Unexpectedly Ambushed 1.

Before their eyes stood a formidable colossus sculpted from ancient stone. Its body was an amalgamation of jagged boulders, with patches of moss and lichen clinging to its surface, giving it an appearance as old as the earth itself. Its eyes glowed with a soft, eerie luminescence, buried deep within a face that seemed chiseled by nature's own hand. Each movement was slow but powerful, the ground quaking underfoot as it advanced with an inflexible purpose. Occasionally, vines and roots wove through its form, adding an element of wild, untamed nature to its already fearsome visage. This stone guardian commanded respect and awe from all who beheld it.

"Fuck! It's an ancient guardian!" Rue Bu exclaimed.

"What is it doing here? According to my tribe, no ancient guardian should be in this area." Shui Tao was confused but didn't hesitate, immediately falling to the back, preparing for the impending battle.

"I don't know either, but it looks like we'll have to fight if we want to get out of here alive." Chen Huan, observing the giant monster's movements, knew that there was no avoiding this.

The ancient guardian had already seen the three student gu masters. It was retracting its greenish-yellow hand, composed of huge rocks held together by vines and tendrils of ivy. Its immense size gave the three youths a fright.

"Dodge!" Rue Bu shouted, signaling them to move to the left and right of the monster as he ran straight ahead.

The ancient guardian's size didn't allow it to adjust the trajectory of its punch in time, landing on their previous spot. The earth shattered underneath it and shook under their feet even from a distance, terrifying them with the possibility of being hit.

'We would die instantly.' was Shui Tao and Chen Huan's only thought at the moment. Both laying on the ground as they rushed to save themselves from the previous attack, they looked at each other puzzled, not seeing Rue Bu on either side.

Looking back at the location where the ancient giant delivered its attack, they saw him. Past the crater, he was still running towards the ancient giant. "Rue Bu, what are you thinking!" Shui Tao wasn't trying to persuade him from attacking, but after witnessing the power of the ancient guardian, he didn't know how they would be able to turn this situation around. His spirit was destroyed before the fight even began.

"Both of you stay separate! If we continue to gather like that, we will die with just one attack. Chen Huan, Shui Tao, if you want to get out of here alive, you will have to risk your life." Rue Bu said as he continued to move forward.

The ancient guardian, seeing them scattered in different directions, focused on the closest one it could find. This time, it didn't use its hands. Instead, the roots weaving through its body suddenly surfaced and shot at Rue Bu with speed and precision.

He didn't falter, however. injecting primeval essence into the berserk gu immediately. His eyes turned crimson red, and his speed increased dramatically, allowing him to see the trajectory of the flying attacks. Using his bare hands, he grabbed the roots and tried ripping them apart, yet was surprised by how hard it was. Giving up, he decided to use another method. Inside his aperture, the black candle lit up and gave an ominous feeling as a small fire generated above it and transferred out, landing in his hands and charring the roots.

"Hey, Shui Tao, get up. We have to help him." Even though she said it herself, Chen Huan didn't know exactly how they were going to help him.

"..." Shui Tao stayed silent, stunned by Rue Bu yet again. 'Didn't he see how powerful that thing is? How can he be so confident?' His will to fight dwindled, and he didn't answer Chen Huan, staying on the ground in shock.

"What's wrong with you?! Stand up..." she screamed at him but was cut off by something flying their way and crashing beside them.

After Rue Bu burned the roots of the ancient guardian, it appeared to be angry. The vines holding its hand together started to untangle, and using them, it began to throw the jagged boulders and rocks from its body at Rue Bu. He was stunned for a moment, but as a giant rock flew his way, he activated another gu worm, momentarily increasing his speed. However, he wasn't planning on dodging.

He shot straight at the rock, delivering a simple punch. With his increased speed and the berserk gu's enhancement, the rock shattered into pieces and scattered everywhere. Rue Bu's momentum wasn't thwarted by the attack, and he finally reached the ancient guardian.

It was almost three times his own height. Landing squarely on its chest, he delivered another punch to the ancient guardian. Yet, despite all his strength and speed, he only managed to form a small crack on its body.

The ancient guardian's body shook for a moment, but the crack immediately disappeared after a second or two. "Shit!" he muttered as he felt the vines from the giant's hands creep and tangle around his body. He wanted to burn them again, but the ancient guardian didn't give him the chance, sending him flying with a swift motion.

