Chapter 155 : The Terrifying Canyon! A Mysterious Big Boss!
Chapter 155: The Terrifying Canyon! A Mysterious Big Boss!
Hang Yu was observing the development progress on the Wan City Map through his Lord’s Vision.
He noticed that the players led by Ye Li Meng were all elite members of the War God Hall Legion. Although there wasn’t any overt competition or conflict of interest between the legions at the moment, players still tended to team up within their own legions during joint operations.
As for the Thousand-Eyed Centipede—
It was a Level 21 elite wild monster!
Hang Yu hadn’t expected that even the most random wild monster on the Wan City Map would be Tier Three!
What did that mean? The map level of Wan City was extremely high! Tier-Three monsters were likely everywhere!
No wonder other Calamity Army teams had encountered setbacks during their explorations, often ending in total party wipes!
This also showed that the degree of Abyssal Corruption in the Wan City Region was far worse than that of Wo Niu Mountain—not only were space and terrain drastically affected, but even time might be distorted and extended.
In Luoshui Main City, Abyssal Time was 20 years.
In the Wo Niu Mountain Region, it was 40 years.
In the Wan City Region, it might stretch to over a hundred years!
A century was more than enough to change countless things. The average lifespan of Han dynasty emperors was only thirty to forty years. In a hundred years, four or five generations could come and go—more than enough to alter many customs and traditions.
As a general rule—
The greater the distortion of space and time—
The more severely the area would deviate from historical reality.
Hang Yu couldn’t predict what kinds of monsters or styles would emerge from the Wan City Region.
But at this moment, those matters were temporarily unimportant. First, he wanted to see how the Calamity Army of War God Hall would handle the trouble in front of them. Although a Level 21 Tier-Three elite monster was immensely powerful, the material drops were sure to be bountiful.
In terms of Abyssal Essence and Abyssal Magic Crystals, these wild monsters didn’t compare to humanoid Abyssal Creatures or the Starsea Kin.
However, from the perspective of overall economic return, wild-type Abyssal Creatures were much rarer and more valuable—often far surpassing other monster types. If the Calamity Army could manage to hunt it down, the income from this expedition would be substantial!
With that hope in mind—
Hang Yu began spectating the battle.
The Thousand-Eyed Centipede appeared highly alert.
When it detected nearby sneaky players—
Hundreds—no, thousands—of legs suddenly moved in unison as it slithered at high speed. Its massive body emitted low, screeching growls and surged toward a few stealthy scout Ranger players with overwhelming menace.
“Watch out!”
“We’ve been exposed!”
Despite its large size, the Thousand-Eyed Centipede moved with terrifying speed. Its grotesquely deformed upper half reared up like a cobra while moving, its abdomen covered with hundreds of glinting, sinister eyes. From its hideous, mutated maw, it spewed a torrent of green flames.
Lone Boat, Hui Mu, and Ning Caichen II—several nimble Tier-Two Rangers—immediately activated Windstep or used Flashstep to dodge the flood-like flames.
—
242!
—
251!
……
Two weaker Level 10 Rangers were unlucky and got hit. Although the green flame didn’t seem very hot, once it clung to a player, it was nearly impossible to extinguish and had terrifying corrosive effects. In just a few seconds, a Level 10 player could be incinerated.
Even though Lone Boat and the others avoided direct flame exposure, the burning green fire released a toxic gas that permeated the air over dozens—if not hundreds—of meters.
【You are affected by "Bone-Eroding Toxic Flame"!】
【You are poisoned. All stats -5. HP decreases by 10 per second!】
The Tier-Two Rangers were shocked!
This toxic fire was insanely powerful!
Even without being burned directly, they were still poisoned. Losing 10 HP per second meant 100 HP in 10 seconds, 600 in a minute—death was inevitable even for Tier-Two players!
“Damn it!”
“Don’t get close!”
“Or the poison will just keep getting worse!”
“Damn, if I’d known we’d run into this thing, I would’ve stopped by the Kiba Grand Restaurant for the anti-poison set meal!”
“……”
The Rangers quickly downed Healing Pills and antidote-type potions. Although this curbed some of the toxin’s damage, as long as they stayed near the Thousand-Eyed Centipede, the poison’s effects kept escalating.
Even Lone Boat didn’t dare approach under such conditions. He had to keep his distance, dodging jets of toxic fire while drawing his bow to attack.
Clang!
Lone Boat aimed at the centipede’s head and fired a Fire Feather Arrow. But before the arrow could hit, it was deflected by an invisible force.
“What’s going on?”
He fired again.
Still ineffective.
