abcnovels
Chapter 120: Bad News
Chapter 120: Bad News
Chapter 120: Bad News
In the current situation, Liu Xing felt that the difficulty of this promotion game was not actually high. As long as the timeline was extended, finding an appropriate entry point to acquire the diamond was feasible.
Of course, Liu Xing had also roughly analyzed the entry points of other regions. For instance, in the desert region, one must choose to join either the Snake People Tribe or the Scorpion People Tribe, helping one tribe annihilate the other. In the forest region, the goal was to reach the clearing at the heart of the forest and make close contact with the gigantic mythical creature there. As for the snowy mountain region, the only option seemed to be climbing to the summit in search of opportunities. Finally, in the lake region, the only chance lay in reaching the deity statue at the center of the lake.
However, Liu Xing had already dismissed the lake region as an option, given the intelligence from Silvia that the area was swarming with Deep Ones. With their current strength, entering the water would likely result in being dragged under and devoured by these creatures.
"Miss Silvia, I have a question for you. What exactly does the giant monster in the forest look like?" Ji Wu asked cheerfully.
Liu Xing understood that Ji Wu wanted to ascertain the identity of this mythical creature.
There were two theories Liu Xing held about this giant mythical creature. The first was that it might be an incarnation of Nyarlathotep—Blood Howl. After all, there was already a Blood Howl Town on Sky Floating Island, so it wouldn't be out of place for this forest, named Engeyi Forest, to house such a creature.
However, Liu Xing felt this possibility was unlikely. Another incarnation of Nyarlathotep, Aughra, had already appeared on Sky Floating Island. Having both incarnations meet would be quite awkward.
Thus, Liu Xing leaned more towards his second theory: the creature was a Black Mountain Goat Hatchling, a child of Shabu. Nicolas, one of the Three Pillars Primordial Gods. Known as the forest's Black Goat of a Thousand Young, it theoretically belonged to the divine progeny category.
As an offspring of an Outer God, the Black Mountain Goat Hatchling's power was somewhat overestimated. Given its mother, Shabu. Nicolas, was a fertility deity within the Cthulhu Mythos capable of birthing billions, the abilities of the Hatchling didn't quite match expectations. Still, a single Black Mountain Goat Hatchling could easily crush Liu Xing and his companions.
The Hatchling, towering over five to six meters, resembled a massive lump of flesh with the lower half shaped like a giant goat's hoof. Its attack method included trampling, dealing approximately 6d6 damage.
So, Liu Xing concluded that the giant mythical creature in the forest region must be the Black Mountain Goat Hatchling, albeit a weakened version. He surmised they might have a chance to overcome it.
"Well, no one who has seen the giant monster in the forest has lived to tell the tale," Silvia said, frowning. "However, some have heard its attacks on other players nearby the clearing: the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, followed by strange, livestock-like noises, and then another thud. The next day, those attacked players would be found turned into mush."
Hearing Silvia's description, Liu Xing was now certain: the giant mythical creature in the forest was indeed the Black Mountain Goat Hatchling.
As the Black Mountain Goat Hatchling executes its trampling attack, it inevitably emits a loud sound akin to the cries of livestock.
However, Liu Xing is now puzzled by another question.
At this moment, Ji Wu gives Liu Xing a meaningful glance, and Liu Xing, understanding the signal, realizes that Ji Wu shares his confusion.
Therefore, Liu Xing asks Silvia, “Miss Silvia, from what you said earlier, does it mean that the players attacked by the giant monsters didn't make any sound throughout the ordeal?”
Silvia frowns and, after pondering for a moment, hesitantly nods, saying, “It seems so, but I can't be sure now, as I only heard it through the grapevine.”
Liu Xing nods, but internally he senses something ominous.
The hit rate of the Black Mountain Goat Hatchling’s trampling attack is only 40%, and it requires a brief charge-up period, so there's a relative hope of evading it.
Moreover, the Black Mountain Goat Hatchling can silence humans only through a SAN (Sanity) check. The Hatchling’s SAN check either reduces 1d3 points of SAN on success or 1d10 points on failure, meaning the chance of a player falling into temporary insanity and randomly becoming mute is incredibly low.
Hence, Liu Xing suspects that Nyarlathotep, while weakening some of the Black Mountain Goat Hatchling's attributes, might have endowed it with an additional "skill" – a skill that could render players mute or even paralyzed. This is certainly not good news.
Liu Xing and Ji Wu chat more with Silvia and then return to their previous corner.
“Seems like the diamonds in the forest area are not as easy to obtain as we thought,” Ji Wu sighs resignedly.
Liu Xing nods, adding, “Alas, if nothing goes wrong, that giant monster is probably linked to at least three diamonds. If we go to the forest area, we must confront that giant monster. Our chances of success, as it stands, are only about ten percent.”
Liu Xing believes they have a ten percent chance because he brought Qingming Rain. Given the immense size of the Black Mountain Goat Hatchling, a mythical creature, its movement speed is incredibly slow. If they can trigger the slowing effect of Qingming Rain, Liu Xing thinks they might escape the Hatchling's attacks... provided they still have the ability to flee.
At this moment, Ai Mei and others return.
“The situation is grim,” Ai Mei reports. “Luo Luo says the bullet drop rate is low, and exchanging points for them is very expensive, so we can’t sustain long, large-scale battles.”
While firearms are powerful, their significant drawback is clear: without bullets, a gun is just a lump of useless metal.
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