Chapter 21: The Monster in the Gas Station
Please add to your collection, vote with recommendation and monthly tickets, keep up with the latest Chapters, and help spread the word! All your support is appreciated!
——————————
SKREEE!
A bloodcurdling shriek tore through the sky above the forest.
The heavily wounded Magic Series Harpy mustered its last ounce of strength. The faint Blue electric currents around its body suddenly surged, and a ring of lightning erupted outward from its center.
The powerful shockwave, accompanied by the CRACKLE of electricity, slammed into Gu Su and the Skeletons, blasting them several meters back.
Gu Su crashed hard against a tree before hitting the ground.
A dull ache throbbed in his chest, and he nearly lost his grip on the Plague Cutter.
He gritted his teeth and scrambled to his feet, his gaze locked forward. He saw the Harpies Leader, which should have been dead, dragging its broken body and beating its nearly severed wings as it staggered through the air toward the nest at the gas station.
Black blood dripped from its body, leaving a gruesome trail on the ground.
"After it! Go after it now!"
A fierce glint flashed in Gu Su’s eyes as he gave the decisive order.
The Skeletons clambered to their feet. Though their bones were slightly damaged, their fighting spirit was undiminished.
To them, the fact that the grievously wounded Harpies Leader could still escape was a slap in the face and a lost chance at glory.
And so, more than ten standard-sized Skeletons charged out of the woods with all their might, sprinting toward the abandoned gas station. Each one strained to its utmost, fearing a comrade would steal the glory of landing the killing blow on the leader.
But just as the Skeletons burst from the woods and neared the gas station,
a sharp, urgent shriek suddenly rang out from the nest on the roof.
BOOM!
Following a deep, muffled boom, the ground at the abandoned gas station began to tremble violently.
Immediately after, a torrent of thick, black oil gushed from the doors, windows, and cracks of the convenience store next to the gas station. It flowed together like a tide, gradually coalescing into a giant Oil Monster.
The Oil Monster was a bloated mass, constantly dripping with viscous black oil. It looked like a giant snail carrying the wreckage of the gas station on its back. It slowly poked its head out of its "shell," and its enormous, oily body slammed down.
The six Skeletons at the front, unable to dodge in time, were instantly engulfed by the massive, oily mass.
They vanished without a sound, leaving only a few faint ripples on the surface of the oil before disappearing completely, evidently corroded and dissolved.
Seeing this, the two Elite Skeletons behind them didn’t retreat. Instead, they raised their Cleavers and Iron Spears and charged forward, roaring.
But their weapons had no effect when they struck the giant Oil Monster.
The Iron Spear plunged in only to be instantly enveloped and consumed by the viscous oil. Not only did it fail to harm the Oil Monster, but it also became stuck fast, impossible to pull free.
The Cleaver was even less effective; striking the creature was like hitting cotton. It didn’t leave so much as a scratch, and the blade was instead tainted by the oil and began to rust.
What was even more frightening was that the oily monstrosity was now dragging the gas station’s wreckage as it slowly advanced toward Gu Su and his Skeletons.
Everywhere it passed, the ground was stained black. Plants withered and corroded instantly, and the air filled with a pungent, foul stench.
Gu Su’s pupils contracted. He instantly understood. ’This bizarre Oil Monster is far beyond what we can handle right now.’
He didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately giving the order, "Retreat! Everyone fall back!"
Though reluctant, the remaining Skeletons strictly obeyed. They immediately broke off their attack, turned, and retreated toward the forest without a moment’s delay.
Gu Su only breathed a slight sigh of relief once he confirmed all the Skeletons had made it safely back to the edge of the woods.
He quickly did a headcount. Of the more than ten Skeletons he started with, only five now remained intact.
The rest had either been swallowed and dissolved by the Oil Monster or destroyed in the fierce battle that preceded its arrival.
In a matter of moments, his Skeleton Squad, including the five temporary Skeletons from Soul Summoning, had suffered sixty percent casualties.
It was a good thing this was an Undead Team; any other unit would have lost all its Morale by now.
Looking at the five unscathed Skeletons, Gu Su’s breathing grew heavy. Heartache and fury churned in his chest.
He looked up at the Oil Monster, still lumbering slowly toward them in the distance, his eyes as cold as ice. ’You just wait,’ he thought.
Once his anger subsided, Gu Su forced himself to calm down and surveyed the Harpy corpses scattered throughout the woods.
Some were from his earlier hunt, while others had fallen alongside the Harpies Leader just moments ago.
Gu Su hesitated no longer. He bent down, hoisted a relatively intact Harpy corpse onto his shoulder, and gave a firm order, "Take the bodies. We’re leaving."
The five Skeletons immediately moved forward. With a clear division of labor, they hoisted the Harpy corpses from the ground—some carrying two, others struggling with three—and followed steadily behind Gu Su, moving deeper into the forest.
During the retreat, Gu Su glanced back periodically to observe the Oil Monster’s movements and gradually discovered its weakness.
Although the oily monster was huge, immensely destructive, and incredibly intimidating, its movement speed was exceptionally slow—like a snail. It was nowhere near fast enough to keep up with them.
An idea immediately formed in Gu Su’s mind. He changed direction, no longer heading straight for the Graveyard Demon but turning toward a different location instead.
’First, I’ll lead the Skeletons and deliberately lure this Oil Monster in another direction to throw it off our trail,’ he planned. ’Once we’ve completely shaken it, we can take these Harpy corpses back to the Graveyard Demon.’
After all, the Skeleton Squad had suffered heavy losses, and even a temporary Soul Summoning wouldn’t be enough to take on the Oil Monster.
The best course of action for now was to get these Harpy corpses back to the Graveyard Demon as quickly as possible to replenish his number of Elite Skeletons.
However, what Gu Su didn’t expect was that as he and his Skeletons fled with the Harpy corpses, the Oil Monster simply stopped at the edge of the woods.
It didn’t enter the forest. Instead, it extended oily tentacles to devour the corpses of small animals that were hanging upside down from the trees.
If Gu Su had been there, he would have discovered something.
The small animals hanging from the trees were food, specially prepared for the Oil Monster.
The creature hadn’t appeared out of nowhere; it was a symbiotic partner to the Harpies.
The Harpies were responsible for providing everything it needed to live.
When the Harpies were in trouble, the Oil Monster was obligated to emerge and fight on their behalf.
This time, the Harpies Leader had underestimated Gu Su, not expecting him to be so devious.
In a single encounter, he had wiped out all of the Harpies.
Otherwise, with the Oil Monster’s devouring attacks on the ground and the Harpies’ ambushes from the sky, any army, no matter the size, would have been doomed to perish.