Chapter 196: Chapter 196
After Eru finished his exchange with the System inside of him, Eru waited for a hot minute before Long opened his eyes. Sensing movements near him, Eru looked at Long with a cheeky smile, “Have you had enough sleep, sleeping beauty?” he teased. “Oh, shut up, brother Eru”, Long stood up before stretching his whole body. “So, ready to go, brother Eru?” Long picked up his pouch and put it on the inside of his robe. “Sure, let’s go”, Eru got up from the rock he was sitting on as the two of them left towards the small castle. On the bridge towards the small castle, Eru and Long suddenly frowned.
They jumped backwards in unison before something huge fell down from the sky. With a boom, a giant crab-like monstrous creature landed before it roared as it obstructed Eru and Long’s path towards the small castle. “Who dares trespass?” the giant crab-like monstrous creature shouted with a hoarse but high-pitched voice. Eru nearly choked on his saliva while Long laughed out loud. “Why are you laughing?” the giant crab-like monstrous creature visibly got annoyed as Eru and Long could see a visible red tint on its face. Long pointed at the giant crab-like monstrous creature, “It’s because of you. You are funny. Thanks for making me laugh.”
The giant crab-like monstrous creature got angry at Long’s words, “I am not funny, I am the scarry butcher that will cut you all to pieces!” it shouted with a really high-pitched voice. Eru could not hold his laughter anymore while Long laughed even harder. The giant crab-like monstrous creature’s face twitched before it brandished its two giant claws towards Eru and Long. Eru and Long dodged the giant crab-like monstrous creature easily. “Do you want me to take care of him?” Eru looked at the grinning Long. “No, no, let me. I never face such an amusing opponent”, Long said while taking out his red staff before twirling it on his hand.
“Hey, giant crab”, Long pointed his staff towards the giant crab-like monstrous creature, “I’ll be facing you now. Since you amused me and managed to make me laugh, I will give you a chance to surrender now.” The giant crab-like monstrous creature let out a roar, “There is no way I, the dignified crab butcher, will surrender to the likes of you.” Long sighed, “Suit yourself. As thanks for earlier, I will make sure to just beat you up. Prepare your shell!” Long let out a pun before leaping towards the giant crab-like monstrous creature while holding his red staff.
The battle between Long and the giant crab-like monstrous creature did not last long. After defeating the giant crab-like monstrous creature so convincingly, Long tied up the giant crab-like monstrous creature and left him on the side of the road. “Shall we continue, brother Eru?” Long flashed a smile. “Sure. Lead the way”, Eru said after waking up from his brief meditation session. Eru and Long proceeded to head towards the small castle over the bridge. On the way, Long and Eru felt their surroundings becoming increasingly hot. “This dark lava is no joke”, Eru groaned while trying to fan himself.
“I found this heat very pleasant”, Long smiled with comfort. Eru rolled his eyes, “Anyway, let us hurry to the small castle. If not, I could die due to this heat.”
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“This is—” Eru exclaimed when he and Long finally arrived inside the small castle. “Intriguing”, Long rubbed his chin, “This castle is filled to the brim with mana”, he said. “Yeah”, Eru furrowed his eyebrows, “Even I, who does not have any mana sensitivity, can feel the denseness of mana in this place.” Long crossed his arms, “The more we go down, the more I am in awe of what they managed to build here. The enemy has my respect”, Long marvelled. “They might have yours, but all they got from me is just disgust”, Eru quipped.
Eru and Long continued to traverse the inside of the small castle, finding that the entire small castle was empty. “Hmm”, Eru rubbed his chin, “This is strange”, he pondered. Long looked around his surroundings, “Yeah, why is this place empty?” he furrowed his eyebrows, “Let me try something for a bit.” Right after saying that, Long closed his eyes. “No, I could not sense anything. The dense mana in this place blocked my senses”, Long said after opening his eyes. “Let me try”, Eru unsheathed Buddy from its scabbard, pointing the black sword’s tip on the ground; he slightly tapped the ground with it. At the same time, Eru sent out an aura pulse towards the ground.
