Chương 56: CH56
Helag found a hidden spot based on Deep Blue's feedback on the surrounding terrain. He used Deep Blue to observe Bessie's group.
Locke led the way, stopping about forty to fifty meters from the sleeping Stone Giant. He pointed ahead, chanting quickly, and then said, "Wake up, big guy. Stone Spike!"
A rumbling sound came from the Stone Giant's resting place. A humanoid creature made of large stones shot up from the ground, propelled by a massive stone pillar beneath it.
Roar!
The Stone Giant let out a deep roar, stared at Locke for a moment, and then charged.
"Quicksand Trap," Locke said calmly, casting another spell.
The ground around the Stone Giant turned into quicksand. Due to its weight, the Stone Giant quickly sank, with only a third of its body above ground.
Emma acted next, throwing a bottle of black potion at the Stone Giant. The bottle shattered, and the black potion spread over the giant.
"Advanced Corrosion!"
Emma chanted a few more syllables, and the black potion expanded, covering the Stone Giant entirely.
The Stone Giant howled in pain as the stones on its body rapidly corroded, revealing some red muscle tissue beneath.
Helag wasn't surprised by this. He knew that the Stone Giant had organs and muscle tissue beneath its stone exterior.
Trapped in the quicksand and covered in corrosive potion, the Stone Giant's howls grew weaker.
Locke, seeing it was almost over, said to Bessie, "Go get Helag."
Bessie sighed in relief. They had rehearsed this plan many times, and everything was going smoothly.
Helag followed Bessie over. Locke waved his hand, "Earth Spikes!"
Several yellowish spikes formed quickly in front of him and shot toward the Stone Giant, hitting its neck and other vital spots while avoiding the heart.
The Stone Giant convulsed and then went limp.
"Alright, time to extract the heart," Locke said, dispelling the quicksand trap and restoring the ground to solid earth.
"Deep Blue, is the Stone Giant dead?" Helag asked before approaching.
[The Stone Giant shows no signs of life,] Deep Blue confirmed.
Reassured, Helag approached the Stone Giant's body and took out a set of dissection tools from his space ring.
He cut open the stone exterior around the heart, revealing the blood-red organ inside.
The challenge in extracting the Stone Giant's heart lay in the seventeen blood vessels around it. They had to be cut in a specific order, with each cut followed by sealing the vessel with a pre-made potion paste.
The entire process had to be completed within a minute, requiring precision and skill.
With Deep Blue's assistance, Helag performed each step flawlessly, making the task easy for him.
A minute later, Helag held a slightly pulsating blood-red heart. He placed it in a crystal jar, poured in the Broad-Spectrum Elixir, and sealed the jar. The heart would remain active for two months.
"Done," Helag said, handing the crystal jar to Bessie.
Bessie, relieved, stored the jar in her space ring and took out a bag of magic stones. "Helag, here's your payment."
Helag accepted it, and Deep Blue quickly scanned to confirm it was twenty magic stones.
"Let's head back," Bessie said, eager to return to Moonlight Woodland and have the potion made for her advancement.
Locke took out the hourglass again and led the way back.
The Thousand Needle Stone Forest's scenery was monotonous, making it easy to get lost without special methods.
Helag followed at the back, watching the map in his mind without saying anything. Several times, Locke went off course, but Helag didn't correct him, knowing the hourglass would soon indicate the mistake.
After half an hour, Helag suddenly slowed down.
Based on Deep Blue's feedback, three people were hiding behind two stone pillars ahead, all with strong magical auras.
Helag couldn't warn the others aloud, so he slowed his pace, ready to retreat at any moment.
Locke, using magic detection, would soon discover the hidden enemies.
Sure enough, Locke stopped and quickly retreated, stepping on a rock.
Helag, Bessie, and Emma also retreated quickly.
A rain of fire fell where they had just stood. Locke glanced at Helag, surprised he had sensed the danger, and dodged.
Helag had been watching the three enemies closely. One had silently cast a spell at them, prompting Helag to use the Blessing of the Wind Spirit to retreat quickly.
"Well, well! What luck to encounter people from Moonlight Woodland. Lord Malcolm said there's a reward for killing them. Five magic stones for a first-class apprentice, twenty for a second-class, and fifty for a third-class," said a man with a headscarf, stepping out from behind a pillar, followed by two others.
"Deep Blue, assess their strength."
[Strength 5.8, Agility 6.5, Constitution 6.8, Spirit 17.2.]
[Strength 5.1, Agility 6.8, Constitution 7.0, Spirit 18.6.]
[Strength 6.2, Agility 5.0, Constitution 6.7, Spirit 17.8.]
"Three third-class apprentices!" Helag realized the situation was dire.
They had two third-class apprentices, one second-class, and one first-class. The difference in combat power was significant.
Locke and Emma could likely escape, but Helag doubted he could.
Without hesitation, Helag turned and ran.
With Deep Blue's map, he wasn't worried about getting lost.
Bessie saw Helag run and didn't mind. It was the smart choice; he couldn't help in the fight anyway.
The three enemies ignored Helag, focusing on the more valuable third-class apprentices.
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