Chapter 213 - 153: Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue (Part 2)
WHOOSH—
A horrifying, shrill laugh rode a powerful sound wave, blasting past one Corpse Bone Tree after another.
Some of the more fragile Corpse Bone Trees even snapped in two with a CRACK.
The two of them instinctively ignited their Warfire to defend themselves, managing to avoid further harm.
But the effects of that shrill laugh clearly didn’t stop there.
SQUISH! SQUISH!
As if guided by some unseen signal, countless Parasites violently burst from their sacs, tearing through flesh as they began to gather.
Then, something that made their scalps tingle happened.
One by one, the Parasites began biting each other, frantically trying to burrow into one another’s bodies.
In just a few moments, a huge number of the mutually-parasitizing creatures died, and a black, bloody sludge trickled down.
"A perfect opportunity!"
Niuniu paused for a second, then his eyes lit up.
He did feel a little guilty about the loot from that girl just now, but not much.
He felt even less of a psychological burden killing these Parasites.
He couldn’t care less what these bugs were doing.
If this instance got ruined, he’d just have to reset it anyway. This was a perfect chance to farm Wax Oil!
Quickly, Niuniu, who had already specialized in the Explosive Bull build, began to use Foul-smelling Feces Qi and Explosive Flame to attack the Parasites.
Explosions were followed by flames, and the nauseatingly sweet smell of roasting flesh savagely assaulted Mushroom’s senses.
[You have killed a Parasite]
[You have killed a Parasite]
[...]
Each Parasite provided Niuniu with around twenty Wax Oil. In just a short while, he had already harvested nearly three hundred.
"Hurry up and get to it, Mushroom!"
Niuniu didn’t forget to call Mushroom over to get in on the easy loot.
Seeing this, Mushroom hesitated for a moment before taking out his splash potions with a Poisoned Effect and began to harvest the clustered Parasites.
However, even though the two were farming monsters with all their might, the Skeleton Forest was simply too large. Countless Parasites still managed to achieve their goal.
GURGLE GURGLE.
Right next to Niuniu, a ball of flesh formed from clumped-up Parasites began to roll in the direction the girl had been heading, leaving a trail of black blood in its wake.
"These bugs are insane."
"It’s definitely because you killed that NPC."
𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Mushroom sighed as he continued to farm the Parasites.
"Worst case, we reset. I’ve already made back my investment, and I’m even in the green now."
"...I won’t kill her next time," Niuniu said after a moment’s hesitation.
"Enough chit-chat, pick up the pace!"
Niuniu urged him on again.
Hearing this, Mushroom didn’t say anything more.
He had to admit, this was a really efficient way to farm Wax Oil.
In just that short time, Niuniu had already accumulated nearly a thousand Wax Oil.
Mushroom had also saved up over five hundred, and the number was still climbing.
It even made the scent of burnt flesh, which had originally disgusted Mushroom, seem not so bad anymore.
THUD—
Just as the two were getting into the rhythm of farming.
A tremor ran through the earth, accompanied by a heavy, muffled footstep that sent an involuntary jolt through their hearts.
The two of them had just about cleared out the Parasites in front of them and were planning to check other areas.
But this sudden, massive commotion made them freeze in their tracks.
"What the hell is that?"
Mushroom was startled.
"Probably a consequence of killing the NPC." Niuniu, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised.
After a glance at the Parasites in other areas, he decisively gave up on farming more Wax Oil.
"Stop farming, Mushroom. Mount up. Pay attention, and whatever you do, don’t die too quickly. It’s best if we can see what’s going on."
After saying this, Niuniu leaped onto his mount. After looking around, he headed for a small slope, trying to get to a high point to see the source of the huge commotion.
"...You really know how to stir up trouble."
Mushroom sighed. Running an instance with this kid Niuniu was just exhausting.
Then, he too summoned his Candlefire Spirit Steed and followed Niuniu.
THUD... THUD...
The earth’s tremors didn’t stop; instead, they grew heavier.
