Chapter Twenty-Five: Poisoning the Young Demon Crab

An hour passed.

Having finished cultivating the Double Wave Slash, Ye Mo was drenched, his entire body soaked in sweat. He glanced up at the sky—the sun was already tilting toward the west. He wasn’t sure whether that young demon crab would visit the cave camp again, but knowing its temperament, and now that it had set its sights on him, it was likely to return for revenge. If not tonight, then tomorrow night—it was only a matter of time.

The others had also completed their body-tempering training. Each spiritwood spear was now coated with the deadly Ghostbane poison.

“Night is falling. Rest up, everyone. Save your strength and prepare to deal with the young demon crab.”

“Brother Ye, I’m not tired yet. I’ll go dig a trap outside the camp!”

...

Dusk descended.

A bonfire crackled in the cave camp. Wang Hu and Yang You had gone outside and dug a pit, hoping to set a trap. The results were less than ideal—without proper digging tools, it was difficult to break through the hard sand and stone. They managed only a shallow pit, half a丈 deep and several feet wide. The chance of trapping the demon crab with such a pit was slim.

They could only smile wryly; after all, their “shovels” were swords. Given the circumstances, this was no small feat. The two of them scattered branches haphazardly over the pit as camouflage.

Afterward, Wang Hu and Yang You took up sentry positions atop the low wooden watchtower, keeping a lookout. Inside the camp, Ye Mo and Mo Ling sat in meditation, regaining their strength and quietly awaiting the coming of night.

Darkness fell, and the jungle on the isolated island grew silent. Only the bonfire’s glow illuminated a radius of thirty feet or so outside the camp, making the atmosphere drowsy and heavy.

“It’s coming!”

Yang You, sharp-eyed, spotted a scuttling shadow in the forest and immediately called out in a low voice, alerting the two inside.

Ye Mo opened his eyes and looked toward the fence. There, a golden young demon crab, as large as a washbasin, was charging through the darkness, drawing within thirty feet of the spiritwood barricade. It was trying to use the cover of night to storm into the camp in one go.

“Get ready!”

“Wang Hu, Yang You—wait for my order before throwing the spiritwood spears.”

“Mo Ling, hold the spiritwood shield and make sure to guard against its water arrows. Leave the defense of the barricade to me!”

Ye Mo gripped the gleaming blue-green sword in his hand, his voice ringing out sharply.

“Got it!”

Wang Hu snapped to full alert, shaking off his drowsiness. Both he and Yang You, each clutching ten spiritwood spears, tensed atop the watchtower.

The young demon crab was now less than twenty feet from the barricade.

Mo Ling, holding the thick shield in both hands, stood at Ye Mo’s side and nodded.

Wang Hu and Yang You gripped their spears tightly, eyes fixed on the crab, their attention unwavering.

“Just one step to the left! One step and it’ll fall right in!” Wang Hu silently prayed, hoping the crab would step into the trap he had dug. The wooden spikes inside, too, were coated with Ghostbane. His aim wasn’t to kill the crab outright, but to poison it, paralyzing it so it would become helpless.

Unfortunately, the trap was too obvious.

The young demon crab didn’t step on it at all.

“It’s going to leap over the barricade!” Ye Mo’s warning had barely left his lips when the crab surged forward, leaping high in an attempt to vault over the ten-foot-tall, sturdy spiritwood fence and break into the camp.

“Double Wave Slash!”

Ye Mo shouted, his sword cutting through the air, sending two gleaming arcs slashing at the crab.

Clang!

The sword struck the crab’s hard shell, sparks bursting in the darkness. The force—over six hundred pounds—sent the crab flying, crashing back outside the fence in a spray of leaves and earth.

Ye Mo’s blade had landed on the crab’s hardest shell, failing to wound it. But the blow enraged the creature even more. Time and again it had attacked Ye Mo, seeking revenge for its severed leg at the beach, but had gained nothing.

The young demon crab righted itself, its massive golden pincers smashing down on the barricade.

Bang!

The spiritwood fence shuddered violently. Each blow left a deep dent, splinters flying. If allowed to continue, it would soon smash a hole big enough to barge into the camp.

