, at the same time, the giant’s physical strength was the lowest among the trio.

The strike just inflicted on the deceitful horned demon and the feathered serpent would hardly harm them, but for the flame giant—who attacked while burning himself, or rather, the willow man—it could indeed breach its defenses.

As the greatsword pierced through the flame giant’s body, its surface carbonized while the internal flesh, fortunate to survive, began to emit a roasted aroma after desperately splitting apart.

In the fleeting moments of being charred, the mighty sword completed its “final dance.”

The brief yet glorious explosion caused its length to extend more than once again, nailing the already-reeling willow man to the sand-laden ground.

Meanwhile, another of Lin Qingliu’s clones transformed into a mass of indistinguishable flesh, blocking all attacks from the feathered serpent and the demon.

Taking advantage of those precious few seconds, an exceptionally thick bolt of lightning streaked through the sky, striking the tip of the sword like a lightning rod.

The body of the flame giant showed signs of splitting from the impact of the sword and the lightning strike, while a hurricane rushed in, causing its body to burn even faster.

However, the ground had entirely turned to sand, and the mycelium at the barren edges desperately grew toward this direction but could not surpass Lin Qingliu, who had activated his Absorb ability, ultimately perishing in despair.

The flame giant burned itself to ashes, never receiving the nutrients and life force it desperately awaited.

Its body shattered as it fell, falling back into a heap of charcoal remnants with smoldering embers.

Meanwhile, the greatsword formed by Lin Qingliu’s clone stood firmly in place, creating a scene that looked like a local barbecue festival.

As the flame giant collapsed, a low roar faded away completely.

This extraordinary beast, the weakest of its kind, but with the highest output capability, had been thoroughly destroyed by Lin Qingliu.

However, just like the artificial intelligence on a spaceship can freely swap terminals, the will of the mycelium merely returned temporarily to the cloud, rather than facing true death.

As long as there was a single strand of mycelium left in the world, it could always revive.

Not wanting to dwell on such disheartening matters, Lin Qingliu watched as the clone he left behind turned into a pile of rotten flesh, losing all its life force.

Seeing his creation fall onto the sandy ground, Lin Qingliu quickly commanded it to turn into worthless ashes.

With a growing opponent like the mycelium, Lin Qingliu remained vigilant, ensuring no material that could extract its genetic information fell into the mycelium ecosystem.

Once he finished tidying up this side, he turned to look at the two extraordinary beasts, which now bore slight expressions of anger.

Then he revealed an utterly wild grin.

The roar of the Fifth Level Extraordinary Beasts echoed through the skies as they surged toward the remnants of the willow man that still held some life, beginning to extract useful parts to merge with themselves, while the intensity of their biological fields began to explosively increase.

“Wow, there’s even a transformation~”

Lin Qingliu hovered in the air, adhering to certain customary rules while watching the demon and feathered serpent’s bodies slowly undergo anomalies below.

“That’s right! As creatures that thrive on adaptation and evolution, you should look like this.”

The two extraordinary beasts below completely ignored Lin Qingliu’s mocking commentary but soon turned their heads in unison to face him high in the sky.

The demon’s horns, resembling those of a goat, and the tips of its tail had ignited with crimson flames, causing its body to swell noticeably, as if its power was about to burst forth.

Meanwhile, the feathered serpent’s feathers near its head took on red markings, as if ready to ignite, with stick-like growths sprouting beneath its reptilian scales, appearing even more sinister than the demon.

The pair ascended into the sky simultaneously, their gazes directed at Lin Qingliu, void of any emotion.

At that moment, their life forms had completely transformed.

Although this forced merger form might not last long, what did it matter?

As long as they could make this human pay a price, everything would be worth it.

“So, your lives are on a countdown, huh?” Lin Qingliu asked nonchalantly, already aware of the answer in his heart.

No power comes without a price; under the premise that they have not received sustenance from the mycelium as a whole, the abilities gained merely through consuming the corpses of their kind would ultimately require a cost.

The overwhelming presence also indicated that the two extraordinary beasts before him could no longer sustain their existence for long unless they reconnected to the ecosystem for nourishment.