The Thousand-Eyed Centipede not only had powerful toxic flame attacks—it also seemed to possess some troublesome defensive ability. Several Tier-Two Rangers fired off around ten arrows in total, and not a single one landed or dealt any damage.
At that moment, Ye Li Meng arrived with the rest of the players.
“Be careful, this monster is tricky! Spread out! Don’t let it wipe us all out in one go!”
Level 13 Warlock Brother Xiao Ma raised his staff and cast Wind’s Protection on Ye Li Meng.
Immediately, a layer of cyan airflow formed a barrier around Ye Li Meng. This Wind’s Protection was one of the Skill Stones Hang Yu had obtained from a Fate Treasure Chest in Sanxiang Ancient City after the Calamity Army conquered it.
Its primary function was to grant the target a wind-type shield. The shield itself didn’t offer much defense—it only mitigated some damage. However, it could boost movement speed and block poison gas or toxic smoke damage.
Currently, the territory had numerous skills available.
Wind’s Protection wasn’t a particularly dominant spell.
Because of that, not many Warlock players had chosen to learn it. Brother Xiao Ma had only grasped the skill and hadn’t even leveled it up fully. Yet against the Thousand-Eyed Centipede, this spell proved especially effective.
With Wind’s Protection, Ye Li Meng’s movement speed increased. He could now block toxic gas and briefly resist the flames, greatly reducing the toxic fire’s threat—allowing him to take the frontline and draw aggro.
“Move quickly!”
“Cast Wind’s Protection on Old Wang and Lone Boat too!”
Although the Thousand-Eyed Centipede was powerful and terrifyingly lethal, the Calamity Army elites were seasoned veterans. Amid the chaos, they swiftly regrouped and adapted to the battle rhythm.
Hiss!
The 40-meter-long monstrosity darted around rapidly, shooting massive columns of fire. Its four crocodile-like claws lunged like guillotine blades, swiftly taking out two more players.
—
0!
—
0!
—
0!
The Calamity Army was utterly baffled. Regardless of arrow type or spell category, nothing could hit the Thousand-Eyed Centipede. Everything was deflected or redirected by some unknown force.
After several minutes—
Five or six players had already fallen.
But the Thousand-Eyed Centipede remained at full HP!
“What the hell? We can’t break through its defenses. How are we supposed to fight this?!”
They had expected the centipede to be a tough opponent, but this was beyond their imagination. Dozens of top-tier Calamity Army elites had been attacking for so long, yet they couldn’t even scratch it.
“Boss Ye!”
“This isn’t looking good!”
“Maybe we should try to retreat!”
The Calamity Army might not fear death—but they certainly didn’t enjoy it, especially when it was utterly meaningless!
“No! This thing’s too fast! We won’t outrun it across this desert! A reckless retreat would just cause more casualties!”
Ye Li Meng remained cool-headed and didn’t give the order to fall back.
Was their squad really so weak that they couldn’t even handle a single wild monster from the Wan City Map? From the look of it, this centipede wasn’t even a big boss. It likely was just a newly promoted Tier-Three elite monster!
Too unwilling!
He couldn’t just give up like this!
Ye Li Meng decided to intensify the offensive and give it one more shot!
If they still couldn’t break through its defenses, he would leave a group behind to stall for time—at the very least, they could cover part of the team’s retreat to minimize losses.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
All kinds of arrows flew through the air!
Wind Blade, Explosive Flame, Ice Talisman, Thunder Talisman!
A barrage of spells followed close behind!
—
0, -0, -0, -21, -0, -0……
Among the mass of ineffective attacks, one finally dealt damage.
A Warrior had fired a Blackfeather Arrow that hit the Thousand-Eyed Centipede squarely on its back.
This arrow wasn’t deflected by the mysterious defensive energy, nor was it blocked by its tough carapace. Instead, it slipped into the gap between two armor plates—successfully dealing damage.
“What happened?”
“Why did that one work?!”
“Could this giant centipede have a weakness in its defense?”
The players’ spirits lifted. The damage was negligible, but the fact that it worked proved that the Thousand-Eyed Centipede wasn’t completely impervious—its defense wasn’t invincible after all.
Enraged by the hit, the Thousand-Eyed Centipede became even more violent.
The countless eyes on its abdomen flashed wildly. Two massive antennae began to spark with electricity before lashing forward like whips, sending arcs of lightning toward the players.
Anyone struck by the electric arcs—
Was instantly paralyzed.
The Thousand-Eyed Centipede then spewed a burst of fire into the sky, which transformed into a barrage of green fireballs, raining down continuously on the players.
