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n“Big Brother, what are you doing?” Colette asked. “Are you tired from running?”

n,m Lux opened his eyes and smiled. “A little bit. Let’s stay here for now. The Mosquito Swarm is still active outside. I’m using Diablo to check the current situation. Once the coast is clear, we will leave immediately and return to the Leaf Village for the time being.”

n“Un!” Colette nodded her head in agreement.

nAfter reassuring his party members, Lux once again closed his eyes and strengthened his connection with Diablo.

nThe fight was currently getting more intense. The Obsidian Mosquitoes encircled the Terror Mantis and applying hit and run tactics, using the ordinary mosquitoes as cannon fodder.

nTheir goal was to leave a paralyzing venom inside their prey until it no longer had the ability to resist.

nAfter cutting over a hundred mosquitoes, the Terror Mantis’ movements gradually turned sluggish due to exhaustion. The stack of mosquito venom was starting to spread inside its body.

nThe Obsidian Mosquitoes didn’t waste the opportunity and embedded their sharp suckers into any unprotected area of their prey.

nSeveral more minutes had passed when the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis screeched for the last time. Its screech was filled with unwillingness and frustration as its body collapsed to the ground, paralyzed.

nAfter sending a few more ordinary mosquitoes to probe the fallen mantis, the Obsidian Mosquitoes finally went in to claim their prize.

nLux watched as a dozen Obsidian Mosquitoes impaled the Alpha Monster’s body with their sharp suckers and began drinking its blood.

nTheir bodies glowed as they absorbed the high-quality blood of their prey, similar to how the Dwarves leveled up after reaching the limit of their experience bars.

nAfter who knows how long, the feasting of the Obsidian Mosquitoes finally ended. They then issued a series of buzzing sounds and flew Northwards, followed by their underlings.

nOnly after Lux was certain that all the mosquitoes had left did he order Diablo to move towards the corpse lying on the ground.

nLux gazed at the once proud Apex Monster of the Figaro Garden, which was now only left with a dried up husk, bereft of blood. The Half-Elf didn’t feel any pity for the Alpha Beast’s demise. Instead, what he felt was excitement. He hurriedly ordered Diablo and the Skeleton Warrior to drag the corpse back to the Ant Nest where they were currently hiding.

nSince the Mantis no longer had any blood on its body, it had become much lighter and the two Undead didn’t have any problems dragging it back to the nest in accordance to Lux’s wishes.

nWhen the two faithful Undead arrived at their destination, the entrance of the nest opened and Lux hurriedly came out to claim his prize.

nColette and the other Dwarves, who had followed the Half-Elf outside, gasped in shock when they saw the Alpha Beast’s body laying in front of them.

n“B-Big Brother, isn’t this the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis?!” Colette wasn’t able to contain her surprise as she poked the dead Alpha Monster with her finger.

n“Yes,” Lux replied. “The mosquitoes killed it a while ago, and I asked my Undead to drag it back here.”

nLux couldn’t hide the smugness on his face as he approached one of the strongest monsters in the Beginner’s Zone.

nAs he gazed at the dead beast in front of him, he had a feeling that if the Alpha Monster wasn’t injured and in a weakened state, the Mosquitoes wouldn’t have dared to fight it head-on.

nFortunately, it was. Lux even got its corpse, which was filled with treasures, for himself.

nThe Dwarves that had been with them weren’t able to hide the envious looks on their faces as they stared at the Terror Mantis on the ground. The Bladed Claws of the Terror Mantis could be given to a Blacksmith and crafted into a Pseudo-Unique Weapon.

nIts exoskeleton could also be used to create an extremely rare armor that was durable enough to withstand most attacks from most of the existing beasts that could be found in the Beginner’s Zone.

nThe true prize, of course, was its Beast Core, which gave people additional Stat Points and a chance to acquire one of the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis’ skills.

nThe Alpha Beast had three skills, which were Fury Slash, Gust, and Berserk.

nAny of those skills would prove useful even in the late Apostle Ranks. This was why most Dwarves performed the Graduation Ceremony before leaving. It would be helpful for their future journeys to acquire the Beast Cores of the Alpha Monsters in their respective Beginner Zones.

nSeeing the envious and greedy looks coming from the Dwarves around him, Lux decided to use the ring that his Grandma Vera had given him before he left Wildgarde Stronghold.

nThe ring was called “Enchanted Beast Ring”, which allowed him to store the corpses of monsters of any size. The only downside was that it could only store ten monsters at a time.

nEven so, it was still a wonderful item that allowed its owner to carry their quarry back home, without worrying about hiring manpower for transport.

nLux pressed his hand over the monster’s corpse and activated the ring. Immediately, the Terror Mantis disappeared, leaving nothing behind. ᴛʜs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀ s ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛ ʙʏ ovlꜰre.et

nThe Half-Elf was quite satisfied because he was able to take advantage of the current situation and even profited a lot from it.

nThis reminded him of what his Grandma Vera had told him about fishing in troubled waters.

nAlthough he felt a little bad for the party that had challenged the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis earlier, he didn’t feel guilty about taking the Alpha Monster for himself. After all, he wasn’t the one responsible for the mosquito swarm, nor was he the one that killed their prey.

nHe was merely a bystander that happened to find the corpse, pick it up, and take it back home. No one could find fault in what he did because if other people were in the same shoes as him, they would have done the same.

nUnfortunately, things didn’t go the way Lux had planned after returning to the Leaf Village.

nThe Dwarves that had seen his exploits had spread the news to their friends. Naturally, this reached the ears of the Dwarf party that had fought tooth and nail with the Alpha Monster before the mosquito swarm invaded, which gave Lux a headache. After all, he now had to think about how to deal with the aftermath.

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