novelraw Chapter 448: Three-Person Cooperation
Chapter 448: Three-Person Cooperation
"So cute, little crabs!!"
A small blue flower of interest popped up above Fen's head as she looked at the red little crab by Chen Qi's feet.
Though it looked like a "red little crab" on the surface, in reality it was not a true crab.
It had a round, plump red shell and two giant claws held high!
And held between those raised giant claws was a massive heavy spear that looked like a giant nail.
However, despite wielding such extravagant heavy weaponry, its body was absurdly tiny and completely lacked killing power.
Its appearance was like a beefed-up slime.
Already letting me down so quickly... An gazed longingly at the tentacles behind Chen Qi.
Although she had fought countless battles on the sea, she had never experienced being bound by tentacles.
"What species is this?"An curiously leaned in.
Within the near seas she had never seen such a peculiar red crab.
So small, super cute!
She crouched down to try to examine the red crab's structure.
"Uu!"
The red crab lifted its massive spear and pointed it at An, signaling her to stay away.
"Wow~"
An flinched.
Cute as it looked, its temper was extremely fierce.
"This spear can't pierce me at all—"
"Ha!!!"
The little red crab roared.
To An's surprise, the tiny red crab suddenly thrust its long spear toward the sky.
That strike seemed poised to pierce the heavens!
"Missed!"
An playfully put her hands behind her back and easily sidestepped the tiny red crab.
But in the next instant, an enormous storm and seawater coalesced along that huge spear, forming the head of a giant dragon—
A dragon-roar storm!
That immense force directly tore the ground apart, sending up layers of shattered stone!
Whoosh—
The wind raced by!
Boom!
An widened her eyes in disbelief as she looked at the massive wall.
The giant nail-spear had smashed into the wall, carving out countless spirals!
Rumble rumble—
The whole wall was instantly turned into a spiral top pattern!
Dust blew by—
So strong... An looked down at the red little crab beneath her feet.
Such a tiny creature actually possessed such terrifying power!
"Uu! Ha!"
The little red crab brandished its spear and aimed at the dragon lantern on Chen Qi's Ember's Touch.
Hmm? A flicker of puzzlement passed through Chen Qi's eyes.
He could vaguely read the crab's intent.
In simple terms: "Intruder! Return the dragon lantern to us!"
"Interesting!"
Chen Qi felt a sliver of curiosity toward the inconspicuous little crab before him.
First, a small crab could hide its spiritual energy well enough to fool the injured An.
Second, under his Deep Sea Affinity charm, this clear-minded red little crab actually dared to resist!
His Deep Sea Affinity rarely failed on smaller creatures.
Yet this red little crab was trying to attack him.
To these red crabs, that dragon lantern was their sacred treasure, the source of all their food, their world's sun!
Anyone who steals the sun cannot be forgiven, no matter how noble or beautiful they are!
In short, these little red crabs ignored appearance — for their sun, they disregarded the overwhelming charm of Deep Sea Affinity.
Not to mention, they had also harmed the Black Lantern Dragon.
"Want it? The dragon lantern?"
Chen Qi taunted, raising the dragon lantern high on his Ember's Touch and shaking it.
"It's mine now!"
The red crabs instantly blushed even deeper, like steaming sweet potatoes.
"Ha-wu! (Intruders! Unforgivable!)"
"Ha-wu! (You must not abduct the Black Lantern Dragon! It is our guardian god!)"
"Bring it on then."
Chen Qi grinned.
His flock just happened to be missing a squad of fast special forces.
Swipe!
Unforgivable, stealing the dragon lantern and capturing the Black Lantern Dragon!
In the next moment, spear-wielding little red crab soldiers darted through the cave, weaving around Chen Qi from front, back, left, right, even below, launching an all-out assault—
"Ha-wu!! (Godslaying battle!)"
"Ha-wu!!! (For the dragon lantern!!!!)"
With a determined will to die, two hundred little red crabs leapt into the air and struck en masse!
The spiral storm condensed on their nail-spears produced a terrifying shockwave.
"Whoosh—"
An watched the scene and prepared to retreat, but in the next instant she felt bone-cracking pain in her right leg.
The massive spiral storm had shredded the bandages on her leg—
"Run!!!"
Fen swung her staff and summoned a thick Queen Vine from the ground, forcefully yanking An to safety.
"……"
An was hoisted up by the vine and glanced down.