While the fireball rain was weaker than the flame flood, its coverage was much wider and far harder to evade. Several players were struck instantly or poisoned by the scattering toxic gas.
Level 13 Monk Glorious Years and the other healers quickly used various recovery techniques to assist.
But the Thousand-Eyed Centipede’s damage output was simply too high.
Within moments, four more players had fallen.
If they couldn’t figure out the monster’s mechanics soon, this entire squad would be wiped out!
“Like hell I’m giving up!” Niu Shisan raised his warbow with a roar and loosed an arrow. This time, it hit the centipede from behind, piercing its hardened shell and instantly dealing 50 damage!
“It worked again!”
“What’s the pattern?”
Mad Blade Old Wang observed closely—
Both effective attacks had struck from behind.
A spark of realization flashed through his mind. He quickly rolled to the blind spot and fired an arrow at the creature’s rear.
—
41!
Hit confirmed!
Mad Blade Old Wang immediately shouted, “I think I’ve figured it out! This monster can’t defend against sneak-type attacks. If we want to hurt it, we need to catch it off guard—attack from where it can’t see us!”
So that was it!
The players had an epiphany!
The ugly eyes covering the Thousand-Eyed Centipede’s belly weren’t for show—
They were actually its defense mechanism, able to block all attacks within their field of vision. That’s why most attacks had been neutralized. But if a player struck from a blind spot, the creature’s defensive mechanism would fail!
To damage it—
They had to sneak attack!
Any attack it could see would be rendered ineffective!
Though the centipede had hundreds, maybe thousands of eyes, they were mostly concentrated toward the front. The rear inevitably had blind spots—that was the effective attack zone.
Ye Li Meng immediately issued commands to divide the team: one group would continue a frontal feint to attract its attention, while the other would maneuver to strike from the blind spot.
—
25!
—
53!
—
86 (Critical!)
—
47!
Spell after spell, arrow after arrow—finally began to land and deal damage!
Though still low, it confirmed their theory. The Thousand-Eyed Centipede’s mechanic had been cracked. It wasn’t an invincible monster that the Calamity Army couldn’t overcome!
“Hahaha!”
“Nice job! Keep it up!”
“This thing’s not that scary after all!”
Although the centipede was high-tier, its mechanics and abilities weren’t overly complex. Its main attack was the Bone-Eroding Toxic Flame, supported by lightning strikes. As long as the players kept the rhythm, it was manageable.
Lone Boat slid toward the centipede with a low dive.
The enraged centipede struck with four venomous pincer legs charged with electricity—each as sharp and fast as a guillotine.
“Dark Assault!” Lone Boat suddenly vanished from his original spot and reappeared behind the centipede—right in its blind zone where it couldn’t see incoming attacks.
—
587 (Critical!)
Lone Boat stabbed his sword into the centipede’s head, instantly dealing massive damage. Simultaneously, a huge wound was torn open—the curse effect of the Bloodstained Sword triggered, causing the monster to enter a severe bleeding state.
—
50!
—
50!
—
50!
The Thousand-Eyed Centipede twisted in agony and flung Lone Boat away.
As he disengaged, Lone Boat swiftly unleashed a white blade light—using Qi-Gathering Slash to slice off both antennae, cutting off its ability to launch lightning attacks!
“Beautifully done!”
The players were thrilled!
Mad Blade Old Wang followed up with Fiery Tiger Roar Slash. The flaming blade qi turned into a blazing tiger. The centipede’s eyes lit up with light as an invisible force blocked the attack. With a loud boom, the blade qi scattered, kicking up a sandstorm that obscured the monster’s vision.
Arrows rained down.
They struck its abdomen.
Destroying a number of its eyes on the spot.
They didn’t have to get into the blind zone—a visual obstruction worked just as well. Though the centipede’s defensive methods were powerful, as long as the attacks came from places it couldn’t see, its defenses couldn’t activate effectively.
“Die!”
Ye Li Meng leapt through the sandstorm, both hands gripping the massive Thousand-Skull Demon Hammer. Flames burst from his body as he plummeted like a meteor—smashing the weapon down on the centipede’s body.
Fiery Tiger Mountain-Crushing Drop!
This was a new skill Ye Li Meng had just learned from NPC Zhou Cang—an aerial strike that inflicted massive area damage. When used with the Thousand-Skull Demon Hammer, its power was overwhelming!
—
821 (Critical!)
The centipede’s body was slammed into the wasteland. The ground around it cracked for over ten meters, forming a charred, sunken pit. The Thousand-Eyed Centipede was stunned on the spot!
Army Breaker Charge! Charged Strike! Shockwave!
