C9 Peacock Mantis Shrimp

After stepping out, Xiao Hao scanned his surroundings.

At the three o'clock position, it was time to hunt the Peacock Mantis Shrimp. Charge!

Can you stop joking? The streamer can't see our chat.

So what if I, the King of Mouths, am calling the shots? Mind your own business.

A smile played at the corners of Xiao Hao's eyes.

Ah, that's right.

He can't see it.

Props to the King of Mouths.

Xiao Hao casually made his way toward the three o'clock direction.

Ha, watch this! I'm in charge of directing the streamer.

Talk about dumb luck.

That's a distance of over a kilometer. Even if he's got the direction right, there's no way he could cover that ground.

With the King of Mouths' guidance, the streamer's got this!

Oh, he's definitely got it, huh? Heh, I'll just sit back and watch you show off.

Anyone would veer off course without landmarks over such a distance.

Hahaha, see? I told you the streamer wouldn't make it!

Streamer, a bit to the right, just a bit to the right!

It's hopeless. You think you can claim the Peacock Mantis Shrimp that easily?

I need to focus harder! Streamer, I'm telepathically nudging you, to the right!

Xiao Hao didn't immediately change course.

He didn't want the viewers from Alien Land to catch on that he could see their comments.

Telepathy? Aren't we being a bit too juvenile?

That infantile formula suits you perfectly.

The anonymous viewers continued their taunts, but just as the King of Mouths was about to throw in the towel, Xiao Hao spotted a massive boulder ahead.

Surely he wasn't going to plow straight into it?

So, Xiao Hao naturally veered onto the correct path.

???

Hahaha, I said I could lead, and look at that!

Heh, you didn't see it?

If your eyes are just for show, you might as well donate them.

It took half an hour, but Xiao Hao finally reached the location mentioned in the chat and quickly located the Peacock Mantis Shrimp.

To Xiao Hao's amazement, the creature resembled an ultimate evolved version of a prawn.

It measured roughly four meters in length and stood two meters tall, its shell gleaming like emerald. True to its name, the tail's green hues faded into black and gold, bordered by sapphire blue and adorned with red diamond stripes.

Its limbs, numbering over a dozen pairs, were like they had been crafted from red diamonds. At the front of its head sprouted two soft, branched, and scaled tentacles, while beneath its head dangled two massive emerald appendages akin to a praying mantis's arms.

Xiao Hao's heart skipped a beat at the sight of this formidable and majestic wild monster.

With a single step, the Peacock Mantis Shrimp brandished its razor-sharp mantis scythes, reminiscent of the Grim Reaper's own. A mere prod from the creature was enough to cleave the earth and stones into rubble.

Unnoticed by the beast, Xiao Hao, upon assessing the situation, concluded that the monster could dispatch him with ease.

Left with no choice, Xiao Hao instructed the Shadow Hippocampus to find cover, abandoning any pretense of honor in combat.

The dark aura that shrouded the mantis shrimp was immediately detected by the creature. Its scythe-like tentacles whipped through the air with the finesse of a master fencer, slicing through plant and stone so swiftly that their remnants could barely keep pace with the lingering shadows of its strikes.

Xiao Hao felt the sea horse's anxiety spike; the crisis warning flashed like a red alert.

Within the Dark Domain, the Shadow Vanishing technique granted not only complete invisibility but also a burst of speed. Even so, the urgency signaled by the black shadow was alarmingly intense—this mantis shrimp's power was off the charts!

The slashes around the mantis shrimp grew denser, sending shivers down Xiao Hao's spine from his position eight or nine meters away.

A warning flashed on the game panel hovering in the void—the Shadow Hippocampus was on the brink of exhaustion.

Confronted with a wild monster of such unfathomable might, Xiao Hao knew better than to court death.

He scrutinized the mantis shrimp's attack radius and soon discovered a vulnerability—the scythe tentacles struggled to reach the ground beneath its limbs.

Xiao Hao covertly directed the sea horses to the creature's blind spot, right below it. As the alert on the panel vanished, he wiped the cold sweat from his brow with a sigh of relief.

After flailing for some time, the mantis shrimp realized it couldn't hit the elusive "mouse" within the shadows. Save for the ground beneath its feet, it had reduced everything in its vicinity to shreds.

It paused, then lifted its limbs, which ended in spear-like points, and plunged them fiercely into the earth.

Forced to abandon their "safe zone," the sea horses scattered as the ground was furiously perforated by the spears, with the mantis scythes continuing their deadly dance. Xiao Hao's panel flashed with warnings once more.

The Shadow Vanishing technique rendered its user invisible and weightless.

Its strikes were ferocious, yet at least it wouldn't turn on its caster, right?

Xiao Hao swiftly commanded the Shadow Hippocampi to take cover on the creature's armored back.

Minutes passed, and the mantis shrimp began to gasp for breath.

Unable to detect the tiny creatures, but accustomed to the horrors of the deep, it suspected they might be clinging to its back!

Crimson Rcss Tentacles lashed out suddenly, reminiscent of Kaneki's kagune in "Tokyo Ghoul," thrashing violently against its own back.

