Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

Demonic Venomous Larva was indeed a rather troublesome and powerful existence in Ghost’s Domain.

To training groups, not only was killing a Demonic Venomous Larva a huge waste of time, they will also have to use a lot of manpower and pay a high price while killing it.

Because not only was Demonic Venomous Larva a flying insect, its body was as sturdy as metal, and it could constantly release a sound that could reduce a person’s movement speed and attack speed by around ten percent, making it incredibly difficult for the player to bring out its original strength. It was ridiculously tough to deal with one. But there was something even more dangerous about it. Demonic Venomous Larva’s bizarre venom covered its entire body. Once someone touched it, it will naturally be activated, and when Demonic Venomous Larva’s surging sound waves entered the enemy’s blood vessels along with the venom, it will cause the enemy’s strength to be reduced by thirty percent and his or her HP to drop.

Demonic Venomous Larva’s own attacks were not anything terrifying, though.

Hence, once Demonic Venomous Larva would quickly switch its target once its enemy was struck by its venom, and it would continue defeating its enemies until all enemies in the area were immobilized. Then, it would slowly kill all of them.

Demonic Venomous Larva’s great vitality and bizarre venom caused the players who ran into it before to find it a real headache. A long ago, some people did manage to kill Demonic Venomous Larva, but they paid a huge price for it. About hundreds of players died, but they only obtained a poison sac and some materials to craft weapons and equipment, but the amount was absolutely disproportionate to the number of sacrifices from the players’ side.

Later on, the other players found that the drops from Demonic Venomous Larva were basically about the same. Even when they worked hard to finally kill it, they would only obtain a small number of items that caused them to want to rip their hearts out in despair.

Hence, some of the more high-end training groups would leave without hesitation when they ran into this creature and stay far away from it.

But this was the first time Happy arrived at this place, and he did not want to waste time in searching for a new place to train in Ghost’s Domain, which was why he decided to foolishly stay behind to fight against Demonic Venomous Larva.

However, while the realm for Happy’s sword technique was not high, it had to be said that the damaging effects from the black flames in this unique sword technique was very clear. It could increase his damage by approximately two realms, and with Happy’s fierce and never-ending sword glares, he could deal a certain degree of trouble and pain to Demonic Venomous Larva.

Happy’s attacks were incredibly rhythmic, and he had a clear goal in mind.

At the same time he made sure that he kept a certain distance from Demonic Venomous Larva, half of his sword glares poured down on its wings, which were as tough as steel, the remaining half continued testing the sturdiness of the creature’s body in search for an opening and a gap for him to win the fight.

After two minutes of probing, Happy finally gained some degree of understanding of the insect.

Demonic Venomous Insect’s weakness was its face, specifically, that terrifying and disgusting face that was a mix between a baby and an insect.

Its huge, pink head seemed to have smooth and tender skin, and it naturally became the spot where Happy took great care about it.

Hunter Clan had already surrounded Old Pang and Young Pang. Two people sat down to help them circulate their qi to treat their wounds and force their poison out. The others stared at the spot where Happy fought without blinking.

“What is Boss Happy doing? The insect’s face is the hardest part to break. I heard that it seems to have a body fortification protecting it, and all attacks will be weakened by an invisible force.”

“Um… I seem to have heard that before…”

“Huh? Look, Demonic Venomous Larva’s face has turned black.”

“It’s because of all the slashes from Boss Happy, right?”

“It seems to be a little effective…”

“Don’t be so noisy. Scorpions and spiders seem to have respawned over there. Go and hold them back.”

While the group spoke, the figures of enemy NPCs could be seen in the miasma.

*****

Sword glares spread everywhere.

Every time Happy retreated and attacked, he could sense an invisible force weakening his sword qi and strongly blocking his longsword from piercing into the insect’s face. It was as if there was an invisible protective barrier on Demonic Venomous Larva’s face.

This effect was different from the other parts of its body, and it seemed as if it was even harder to break that protective barrier than the other parts.

But Happy noticed that with each fierce attack on the invisible protective barrier, Demonic Venomous Larva would screech in an even more piercing and sharp manner. It would also occasionally cough up a foul-smelling poisonous liquid.

This was a sign that it was incredibly angry and alarmed.

Even though he had not broken the protective barrier just yet, Happy believed that while Demonic Venomous Larva’s other parts were like steel, its face should not be the same. Once the invisible protective barrier was broken, the moment where he could kill a severely injured Demonic Venomous Larva would arrive.

Happy composed himself and continued attacking while he laboriously shifted to dodge the venomous liquid Demonic Venomous Larva coughed up.

This lasted for around ten minutes.

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind came from behind him.

“Careful!” Mu Qi saw a Ghost Scorpion suddenly respawning behind Happy, and he instantly broke out in cold sweat.

Happy’s body twisted in a miraculous manner. Ghost Scorpion’s fierce pounce missed, and it nearly crashed into Demonic Venomous Larva.

The spiders and scorpions whom Mu Qi and the others killed respawned one after another, and the valley instantly became lively and tense.

“Happy, I’ll help you lure them away.”

“Just continue training. Lure a few of them over, and if you can’t handle them, just leave them alone. I’ll be fine,” Happy said frankly.

Even though Demonic Venomous Larva posed as an even greater threat than the scorpions and spiders because it could fly, Happy had a deep understanding toward Ghost Scorpions and Eight-eyed Parasitic Spiders. He could already predict their movements and their speed, and their attacks cannot form any sort of threat to Indestructible Body.

“Okay!”

Mu Qi could tell that Happy was leading those monsters around in circles in a relaxed manner, and he braced his courage before he lured two Eight-eyed Parasitic Spiders over while leaving those scorpions to Happy.

Happy sighed in relief.