Ye Li Meng pressed the advantage, chaining skills one after another—shaving off thousands of HP in mere moments. The once-formidable monster was now on the verge of death!
Seeing this, the other players swarmed forward!
All kinds of attacks rained down on the monster!
Even the Thousand-Eyed Centipede couldn’t withstand such a brutal onslaught. At last, with a reluctant screech, it collapsed.
“We won!”
“Nice job!”
“We took down a Tier-Three monster!”
The Calamity Army had successfully slain their first Thousand-Eyed Centipede.
The battle had lasted over ten minutes, and thirteen players had fallen!
Although the loss was considerable, the morale of Ye Li Meng’s squad was greatly boosted. The main reason for the high casualties this time was their initial lack of understanding of the centipede’s combat mechanics.
Now that they had figured out its abilities, killing it would be much easier next time.
They immediately collected the loot!
【You’ve looted: Abyssal Essence +25,000, Abyssal Magic Stone +401, Thousand-Eyed Centipede Meat +108, Thousand-Eyed Centipede Poison Gland +110, Thousand-Eyed Centipede Eyeball +88, Thousand-Eyed Centipede Gem +5!】
As expected of a Tier-Three monster!
Hang Yu nodded in satisfaction at the loot acquired by the players.
One monster yielded 25,000 Essence—this was just an elite wild monster!
Over 400 Abyssal Magic Stones—equivalent to 40,000 Magic Stone Fragments, or 40 Abyssal Magic Crystals!
That was already quite substantial!
Yet this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Wild monsters rarely dropped many Magic Crystals or Stones.
The true windfall came from the materials!
As a wild monster, the Thousand-Eyed Centipede didn’t drop equipment, but it did yield rich materials.
Centipede Meat was a Tier-Three white-grade ingredient, with a market price of 1–2 Magic Crystals per portion in the Trading Hall.
The Poison Gland and Eyeballs were Tier-Three low white-grade materials, usable in potion brewing or equipment crafting. Their price in the Trading Hall hovered around 2 Magic Crystals per piece.
Thousand-Eyed Centipede Gems were Tier-Three green-grade materials, used to enhance Tier-Three green equipment. Even though they were only low green-grade enhancement items, each gem fetched at least 100 Magic Crystals on the market.
In other words—
Hunting one Thousand-Eyed Centipede—
Could generate at least 1,000 Magic Crystals worth of value for the territory.
Such was the reward of a Tier-Three elite wild monster. If the Calamity Army could reliably hunt these creatures, it would bring immense benefits and progress to the territory.
Though the Wan City Map’s level was extremely high—
There were opportunities hidden in the danger, and the returns were well worth the risk.
Hang Yu wasn’t sure how densely these Tier-Three wild monsters were distributed across the Wan City Region.
From a development standpoint, the more, the better. Not only could they produce substantial revenue and high-value materials, but unlike humanoid Abyssal Creatures, wild monsters didn’t congregate or fall under the control of corrupted entities—thus avoiding systematic threats to the territory.
“Tier-Three materials!”
“So many Tier-Three materials dropped!”
“There are even Tier-Three gems!”
“That centipede really is a Tier-Three elite monster!”
“……”
Ye Li Meng’s squad was clearly pleased with the drops.
Mad Blade Old Wang asked, “So what’s our next move?”
Ye Li Meng replied, “This place is extremely dangerous, but the rewards are high. No point overthinking—we keep exploring!”
“Agreed!”
“Divine Feather Palace and Wings of Freedom both came back empty-handed.”
“If we, War God Hall, can get intel first, we’ll earn much greater prestige and reward ratings!”
The other players nodded.
There’s no such thing as exploring a new map or dungeon without casualties.
Only after countless failures and deaths could one truly figure out the new terrain and content.
While the monsters in the Wan City Map were dangerous, the material and resource drop rates were phenomenal—enough to earn large amounts of Contribution Points. The risk was worth it!
Ye Li Meng and his team pressed forward.
Hoping to find a town or natives.
Within an hour, they encountered two more Thousand-Eyed Centipedes.
A creature that would have qualified as a regional boss in the Wo Niu Mountain Region was, here, just a frequently encountered wild monster. Thanks to their previous experience, the battle this time went much smoother.
That said—
Tier-Three elites weren’t to be underestimated.
Six more players had died in the process.
At this point, a dark-red canyon filled with jagged boulders appeared ahead.
Recon via Thunderhorn Eagle confirmed that this canyon was the only passage through the wastelands for dozens of miles. There was a higher chance they’d find traces of natives or town ruins on the other side.
Without hesitation—
Over twenty players entered the canyon.