The two soon reached the top of the slope.
There, they finally got a clear look at the source of the sound.
It was an extremely massive monster.
Its head was enormous, with tentacles hanging from its lower jaw. Its body was composed of black and red flesh, with a shell of bone, and at its joints writhed countless slithering Parasites.
[Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue]
[Tier: Scorching Charcoal]
[Level: 35]
[Warfire: ?]
[Talent: ?]
[Skill: ?]
[Explanation: Corrupted by an alien Power, formed from the flesh of the innocent. A mad Parasite remains within.]
"Damn, a bunch of question marks... and it’s huge!"
Staring at the colossus’s massive body, Niuniu felt his scalp tingle. This was the first time in the game they had ever seen a monster of such immense size.
"It’s coming this way!"
Mushroom’s brow furrowed.
A shrill laugh erupted from the Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue’s terrifying maw. Using its hands and jaw-tentacles, it scooped up one Parasite flesh-ball after another from the ground and shoved them into its mouth, chewing noisily.
And its steps never faltered, clearly heading straight for the two of them.
"What’s the plan? Do we run first?"
Mushroom looked at Niuniu.
"Run from what?" Despite his surprise at its size, Niuniu clearly had a plan. "It’s just a Scorching Charcoal Tier boss. I’ll set up the field, you lure it over, and we’ll blow it to kingdom come!"
"Alright."
Mushroom didn’t say much else. Both of their Levels were high, and they had plenty of combat tactics and experience. A boss like this wasn’t enough to make them panic.
Quickly, the two sprang into action.
Before long, Niuniu had spread the Foul-smelling Feces Qi over a large area.
And Mushroom had successfully lured the Hosted Giant Statue over.
"Niu, do it!"
BOOM!
He didn’t need the reminder. Niuniu, who was already prepared, directly triggered the Explosive Flame.
In an instant, the massive amount of Foul-smelling Feces Qi under the Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue’s feet ignited and detonated, erupting with immense power.
BOOM!
Flesh was charred, and black blood evaporated.
The Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue’s legs instantly rotted away. Losing its support, its massive body collapsed with a crash.
Its Blood Bar instantly dropped by nearly a third.
The power of the Explosive Bull was as terrifying as ever.
Seeing this, Niuniu’s and Mushroom’s eyes lit up. They rushed forward without hesitation and unleashed a barrage of various Magic Potion Skills.
However, it seemed they had underestimated the terror of this behemoth.
Another shrill, grating laugh rang out.
It was accompanied by a bizarre, twisted voice.
"Outsiders... such useless little tricks cannot kill me!"
"I will... exist here forever, until the end of time!"
The voice sounded like countless voices of men, women, old, and young, all twisted together, making their scalps tingle.
As the voice faded, the Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue’s body began to rapidly disintegrate. Innumerable Parasites, carrying bone and blood, transformed into a tidal wave of insects that spread out in all directions.
The next moment, a considerably smaller Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue rose from within the waves. Mushroom and Niuniu were already swarmed by countless Parasites, unable to cut them down fast enough.
As the two were struggling to deal with the swarm, the terrifyingly-shaped Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue opened its mouth once again.
"How exciting..."
"It has been a long time since I last saw outsiders."
"Rest assured, I will not kill you. I will let them fill every part of your bodies except for your brains, providing you with nutrients so that you may live forever, here, to accompany me..."
"And finally, I must thank you for killing her. Now, I have no weaknesses at all!"
"Ah... I offer the highest praise to you, great existence within Tasolomo! Your aura intoxicates me. Everything I am comes from you..."
The entity controlling the Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue seemed not to have seen a living person in a very long time. Upon seeing Niuniu and Mushroom, its speech was even somewhat incoherent, sending a chill down their spines.
While dealing with the surrounding Parasites, this realization sent a jolt of shock through them.
’This doesn’t seem to be a simple boss. Does it actually have the Ability to think for itself?’
’Is it... an NPC?’