If Mu Qi lured away the scorpions and had the spiders stay behind, perhaps the number of enemies he had to face will be too great, and by then, it would be difficult for him to move around. His current situation was better. If he only had Ghost Scorpions to deal with, he would just treat them as if he had puppies trailing behind him.

When he thought of this, Happy decided to start training with that Demonic Venomous Larva and those scorpions.

While he continued using his sword qi to attack Demonic Venomous Larave’s huge face, he maintained a safe distance from it.

Even though this might seem simple, but every time he turned around, his angle, the control of strength, and the accurate judgment were all done at a very steady manner.

Time passed bit by bit.

Old Pang and Young Pang finally recovered, and they threw themselves into training.

The valley finally became quiet.

If Happy did not occasionally move past Mu Qi and the others in the distance, the group would think that Demonic Venomous Larva had already disappeared from the valley.

*****

After nearly an hour, the invisible protective barrier on Demonic Venomous Larva’s face was finally crushed.

At that moment, Demonic Venomous Larva’s huge, disgusting face was already covered in criss-crossing black marks. It looked even more horrendous now, and now, it resembled a venomous insect a little more.

What excited Happy was that at the moment the protective barrier disappeared, the screeches from Demonic Venomous Larva also lost their original power.

Happy felt light, as if a heavy weight had been removed from him. The speed of his longsword also increased by leaps and bounds, and his body became much lighter than before.

“Haha! Thinking of running?!”

When its protective barrier was broken, Happy immediately noticed that Demonic Venomous Larva wanted to run. He was already prepared for it a long time ago, and with two swift sword slashes, he killed the two bothersome Ghost Scorpions before he chased after Demonic Venomous Larva and stood in front of it.

If that strange cry was still around, he might not be able to catch up to it, but now that his speed had returned, he had absolutely no problem in catching up to Demonic Venomous Larva.

Thud!

His sword charged outward.

Demonic Venomous Larva had its body pierced through.

‘Knew it. This insect’s face is very soft.’

Once it lost the protection from the protective barrier, the insect’s face was pierced through like tofu. Its wings slapped a few times uncontrollably before they flopped against the ground with a heavy thud. Soon, a foul-smelling, green liquid filled the ground.

A system notification arrived.

“Ding!

“Successfully killed Myth Realm Demonic Venomous Larva!

“Battle Danger Assessment: Class S!

“Increase Comprehension by 3!

“Gained an understanding during battle. Increase Great Demonic World Destruction Art by 5 levels! Current level: Lvl 52.78.

“Gained an understanding during battle. Increase Illusory Cave Steps by 1 realm! Current level: Lvl 41.39.”

“Hmm?”

The continuous stream of system notifications caused Happy to be dumbfounded, but also surprised.

He had actually received three Comprehension points in one go.

He had also received a Class S battle danger assessment at Mountain Villa of Ten Thousand Beasts some time ago, but he only received one Comprehension point, and it had only increased a few levels for his martial arts.

After all, right now, he was practicing a Moksha Realm sword technique, body fortification, and lightness skill. Even if he received a Class S battle danger assessment, regardless of whether it was the realm or level of the martial art, the increase would be minimal, and the further he was into mastering the martial art, the smaller the increase would be.

But this time, in this fight he had actually increased half a realm for his sword technique, and his lightness skill increased by one full realm.

What was the most terrifying was still his lightness skill!

Usually, when he trained and gained Class S battle danger assessments, the system would seldom increase his lightness skill.

“You killed it?”

When Demonic Venomous Larva vanished with a cry, Mu Qi ran over and saw the insect’s carcass. He was so happy that his eyes sparkled. “Haha! We can train in peace now. By the way, the materials from this thing are pretty good, and we should be able to sell them for around ten million. I’ll collect them for you.”

“Wait. Don’t be in such a haste just yet. Let me ask you a question.”

Happy told Mu Qi the strange phenomenon that happened to him, and even Mu Qi was stunned. He scowled. “You increased fifteen levels in one go? Once a player reaches Moksha Realm, you seldom hear anyone increasing their levels so fast. At the very most, at the later stages of their training, they will only get an increase of around three to five levels.”

Happy said nothing.

“What’s even stranger is your lightness skill. I’ve never heard of anyone getting an increase in levels for their lightness skills with a Class S battle danger assessment. The training for lightness skills is too slow, and people will seldom train multiple lightness skills while they’re grinding. Moksha Realm elites will usually train only one Moksha Realm lightness skill.” Mu Qi’s expression became even stranger. “Could it be because of Demonic Venomous Larva?”

“Why do you say that?”

Happy frowned, and he did not understand what Mu Qi meant.

Mu Qi quickly explained. “Demonic Venomous Larva’s body is very sturdy, and it flies very quickly. The sound wave attacks can especially affect a person’s speed. Usually, players would be chased around by Demonic Venomous Larva. The only thing different about you is that right now, you’re the only one who managed to kill Demonic Venomous Larva alone, and you’re also the only one who received a Class S battle danger assessment.”

When he reached the latter part of his monologue, Mu Qi’s eyes gradually gained a spark, as if he had found the reason for Happy, and it also answered the questions in his heart.

“When you put it that way, it does make sense…” Happy mumbled, and his tone changed, “But I’d like to try it again!”

“Huh?” Mu Qi felt his skin crawl. Killing a Demonic Venomous Larva was already incredibly troublesome, and the rewards were not even great.

But Happy’s next sentence caused his eyes to light up.

“If it is truly as you said, then it means that the value in Demonic Venomous Larva is in increasing the level of a player’s lightness skill. Not only can I practice my sword technique, I can also quickly increase the level of my lightness skill. It can also quickly increase my qi and Body Movement.”