My basement connects to another world.

Chapter 14 Fierce Battle

Looking at the increasingly narrow passage ahead, Jiang Yuan frowned slightly and asked, "How much further?"

Three or four steps ahead, the air distorted slightly, and Hilu appeared.

"You'll see the giant scorpion once you go straight ahead."

Her voice was much lower than usual, and her fluffy cat tail was taut, showing that she was very nervous.

She added, "Its big tail is fast, Jiang Yuan needs to be careful."

Jiang Yuan nodded, picked up the crossbow, and cocked the trigger guard.

I mentally reviewed the information I had previously gathered.

According to the Pokémon Hunter, similar monsters in Graystone Town include the Black-tailed Giant Scorpion and the Earth-Splitting Scorpion King.

Regardless of the type, their scorpion tails can not only sting but also spray venom, making them the most vulnerable part to guard against.

"The spray range is three to four zhang (approximately 10-13 meters). Afterwards, the tail spikes will droop down, with a cooldown period of three to five seconds..."

Jiang Yuan said in a deep voice, "Proceed according to plan."

Hilu's silhouette faded and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Yuan held his breath and continued forward, crossbow in hand.

The passage narrowed down, only wide enough for six or seven people. The stone surface underfoot was pitted and covered with a thick layer of grayish-white powder, making only a very faint rustling sound when stepped on.

After walking a dozen meters, a bright red light shone from behind the nearly circular opening in front of him.

Then, Hilu's silhouette appeared in front of her. Her cat ears stood straight up, fully alert.

next second.

sieve!

A fierce whooshing sound rang out.

A huge tail spike pierced through the afterimage left by Xilu in a flash. Jiang Yuan only saw a blur before his eyes.

Gravel flew everywhere.

Hillu moved to the side, her cat tail puffing up in a mess. Then she quickly disappeared.

The giant scorpion's stinger was pulled out of the rock wall, bringing with it a spray of pebbles. It paused in mid-air, seemingly searching for a target.

"It's starting!" Jiang Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly ran forward.

As planned, the highly agile Hilary would deliberately expose her position and then draw attention to the enemy, while he would take the opportunity to launch a ranged attack.

Emerging from the cave passage, they found themselves in another extremely spacious cave, much larger than the one where the Greyscale Viper Lizard had lived.

The rock walls were densely covered with dark red crystal clusters, which squeezed out from the cracks in the rock, illuminating the entire cave in a red glow.

There was a burnt smell in the air.

Jiang Yuan's eyes narrowed, locking onto the giant scorpion beast.

It was over two zhang long, and its entire body was covered with dark brown carapace, the edges of which gleamed with a dark red light, like armor that had been burned through.

Four pairs of scorpion legs supported them on the ground, each as thick as an adult's waist, with barbs at the tips curving inwards.

The most terrifying thing was the tail spike, which was longer than the body itself, sticking up high, with a barb on the tip as big as a person.

At that moment, the giant scorpion's flat head suddenly turned around.

Eight scarlet eyes, each the size of a fist, were embedded in the depressions of the head carapace, reflecting the red light of the crystal clusters.

Like eight red-hot iron beads, they all locked onto him.

Being targeted by such a huge monster, Jiang Yuan immediately got goosebumps all over his body.

At this moment, Hilu's figure reappeared on the stone wall on the left side of the cave.

The giant scorpion's eyes rolled over, and its stinger poised to stab.

Hilu is creating an opportunity for me to attack! Jiang Yuan quickly raised his crossbow and aimed at the eight scarlet eyes.

This thing was covered in carapace all over, with even the joints connected by hard skin. It was not even in the same league as that gray-scaled lizard with a weak point in its abdomen.

The only place that seems vulnerable is the eyes.

He steadied his breathing and pulled the trigger.

Whoosh whoosh—

Ten crossbow bolts shot out.

Just as it was about to hit, the giant scorpion suddenly tilted its head to the side.

"Ding ding ding..."

All ten crossbow bolts struck the nearby armor, scattering sparks and leaving only a few white marks.

Jiang Yuan's pupils contracted.

This thing reacts incredibly fast!

He didn't have time to think, because the giant scorpion's stinger, which had been searching for Hilu, had already slammed down on him from mid-air.

He lunged to the right, his tail sting grazing his left shoulder as he slammed into the ground, sending stone chips flying. A gash appeared on his shoulder, the skin inside burning with pain.

If he had been even a fraction of a second slower, that tail spike would have pierced right through his chest.

At that moment, the air above the giant scorpion's tail suddenly distorted, and a petite figure abruptly appeared.

With her hands gripping the dagger in reverse, Hilu descended from the air, slashing the dagger down hard at the joint of the tail spike.

chi chi-

The dagger sliced ​​across the carapace.

Several deep cuts, revealing bone, were made in the hard skin at the joints. Although they didn't go all the way through, the scorpion's stinger clearly paused for a moment.

Then the tail spike suddenly lashed out horizontally.

