Chapter 113: Fierce Battle with the Tentacle Monster

For an ordinary person, this scene would be enough to cause a complete mental collapse. As far as the eye could see, an overwhelming tide of writhing tentacles formed a crimson surge too horrific to behold, crashing down from all directions to engulf everything in its path. Yet, for Faren, the mouths opening along those squirming appendages, the jagged teeth, and the foul, viscous slime dripping from them inspired not a shred of fear. On the contrary, looking at the tentacles lunging toward him, Faren’s eyes gleamed with intense excitement and fervor, as if he were beholding a stunning beauty lying naked on a bed, legs parted in eager anticipation of his intrusion.

These tentacles! To have a monster that mutated right before his eyes fall into his hands—he was truly lucky!

Faren’s lips curled into a smirk of triumph. Even though he was as exhilarated as a budding youth about to confess his love to a goddess, he did not relax his guard for a moment. He crossed his hands over his chest, appearing to shield himself from the assault. But in the next instant, with a slight twitch of his fingers, several scalpels materialized between the gaps of his hands. With a sharp sweep of his arms, the silver threads traced through the air, acting as the deadliest of blades and shredding the swarming tentacles to pieces. Furthermore, at the very moment Faren moved, everything within several meters of him seemed to be sliced by invisible razors, shattering completely. Even the seemingly solid ground was marred by deep, jagged fissures.

This was the additional trait, [Damage Radius +1], gained after Faren’s [Cut] skill reached level five. It expanded his range; previously, Faren’s attacks required physical contact to trigger his ability. Now, however, within a ten-meter radius, even if his scalpels did not touch the target, they would generate a "sword-qi" effect, obliterating everything within the area of effect.

The severed tentacles shrieked and recoiled, their limbs sliced and splintered by the sharp scalpels, spraying foul, thick blood. But this was clearly nothing to the mass of tentacles. They continued to twist their elongated bodies, seeking any opening in Faren’s defense to finish him off.

But this was only the beginning.

"Whoosh!"

A moment later, a morning star flew past Faren, spinning like a meat grinder as it plunged into the cluster of tentacles, pounding those already shredded by Faren into literal pulp. This fierce, overbearing, and utterly unreasonable attack forced the tentacles to pause. Seizing this momentary stagnation, Faren transformed into a phantom, darting erratically through the gaps in the tentacle wall to press forward. Behind him, the cat-eared maid, having retrieved her morning star, followed in his wake, charging ahead with the force of a landslide—anything that tried to block her was reduced to sticky, nauseating fragments beneath the wind-whipped morning star.

"Whoa..."

Staring blankly at the scene, Eluka couldn't help but gasp. Thinking about it, this was the first time she had witnessed Faren and Delin fighting in tandem. In their past joint efforts, Delin had usually remained in the shadows, acting as Faren’s trump card to deliver a fatal blow. But this time, the cat-eared maid had taken the initiative to move to the front line, fighting side-by-side with Faren.

Their synergy was on full display—when tentacles coiled and lunged, the intense air currents unleashed by Delin’s swinging morning star would blast them away. And when the tentacles lost control under the impact of that immense force, Faren would silently emerge from the shadows like a ghost, his silver threads slicing them into pieces. Following closely, Delin would raise her morning star again and slam it into the ground, extinguishing the last desperate struggles of those tentacles.

"How wonderful..."

Watching the two figures as they appeared, vanished, and reappeared amidst the tentacle swarm, Eluka couldn't help but sigh. What they displayed was the pinnacle of combat and perfect cooperation, something only a warrior could truly appreciate. No words were needed between them; every motion, every choice, and every strike felt perfectly natural. Eluka even had the illusion that Faren and Delin were not on a battlefield at all, but rather dancing gracefully at a ball... so perfect, so harmonious, and so captivating.

Could we ever coordinate with the Commander to such a degree?

"Search complete! I found it!"

Just as this question formed in Eluka’s mind, Kurona spoke up from beside her. The little girl pointed forward, and with her gesture, a thermal scan of the monster’s entire body appeared before everyone’s eyes. Upon seeing the creature's true form, everyone was startled.

"How are we supposed to deal with something like this!"

It was no wonder Eluka wailed; the scene manifesting before them far exceeded their previous imagination. Beneath the towering "human pillar" that served as the main body, countless tentacles stretched deep into the earth like the roots of a giant tree, forming a network underground. This meant that even if Faren and Delin destroyed every tentacle in sight, they would have no way to threaten the roots buried deep beneath the soil.

More frustratingly, guided by Kurona’s [Telepathy], they could see a glowing, bright crimson, sphere-like object beneath the entire "human pillar." This was the monster’s weakness and core. Yet, with it buried so deep, did Faren and Delin really have a way to reach it?

Faren, however, had his own plans.

"Eluka, Chris, provide covering fire!"

"Yes!"

Hearing Faren’s order, Eluka gave a sharp jolt and immediately responded. She turned her head toward Chris beside her.

"Chris, locking on is up to you!"

"Understood."

Returning to the vehicle, Chris gave a slight nod. She reached out and gripped the control stick. Lifting her head, she stared at the image of the tentacle monster projected onto her retina by Kurona. Rings of light rapidly spun within the depths of the girl's pupils, locking onto the target.

"Target... locked."

"Fire!"

Upon hearing Chris’s report, Eluka shouted and pulled the trigger with all her might.

The next moment, the laser machine gun roared into action, unleashing a stream of fire that slammed into the monster before them.