Fen clenched her teeth, angry:
"What are you staring at! Even we might not be able to handle those little crabs!"
The feeling of being wrapped by vines wasn't bad... An looked at Fen and softly said:
"Thanks."
Fen lifted her head and looked at the injured An, tilting her head as she said:
"Next time, if you're in this kind of danger, I won't save you!"
"……"
The two retreated and looked toward Chen Qi at the center of the battlefield.
Under the relentless charges of the red crab soldiers, a gigantic spiral sphere had formed at the center!
Chen Qi stood at the eye of the storm!
The little red crabs kept stabbing him, driving him into the storm's center.
They actually knew tactics... An and Fen were stunned.
Slash!
Blood splashed—
In the next instant, a nail-spear actually tore Chen Qi's ear—
"Qi…"
Fen worried visibly, frowning.
These little red crabs could wound him!
But unlike Fen, a wild smile pulled at Chen Qi's lips.
Interesting!
The fact that they could injure him meant these little red crabs were worthy of being tamed beasts!
The stronger they were, the stronger he would become!
Let's see your limits!
Chen Qi endured the battlefield's concentrated fire in the center, then his Ember's Touch at his back fully unfurled—
"Ember's Bloom!!!"
"Sacrifice My Flesh and Blood!!!!"
For Chen Qi now, Sacrifice My Flesh and Blood was no longer a Release but an ordinary skill.
A monster covered in blood-red tentacles roared wildly in the storm.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Amid the terrible sounds, a little red crab with a cracked shell fell at Fen's feet.
Looks painful... Fen turned her head, unable to watch the scene with ease.
Such cute little red crabs were being mercilessly pounded by Chen Qi!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Five minutes later, the enormous storm subsided.
Many tiny red crabs lay miserably on the ground, their weapons scattered and making pitiful noises.
"How tragic..."
Fen swallowed. Since Chen Qi's ascent to Saint, his combat power was now far beyond her reach.
"Is that it?"
Chen Qi stretched his limbs, hearing satisfying cracks.
Though he hadn't been fully satisfied or pushed to trigger his Release "Crimson Form",
there was no denying these little red crabs were already strong!
If they cooperated and received some training, they might even defeat a Coastal Apex Predator.
"Alright, they should be capturable now."
Chen Qi crouched down.
He had deliberately held back in every move, leaving the little crabs alive.
He squatted and carefully inspected the little red crabs, prying open a shell slightly.
Inside the red shell, a round body with bright red eyes curled inward.
"Ha-wu (Don't look at me!)"
The little red crab cried in fear.
An bit her finger in surprise and exclaimed:
"Wait! These are little pearl beasts!"
"Little pearl beasts?"
Chen Qi looked puzzled.
An explained:
"They're creatures like the Golden Fish and are also symbols of luck. It is said that consuming a little pearl can grant agility and stealth."
"On the near seas, only fishermen blessed by the Goddess of Luck can obtain a little pearl beast."
"However, the little pearl beasts right now are absurdly strong, probably mutated..."
An said.
These red little crabs were already capable of slaughtering abnormal monsters in the Fog Sea.
A rare species like the Golden Fish... Chen Qi looked down at the red crabs at his feet.
There were two hundred little pearl beasts here.
Chen Qi rubbed his chin.
So originally these were pearl creatures hidden in shells.
Through the dragon lantern's deep-sea power, they had reinforced their shells into powerful blood-red dragon armor and ultimately transformed into two hundred formidable crab soldiers!
"Now we should be able to capture them successfully."
Chen Qi reached out.
Blue chains began to appear over the little crabs in front of him.
[You are capturing Little Pearl Beast (Dragon Lantern Enhanced).]
[The Little Pearl Beast hates you;
you stole their dragon lantern and took their sun...]
[But your power is so great, great enough to enslave the whole tribe!]
[Your charm is so high! They cannot resist—]
[Damn it!
(〃＞皿＜)!!
[Looks like following you is not bad.]
[Now, you are their sun!]
[Capture successful.]
[You have captured Little Pearl Beast (Dragon Lantern Enhanced): This pet is extremely special, capable of producing lucky Deep Sea Pearls (consumable directly to boost agility and stealth, or used to make potions;
each can produce 20 Deep Sea Power.)]
20 Deep Sea Power plus Deep Sea Pearls!
Even many giant beasts cannot produce 20 Deep Sea Power!