Hilu twisted her waist in mid-air and flipped out at an impossible angle.

Upon landing, it slid backward a short distance, barely avoiding the sweeping attack.

But she couldn't completely avoid the barbs at the tip of her tail.

The barb grazed the outside of her left thigh, and the leather armor tore open, leaving a thin, bloody gash on her fair skin, from which blood immediately seeped out.

Hilu's cat ears snapped back, and her figure quickly faded away.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when Xilu was holding back the stinger, Jiang Yuan had already quickly nocked the arrow.

Hilu's figure appeared and disappeared intermittently, canceling her stealth to attract the giant scorpion's attention.

Jiang Yuan aimed at one of the giant scorpion's eyes.

But no matter what he did, he couldn't pull the trigger.

He felt that even if he tried again, it would be difficult to hit the target.

The giant scorpion's sudden reaction at the last moment was too fast.

"What should I do? I need to improve my accuracy..."

Jiang Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he thought of magic.

He took a deep breath and slowly raised the wisp of magic power within his body along his spine.

First, pour the liquid into both eyes.

Suddenly, my vision cleared slightly.

The shimmering of the dark red crystal clusters in the cave seemed to slow down slightly.

He steadied the crossbow, and the magic flowed downwards, into his waist, abdomen, and arms.

With a tightening of the waist and abdomen, the two arms felt as if they had been weighted down, and the crossbow remained firmly locked on the aiming line.

Now! He pulled the trigger.

Ten crossbow bolts whizzed out, their shafts drawing ten black lines in the crimson cave.

First arrow, second arrow...

Eight out of the ten arrows pierced the giant scorpion's eyes.

Its scarlet eyeballs burst open, and dark red fluid splattered out, dripping onto its carapace.

"I got it!" Jiang Yuan was overjoyed.

I tried infusing magic into several power points, which greatly improved my control and accuracy, resulting in impressive effects.

Ten arrows pierced the giant scorpion's head through its eyes.

The damage caused is clearly not as simple as just losing one eye.

It let out an extremely piercing screech; it had simply been lying there, attacking with its tail stinger.

Now it stands upright, its tail stinger thrashing wildly in mid-air.

boom! boom! boom!

The tail spike slammed against the stone wall, against the ground, and against the dark red crystal clusters.

Rock fragments flew everywhere, crystal clusters were smashed and scattered all over the place, and the entire cave was shaking.

Jiang Yuan quickly loaded the arrows.

At this moment, the dark brown carapace on the giant scorpion's body was rapidly turning red, starting from the edges.

It was as red as the dark red crystal clusters on the stone wall.

The light within the crystal cluster seemed to be drawn by something, no longer flickering haphazardly, but rhythmically surging towards the scorpion.

With each surge, the red on the scorpion's carapace deepens and brightens.

Soon, the entire giant scorpion turned into a burning, walking piece of red-hot iron.

Its thrashing tail barb has stopped flailing wildly, and a thin slit has appeared at the tip of the barb, resembling a tiny mouth.

Inside, a churning, fiery red liquid was gushing out.

"Is he going to spray poison?" Jiang Yuan was shocked.

The giant scorpion hadn't been spitting venom, and he assumed it was a "species" issue.

"Hilu, retreat quickly!" Jiang Yuan shouted, already taking a sharp step backward and running back.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced to his side and behind, and saw Xilu's faint, transparent silhouette follow him.

next second.

boom!

A fiery red column of venom gushed from the tip of the giant scorpion's stinger, spraying in all directions.

The rocks inside the cave were burned into a dense network of small pits, from which wisps of blue smoke rose.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan had already rushed back into the cave, and hope Lu beside him had just stepped into the narrow passage.

A wave of scorching heat surged behind him, accompanied by steam that rushed towards the back of his head.

Jiang Yuan, panting, looked back.

Four or five seconds later, the white, misty heat dissipated.

The giant scorpion's stinger had stopped spraying venom.

The giant scorpion now stood upright, its appearance completely changed, its carapace a deep red like magma.

There's a second phase? Jiang Yuan was suddenly taken aback, noticing the spot where the giant scorpion had originally been coiled.

It had a round object that was even brighter than the giant scorpion's body.

It was a crystal core the size of a fist, emitting a dazzling red light.

What was that? He didn't have time to think, turning and rushing towards the cave. "Hilu, attack!"

Since this monster has spewed poison, according to the intelligence, it will be stunned for four or five seconds.

We can't let it catch its breath.

Emerging from the tunnel, Jiang Yuan quickly focused and pulled the trigger.

Whoosh whoosh—

Ten crossbow bolts were fired again, this time aimed at its other undamaged eye.

As the crossbow bolt flew, Jiang Yuan's pupils contracted.

hiss hiss hiss—

The crossbow bolt flew and struck the eye, but this time it only penetrated a little, with most of it sticking out.

The defenses have been upgraded?! Jiang Yuan was shocked.

