Monsters Die When Killed-Chapter 48 - 26: Monsters Die When They Are Killed

"Cough!"

Even though Su Zhou had rolled to pull back his Long Spear and did his best to evade the giant centipede’s counterattack, the force from the nearly ten-meter-long, three-ton behemoth was still enough to slam him into the ceiling, almost making him spit up blood. There’s a saying in martial arts about striking someone so hard they’re "hung on the wall like a painting." Su Zhou hadn’t been hit by a fist, but a flick of the insect’s head had turned him into a wall decoration all the same.

A sweet taste rose in his throat. He forced the blood back down, but his internal organs were clearly injured. Even more terrifying, the giant centipede had gone berserk. It lunged, charging at him with furious intent!

THUD! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Swallowing the blood rising in his throat, Su Zhou planted his Long Spear. The over two-meter-long shaft pushed against the cement walkway ahead of him, launching his body backward as if weightless and allowing him to dodge the giant insect’s head-on charge. The tremendous impact and resounding crash even triggered a burst of Spiritual Qi, shattering the cement, which was dozens of centimeters thick.

A second later, the giant centipede pulled its head free. The crushed concrete at the point of impact had been pulverized into a fine, gray-white powder that trickled down like sand in an hourglass. The creature’s huge mandibles just barely opened and closed, yet they sliced two deep grooves into the sturdy cement.

’Shit!’ Even the unflappable Su Zhou blanched at the force of that impact. ’Even with the Yara Undying Blood, I wouldn’t survive being turned into a meat paste like that. And what’s more, those huge mandibles are glowing in my Spiritual Vision. They’re clearly made of an Extraordinary material!’

’Thank god I brought a Long Spear. If this were a sword or a saber, I’d have no choice but to fight it in close quarters!’

’Maybe after my Awakening, it’d be doable, but right now? Fighting an Evil Demon that can effortlessly shatter concrete and bite through steel railings in close combat isn’t just risking my life—it’s suicide!’

Fortunately, the regenerative power of the Yara Undying Blood was astonishing. After just a few seconds, Su Zhou felt the weakness in his body fade. He was, however, suddenly ravenous. But the battle had to go on—in fact, the most dangerous and exciting part was just getting started!

Right on cue, the giant centipede began to charge again.

RUMBLE!

Facing the one-eyed insect as it hurtled toward him like a bullet train, Su Zhou could only leap from side to side, advancing and retreating in the narrow sewer. He maneuvered around his opponent like a nimble bee, weaving and dodging through the three-dimensional space.

He was incredibly fortunate that his weapon was so long. It acted as an extension of his own limbs, granting him exceptional agility. He was consistently able to narrowly evade the giant insect’s lunges, leaving the giant centipede to rage impotently as each of its charges came up empty.

Of course, this wasn’t to say Su Zhou was only dodging. He was constantly looking for an opening to thrust at the massive insect, but his attacks had little effect.

’This carapace is too weird... and way too hard!’

With a high leap, he dodged a sweep of the giant insect’s tail. The sharp stinger scraped along the concrete wall, kicking up a shower of bright sparks and leaving a gash several inches deep. Su Zhou seized the opening. His arm muscles bulged as he lunged forward, stabbing his spear into the carapace on the centipede’s flank, hoping to flip it over.

The force behind that thrust could be measured in tons. Had it struck ordinary steel plate, it would have punched a hole straight through. Even if the person inside the armor wasn’t impaled, they would have been killed by the shock alone.

But striking the centipede felt like hitting empty air. The surface was impossibly slick, preventing him from applying any real force. The spearhead simply glanced off.

Black Moss and woody roots covered the centipede Evil Demon’s entire body. They were not only incredibly tough but also coated in a thick, slimy plant sap. Combined with the giant centipede’s own rapid movements, it was impossible to land a solid, piercing blow. Su Zhou could only swing the spear’s wooden shaft, whipping and striking with the phantom Spirit Blade at its tip, using the Exorcism effect’s ability to damage Spiritual Energy to slowly weaken his foe.

’This centipede really is a Wood Attribute type... This is useless. Blades can’t get through this carapace at all; I can’t cut or pierce it. I should have brought a sledgehammer from a construction site. Even a barbell would be better than this!’

Vaulting on his spear shaft to dodge another of the giant insect’s head-on charges, Su Zhou was filled with regret.

After all, with his strength, a sledgehammer or even a barbell would have been enough to teach this centipede the meaning of "getting your skull caved in" with a single strike. But that was just a fantasy. At least striking with the spear’s shaft was a decent substitute for a blunt weapon, and Su Zhou didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on what-ifs.

The battle between the giant centipede and Su Zhou now resembled a game of Snake. The giant insect lunged silently, swinging its huge mandibles and moving in straight lines. It destroyed the terrain, stirred up waves in the sewer water, and kicked up a cloyingly sweet, foul wind. Su Zhou, in turn, was the moving pellet, dodging and counter-attacking within the confined space.

Ordinarily, that strange, sickly-sweet odor would have been a toxin—perhaps even an Extraordinary one. But this was where the poison immunity of his Body of Perfection came into play, saving him from the fate of the smaller insects in the Black Moss, which had shriveled up and died from the fumes.

Su Zhou was even able to find the occasional opening to jab at the giant insect’s head, aiming to penetrate the weak point of its compound eye and scramble its nerve cluster. At other times, he’d attempt a sweeping strike to break its enormous mandibles.

Of course, he wasn’t always able to dodge. Several times, when he couldn’t evade quickly enough, Su Zhou was forced to meet the monster head-on. He had to unleash a burst of his full power, just as he had at the start, using a flick of his spear to deflect the giant insect’s charge and send it careening into the stone walls, gouging out crater after crater. The energy required for these exertions and the subsequent healing only made him hungrier.

His only consolation was that his attacks were not completely futile. Each time his spear shaft connected with the giant centipede, the Spirit Blade at its tip would flash. This caused the giant insect to flinch and recoil instinctively. Its movements were also growing sluggish, as though its internal Spiritual Energy was being damaged.