On the empty rocky beach, only a few scattered Rock Shell Crabs were crawling.
Forget an army of Crystalline Rock Shell Crabs; there wasn't even a ghost in sight.
"What's going on?"
Instructor Raymond frowned. "Didn't the intelligence say this was a disaster area, overrun with crabs?"
"Could the intelligence be wrong?"
"Or perhaps they migrated early?"
The students discussed amongst themselves, and their originally tense nerves relaxed quite a bit.
No monsters was a good thing.
If there were no monsters, there was no need to fight. As long as they picked up some of that associated Ore along the shore to hand in, they'd get by. Although the score would be lower, it was safe.
"Everyone, spread out and search. See if there are any stragglers," Instructor Raymond said, also feeling it was strange, but he breathed a sigh of relief.
As their chaperone, his greatest fear was this group of students encountering danger. Now that the monsters were gone, it saved him a lot of trouble.
The students cheered and ran toward the shore in groups of twos and threes.
Veronica walked at the very front, leading the group and beginning to display her erudition and leadership.
"Listen up, everyone. Never start a battle directly by the water's edge."
Veronica held up a finger, her expression serious. "I've researched the records. Legend has it that within this Yan Yan Lake sleeps a powerful 'Guardian of the Lake Heart.' It views the Crystalline Rock Shell Crabs as its subjects. Excessive slaughter will draw its wrath."
"Even though we have an instructor with us, it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble. We need to lure the crabs onto the shore to kill them. Keep your movements light and try not to get blood into the lake. This is out of... for nature..."
The word "reverence" hadn't even left her mouth yet.
Thud!
A dark shadow suddenly fell from the sky and slammed hard right onto her face—
Veronica felt a cool sensation on her face, accompanied by an indescribable fishy smell.
She was stunned, and the students beside her were stunned as well.
"What is this?"
Trembling, she reached out and pulled the dark object off her face.
It was a bright red, charred piece of carapace. The shape looked somewhat familiar, yet it was completely impossible to tell what creature's remains it was.
"Young Miss Veronica, are you alright?" a boy asked nervously, leaning in.
"No... I'm fine." Veronica stared blankly at the carapace in her hand.
As she picked up that piece of carapace, a low vibration suddenly emanated from the depths of the lake's center.
Voom—
Abnormal ripples appeared on the lake's surface, as if something massive was moving slowly underwater.
"This... what's happening?" Instructor Raymond's expression changed.
This vibration carried an Aura that made even him feel oppressed.
#
"How many times have I warned you not to litter!"
Meanwhile, on the other side shielded by tree roots.
Caesar was firmly pressing down on Cecilia's head, reprimanding her in a low voice:
"What if this hits someone? What if it hits the flowers and grass?"
"Hmph, it won't hit This Miss anyway... I don't care who it hits!" Having eaten her fill, Lao Zhai was feeling bold and began to talk back. She used her claws to scrape out the last bit of crab roe and licked them with satisfaction.
Just then.
Voom—
That low vibration felt as if a dragon's claw had fiercely scratched his heart. It penetrated the ground and reached the depths of Caesar's perception.
He stopped moving, and the words in his mouth caught.
The powerful Aura contained within that vibration made the scales all over his body stand up slightly.
That was anger.
Pure and majestic anger.
Caesar could feel that the target of this anger was the shore!
"Oh no."
His heart sank abruptly.
This Aura was even stronger than that LV.35 Red Dragon from before.
"What's wrong?" Cecilia also noticed Caesar's abnormality. She moved uneasily and asked in a small voice, "Did an even more fragrant treasure appear?"
Caesar did not answer.
He stood up abruptly, his sharp gaze looking toward the center of the lake.
The sound of the vibration grew closer and closer, and the ripples on the lake's surface grew larger and larger.
Splash—!
The center of the lake suddenly exploded, and a dense, dark shadow surged up from the bottom, rushing toward the shore in a thick mass.
"What... what is that?!"
The students on the shore let out screams of terror.
They saw countless Rock Shell Crabs and even larger Crystalline Rock Shell Crabs (LV.20) rushing out of the water as if they had gone mad. They raised their pincers, their eyes blood-red, and the sound of their dense footsteps merged into a tide that made one's scalp tingle.
"A Monster Tide!"
A student shouted at the top of their lungs.
This wasn't some early hibernation or migration.
This was an enraged swarm attack!
"Instructor! What on earth is going on?!"
Cold sweat broke out on Instructor Raymond's forehead. He quickly activated a magic shield, standing in front of the students.
"Everyone! Prepare for battle!"
His heart went cold.
Although these crabs weren't high in Rank, there were too many of them! And that wasn't even the most terrifying part.
Boom—!
A massive water column shot into the sky from the center of the lake, as if some prehistoric behemoth was about to awaken from its slumber.
Splash...
As the spray settled, a colossal figure slowly emerged from the water.
It was a giant crab the size of a residential building!
Its back was no longer covered in ordinary crystals, but was encrusted with massive, menacing, and sharply angled crystals. They reflected a cold light under the sun, looking like a moving mountain of crystal.
["Guardian of the Lake Heart"—Giant Crystal Crab King "Pincer Wind"]! Overlord (LV.40)!
[Attributes: Insect/Steel]!!!
Of the Crab King's two giant pincers, each was larger than a horse carriage. Cold light flickered upon them, looking as if they could easily snap through steel.
As soon as it appeared, a majestic pressure permeated the air—the Aura belonging to a high-ranking monster.
Hiss—!
The Giant Crystal Crab King let out a deafening hiss, carrying endless fury.
Its gaze swept across the shore as if searching for something.
This Overlord was very angry right now.
Extremely angry!
Just a moment ago, it had been having a beautiful dream at the bottom of the lake when it suddenly felt its descendants disappearing in large numbers.
When it woke up to look, good heavens, the shore was covered with the remains of its children and grandchildren!
And they had died in a most miserable fashion!
Not only were they killed, but they were also deshelled, wrapped in mud, and roasted!
This was simply grinding the dignity of their Crystal Crab clan into the dirt!
Who was it?!
Exactly which deranged bastard did this?!
The Giant Crystal Crab King's eerie eyes, which were nothing but whites, scanned the shore and finally locked onto that group of humans dressed in flashy clothes.
To be precise, they locked onto that dazed silver-haired girl—Veronica.
Because in Veronica's hand, she was currently holding a piece of its descendant's bone (crab shell).
Furthermore, that crab shell was still stained with oil, clearly having been cooked.
The evidence was conclusive!
It was you Two-legged Beasts who ate them!
Roar!!!
The Giant Crystal Crab King let out an angry roar, its massive pincer slamming hard onto the water's surface, kicking up a giant wave over ten meters high.
It was going to make this group of greedy murderers pay the price!
"It's over..." Instructor Raymond looked at that terrifying Giant Crystal Crab King, his heart turning ice-cold.
This time, trouble had truly found them.
Caesar poked his head out from behind the tree roots, looking at that aggressive Crab King, then at the shivering "human" students by the lake.
This scapegoat role was definitely theirs to play!
"Cecilia."
Caesar smiled, staring at the innocent-looking Silver Dragon.
"You didn't actually litter today, right?"