As Eru’s aura pulse rippled throughout the small castle, Eru closed his eyes, focusing on his aura. When Eru’s aura pulse finished rippling, Eru furrowed his eyebrows, “I did not sense anyone either. What is going on?” Long squinted his eyes, “I don’t know. But whatever it is, this is bad for both of us.”
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Back on the lowest floor of the bunker in the middle of the forest, precisely inside the bunker’s surveillance room. The red-haired woman crossed her legs while twirling on a glass of wine in his hand. “Have they arrived at the castle yet?” the red-haired woman asked. One of the humanoid monstrous creatures inside the surveillance room nodded its head, “Yes, ma’am. They arrived a couple minutes ago.” The red-haired woman leaned back, “How’s the evacuation?” The same humanoid, monstrous creature replied, “It went smoothly, ma’am. Currently, there are no one inside the castle for now.” The red-haired woman nodded, “Then, unleashed it to the intruders. We need to research its capabilities. Oh, and don’t forget to turn on the magic camera. I want to see them battle with my own eyes.”
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While Eru and Long were exploring the small castle for the second time, suddenly they heard a powerful roar. The powerful roar resounded all over the small castle. The roar was so powerful, causing Eru and Long to slightly kneel down. “What the hell is this?” Eru furrowed his eyebrows. “Shit, this is bad. We need to get out of this castle, brother Eru”, Long suggested. “Yeah, let’s”, Eru replied before he and Long hurriedly rushed towards the exit of the small castle. Eru and Long ran, passing the bridge and arriving at the place where the giant crab-like monstrous creature was.
The giant crab-like monstrous creature wiggled its tied up body, shaking the ropes on its mouth; it spoke, “Let me go, I command. Let me go!” The giant crab-like monstrous creature continued to yap with its signature high-pitched voice. However, Eru and Long ignored the giant crab-like monstrous creature as they both squinted their eyes, looking at the crumbling small castle over the bridge. “Hey, hey. Listen to me, damn it! Where are you two looking at?” the giant crab-like monstrous creature’s eyes were drawn to where Eru and Long were looking at.
When the giant crab-like monstrous creature saw the small castle over the bridge crumble slowly, its entire body shivered with fear and trepidation. “Now I know why you come out. Quick, release me. We need to run away from here. I know a safe place to hide. Quickly, please release me!” the giant crab-like monstrous creature struggled with all of its might, terrified of what was to come. “You know what’s coming?” Long looked at the giant crab-like monstrous creature. “Yes, yes, I know. A terrifying thing is about to emerge from the small castle. Quickly release me, or else we all going to die!” the giant crab-like monstrous creature pleaded.
“What do we do, brother Eru?” Long asked. Eru furrowed his eyebrows, pondering for a second. As the castle continued to crumble, a gigantic, scally claw emerged from the ground. “Quick, quick. Release me. We need to get away from here!” the giant crab-like monstrous creature said with sweat all over its body. Feeling the pressure emitted from the gigantic, scally claw, Eru immediately unsheathed his black sword. Then, Eru swung his black sword, cutting the binds that of the giant crab-like monstrous creature. “If you betray us, you know where you are going”, Eru threatened. The giant crab-like monstrous creature nodded, “Trust me. It will be better dying by you guys’ hands rather than that thing.”
Then, the giant crab-like monstrous creature waved its claw, “Come, follow me. We need to hurry before that thing fully emerge.” Eru and Long trailed behind the giant crab-like monstrous creature while every now and then, they looked back towards the small castle. Eru and Long followed the giant crab-like monstrous creature through a space hidden by a white rock. Eru, Long and the giant crab-like monstrous creature slightly poked their heads outside. “Roar!” the gigantic, scally claw slammed down to the ground before a large nose tip poked through the ground. As the creature emerged from the ground, Eru’s mouth was agape while Long’s eyes were filled with fury. Long clenched his fists so hard that blood poured from his hands.
“These bastards!” Long gritted with teeth as a red-protective membrane bubbled from within Long.
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