"The electric whip monsters are just a bunch of minions!" Sora said to Alan. "The real scourge of the swamp is a shrubbery!"
The shrubbery...
Alan had heard about this creature from Mentor Pantheon.
It was said to be very similar to the killer vine in every way, only larger and more ferocious.
Alan had never seen a shrubbery, but he had encountered the killer vine more than once.
For example, Hubert's disciple, Pat, in his second-level atavistic form, was a killer vine.
So, he was quite familiar with this type of plant.
"Teacher Sora, the Killer Vine is slow and lacks ranged attack capabilities, and I imagine the Shamblers are similar."
"Try to lure it ashore. Even if you're alone, it shouldn't be difficult to take it out with a bow and arrow, right?"
"If only it were as simple as you say!" Sora shook his head and sighed. "The Shamblers are indeed clumsy and slow, and not good at ranged attacks! But these monsters are naturally armored to the bone, and lack any vital weaknesses. My bow and arrows can barely penetrate their defenses!"
"Even hypnotic arrows won't work?" Alan asked.
"My silly child! Shamblers are living plants. Have you ever seen a plant that can be hypnotized?!" Sora smiled wryly.
"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Teacher, by your lack of knowledge."
Alan scratched his head and continued to think of a solution.
"Bows and arrows don't work, so how about setting traps? Like, place a boulder on the slope and let it roll down and crush it."
"I've tried every trap you can think of. Several times, I've inflicted significant damage on the shambling monster and nearly killed it, but then..."
"What happened next?" Alan demanded.
"Then it recovered to full health!" Sora stamped his foot in anger.
"Shambling monsters, they don't have the ability to heal themselves, do they?" Alan wondered.
"They don't, but they have a special ability to absorb electrical energy and convert it into their own life force!"
Sora revealed the answer.
"This swamp is teeming with electric whip monsters!"
"For some reason, the electric whip monsters and the shambling monsters have formed a strange symbiotic relationship."
"The electric whip monsters hunt wild animals to feed the shambling monsters, and the shambling monsters provide shelter for the electric whip monsters, helping them fight against powerful enemies."
"If they encounter an opponent that the shambling monsters can't defeat, the electric whip monsters will follow them."
"The electric whip monsters surround the shambling monsters, discharging electricity, effectively replenishing its health and healing it!"
"With so many electric whip monsters surrounding them, the shambling monsters are practically immortal. What do you think I should do?!"
Sora shrugged and spread his hands, his face filled with helplessness.
Alan finally understood.
Shambling monsters, with their own group of electric whip monster minions.
It's like a boss with a group of nurses around him. That's definitely going to be tough to deal with.
The electric whip monsters are weak, but their numbers make killing them all nearly impossible.
There's only one shambling monster, but it's being fed by countless other electric whip monsters. Unless you kill it instantly, there's no hope of killing it.
The shambling monster's strength is equivalent to that of a late-stage second-tier monster.
Even if Allen unleashes his strongest martial art, "Thunderbolt Blast Wave," he can't kill it instantly.
How can Sora break free from this predicament?
Alan gazed at the swamp, lost in thought.
At that moment, a whirlpool suddenly formed on the surface of the water.
Several unusually thick vines emerged.
Soon after, the shambling monster's true form was revealed.
The monster resembled a dark green, humanoid bush.
The portion above the water alone was three meters tall.
The wet branches were festooned with waterweed and the remains of fish and shrimp. A sickening, rotten odor emanated from its entire body!
The Shambling Thing moved its roots, waded through the muddy water, and slowly made its way to the shore.
The electric whip monsters also grew excited.
They gathered around the towering Shambling Thing, like infantry advancing in tandem with a tank.
Alan's left palm erupted with bone spurs.
He waited until the distance between them closed to about ten meters before raising his left hand and pointing forward.
Using the tiny amount of shock spores secreted by the bone spurs on his palm as a source of material, he unleashed "Poison Spray"!
Puff!
A massive torrent of spores erupted from Alan's palm, like a golden torrent!
Instantly, it swept across the ten-meter area ahead.
Within this area, all the electric whip monsters infected by the spores were shocked.
Instantly, they all fell into a collective trance!
The electric whip monster's mental attributes weren't high; it couldn't even withstand Sora's hypnotic arrows, so how could it possibly withstand the mental shock of a Level 5 spore?
