Chapter 008: Octopus

Du Fan sat among the bushes at the edge of the dense forest. He had cast a magic spell to conceal his presence, so neither magical beasts nor humans could detect him.
Fei Lei stood beside Du Fan, his own aura also hidden. Though his gaze was somewhat unfocused, it was fixed on Aldas. As a native of the imperial capital, it wasn’t his first time seeing Aldas, yet he still found his presence as dazzling as the scorching sun in the sky.
But why would such a person so easily fall into the trap Du Fan had set?
Watching Du Fan’s smile, Fei Lei felt even more that Du Fan was unfathomable. He had originally wanted to say a few jokes to ease the atmosphere, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Du Fan seemed to sense Fei Lei’s thoughts. He suddenly turned to look at him and said, “What? Do you have something to say?”
Fei Lei hesitated for a moment before whispering, “Lord Du Fan, I don’t understand. He could have simply given up and left, but why did he still step forward to confront the enemy?”
Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “I don’t know why either. All I know is that if he were to flee at such a moment, I have ways to force him to confront the enemy anyway.”
Fei Lei thought for a while but couldn’t figure out what method Du Fan meant. Not daring to say more, he simply kept his mouth shut.
A cloud passed across the sky, blocking the scorching sunlight, and the colors in the valley seemed to dim slightly.
With a deafening roar, the octopus monster in the lake seemed unsatisfied with the food it had already obtained. Its tentacles, like venomous snakes, stretched out from the bottom of the lake. But since no one was by the lake at that moment, its attempt to snatch something ended in failure.
Aldas let out a fierce shout. His combat energy flared brightly, and his long sword grew larger. Then he leaped into the air, charging toward the swirling tentacles with his sword in hand.
The dense tentacles swarmed toward Aldas, but he moved effortlessly, slipping through the gaps between them. At the same time, he spun his sword and slashed back.
The combat energy condensed on the sword exploded like thunder, with a loud “boom.”
The swirling tentacles were instantly torn to pieces, with blood and black liquid spraying everywhere. Even the lake water was disturbed, forming a huge crater due to the power of that slash.

Vaguely, the figure of that magical beast, which had been hiding deep in the lake bottom, seemed to emerge slightly, but moments later, the surging water covered it up again.
Oldas slowly descended, with pale yellow combat energy swirling around his body. Coupled with the bloody scenes around him, it truly gave off an aura of invincibility.
Seeing Oldas’s bravery, the students from Roland Academy immediately gained courage. They had heard his words earlier and knew that if they didn’t defeat this magical beast, they would never be able to leave the sacred palace alive. Moreover, since Oldas had blessed them with holy light, when else would they fight if not now?
Instantly, combat energy and sword auras flared across the scene. Everyone drew their weapons and slowly gathered around Oldas, staring at the ink-like lake as a sense of solemnity spread throughout the area.
Perhaps sensing this pressure, a roar like thunder rumbled out—prolonged and filled with oppressive force that disturbed people’s hearts and lungs.
Moments later, the calm lake began to churn violently, like a boiling pot. Giant bubbles rose from the bottom, containing mud, decaying grass, and the rotting corpses of unknown magical beasts. Soon, the lake surface cracked, and with a deafening roar, a huge circular head emerged from the water.
This suddenly appearing creature was covered in a soft pink-red color. Its circular head was estimated to be ten meters in diameter. In the center of it was a giant eyeball, and beneath it, from its gaping mouth, various unknown liquids dripped continuously. Its entire body kept moving, as if it were new growth.
Strangely, it had no tentacles—probably all of them had been shattered into powder by Oldas’s sword earlier.
The student who had spoken earlier saw this creature and broke into cold sweat. He was now certain that this sudden appearance was indeed the magical octopus. Despite thinking about it countless times, he couldn’t figure out its weaknesses.
The octopus’s giant eyeball rolled around, its unfocused gaze seemingly fixed on some unknown direction. Finally, it roared again, and suddenly, amidst its fury, the growths on its body rapidly formed into tentacles.

Oldas’ expression changed, and he couldn’t help but shout, “Deal with this thing right away! Don’t give it a chance to grow more tentacles!” As he spoke, the combat energy around him surged violently. With a swift swing of his long sword, he sent a beam of combat energy in a half-moon shape, striking the back of the octopus monster precisely. Yet the octopus monster seemed to possess its own layer of combat energy; despite the deadly blow, it seemed as if it was merely being tickled, suffering no harm at all. At the same time, the growth rate of its tentacles accelerated even further. In the blink of an eye, countless tentacles sprouted again, and like frenzied pythons, they rushed toward the shore. Under this onslaught, the once somewhat orderly battle became chaotic. Although Oldas’ Sacred Light and his sword strikes were extremely powerful and boosted morale, under the natural pressure of the octopus monster, it was unclear how much effect such encouragement could actually have. More than half of the tentacles, as if they had eyes, lunged at Oldas, leaving him no chance to gather combat energy. Though he wanted to kill the octopus monster with a single strike, he couldn’t do so without the opportunity to gather energy. At this moment, faced with the incessant attacks of the tentacles, although he kept cutting them down and using combat energy to turn them into flesh pulp with each strike, there were simply too many tentacles, and he couldn’t cut them all off in one go. The students of Roland Academy may not have much combat experience, but they were well-trained. Though they were initially thrown into chaos by the attacks, moments later, under Kris’s leadership, they gathered together. Following Kris’s orders, those skilled in ranged attacks retreated to the center, while those accustomed to close combat took positions on the periphery, forming a battle formation. With their combined efforts, they managed to keep the approaching tentacles at a distance. However, although their combat energy was strong, it wasn’t on par with Oldas’s. Their sword strikes, though seemingly powerful, failed to inflict any damage on the tentacles. All they could do was resist desperately, hoping for the rescue of Senior Oldas.

For a moment, by the shore of the small lake in this valley, the scene was nothing short of a hellish battlefield. Tentacles like pythons swept or stabbed swiftly, attacking with lightning speed—so agile that it was hard to describe. A student standing at the periphery suddenly let out a scream. He had attacked too hastily and failed to retreat in time; one of the tentacles wrapped tightly around his waist. With just a slight pull, his tall frame was dragged away alive. The student desperately summoned his combat energy in an attempt to escape, but before half of it could be gathered, his entire body was flooded with energy, and he was torn in two. Several more tentacles reached out, wrapping his corpse and tossing it toward the octopus’s head. The octopus swallowed the corpse as if burping, then its tentacles attacked even more fiercely. Aldas was filled with anger and urgency, yet his movements remained steady. With a single strike, he shattered each tentacle, sending flesh and blood flying everywhere. He knew he couldn’t act rashly—any mistake could lead to certain doom. If caught by those tentacles, not even he could guarantee surviving unharmed. “Just three more minutes. If I only have three more minutes, I can deal with all these tentacles,” Aldas prayed inwardly, his sword continuing to move without pause. Streams of combat energy were released, creating a vacuum around him. Unfortunately, at such a critical moment, he forgot that the person who had brought him here was far more terrifying than the octopus monster before him. Du Fan still sat on a tree branch. He slowly took out his crossbow, selected a poisoned arrow, then pointed in the direction of the battlefield and said, “Ferei… how long do you think it will take Aldas to resolve this battle?” Ferei hesitated for a moment before whispering, “If Aldas gives it his all, he should be able to end this fight in a few minutes. But if that octopus monster is stronger than that… well, who knows…” Du Fan tilted his head and thought for a while before suddenly smiling. “Then, for safety’s sake, how about we add a little more fuel to this fire?” Seeing Du Fan’s smiling face, Ferei shuddered and quickly nodded.