Thanks to the jade-like armor's freakish defense, the tentacle's blows were merely an annoyance. However, Xiao Hao, monitoring the game panel, felt his heart lurch with fear.

The health bars of four seahorses had nearly been depleted!

Once again, the seahorses had to rely on the swift shadows of the aurora to evade the onslaught.

The mantis shrimp unleashed even more Rcss Tentacles, relentlessly whipping and stabbing, including at itself.

This time, the assault was a true 360-degree barrage, leaving no safe haven for hiding!

Straying from the protective dark aura to be spotted was tantamount to a death wish.

Xiao Hao forced himself to stay cool. If picking a fight with the mantis shrimp was a death wish, the constant prompts on the bullet screen wouldn't be nudging him towards this challenge.

So, what was the key to victory?

"Go for it, streamer, I believe in you!"

"There's no such thing as an invincible monster in Beginner Village, go get 'em!"

"You all clamor for the streamer to tame it, yet you don't have a clue how to beat it yourselves."

"Come on! He can't see the chat; it's not like we're the ones directing him."

Xiao Hao's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

In these decisive moments, he knew he could only count on himself.

He strained to overlook the red alerts flashing on the game panel, his mind racing.

As the mantis shrimp sprouted more Rcss Tentacles, the panel's warnings grew more urgent, pressing Xiao Hao for action.

Hurry!

Find a solution, fast!

The seahorses are at their limit!

Watching the blur of Rcss Tentacles, a cold sweat trickled down Xiao Hao's temples.

What do I do now?

The 'shrimp' in the game and real-life shrimp couldn't be more different! Their tentacles were so numerous they resembled creatures from a horror movie. How was he supposed to defeat them, let alone bind them?

Xiao Hao had just finished his internal rant when a spark of inspiration flickered through his mind.

Tentacles...

Binding...

His pupils dilated as he seized the ephemeral idea!

Xiao Hao immediately shut his eyes, transmitting the intricate dodging pattern to the seahorses.

Thanks to the bond, players and their guardians had developed a degree of telepathic connection.

Commonly referred to as a meeting of the minds.

He had imparted the strategy to the seahorses.

Now, all that was left was to trust in them, to trust in his guardians.

The mantis shrimp, flailing its limbs, quickly spotted a seahorse materializing and sent its tentacles whipping towards it. Struck by the attack, the seahorse vanished into a shadow once more.

Having a strategy didn't guarantee proficiency in its execution.

The seahorses had blundered.

Luring with a visible form wasn't a task for the gravely wounded seahorses.

With five seahorses severely injured, they were down to three attempts.

One by one, they could be easily picked off. Xiao Hao directed the seahorses, ready to risk it all!

Everything hinged on this moment!

Suddenly, three seahorses emerged around the mantis shrimp, sending it into disarray with their unexpected angles.

It maneuvered its Rcss Tentacles to strike at each seahorse, but as the tentacles thrust forward, the seahorses had already transformed into dark silhouettes.

Their tactic had thrown off its rhythm!

Xiao Hao pressed the advantage!

As the mantis shrimp struggled to regroup, the three seahorses reappeared!

Having been worn down for over ten minutes, the mantis shrimp's vitality was waning, and it grew desperate. It lashed out with its Rcss Tentacles once more.

Xiao Hao repeated his successful maneuver, slowing the tentacles' assault. The seahorses were getting the hang of the technique, and even the badly injured ones occasionally manifested to divert the mantis shrimp's focus.

Eight seahorses coordinated their attack, and the mantis shrimp quickly found itself tangled into a fuzzy ball.

In that moment, it was thoroughly bewildered.

It had extended too many tentacles, which now resembled a chaotic tangle of threads, knotted together.

Panicked, the mantis shrimp tried to extricate its tentacles, but no matter how hard it tried, they remained stubbornly entwined.

Xiao Hao, motivated by a spirit of helpfulness, had tied more than a few secure knots.

The mantis shrimp gulped seawater, gasping as if catching its breath.

Its body quivered, the once vibrant emerald hue of its carapace fading to a dull luster.

The darkness had been eating away at it for far too long.

True, it was several levels above the seahorse, but it couldn't endure the prolonged blood loss.

With a resolute spirit, the mantis shrimp mustered its strength and, wielding its emerald scythe, severed all of its tentacles in a desperate bid for survival!

As the tentacles broke apart, blood spewed like red ink dispersing in water—a testament to its agony.

The mantis shrimp's will to live struck a chord in Xiao Hao's heart.

But apologies were due.

Xiao Hao couldn't afford to let it escape.

The mantis shrimp's offense and defense were formidable, yet it couldn't match the seahorse's speed.

No matter how it thrashed, the dark aura clung to it like a persistent shadow.

At last, the mantis shrimp collapsed with a thunderous crash, its final glimmer of light completely devoured by the darkness.

A prompt for binding appeared on the game's interface, and only then did Xiao Hao notice he was soaked through with sweat.

Holding back his thrill, Xiao Hao promptly initiated the binding!

Now with his first warrior in tow, he had stepped into a new phase of the survival game. Confronting the Deep Sea Phantom, he was no longer at the whims of specters!