The electric whip monster, after all, was still flesh and blood.
The shambling monster was a supernatural plant, naturally immune to shock!
The minions around him were collectively stunned...
The shambling monster was furious!
Two python-like vines snaked along the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the vines crawled to Alan, wrapping around his legs and pulling him back.
Alan could have dodged, but he refused to move.
The spell he cast to temporarily control the electric whip monster was precisely to create an opportunity to confront the shambling monster face to face!
Now, the moment had arrived.
Using the force of the vines, Alan suddenly leaped to his feet.
Dragging two vines, he instantly soared ten meters into the air, his figure like a nimble falcon, swooping down on the shrubbery!
With a puff, he slammed into the shrubbery's arms, his body entangled in dense branches and vines, seemingly buried alive.
The shrubbery had never seen such a foolish prey in its life!
Throwing himself into its arms, looking for death, huh?!
The shrubbery was a typical carnivorous plant. Atop its trunk, hidden beneath its branches and leaves, lay a massive mouth!
The inside of its mouth was covered in dense, varying lengths of wooden spikes—its teeth!
The shrubbery lowered its head and grinned, ready to devour its prey.
The young man in its arms suddenly broke free from the vines, raised his arms, and thrust them into its mouth.
Fresh meat delivered to your door—wouldn't it be a waste not to eat it?
The shambling monster bit down viciously!
Crack!
Most of the shambling monster's fangs shattered instantly!
The boy's strong arms were as strong as cast iron!
The shambling monster's sharp teeth, equivalent to a level 1 enchanted weapon, couldn't even inflict a scratch on Allen's arm.
The arms, thrust into the shambling monster's mouth, simultaneously unleashed magical power.
Bone-piercing explosion!
A roar shook the swamp!
In the distant rainforest, startled birds scrambled to take flight.
Above the treetops, they circled in a flock, floating like clouds.
Bone-piercing explosion, a negative-range bombardment!
The shambling monster's solid yet resilient wooden armor crumbled in an instant.
The entire head was shattered!
Any other monster would have been killed by a headshot.
However, the Shambling Thing wasn't dead yet.
The feeding organs of plants, like the pitcher plant's trap, aren't fatal.
The same is true for the Shambling Thing.
The mouth only looks like a face; it's actually a specialized external organ, a branch.
Being headshot by Alan's fists was like having a branch severed.
The injury was severe, but not fatal.
The vines still clung to Alan tightly.
Meanwhile, some of the Electric Whip Monsters had broken free from their shock and were desperately crawling towards where Alan and the Shambling Thing were fighting.
They tried to use electricity to heal the Shambling Thing, and in the process, shock the human boy trapped in the vines.
"Olvar!"
Sora hurriedly unleashed his "Entanglement" spell, creating a blanket of vines to prevent the Electric Whip Monsters from reaching Alan and the Shambling Thing. Without pause, he continuously released arrows from his vine bow.
The hypnotic arrows, one after another, pierced the electric whip monster as it began to move.
The electric whip monster, trapped by its "entanglement spell," was no fool.
Since it couldn't get close to the shroud monster, it simply grounded its tentacles and discharged electricity directly into the ground!
The muddy water on the ground was an excellent conductor.
Dozens of electric whip monsters discharged electricity simultaneously, crackling and scattering silver snakes along the water's surface!
The shroud monster, nourished by the current flowing through the muddy water, was slowly recovering.
The head that had been shattered by Allen was also regrowing.
Sora, far away, was affected by the electric shock.
Pain, accompanied by a strong numbness, rapidly traveled upwards along his feet, which were in the water.
In a blink of an eye, his entire body went numb, unable to draw his bow or release his arrows.
She was more worried about Alan's current situation than her own.
A pair of emerald eyes stared at Alan, overflowing with anxiety!
However, as she watched with near despair...
Alan, buried beneath the shroud, suddenly expanded dramatically!
A second-order atavism!
In an instant, Alan's height doubled.
His volume increased eightfold, surpassing the shroud!
His majestic frame burst through his clothes, severing the vines entwined around him.
From his initial position of being held by the shroud, he shifted his offensive stance, suppressing it.
"Get up!"
With a furious roar, Alan exerted force with both arms, uprooting the shroud!