Landing beside Chen Huan and Shui Tao, they were stunned for a second, but Rue Bu's voice came to reassure them. "Chen Huan, even though it's slow, I can't use my killer move while fighting it head-on. You need to buy me some time." Rue Bu instructed.

"Yes, don't worry, Rue Bu." She was preparing to go but was stopped by him.

"Wait, Shui Tao, lend her your healing gu worm. She'll need it, and you won't be able to help her from this distance." He said, making Shui Tao come back to his senses.

"What..." Rue Bu noticed Shui Tao's hesitation and gritted his teeth, shouting at him before he could say another word.

"Do you want to die? Huh? That thing is closing in! If you think we don't have a chance, fine, I don't care. But should we just surrender because of that? We'll at least put up a fight—we have no choice anyway."

Shui Tao came back to his senses for a moment and handed the gu worm to Chen Huan, who proceeded to distract the ancient guardian.

"Good. Listen carefully, Shui Tao. Luckily for us, it doesn't have any rank two gu worms, or we'd already be dead. The only odd gu worm I've observed is a healing one, so Chen Huan will be able to buy us some time. I need you to guard me while I activate my gu worms. Do you understand?" Rue Bu spoke quickly, giving Shui Tao little time to make up his mind. Shui Tao could only nod his head in agreement.

'I hope he is right...' Shui Tao thought as he stood in front of Rue Bu, guarding him and observing the fight between the giant monster and Chen Huan.

'Something isn't right. How did that thing find us? There should be no rank two monsters in this area. If there was even a slim chance we might encounter a rank two during the mission, the alliance wouldn't have assigned it to us. And this particular ancient guardian is also strange.' Rue Bu thought as he prepared his gu worm, activating the ominous candle, the dragonfly, and various other gu worms.

He pointed his index finger at the ancient guardian, and with just a flicker that didn't last a second, the attack landed on its body. As he assumed, it was more effective than mindlessly punching the monster. The spot where it landed had a bigger crack than the previous one, causing the ancient guardian to pause for a second before healing and continuing to chase Chen Huan.

"Ah, what now, Rue Bu? It didn't work." Shui Tao grew more nervous.

"Of course it didn't. It's just a flimsy rank one killer move, not even the strongest. You expect me to kill a rank two monster with just one attack?" Rue Bu said, getting angry and making Shui Tao silent for the rest of the fight.

Rue Bu used the killer move two more times, both landing roughly on the same spot on the ancient guardian. To his credit, the ancient guardian didn't manage to heal that spot completely while chasing Chen Huan. Yet, it was just a shallow wound considering its massive body, and it didn't even bother to stop Rue Bu.

"I'm out of primeval essence." Rue Bu said with a grim expression on his face.

"What?!" Shui Tao was stunned and fell to the ground, his legs giving out as his spirit reached the bottom of the abyss.

'If that were a normal ancient guardian, my attacks would have been far more effective. Even though it's rank two it is not known for its durability, but rather for strength and raw power. My 'fire fly' killer move should have had a much greater impact, and its speed isn't what I'd expect from a rank two guardian.' Rue Bu thought, realizing something was definitely off about this guardian. Just then, something strange occurred in front of him.

Chen Huan was in the midst of fleeing for her life, darting left and right to distract the ancient guardian. When she heard Rue Bu's words, she too was devastated. The monster was still alive and well, with no significant damage on its body. As she reached her limits and thought she was finally going to be smashed to pieces, something unexpected happened.

The ancient guardian stopped. After a moment, its soft, luminescent eyes dimmed until they looked lifeless. The vines and roots lost their vitality and withered away, and the boulders and rocks they held on its body fell to the ground, creating waves of dust and debris as they smashed apart.

All three were stunned, unsure of what had just happened. After the sudden fall of the ancient guardian, only a metal-shaped heart was left behind, hovering in mid-air and shining with a bright golden light.

'What happened? Wait, is that...?!' Rue Bu felt relief for a moment but was immediately on alert after seeing the metal heart floating in the air.

"That's a rank two gu worm! Hahaha, what's this situation?" Shui Tao was back on his feet, excited by the sight of the 'dead' monster and the gu worm. However, his excitement quickly faded.

"Hehehe, don't be so excited, kid. It's not like you found a wild gu worm." The voice, which seemed to belong to a woman, came from behind the rubble of the ancient guardian. She wore black clothes that concealed her identity. The gu worm flew to her, confirming her words. Her rank two aura was suffocating, making them wish the ancient guardian would return instead.