It should be said to be hundreds of times more terrifying than wolves. That thing looked like a gray mist, with no distinction between head and body. Embedded at its very top were two green eyeballs. In front of the gray mist, various human faces continuously shifted and changed, as if it were a living mask recorder.
“Damn it, it’s the Soul Devourer,” Hunyuanzi wailed inside Yang Hao’s belly.
Yang Hao exerted all his strength but couldn’t free himself from the sword that had become stuck: “What’s the Soul Devourer? Does it eat people?”
“Eat people?” Hunyuanzi chuckled bitterly, a sound more painful than crying. “It’s far worse than eating people.”
X13 trembled all over, and spoke in a very professional tone: “The Soul Devourer is a magical barrier conjured by the terrifying Black Demon Beast in the universe. Though merely a manifestation of magic, it can grow stronger by itself. The Soul Devourer feeds on human souls, and each soul it consumes increases its power.”
“The one we’ve encountered must’ve devoured at least a thousand souls,” Hunyuanzi cried frantically.
“Then we’re doomed?” Yang Hao twisted his head desperately, noticing the Soul Devourer drawing closer and closer, emitting a pungent, foul stench.
“Not ‘we’re doomed,'” X13 replied, “but ‘you’re doomed.’ I’ll definitely make sure everyone knows you died.” With that, X13 turned its back and flew toward the cave entrance.
“You disloyal jerk! Don’t you know the Three Laws of Robotics?” Yang Hao stomped in anger. He’d never seen a robot with such independent consciousness.
Behind him, the Soul Devourer rushed forward with a whoosh.
Just as Yang Hao mentally screamed that his life was over, the Soul Devourer passed right by him and lunged directly at X13. It seemed the Soul Devourer wasn’t going to spare any living creature in front of it.
Amanda’s robot manufacturing skills were indeed top-notch. Although her robots might seem eccentric, they each had unique functional advantages.
For instance, though X13 looked like an adorable little snowman, it still had its own defensive and offensive capabilities. As the Soul Devourer lunged toward it, silver metallic threads rapidly extended from around X13’s body, releasing intense electric arcs.
Blue electric arcs tore through the darkness inside the cave, quickly spreading a burnt smell. The electric arcs X13 released were high-voltage shocks reaching hundreds of thousands of volts. Even human experts, upon direct contact with such voltage, would likely suffer cardiac arrest instantly.
However, when those arcs struck the Soul Devourer, they simply circled around it briefly before vanishing without a trace. The intense electric shocks had absolutely no effect on the Soul Devourer. The gray mist-like monster didn’t hesitate at all, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed X13 in one gulp.
“X13!!!!” Yang Hao screamed.
But the robot had already disappeared into the Soul Devourer’s mouth. Yang Hao’s scream only drew the Soul Devourer’s attention. The gray monster turned its body slowly and looked over.
“You disloyal jerk, well, you’ve eaten it now,” Yang Hao tried to flatter, hoping that after consuming X13, the Soul Devourer would feel satisfied and full, and no longer eat him.
But Yang Hao was clearly going to be disappointed because eating X13 was merely an appetizer for the Soul Devourer. The real feast was Yang Hao himself, saved for last.
Watching the Soul Devourer slowly float toward him with a hideous expression, Yang Hao felt his heart pounding with fear. He exerted all his strength to slightly loosen the sword handle stuck in place, but pulling the embedded sword out would require even more strength and time.
Time was clearly running out. Without even looking directly, Yang Hao desperately realized the Soul Devourer had reached above his head, opened its mouth wide, and was preparing to swallow him whole.
“Medicine! Take the pills quickly!!!” At the critical moment, Hunyuanzi finally recalled, “Quickly take the Strength-Enhancing Pill.”
Reminded by him, Yang Hao hurriedly took out a Strength-Enhancing Pill and stuffed it into his mouth. The pill’s power was released instantly. The Strength-Enhancing Pill indeed worked quickly. Within the blink of an eye, Yang Hao already felt an unprecedented surge of energy filling his body. He felt like a giant of strength, capable of making everything around him rumble with even a slight movement of his arms.
The Soul Devourer lunged straight down. It hadn’t sensed Yang Hao’s physical transformation yet, still assuming its target was that small boy who could be swallowed in one bite.
“Ah!!!!” Yang Hao roared loudly. He pushed his arms outward in both directions. The thick tunnel walls were smashed into pieces in one push, instantly expanding the space several times over, and Yang Hao immediately broke free from his imprisonment.
His reaction speed was no slow either. He quickly drew the two swords at his waist and slashed desperately at the Soul Devourer.
One red and one blue beam of light were like two lightning bolts tearing through the night sky, roaring as they struck the Soul Devourer. Though the monster possessed formidable attacking power, its defense was weak. After being struck by the two swords, it immediately split apart, its internal energy scattering chaotically, with the remaining parts exploding into dust.
Only a white robot flew out from the Soul Devourer’s belly before the explosion, spinning frantically and fleeing to Yang Hao’s side.
“X13!” Yang Hao shouted excitedly. “So you’re not dead after all.”
X13 practically crouched on Yang Hao’s shoulder, watching the Soul Devourer continuously exploding in midair, still shaken: “I nearly went to heaven…”
“Why not go then!” Hunyuanzi said irritably, still angry at the robot for running away earlier.
“I already told you all…” X13 remained true to its character, “God dislikes me and refused to let me in.”
Yang Hao sheathed his swords coolly. He felt the surging strength in his body disappearing rapidly. It seemed the Strength-Enhancing Pill’s effects, though obvious, were fleeting. Once used, the power quickly faded.
“What do we do now?” Yang Hao didn’t dwell on it, sitting on a pile of white bones catching his breath. “Should we still look for the raw crystal stone?”
“Of course, we run away immediately,” X13 floated like a ghost, still shaken by the previous encounter. “This place is too dangerous. We should escape while we can.”
“No, we can’t leave,” Hunyuanzi expressed a different opinion.
X13 looked puzzled: “Why not leave? We barely defeated a Soul Devourer. Do you want to wait for an even stronger monster?”
“Even stronger monsters?” Sweat poured down Yang Hao’s forehead. The Soul Devourer had nearly taken his life. If there were even stronger monsters, wouldn’t he be doomed?
“Obviously. Didn’t you hear us? The Soul Devourer is a magical barrier conjured by the Black Demon Beast. In other words, where there is a Soul Devourer, there must be a Black Demon Beast,” X13 emphasized, “Don’t you know what the Black Demon Beast is? It’s the most terrifying monster in the universe.”
“Then let’s go quickly,” Yang Hao tightened his long sword at his waist, preparing to return the way they came.
“No leaving!” Hunyuanzi insisted firmly. “Good apprentice, we can’t leave.”
“I’ve already figured out a solution regarding the raw crystal stone,” Yang Hao’s mind actually worked quickly. “Now that I have these five swords, I can sell them for at least hundreds of thousands and buy a raw crystal stone easily. There’s no need to take more risks.”
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