At the same time, Hil's petite silhouette appeared on the left side of the giant scorpion's head.

She gripped the dagger in her right hand, leaped high into the air, and plunged the dagger into the eyeball.

A faint glow appeared on the hilt of the dagger, and the tip of the blade flashed with a cold light.

They were about to succeed.

Ding--

The scorpion's stinger swept horizontally and collided with the dagger.

Sparks flew.

Hilu was sent flying by the powerful force, crashing violently into the stone wall.

A muffled thud.

Her body slid down the stone wall, her cat ears drooping limply on either side of her head.

The freeze time was far too short, less than three seconds! Jiang Yuan felt like his brain had exploded.

Fortunately, Hilu was knocked away not far from him.

He rushed out.

As he rushed to Hilu's side, he heard the sound of tail spikes piercing the air behind him.

He channeled his magic into his legs and dodged the tail spikes.

He picked up Hilu and rushed into the cave.

Then came the sound of thumping.

Something squeezed into the tunnel.

It was that scorpion that had followed! Jiang Yuan felt his legs burning hot, and with each step he took he could rush a great distance, the cave passage rushing past on both sides of his vision.

Behind them, the sounds of impact grew louder and louder.

boom! boom! boom!

The giant scorpion chased them into the cave.

Its shell scraped against the stone wall, sparks flying, and the dark brown mineral layers on the stone wall were knocked off.

Jiang Yuan ran for his life.

He had never run so fast in his life; he could hardly feel his legs anymore.

In his arms, Hilu's body was limp, her cat ears pressed against his chest, and her faint breaths of warmth came out of her nose and brushed against his neck.

I don't know how long I ran, but the crashing sounds behind me stopped and eventually disappeared completely.

Jiang Yuan ran for a while longer before slowing down and looking back.

The cave behind them was empty, with only a few scattered red crystals on the surrounding stone walls.

The giant scorpion did not chase after them.

They must have retreated to their own territory.

Jiang Yuan didn't dare to stop, but he slowed down a little.

He looked down at Hilu.

The cat-eared girl curled up in his arms, the scratch on the outside of her left thigh still bleeding, but not deeply.

The most important thing is the impact of hitting the stone wall. My clothes were torn in a large area on the back, and my fair skin underneath was covered in bruises. Fortunately, no bones were broken.

He was probably just briefly knocked unconscious by the powerful impact.

"Hilu, Hilu!" Jiang Yuan shook his head.

Hilu's eyelashes trembled, and then her sky-blue eyes slowly opened.

……

Back in the territory of the Greyscale Lizard, the luminous grass on the stone wall still flickered with blue light, and the familiar damp, slightly fishy smell returned to the air.

Inside the small stone room.

Morale is very low.

Hilu lowered her head, seemingly checking the extent of her injuries.

The scratch on her outer thigh had stopped bleeding, and although the bruises on her back looked frightening, she was not an ordinary person and was already able to sit up on her own.

This monster is different from what the monster hunter described. Luckily, it didn't follow us... Jiang Yuan silently summarized the battle just now.

After the giant scorpion's carapace turns red in its second phase, its defense increases significantly. Even its weakest point, the eyeball, can no longer cause the damage it initially did...

I just don't know how fast it recovers.

And that red crystal core? What is that? It doesn't look like a magic core; it seems very precious...

The giant scorpion's changes and its failure to pursue them are likely related to that thing. Hilu is safe here for now…

Even if Jiang Yuan managed to shoot the giant scorpion in the eye, its greatly enhanced defense would hardly cause fatal damage.

We need to upgrade the crossbow's attack power... Once Hilu recovers, we can go again and take it down!

Jiang Yuan felt a sense of relief and looked at the cat-eared girl, asking again, "Hilu, are your injuries serious?"

Hilu looked down at the scratch on the outside of her left thigh, poked the intact skin next to it with a finger, twitched her cat ears, and shook her head:

"It doesn't hurt anymore, and my back doesn't hurt either."

Jiang Yuan nodded and stood up.

"I shot out its eye and injured it, so it shouldn't leave its territory anytime soon. Moreover, that territory, the area covered by those red crystal clusters, is its strongest point, and it won't give it up easily."

Hilu tilted her head, seemingly thinking, and then her cat tail swayed gently.

"Jiang Yuan is right. The big guys won't easily change territory."

"You stay here to recover and don't wander around. I'm going to use my abilities," Jiang Yuan said.

"Is that the ability to bring back delicious food?" Shilu's eyes lit up, and her cat ears perked up, as if she had completely forgotten about being swatted away earlier.

"right."

"Then Hilu will wait for you." Hilu obediently sat back on the rock, crossed her legs, and her tail wrapped halfway around her back.

"You need to come back soon. Bring lots and lots of delicious food."

Jiang Yuan nodded and immediately used the Gate of Boundaries.

Anyway, Hilu can't see the portal.

A pale golden halo silently spread out.

He stepped inside.

……