Chapter Seventeen: Fooled by Your Trick

Li Yunfei donned his helmet and armor, gripping two Corrosive Ant Leg Blades, and strode toward a sand pit. The greatest advantage of the Earth Oxen instance was that monsters could be fought one at a time, unlike the Ant Nest instance, where swarms descended all at once.

The little fox leapt from Li Yunfei’s shoulder, transforming into a streak of red lightning as she darted toward the rim of the sand pit. Now at level eight, the fox’s strength and agility had been significantly enhanced. Foxes are naturally swift, capable of reaching speeds of forty-five kilometers per hour. At full sprint, Red was so fast that even Li Yunfei doubted he could catch her in a car.

“Yip yip yip—” The fox stood at the edge of the sand pit and let out a series of sharp barks toward the hollow below. Soon, Li Yunfei felt the sand trembling, and the fox spun around and ran back, only to turn again after a short distance and call out a few more times.

Moments later, a giant Earth Oxen emerged from the pit, its shoulder nearly two meters high and its body over three meters long. Ordinary Earth Oxen were too small for humans to discern their full form with the naked eye, but magnified many times over, they appeared utterly monstrous. Its body was dark brown, spindle-shaped, with a smaller head and forechest, a developed mid- and hind-chest, and a swollen belly. Hard, knobby bristles covered its skin, its head was flat, and at the front, a pair of inward-curving mandibles resembled barbed scythes.

Those mandibles were half a meter long; if clamped down, they could sever a body in an instant. Its bristles were like a forest of sharp spikes—being pinned beneath its massive body would spell a gruesome end.

The Earth Oxen charged straight toward Li Yunfei and the fox. Normally, they moved in circles, retreating as they used their bellies as plows to overturn sand, then flung loosened sand out of the pit with their mandibles before burying themselves backward. But the fox’s aggro skill had enraged the Earth Oxen, sending it into an aggressive state—no retreat now.

Li Yunfei had faced even larger Ant Queens before, so he hardly feared this inferior Earth Oxen. Its head and neck were much smaller than its body, sharing the same weakness as ants. Moreover, it lacked a chitin shell, making its defenses far weaker than soldier ants. Aside from being larger and stronger, with greater damage output than level five ant monsters, it had no other advantage. No matter how powerful its attacks, if it couldn’t land a hit, it was pointless.

Dealing with insect-type monsters that had trouble turning was something Li Yunfei was well practiced at. As he and the Earth Oxen were about to collide, and its mandibles snapped open, Li Yunfei pushed off the ground and leaped toward its flank. With his current strength and agility, he cleared over three meters, landing directly at its side.

He raised his black, jagged Corrosive Ant Leg Blade and slashed at the Earth Oxen’s neck.

A deep wound, two inches wide, was carved out as the blade’s potent ant acid poison began to corrode the injury, spreading rapidly around the site. The blow took about a third of the Earth Oxen’s health bar, but the bar continued to drop steadily.

The beast began thrashing and rolling wildly, sand flying everywhere in a terrifying spectacle. Li Yunfei retreated to a safe distance, observing without approaching or sending the fox to lure another monster. He wanted to see just how deadly the blade’s poison was—could it kill a level seven instance monster outright?

The result didn’t disappoint him. About twenty seconds later, the Earth Oxen’s head fell off, its health bar wiped clean. The corrosive poison had severed its head completely. After a moment, the neck beneath the head had nearly vanished, the cavity eaten away, and only then did the corrosive effect subside.

Li Yunfei took a deep breath, examining the barbed, pitch-black, wickedly curved blade in his hand with satisfaction. This Corrosive Ant Leg Blade was terrifyingly effective against non-ant creatures.

Excellent. Powerful.

With a crash, the Earth Oxen exploded into a pile of coins—some of one unit, some of half, some of a tenth. Li Yunfei gathered them all, finding a total of three units and eight tenths. Opening his character panel, he saw that the Earth Oxen had granted him 1.6% experience. It seemed meager, but it was a result of farming monsters above his level; if they were of equal level, he’d gain about 2%. Not all Earth Oxen were the same size; the larger ones would surely give more experience.

Without further delay, Li Yunfei and the fox worked together to dispatch the Earth Oxen one by one. Though these monsters were higher level than ants, Li Yunfei found them easier to farm. Partly, it was because he’d grown far stronger with leveling up; partly, his weapon was simply superb.

Each Earth Oxen took a little over half a minute to kill, but Li Yunfei only needed one or two strikes. From drawing out an Earth Oxen to killing it took just over two minutes, but Li Yunfei felt no strain at all.

The only issue was that the fox’s throat took a beating, and she needed plenty of water. In this desert environment, body moisture evaporated quickly; every fifteen minutes or so, she needed a drink. Though it was June, and the temperature was only twenty-seven or twenty-eight degrees, after shrinking to the size of a grain of rice, the ground felt like it was at least forty or fifty degrees—like a real desert.

Fortunately, Li Yunfei had brought ample water. Over a dozen bottles of mineral water were stashed in his system inventory—more than two hundred liters, enough to survive eight or ten days even in a real desert.

He slew over a dozen Earth Oxen in succession, all of which exploded into coins and medicines.

The medicines dropped by the Earth Oxen were of two types: “Ant Lion Powder” and “Sleep Draught.”

Ant Lion Powder: Effects include promoting urination, treating malaria, softening and dissolving hard masses, drawing out toxins and corrosion, and are indicated for sand-induced urinary issues, malaria, abdominal lumps, lymphatic tuberculosis, chronic ulcers, and kidney stones; it’s especially effective at neutralizing narcotic medicines.

Sleep Draught: Suppresses sweat gland activity, anesthetizes nerves, relaxes muscles, induces deep sleep, rendering one unaware even when struck by blades or axes; Ant Lion Powder can neutralize its effects.

When Li Yunfei first picked up the Sleep Draught, he was baffled—why would Earth Oxen drop such an item? Only after consulting the system help did he understand.

This was the difference between instance monsters and normal insects.

According to “Supplement to Herbal Records”: Earth Oxen are poisonous, lethal to birds and beasts, used with hunting traps. They live in sand and stone, burrow in spiral holes, their larvae are bean-sized, with spined backs, capable of moving backward, also called “backward dog.” Sleep-loving by nature, also called “sleep bug.”

Indeed, Earth Oxen are inherently poisonous and known as sleep bugs. The system, based on that trait, made the instance monsters drop Sleep Draught—a medicine matching their characteristics.

So be it! When it came to the Godslayer System, Li Yunfei was now thoroughly convinced of its uncanny ways.