"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
Almost simultaneously, three explosive sounds echoed.
The Magic Missiles released force field energy upon contacting the Mud Monster’s body.
Its body was immediately blasted with three craters.
"Mmm!!!"
The Mud Monster roared.
Gauss was unsure whether it was experiencing corresponding pain or simply enraged by the hit.
He squinted slightly.
He noticed that the effect of the Magic Missiles seemed to be weakened by some energy.
Within its earthen body, a special kind of energy was intermingled.
It endowed the otherwise fragile soil with significant resilience and strength.
So that’s it...
If it were just a simple enlarged humanoid form of a Mud Monster, it wouldn’t be classified as an Elite Demon.
This Mud Monster’s body properties were somewhat like non-Newtonian fluid from his past life. When needed to be thrown, its muddy stones could easily detach from its body, yet it possessed thick viscosity that absorbed external impacts when attacked.
Therefore, the previous conclusion might need to be reconsidered; attacking its body might still weaken it, although this process would be relatively slow.
He pondered as he moved swiftly, dodging another attack thrown by the Mud Monster.
He constantly maintained a distance of about twenty meters from the Mud Monster.
Engaging in close combat with a giant estimated to weigh several tons was unwise, but staying too far might make it lose aggro and divert it to attack teammates. Moreover, his Magic Missiles had a limited range, making twenty meters a suitable distance.
However, its size was too large; if its core moved inside, finding it wouldn’t be easy.
Could it be a sustained battle to slowly wear it down to death?
Perhaps not impossible; he possessed Energy Storage Glands, ample supplies, and could fight while retreating and consuming provisions.
Once its internal core energy was exhausted, its ability to modify body soil to resist external attacks would likely fail...
Gauss was planning in his mind.
"Kaw kaw!"
Overhead, while the Mud Monster’s focus was mainly on Gauss, Raven Aik played the role of a bomber, dropping seeds onto the Mud Monster.
Each seed, radiating a green, life-filled glow, landed on the Mud Monster’s massive body.
In the distance, Gray Wolf Ulfen stopped, and Aaliyah was ready to cast the spell.
The oak staff in her hand slammed heavily on the ground!
"Boom!"
A pale green light swiftly spread across the ground from the staff.
The ripple of life traveled across the ground, reaching the soil under the Mud Monster’s feet, and following its somewhat stubby legs, surged rapidly upward throughout its entire body.
Rustling...
The flow of the green light was exceptionally smooth.
The seeds, infused with natural power by Raven Aik and dropped onto the Mud Monster, rapidly rooted and sprouted.
Vines grew wildly like a windstorm, their roots deeply embedding into the Mud Monster, extracting its nutrients.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh!"
Serpentine vines swiftly spread across the surface of the Mud Monster’s body, and quickly, the dark brown Mud Monster was covered with a writhing, vibrant green "coat".
A flash of surprise flickered in Gauss’s eyes.
Indeed, most of the Mud Monster’s body was soil-like material, perfectly supporting the free growth of Aaliyah’s vines.
The vines’ roots were deeply embedded in its body; trying to uproot them would be like pulling sinew and flesh apart.
Seeing the distant Mud Monster ceasing its attack and irritably tearing the vines, it was clear that the Entanglement Technique was effectively restraining it.
After absorbing nutrients from its body, the vines would rapidly regrow even when torn off.
It was akin to being held by a portable control skill.
Gauss looked over at Aaliyah.
He never expected her to be the key player against this Mud Monster.
"Gauss, with my natural power combined with the Entanglement Technique, I think I can vaguely sense its core location." Aaliyah rode over on the wolf and said loudly.
"Tell me the location," Gauss initiated the Communication Technique.
"For now, it’s right in front of us, above its left thigh, at the waist region."
"Got it. If the position changes, let me know again."
With this information,
Gauss could roughly pinpoint its core location.
With a general direction, it was no longer a blind guess like a blind man feeling an elephant.
While the Mud Monster struggled with Aaliyah’s entangling vines, leaving it immobile and impatient, he once again gathered three Magic Missiles in his hands.
The target directly locked onto the part of the golem Aaliyah indicated.
"Boom boom boom!"
Three magic missiles tore through the air, striking the golem’s waist.
The massive body of the golem trembled violently, its aura visibly diminished.
It should have hit the mark.
Through one of the indentations caused by the missiles, Gauss seemed to see a slightly different wound color.
"Gauss, its core has moved, now it’s below the neck."
Gauss nodded, receiving Aaliyah’s report, and didn’t give the golem time to react further.
Three more missiles blasted out!
The golem probably didn’t expect that after Gauss hit its core once, he could quickly and precisely locate its core again.
"Bang!"
The core was heavily damaged a second time.
This time, the impact was even worse, and its "flesh" began to fall off like rain, pieces dropping to the ground.
The damage to the core seemed to affect its ability to control the body’s soil.
"It moved again..."
Aaliyah continued to report.
"No, it’s trying to escape."
She said, as she continued to channel natural forces to activate the Entanglement Technique.
The vines and branches around its body plunged into the soil, starting to slow its movement.
Gauss naturally wouldn’t let it escape.
Maintaining a fixed distance, he quickly followed along.
Meanwhile, his hands were not idle.
The magic bullets, following Aaliyah’s reports, kept striking nearby locations.
Finally....
Following another successful hit.
The golem let out an anguished howl, its core finally pierced through, its massive body instantly crumbled, collapsing into a small mound exuding an earthen tang.
Perhaps even until its death, it couldn’t understand why that human could precisely locate its core every time.
"Elite Demon Golem killed *1"
With the kill completed, the third elite monster encyclopedia was lit up.
"Elite Path Stage 2: Kill 5 types of elite demons (3/5), Reward: Random extraction of one elite demon racial talent."
"Title obtained: [Golem Hunter], this title will upgrade with an increase in kill count."
"Current Effect: Sustained Strikes. During a battle with a golem, your attacks will continue to inflict subsequent damage. If it’s a magic attack, lingering magic power will reveal the internal situation of the area with magic residue for a period of time thereafter."
Text flickered in front of Gauss.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally finished the hunt for the third type of elite demon!
Moreover, the unlocked title effect seemed pretty good.
Equivalent to magic attacks causing residual vision within the golem’s body.
Although not as obvious as Aaliyah’s Natural Force paired with the Entanglement Technique revelation, by launching more attacks, the additional "vision" left behind could generally determine the core’s position, albeit a bit troublesome.
The two joined together, heading towards the pile of "corpse" that was gradually losing its vitality and returning to ordinary dirt.
"Does the golem have any loot to scavenge?"
"Core?" Aaliyah shook her head, she wasn’t familiar with golems either, so the effect of the Entanglement Technique surprised her greatly. "Anyway, it’s probably inedible, right?"
She said, subconsciously glancing at Gauss.
"Cough, cough, don’t worry, I won’t eat this thing." Gauss immediately clarified when he saw her skeptical look.
After all, it’s just mud, soil, possibly mixed with some unknown organic matter...
It’s not like he has some sort of bizarre eating disorder, his consumption of monster meat is perfectly normal.
However... do elite demons taste better than lower-level monsters?
Aaliyah’s words reminded him.
If it were something like elite demon-level poultry or crocodile-like creatures, he wouldn’t mind trying. According to "recipes," there really are a few elite demon birds noted to be quite delicious, such that the author even specified them.
Thinking about this, he swallowed.
Aaliyah, who had been watching him the whole time, saw this subtle action and started to sweat on her forehead.
No.... He’s not really going to eat dirt, is he?
Please don’t!
If he really eats it, can she refuse...