Two hundred little pearl beasts amount to a full 4,000 Deep Sea Power.
That's enough for him to use Hound Form forty times!
Each of these little crabs, in rarity, was comparable to an unevolved strong Coastal Apex Predator.
Chen Qi did not hesitate and immediately harvested them.
[You have completed the harvest, obtained a Deep Black Pearl—]
A deep black pearl instantly landed in his hand.
Chen Qi looked at the jet-black pearl.
Even as a fifth-tier Transcendent, he could still feel the special great power contained in the Deep Sea Pearl.
However, once reaching the Saint stage, most enhancement potions no longer affected a Saint's body.
Chen Qi handed the pearl to Fen and asked:
"Fen, can this thing be made into a Sage-Level potion?"
Fen took the pearl and examined it carefully:
"Combine it with wind-beast blood and abyss-beast blood, then buy some stealth-faced monster skins in Moonstone City, and you should be able to create a Sage-Level potion that strengthens agility and stealth..."
"Hmm, Qi, this potion will be useful for you!"
Fen nodded confidently.
So many pearls were already comparable to the Moonlight Grass they encountered with Chen Qi in the Dragonflower Archipelago.
They could be used to make... Chen Qi swallowed and felt joy.
After promotion to Saint, a huge amount of materials were required.
However, most materials could not meet their needs.
He already had Titan blood from harvesting the Twelve-Tentacles, which could strengthen his constitution and power.
And now the Deep Sea Pearls could enhance his agility and stealth!
The Book Saint's inspiration archive could also boost his inspiration stat!
Combine all these attributes and he would quickly become a Saint-level pentagonal stat monster, a numbers beast among numbers beasts!
The only pity was that he had not yet obtained the Shepherd's Lamp and could not build a true flock.
Once the Book Saint finished the preliminary construction of the rift workshop, he could build his own ranch.
Also, currently only Fen could craft Sage-Level potions!
But research into Black Whale Blood also needed Fen!
They were short-handed.
These two tasks caused significant conflict.
On the sea, there were few qualified to research the black-blood antidote.
Little Crow, Fen, the Black Death Doctor, the Blood Demon Doctor...
One of the Blood Demon Doctors had already been executed by Chen Qi himself.
Next up, Fen would have a hard time... Chen Qi thought inwardly.
So many materials were enough for Fen to make a large batch of Sage-Level potions.
Chen Qi handed all the potion materials he had collected during this period to Fen.
Fen accepted the materials, set them down, and patted her chest:
"Leave it to me! Qi, this witch will handle all of this!"
"But I still need you, Qi, to go collect some auxiliary materials."
To mass-produce Titan potions and Sage-Level agility potions, besides these main materials, they needed large amounts of auxiliary materials.
Fen did not have the spare time to gather those extras.
Although only auxiliary, collecting them was far more difficult than imagined.
Without her, who knows what would happen to Chen Qi's potions?
After saying that, Fen wiped her nose again and looked proudly at An, a smug smile on her lips.
Compared to a Grand Sage-level pharmacist like her, An's contribution was much smaller!
Much smaller than her!
Why does that sound hostile? An turned her head and thought:
"Hmm... To cultivate Saint-level power and prepare for war, the Book Tower also needs many materials.
Over a hundred years, the Book Tower has accumulated a lot of herbs.
If I can supply some materials and trade with them to exchange for main materials for Sage potions, it shouldn't be a problem."
An produced her pigeon-mailbox card.
As the Book Tower's current "de facto ruler," quick trades to collect auxiliary materials were no problem.
She stepped beside Fen:
"Miss Flower Witch, if you need any herbs, you can tell me directly. I'm willing to be your assistant."
"Assistant, can you really do it?"
Fen turned her head, skeptical.
"I'm professional."
An looked up confidently.
"……"
Chen Qi watched Fen and An.
Back when he and Fen had struggled, it took them great effort to complete a Sage potion.
Now his flock provided the main materials, Fen handled crafting, and An took care of auxiliary materials and chores.
With the three dividing work, mass production of Sage-Level potions could become a reality!
With these potions, becoming a stat monster would be only a matter of time... Chen Qi swallowed and looked at the little red crabs whose contracts were not yet complete.
Capturing pets these days had consumed a lot of his spiritual energy.
He needed to replenish it... Chen Qi rubbed his hands excitedly:
"Fen, wait a moment, next I'll contract all these precious little crabs!"