Whoosh!

Ye Mo’s heart tightened. Sword flashing, he struck out each time the crab attacked, his blade glancing off its pincers, throwing up sparks and carving fine wounds into its shell. The poison on the sword seeped into these wounds.

To Ye Mo’s astonishment, whether the wounds weren’t deep enough or the crab’s vitality was simply monstrous, it showed no sign of succumbing to the toxin.

“Double Wave Slash! Break for me!”

Seizing his chance, Ye Mo sent two arcs of cold light slicing almost simultaneously at one of the crab’s smaller legs.

Slice!

A frail leg fell, and at last, the deadly poison seeped deep into the wound. The crab felt searing pain and a strange numbness; its limbs grew clumsy, its six remaining legs staggering, unable to steady itself.

Alarmed, the crab realized it was in trouble. It opened its jaws in fury.

Dense water energy gathered rapidly, coalescing into a two-foot-long crystalline arrow in its mouth, eerie and dazzling.

“Not good—it’s using the Water Arrow spell!” Ye Mo was shocked, a dreadful pressure suffocating him.

“Watch out!” Mo Ling rushed forward, shield raised.

Swoosh!

The water arrow shot toward Ye Mo.

Mo Ling charged to intercept, spiritwood shield braced.

Boom!

The arrow struck, spiderwebbing cracks across the thick shield. Mo Ling was driven back five or six steps by the force, collapsing to the ground. Blood surged to her throat, and she coughed up a mouthful.

She glanced at her nearly ruined shield, her face drained of color. “That water arrow was terrifying! It almost shattered the shield. If it had been any thinner, I’d be gravely injured.”

The young demon crab was deeply frustrated; the water arrow it had poured all its energy into had failed to kill Ye Mo. Weakened from the effort, it grew feebler still.

It turned, staggering desperately toward the dark jungle. If it didn’t flee now, it would collapse here forever.

“Fire!” Ye Mo shouted.

On the watchtower, Wang Hu and Yang You snapped from their shock, hurling their spears with all their might.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Spear after spiritwood spear shot out, raining down on the crab outside the camp.

Clang! Clang!

The crab was battered, nearly toppling.

In just a few breaths, the two had hurled all their remaining spears. Even if they couldn’t pierce the shell, the impact left the crab dizzy and disoriented.

“Mo Ling, tend to your wounds! Wang Hu, Yang You—follow me! We can’t let it escape alive!”

Ye Mo rolled to his feet, grabbed a torch, and dashed out of the barricade in pursuit of the fleeing crab.

Wang Hu and Yang You scrambled down from the watchtower, snatched up a few fallen spears, and hurried after.

...

“Poisoned by Ghostbane and still trying to run in such a state?” Ye Mo advanced into the jungle, sword in one hand, torch in the other, not rushing.

He knew the poison would soon sap the crab’s strength entirely, rendering it helpless without further effort on his part.

The crab’s pace slowed, slowed—at last, it collapsed among the bushes, motionless.

“No wonder it’s nearly a first-tier demon beast. Even after such a heavy dose of poison, it’s not dead yet, and managed to crawl this far.”

Ye Mo finally stopped, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Haha! The demon crab is dead! Brother Ye, let’s carry it back!” Wang Hu and Yang You arrived, torches in hand. Seeing the crab sprawled lifelessly, they burst out laughing and rushed forward.

“Don’t go over! Be careful—it could be faking! Stab it with your spears first, make sure it’s really dead!” Ye Mo barked.

Startled, Wang Hu halted at once.

“Right!” he replied, and together with Yang You, jabbed the broken leg wounds with their spears.

After more than a dozen thrusts, the crab showed no response.

“Dead for sure!” Ye Mo nodded.

Wang Hu grinned with delight, and with Yang You, lifted the crab’s massive carcass and hauled it toward the camp.

Ye Mo followed, thinking to himself that the apothecary’s Ghostbane was indeed formidable—even the demon crab had fallen to it. The skills of a poison master were truly remarkable. What a pity he couldn’t recruit the apothecary—if he could, the camp’s strength would soar.