The sun dipped low, painting the sky with fiery hues,
"Big brother, there's a large expanse of land ahead, we're about to leave this swamp!"
Xiao Xiao, observing through her binoculars from the small inflatable boat, exclaimed happily to Ye Feng.
"Mm!"
Ye Feng acknowledged with a hum, then turned to Liu Jiu and the others following behind. "Liu Jiu, it's been almost a day, where's this gargoyle you spoke of?"
"Uh... it's just ahead, in that pile of rocks at the edge of the swamp!"
Liu Jiu blinked slightly, pointing towards the direction in front.
"Is that so~"
Ye Feng frowned slightly and, still some distance from the rock pile, had Xiao Xiao stop so he could wade through the water himself.
"Jiu... Brother Jiu, is the explorer adult alright?"
From the large inflatable boat, someone voiced their concern to Liu Jiu.
"It's come to this, we can only trust him. There's no time to turn back now!"
"Everyone stay alert, especially A Rong. We both have wood-attribute arcane energy, which is perfect for countering this earth-attribute gargoyle. Prepare to find an opportunity to charge in later!"
Liu Jiu instructed everyone with a serious expression.
...
Amidst the pile of rocks,
Facing the gargoyle that had once nearly cost him his life, Ye Feng's expression was equally cautious.
The entire rocky area was strewn with various bones, some human, some animal, along with some weapons and scattered, dried bloodstains...
"Waa waa waa!~"
Suddenly, the sound of a baby's cry rang out.
Ye Feng turned his head and saw a large rock with a contorted, distorted human face, looking terrifying and horrifying. It was the gargoyle.
"Zzzt zzzt zzzt!"
Immediately, a series of muffled sounds erupted from the ground beneath Ye Feng's feet. Over a dozen stone spikes shot out, threatening to pierce his thighs.
"Just like the one I encountered before!"
Ye Feng narrowed his eyes, lifted his leg, and spun, swiftly dodging the incoming stone spikes.
At that moment, the stone spikes, which had appeared straight and incredibly hard, instantly became soft and rapidly changed direction, continuing their assault on Ye Feng.
"Bang~ Crackle crackle~"
Ye Feng's eyes sharpened. With a sideways spin kick, he shattered dozens of the stone spikes.
The next second, Ye Feng stomped heavily on the ground, launching himself forward like a cannonball towards the large rock with the eerie face.
"Bang!~"
Ye Feng's fist slammed into the rock, striking the very center of its bizarre face and instantly splitting it open.
"Hm?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly, as the solid feel of the rock he had just punched suddenly turned soft.
"Waa waa waa!~"
At this moment, the gargoyle let out its infant-like cry again. The large rock, broken open by Ye Feng's punch, became animated and, in a swirling motion, firmly trapped Ye Feng's entire arm within it.
"Zzzt zzzt~!"
Subsequently, numerous stone spikes erupted from the ground and rocks surrounding Ye Feng, thrusting towards various parts of his body.
The spikes from the large rock in front of him reached his face in an instant, on the verge of piercing his eyes.
"Buzz!"
Ye Feng's body flashed with arcane energy. His right fist forcefully broke free from the large rock that was ensnaring him.
Immediately, he swung his body and, with a clap, shattered all the stone spikes.
"Bang~ Bang! Bang!~"
"Waa waa waa!~"
"Crack~ Crackle crackle~ Bang~!"
...
Ye Feng's arcane energy-infused fists repeatedly pounded the rock with the bizarre face. He shattered large quantities of stone, and the spikes and stone blades the gargoyle launched at him were all either broken or pulverized...
"Bang bang!~"
A significantly louder impact sound echoed, and Ye Feng leaped out from an area where dust and debris were flying.
"It seems without wood-attribute arcane energy, there's really no good way to deal with this gargoyle~"
Ye Feng stood on a worn truck tire, looking down at the dusty pile of broken stones, and muttered to himself.
He had nearly shattered every single stone from which the gargoyle had emerged, but the gargoyle had simply moved to other rocks and continued its attacks without taking damage...
Recalling his past experience of killing a gargoyle while exploring the Red Cliff ruins, he realized it was due to the Tang blade. Pure arcane energy alone might not have been enough...
"Crackle crackle~!"
At this moment, the ground beneath Ye Feng trembled.
"Bang bang bang!~"
Following this, large sections of seemingly soft rock erupted outwards from Ye Feng in all directions, resembling a giant stone mouth that enveloped him and rapidly dragged him underground...
In the darkness, Ye Feng's eyes sharpened. True energy instantly appeared in his hands, striking the bizarre human faces on the surrounding stone walls.
"Waa~ Woo!~"
The gargoyle immediately let out a series of rapid and piercing screams.
"Boom! Rumble!~"
Immediately after, a massive explosion sounded. The "great stone mouth" that had enclosed Ye Feng violently shattered. The entire ground bulged into a large mound, and a deluge of stones and earth scattered.
Xiao Xiao, who had witnessed this from a distance, let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Ding!~"
"Host has killed the Gargoyle, earning 50 usable points and 1 Common Spatial Rift Fragment!"
Before the flying debris and dust had even settled, the system's mechanical voice chimed in Ye Feng's mind.
"Huh~ It really works!~"
Hearing the system's notification, Ye Feng was overjoyed. Otherwise, he would have had to resort to his Tang blade or a wood-attribute arcane energy firearm...
"Whoosh~ Crackle!~"
Ye Feng briefly surveyed his surroundings, then began sifting through the rubble. Soon, amidst the ruins, he discovered a small object the size of a baby's thumb, emitting a soft white glow. It was a Spatial Rift Fragment.
"That... that looks like a Spatial Rift Fragment..."
"So... so amazing... a gargoyle has been killed..."
"So strong..."
...
From afar, Liu Jiu and the others, who had witnessed this through their binoculars, marveled. It was their first time seeing someone kill a gargoyle without relying on attribute-based arcane energy counters...
In the pile of rocks,
After Ye Feng collected the Spatial Rift Fragment, he casually walked around the rocks, even sitting on one for a while to rest. No gargoyles appeared...
"What's going on, there's only one?"
Ye Feng grumbled in disbelief.
He had seen the ground covered in bones and large expanses of dried bloodstains, expecting there to be quite a few gargoyles here...
Now it seemed... there was only one...
"Xiao Xiao, it's safe, you can come over now!"
After a thorough check with no further discoveries, Ye Feng called out to Xiao Xiao.
"Okay!~"
Xiao Xiao responded and quickly paddled the small inflatable boat forward. Liu Jiu and the others immediately followed.
Upon reaching the shore, Xiao Xiao deflated the small inflatable boat, stored it in her Spatial Rift Fragment bracelet, and then walked over to Ye Feng.
Liu Jiu and the one named A Rong led the way, moving forward with vigilance...
"Come on... there really is only one gargoyle~"
"I thought I'd encounter a few more..."
As they neared the edge of the rocky area and still no gargoyles appeared, Ye Feng couldn't help but mutter in mild disappointment.
Hearing Ye Feng's words, Liu Jiu and the others' lips twitched.
After all, gargoyles were elusive creatures. In rocky terrain, even Silver-ranked powerhouses, unless they possessed wood-attribute arcane energy, would hesitate to enter, choosing to bypass it. Yet here was Ye Feng...