But just as they reached the center of the gorge—
Something completely unexpected occurred.
Boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
Tremors came from all around.
Brother Xiao Ma: “Was that an earthquake?”
Lone Boat suddenly shouted, “Watch out, centipede incoming!”
A massive, monstrous Thousand-Eyed Centipede crawled out from a hole in the ground ahead.
Seeing this, Niu Shisan gripped his greatsword and laughed, “Hahaha, another walking lootbox!”
Having just slain three of them—
The players’ fear of the creature had greatly diminished.
Now, seeing yet another centipede emerge, they weren’t afraid—in fact, they were glad. Even if they didn’t gain any intel today, taking down three to five of these monsters would make the trip worth it!
Mad Blade Old Wang: “Don’t get cocky. We’ve lost a lot of people already. Stay sharp!”
Before the words even finished—
Another tremor sounded behind them.
“Shit!”
“This is bad!”
“There’s another one behind us!”
To their horror, yet another Thousand-Eyed Centipede emerged from a burrow.
Two of them!
That was no good!
Thousand-Eyed Centipedes couldn’t be fought head-on!
Only sneak attacks could deal damage!
If the two creatures flanked the group, it would massively increase the difficulty. With just twenty or so players left, they stood no chance against two Tier-Three elite monsters at once!
“Fall back!”
Ye Li Meng decisively gave the order this time.
But to the players’ despair—
They didn’t even have time to move before more tremors and screeches echoed through the canyon. A third, a fourth, a fifth…
The entire gorge was riddled with caves and tunnels—and now, one Thousand-Eyed Centipede after another was crawling out.
At least a dozen—maybe twenty!
And those were just the ones in sight!
Who knew how many more lurked beneath this canyon?
Ye Li Meng’s face darkened. He cursed, “Shit! We’ve stumbled into the centipede nest!”
Then—a far more powerful aura surged forth. This presence vastly surpassed that of the other Thousand-Eyed Centipedes, comparable to the oppressive force of bosses like Zhang Bao and Zhou Cang.
“There’s a boss here!”
This canyon was the lair of the Thousand-Eyed Centipedes, likely home to dozens—maybe hundreds—of them. In a place with so many Abyssal Creatures gathered, it was highly probable that a commander or leader had emerged as the corruption source.
As everyone knew—
A corruption source—
Even a lesser corruption source was the origin of an Abyssal Nightmare, and all Abyssal Creatures within its radius would fall under its nightmare domain. No creature within the nightmare could surpass the source in level or strength.
All of these Thousand-Eyed Centipedes were Tier-Three monsters!
That boss couldn’t possibly be lower than Tier-Three!
It was highly likely to be a Tier-Three Commander!
“Where is it?!”
“Find it, quick!”
Ye Li Meng and the others knew they were doomed. But if they could, before dying, identify this suspected Tier-Three Abyss Commander, they’d at least bring back crucial intelligence for the territory.
But just then—
An invisible wave of psychic energy and pressure swept over them.
【You are affected by “Nightmare Whipping.” You take 100 Spirit Damage. You are now in a Stunned State. Duration: 10 seconds.】
【……】
In an instant—
All the players on-site lost consciousness.
At the same time, the surrounding Thousand-Eyed Centipedes closed in from all directions.
The result of twenty-odd players surrounded by over a dozen elite monsters needed no elaboration.
【Player “Brother Xiao Ma” has died. Abyssal Essence +6,400……】
【Player “Lone Boat” has died. Abyssal Essence +8,000……】
【Player “Mad Blade Old Wang” has died. Abyssal Essence +8,000……】
【……】
【Player “Ye Li Meng” has died. Abyssal Essence +9,800……】
The War God Hall Legion squad of the Calamity Army had been completely wiped out!
“This area’s brutal...”
Hang Yu frowned as he watched. The canyon discovered by Ye Li Meng’s team likely housed at least one Level 21 Abyss Commander. Even he wouldn’t dare to take such a presence lightly.
Especially—
With that many Tier-Three elite monsters on-site!
There was no way players, at their current power level, could get through this area.
Hang Yu didn’t mind players making a few more death runs—but he didn’t want them to be bottlenecked here either. The priority was still to gather intel on the Wan City Region as soon as possible.
He couldn’t just sit back.
Something had to be done.
After some quick thought, Hang Yu came up with two possible solutions:
First, he could deploy the Azure Dragon Guards, or send Zhou Cang to lead players in clearing the canyon.
Second, the territory didn’t connect to Wan City only through Luoshui Main City. Perhaps approaching from the direction of White Tiger Mountain would provide a safer path into the Wan City Region.