Chapter 24 3-Star Ingredients

Boggy pulled out an already yellowed and tattered map from the storage box, pointing to a light yellow area on it, "We are here now, in the Level 1 Hunting Area, which is also the activity zone for some small hunting groups."

"If we go further, we'll enter the Level 2 Hunting Area, where the game is more abundant and also more dangerous. The guild recommends that hunting teams with some experience and at least four members should enter, but with our current strength, we should already be up to the challenge."

Ma Lu took a look and curiously pointed to the corner of the map, which had turned so red it was almost black, "What about this place?"

"Death Forbidden Zone, only the elite hundred-person teams from Diamond Level Hunting Groups dare to enter after making thorough preparations. Even so, the mortality rate from hunting remains incredibly high each time."

Boggy paused and then added, "Golden Leopards also live there."

He had no expression on his face when he said these words, but his clenched fists betrayed his true feelings.

Ma Lu patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, the Twin Sunflower Hunting Group will hunt in this area sooner or later."

That place was clearly a high-level monsters' activity map, meaning there would be good loot dropping there.

"It's too dangerous," Boggy shook his head.

"No worries, I'm not afraid of dying. As long as you're ready, we can set off at any time."

For Ma Lu, death was not a concern; at worst, he'd lose some ingredients and the trip would be in vain. Compared to the potential gains, this risk was nothing.

Boggy shivered at his words but didn't say anything further, just gave a grunt of acknowledgment. Then he packed up the map, started the motorbike, and carried Ma Lu towards the Level 2 Hunting Area.

As soon as the two of them entered the Level 2 Hunting Area, the Traveler's Bracelet reacted.

Ding! Congratulations on discovering a 3-star ingredient [Giant Claw Lord]. [Giant Claw Lord]'s compendium has been unlocked.

New prey had appeared, and this time it was a high 3-star.

Ma Lu shared this information with Boggy, whose expression instantly became stern, yet he didn't turn the motorbike around.

The Giant Claw Lord was undeniably strong, stronger than any game they had encountered before, and it was precisely for this reason that Boggy could better gauge his current strength.

To see just how much he had improved.

As Boggy was pondering how to find the Giant Claw Lord, the ground suddenly started to tremble.

A huge claw pincer emerged from the ground, aiming at the motorbike. If it got caught in that thing, Boggy had no doubt it would instantly turn the motorbike into two halves.

At that point, they would have to walk back to the Giant Curtain on foot.

However, facing this sudden crisis, Boggy did not panic. With superhuman reflexes, he took the initiative and utilized his Psychic Power.

Using the water in his pouch, he hastily created seven small shields the size of a thumb.

The claw easily crushed the first three shields without encountering any resistance until it hit the fourth one, triggering [The Last Bastion]'s damage-immunity effect, and the pincer abruptly slowed down.

Boggy drove the motorbike, deftly slipping through the gap created by the momentary stall.

The creature underground seemed to be taken aback, but it was quick to launch a second wave of attacks, which Boggy still countered with water shields.

After several attempts, the Giant Claw Lord, frustrated at being so close yet unable to catch its prey, evidently grew angry.

Switching from pinching to smashing, the huge claw pincer came crashing down from the sky, aiming a vicious blow at the two men on the ground!

Yet, even in the face of this catastrophic strike, it was ultimately blocked by the defenseless water shields.

The Giant Claw Lord's full-force strike felt as if it had hit an air wall, and this time, in addition to [The Last Bastion] and [Charge with Hits], it also triggered an effect from Blue Blessings.

[Turn in Circles: When a team member is subjected to a downward strike from above and the attacker is in a state of rage, there's a 15% chance to force the attacker to spin in place, doubling the rage value]

This blessing had very strict triggering conditions and an oddly vexing effect. The reason Ma Lu chose it was purely that the other two options were even less useful at the time.

To be honest, Ma Lu himself had never imagined it would come in handy one day, causing the Giant Claw Lord's attack to halt suddenly.

Moreover, there was silence for a full half-minute, probably because it was busy spinning in circles down below.

But soon the ground began to shake again, and this time the tremors were even stronger than before, with an apparent pattern hidden within them.

The next moment, two Short-Eared Lync Hedgehogs burst out of the sandy ground in front of the motorcycle.

They curled up together, launching all the thorns on their backs without reservation.

Boggy swerved the motorcycle at that instant, turning the handlebars all the way to dodge most of the spines flying towards him and Ma Lu, but some still struck the motorcycle's rear.

Luckily, the bags of supplies on either side shielded it, otherwise the battery pack underneath would have been subject to a direct piercing experiment.

The title of "Lord" in Giant Claw Lord wasn't for nothing.

In addition to its pair of terrifying pincers, it could also summon the animals in a nearby area that were not as strong as itself.

Such as the two Short-Eared Lync Hedgehogs just now, and the five Two-Headed Hyenas that appeared on the sandy dune beside them, all summoned to assist by its call.

In facing the Giant Claw Lord, protracted battles were the most taboo.

During the recent series of attacks, Boggy had maintained a defensive stance, and he could feel his strength rapidly surging.

However, when his gaze fell on the mechanical spear at the rear of the bike, he discovered a new problem.

The carapace of the Giant Claw Lord was extremely tough, nearly impervious to ordinary weapons, so hunting teams usually customized special equipment before setting out to hunt it.

The Harpist had been equipped with such gear before, but now he had left the Harpists to establish Twin Sunflower, and his funds were limited.

But there was no choice now but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Just as Boggy was preparing to draw the mechanical spear, Ma Lu suddenly handed him a chef's knife.

"Use this."

Having seen Ma Lu effortlessly dismember a Two-Headed Hyena with the knife, Boggy knew that this unassuming little knife was actually very sharp.

So he didn't refuse, took the chef's knife, and once again used the water shield to block the damage from the Giant Claw's next attack.

Taking advantage of the instant the Giant Claw got stuck, he jumped off the motorcycle.

He opened his other hand, grabbed one of the protrusions above, and yanked it hard!

In the character status bar, Boggy's strength buff had reached 462%, and with that pull, he yanked the Giant Claw Lord out from the sand.

Ma Lu had already seen what that guy looked like in the ingredient compendium; it resembled an emperor crab but with fewer legs and an alloy-like sheen to its carapace.

The real thing was even more impactful, mainly due to its nearly 7-meter-long body, which just couldn't be appreciated in the compendium.

Yet, this behemoth, comparable to a concrete mixer truck, was outmatched in this tug-of-war by Boggy, who was just over 1.6 meters tall.

When it got pulled out from under the ground by Boggy, it seemed quite bewildered.

It kept looking left and right, nearly having "Who am I? Where am I?" written across its face.

But Boggy's actions had just begun. The pulling in itself hadn't inflicted any damage on the Giant Claw Lord, nor was it counted as an attack.

With the 462% strength buff still in effect, Boggy bent his legs and stomped on the ground, and the next moment, he leaped up from the ground like a superhero from a Marvel movie, a full 3 meters high, and landed on the back of the Giant Claw Lord.

He then thrust the knife into the carapace of the Giant Claw Lord.

What was once an impenetrably hard shell seemed no different from butter in the face of the chef's knife, and Boggy easily cut out a triangular opening in it.

Without hesitation, he stabbed in again!

The Giant Claw Lord seemed to sense fear at this point and desperately twisted its body, attempting to burrow back into the sand.

But Boggy, the honor student, had accurately identified the Giant Claw Lord's vulnerability and cleanly severed the neural ganglia inside.

The next moment, the Giant Claw Lord, like a battery-plucked toy, instantly lost its ability to move, and its massive body thunderously collapsed.