Chapter 7: If I Can't Beat Them, Can't I Resort to Poison?!

Now the Iron Lizard Dagger had gained an additional effect, and after examining the skill it carried, Wang Chen realized that for an assassin, this was truly a top-tier weapon.

Therefore, even if the dagger didn't quite fit his own class path, he could still sell it for a handsome sum.

“I've struck it rich! Truly rich!” he whispered in excitement.

After his jubilant celebration, Wang Chen finally remembered he still had a system quest to complete—fortunately, it had no time limit.

He carefully reviewed his quest target once more, recalling his recent battle with the Ironback Lizard. His own level was still too low; though he could contend with silver-rank beasts, it was by no means easy.

He realized his quest target was the Six-Tailed Venom Centipede King, a level 16 monster, and its lair would certainly be deep within a nest of other centipedes. When the time came, he wouldn’t be facing a single foe, but rather a swarm of venomous centipedes attacking as one.

“I need to find a way to isolate the Centipede King from the others!”

Staring at the Ironback Lizard’s corpse, inspiration struck him like lightning.

It didn’t take Wang Chen long to locate the gathering place of the Six-Tailed Venom Centipedes. At present, he was lying hidden in the grass, observing carefully.

Ahead lay a clearing, behind which yawned the entrance to the centipedes’ lair. Strewn across the clearing were four Ironback Lizard carcasses Wang Chen had dragged over, their bodies radiating a pungent, bloody scent.

He knew that while this odor was acrid to humans, to savage beasts it was the tantalizing aroma of fresh meat.

And sure enough, before long, several Six-Tailed Venom Centipedes poked their mandibles from the dark cavern, cautiously scouting the air.

Wang Chen instinctively held his breath.

Seeing no danger and emboldened by the proximity to their own lair, the centipedes soon crawled out onto the clearing, swarming the Ironback Lizard carcasses and feasting greedily.

To humans, a windfall like this would be suspect, but these beasts lacked the intelligence to question good fortune.

Soon, more and more centipedes emerged, squabbling over the unexpected bounty.

Seeing this, Wang Chen’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. His plan was already half a success.

Yet the most crucial target had not yet appeared, and his nerves remained taut.

Suddenly—

A heavy, ominous sound echoed—far deeper and more oppressive than the skittering of any centipede before.

From within the inky blackness of the cave, a massive silhouette gradually took shape.

[Six-Tailed Venom Centipede King, lv16]
[Health: 2400]

As soon as the Centipede King emerged, all the others instantly parted, creating a clear path. Pressing their bellies to the ground, lowering their venomous tails parallel to their bodies, they prostrated themselves like courtiers before a monarch.

The king ambled to the Ironback Lizard, scrutinizing the carcasses before selecting the most intact one to devour.

“Eat. Eat a bit more!” Wang Chen murmured from his hiding place.

But to his surprise, after consuming only a hind leg, the Centipede King withdrew, using its foremost limbs to clean away the blood. It slithered back through its kneeling subjects, retreating into the cave.

“So, it isn’t hungry. Eating the Ironback Lizard was more a show of dominance than true need,” Wang Chen muttered, frowning.

He had coated the lizard carcasses with venom, even doubling up on the two that had died from poison in the first place. His expectation was that, after the centipedes feasted, the toxins would at least partially incapacitate them, making it easier for him to pick off the weakened king.

But reality had shifted faster than his plan.

“Ah well... I'll have to wait for the others to succumb to the poison and then seize my chance!”

Wang Chen settled in, patiently awaiting the right moment.

Soon enough, the toxins began to take effect: a few centipedes started convulsing, their bodies spasming uncontrollably.

Without hesitation, Wang Chen sprang from the grass.

He gripped Forest Gale in both hands, its radiant energy blazing.

“Song of Life!”

A shadowy, deathly chain shot forth, snaking into the centipede horde. The barbs along the chain tore into their brownish-purple shells, but he quickly realized that some of the centipedes’ armor was too tough—the chain couldn’t restrain them all.

Seeing this, Wang Chen raised Forest Gale high, sparks crackling.

“Lightning Barrier!”

Three orbs of electricity, linked by flickering arcs, spun forth like primitive stone bolas, ensnaring the centipedes that had resisted the chain. Their limbs were instantly bound by the orbs, and some, too slender to withstand the force, were wrenched apart, flesh and blood flying.

“Nature’s Totem!”

Pressing the attack, Wang Chen charged into the fray, Forest Gale swirling with mist.

A jet of water burst forth, condensing into a razor-sharp blade. He swung Forest Gale, guiding the watery column onto a centipede tightly bound by his spells.

Sensing the lethal, silent vortex within, the centipede writhed in terror, desperate to break free.

But Wang Chen would not let it escape.

With a thunderous crash, the water struck.

A sharp, grinding noise erupted as the spinning blade sliced into the centipede’s mandibles, shattering its vulnerable eyes in an instant. Yellow-green fluid bled into the water column.

As more water surged from Forest Gale, the cutting power intensified. At last, the centipede’s head split apart, disgorging a mess of viscera that thickened the water with filth.

Beheaded, the centipede collapsed as if its spine had been ripped out, utterly lifeless.

“Who says a Life Shaman can’t deal damage? Reversed, my skills are as deadly as any hidden class!” Wang Chen nodded in satisfaction, sweeping the water blade toward the next centipede.

The blood-soaked column was like a flying guillotine—wherever it fell, another life was claimed.

For a moment, the battlefield rang with the crack of death chains, the buzz of electricity, and the anguished wails of dying centipedes.

Were it not for his concern that too much noise would alert the Centipede King, Wang Chen could have unleashed the full terror of his arsenal.

But as fate would have it—

Suddenly, a heavy, dragging sound echoed from deep within the cave.

[You have slain a Six-Tailed Venom Centipede and gained 40 experience points!]
[Congratulations, you have reached level 8! All attributes increased by 60!]

After dispatching another crippled centipede, Wang Chen surveyed his surroundings. Though many centipedes still remained outside the cave, most had lost the will or ability to fight.

It was time for the final assault.

He hurled the blood-thickened water column toward the cave entrance without hesitation.

With a furious roar, the Centipede King—just emerging from the darkness—was struck head-on. Its mandibles were savaged and it shrieked in rage.

Yet for all the water column's power, the king’s immense bulk allowed it only to restrain, not truly harm, the beast.

The Centipede King, now incandescent with fury, opened its jaws and forced its way against the totemic water column, determined to break free.

“Now’s my chance!”

Wang Chen swung Forest Gale with all his might.

“Song of Life!”

A crimson-black chain whipped out, as deadly as a striking viper.

“Lightning Barrier!”

Three spinning orbs, whirling like grinding saws, slammed into the Centipede King’s head.

The chain struck first, halting the king’s advance. It roared in pain, trying to break free—only to be battered by the lightning orbs, its body reeling with the impacts.

Assailed by all three spells, the Centipede King recoiled, trapped at the cave mouth—unable to advance or retreat.