Clutching a wolf-tooth club, the cave behemoth eyed them menacingly.
The grain-gathering squad, dispatched on their mission, seemed to have forgotten the danger before them. Their eyes were fixed on the three figures standing not far away, figures that the cave behemoth could strike with a swing of its club. They were huddled together, playing rock-paper-scissors.
"What are they doing?"
The girl, sword in hand and bloodstains on her face, whispered in a daze.
Rock-paper-scissors?!
Couldn't they see these cave behemoths?
"If I heard correctly, they seem to be playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who will deal with these cave behemoths," Aben murmured with disbelief, his throat constricting.
The others were equally incredulous.
Cave behemoths.
The creatures standing before them were cave behemoths, demons over three meters tall, each possessing the strength of a peak Black Obsidian realm cultivator.
Their strength was comparable to that of a strong cultivator in the Colored realm.
The swing of their clubs possessed the power to shatter mountains and split peaks. Even a peak Black Obsidian realm expert would have to tread carefully when facing a cave behemoth, not daring to engage them rashly.
Let alone, there were nearly 20 behemoths before them.
In such a situation, the best solution would be to stall and wait for reinforcements, using their numerical advantage to deal with these orcish behemoths.
Yet, only three people were playing rock-paper-scissors.
Couldn't these people see that their own squad of 20 people was being beaten by these cave behemoths with no ability to fight back?
"Could they be in the Colored realm?"
Suddenly, someone in the squad whispered with suspicion in their eyes.
From the conversation of those three, they had heard them identify these demons as cave behemoths. Since they knew who they were, they also knew the strength of cave behemoths.
In such circumstances, only a Colored realm expert could possess such confidence.
"Even if they are in the Colored realm, dealing with dozens of cave behemoths will not be a simple matter," Aliu, the pillar of the squad, whispered with a frown.
"They can't possibly be Saint realm, can they?"
"How is that possible?"
Before the suspicious whisper had even faded, someone immediately retorted.
"Which Saint realm expert has not reached that level through years of cultivation? Those few people look to be around the same age as Aben and the others. Is it possible for such young Saint realm cultivators?"
"Then they..."
"Now, we can only place our hopes in them," Aliu whispered, his brow furrowed, his hand gripping his weapon tightly. "I hope they truly possess the strength to deal with these cave behemoths. If they can't, we old bones will have to fight desperately for the young people beside us."
The others fell silent.
Indeed, everything was as Aliu had said. If the three young people were not a match for the cave behemoths, the older ones would have to risk their lives to give the younger ones a chance to survive.
Their ultimate fate would be death.
Those standing here all had families. Fighting to the death was a last resort. If they could survive, they would naturally want to live well.
The trapped members of the grain-gathering squad prayed silently in their hearts.
Hoping for a miracle.
"No, it seems the cave behemoths have discovered them," Aben suddenly shouted, having been watching the movements of the cave behemoths.
Everyone looked intently and saw that the cave behemoths closest to the rock-paper-scissors players had turned, their massive single eyes fixing on the three.
The wolf-tooth clubs in their hands were raised high above their heads.
However, the three playing rock-paper-scissors seemed unaware of the approaching danger.
"Hey, watch your backs!" the girl holding the sword shouted urgently, but the three playing rock-paper-scissors seemed not to hear, still standing in place and playing.
About half a minute later—
"Are you guys cheating?" the young man in the black robe asked with deep suspicion in his eyes. "Every time we play, I lose. How can there be such coincidences?"
"Who do you blame?"
The other two spread their hands, acting as if it were none of their business.
"You two are definitely cheating," the black-robed youth pouted. Meanwhile, the grain-gathering squad in the distance continued to shout, "Watch out, watch your backs!"
Only then did the black-robed youth look back.
Before he could even react, a huge dark shadow appeared above his head. The whistling wolf-tooth club, carrying a whistling gust of wind, seemed to squeeze the surrounding space in an instant, and the immense pressure made the black-robed youth's eardrums ache.
Boom!!!!
The club smashed down fiercely.
The trapped grain-gathering squad watched in stunned silence as the black-robed youth was struck by the cave behemoth. Several women in the squad covered their eyes with their hands, unable to watch the scene that followed.
A blow that could shatter mountains, falling upon a person, was imaginable.
"He's been hit," Aben murmured dazedly, while the others frowned, gazing at the swirling dust in the distance.
"No wonder there are cave behemoths here. I was wondering why there was no campfire. They shouldn't be holding a bonfire party in a circle. So there's prey."
A clear girlish voice abruptly reached the ears of the trapped grain-gathering squad.
Everyone looked and saw a girl with demon tentacles on her head, arms crossed, appearing before them. Her purple-black eyes gazed at them with little emotion.
Beside her was another girl with a ball-shaped bun, who was eating from a can with gusto.
"Demon race!"
Upon seeing the girl's demon tentacles, the grain-gathering squad members cried out in alarm.
Encountering cave behemoths was already bad enough, but to then encounter a member of the demon race here! They truly wanted them all to be annihilated!
"Hey, what are you looking at?"
The girl with demon tentacles on her head frowned. "Did the demon race offend you, making you so resistant? We've essentially saved your lives, and this is how you treat your saviors? The demon race... can the demon race eat you?"
"Exactly!"
The girl eating from the can also snorted with a wrinkled nose.
For people in the underground, facing the demon race evoked a fear from the depths of their hearts. The demon race's invasion of humans and beastmen in the past had left indelible psychological scars on too many people. Thus, even after centuries, seeing members of the demon race still evoked fear.
While the grain-gathering squad feared the demon girl, they recognized the one eating the can as human.
"The one eating the can seems to be human. She's fine standing next to that demon, so this demon might not be a bad person," someone in the squad whispered suspiciously. But it was clearly impossible for them to let down their guard against the demon race.
These people could only do their best to encourage themselves, nodding towards the distance.
"Your friend, aren't you going to help him?"
"Why bother? He can't even deal with those cave behemoths?" the demon girl said, crossing her arms. Aben whispered, "He was hit by a cave behemoth, maybe..."
"Pfft, my brother Chen Yu wouldn't be in any trouble!"
Before Aben could finish, the girl eating the can snorted with a wrinkled nose.
"Just a few small cave behemoths, how could they possibly harm my brother Chen Yu?"
"You guys are just too naive," the demon girl also said, crossing her arms. "Haven't you heard of a theory?"
"What theory?"
"Where there's smoke, there's no injury!"