The centipede, after being sent flying, curled up for a moment, its legs trembling as if adjusting its posture. But then, it suddenly accelerated, charging straight towards the Manducater at a terrifying speed.
"This centipede is quite reckless…"
It no longer simply used its teeth to bite, this time, the centipede actively took advantage of the terrain. As it charged, it suddenly burrowed into the ground, disappearing in an instant.
Manducater, despite its dozens of darting eyes, was caught off guard by this tactic. It turned its head from side to side, tentacles sweeping across the ground, trying to find its target. But the centipede was one step ahead—it emerged from underground on the side, its massive jaws wide open, biting down hard on a chunk of Manducater's torso.
Swish!
The powerful jaws ripped a large chunk out of the Manducater's body, pulling out lumpy organs and fragments of unfused flesh. Black fluid splattered out, hitting the ground, causing the stone floor to bubble as if eaten away by acid.
The Manducater roared, but its roar was still inconsistent. Immediately, the surrounding arms and tentacles reached out, trying to grab the centipede in response. But this time, the centipede did not stand still. It immediately broke free, curling its body like a snake and spitting another stream of venom into the Manducater's open wounds.
This poison is different from the last—it not only corrodes, but also slows down the opponent's regeneration.
The Manducater staggered for a moment.
But it is not afraid.
The Manducater paused for only a moment, and then its body began to undergo a sudden transformation. The missing body parts no longer simply regenerated, but instead transformed into entirely different forms.
A pair of black wings sprouted from the Manducater's back, and the tentacles on its body gradually transformed into powerful legs that helped it move faster. Its confused eyes still followed the centipede, but this time there was something different—as if it had learned how to deal with centipedes.
The centipede growled, recognizing the danger in this change. But it didn't have a chance to attack again—because the Manducater struck first.
This time, it was no random swing. The Manducater suddenly disappeared from its original position.
Ruminas, who was watching from afar, was also stunned.
"Wait… it just teleport?"
Ruminas think then immediately shook her head in denial
"No, that's not teleportation."
The Manducater had just used a new locomotion technique, inspired by the very same one the centipede had used. It had modified its body to be able to burrow, just like the centipede had done before.
"What the hell… it can copy other people's skills!?"
At that moment, Manducater suddenly appeared right behind the centipede, the wings on its back popping out, allowing it to launch itself like a cannonball.
POP!
The Manducater swung a massive arm at the centipede, smashing it to the ground like a crushed insect. The earth and rock split open, opening a deep crater beneath their feet.
The centipede roared in pain.
It still tried to fight back—even though it was knocked down, its sharp legs still tried to stab the Manducater, but the Manducater was no longer a monster that could only take blows. New layers of armor appeared on its body, harder, thicker, making the centipede's stabs less effective than before.
Despite its efforts to fight back, the centipede was continuously pressed down.
Manducater was completely overwhelmed.
"This kind of horrifying transformation ability?!" Ruminas began to realize the seriousness of this problem.
As she was thinking, a loud noise came from the battlefield.
BOOM!
The centipede continued to be pressed down by Manducater into the ground, its giant legs clawing furiously but unable to penetrate Manducater's newly formed armor. The difference in strength grew larger and larger, the centipede gradually became passive, only able to endure the blows but unable to effectively counterattack.
But then—
Cup!
A strange sound rang out from the centipede's body. At first it was just a small crack, but then, its entire outer shell began to peel off!
"What is that…?" Ruminas narrowed his eyes slightly.
Pieces of the old shell fell off, revealing a new, harder, and shinier layer of armor. Not only that, green energy pulses glowed beneath the shell, spreading throughout the centipede's body, like blood vessels pumping with new energy.
Suddenly, the surrounding temperature dropped significantly.
Manducater also sensed something unusual, it immediately took a step back, its chaotic eyes following this change.
Then the centipede roared, a cold air pouring out from its body.
The corrosive venom that once only had a freezing effect on living creatures had now transformed—the poisonous qi could now freeze the surrounding space!
The Manducater had just prepared to counterattack when its body froze in place. Its tentacles, arms, even its chaotic flesh were covered in a thin layer of ice in an instant.
BOOM!
The centipede didn't miss the opportunity—it shot forward at lightning speed, opening its jaws wide to bite. slams into the Manducater, crushing a large part of its opponent's body.
Swish!
Black blood and organs fell to the ground, ice fragments shattered along with chaotic screams from the Manducater.
This time, the tables have turned!
The centipede repeatedly burrows and emerges, using its cold poison to freeze its opponents before delivering a deadly bite. Its legs are no longer just for locomotion, but are now deadly weapons, piercing the Manducater's weak spots.
Manducater is overwhelmed for the first time!
Ruminas standing from afar could not help but be surprised.
"I didn't expect it to be able to turn the tables like that… is this special ability some kind of transformation when facing danger?"
However, the centipede is not the only one capable of adaptation.
Manducater quickly adjusted his tactics.
It realized that the centipede had used the freezing poison qi to control its body, so…
"It will copy that ability!" Ruminas judged.
A strange wave of energy spread from the Manducater, its body began to regulate itself, attempting to recreate the same freezing qi the centipede had used.
But just as it tried to regenerate, the Manducater's body suddenly convulsed violently!
BOOM!
A small explosion occurred right above the Manducater, pieces of its flesh being torn apart by the very energy it was trying to absorb.
"Wait… it failed!?"
Ruminas opened her eyes wide.
Manducater can copy the opponent's abilities, but not all abilities can be copied easily.
"Is it because it's not finished yet?" she thought.
Apparently, the centipede's ability to freeze poison qi has a special mechanism that cannot be imitated mechanically. Perhaps it is because the centipede's body structure is completely different from the Manducater's—it is a creature with a complete biological system, while the Manducater is just a jumble of many creatures patched together.
It cannot regenerate properly, and as a result… it hurts itself!
The Manducater roared in pain, but the centipede did not miss this opportunity!
It immediately charged forward, its entire body glowing, hundreds of sharp legs piercing deep into the Manducater's open wounds, poisonous qi once again gushing out!
BOOM!
A large part of the Manducater's body froze and crumbled on the spot!
Ruminas narrowed his eyes—if this continued, the centipede might actually win this battle!
But just then—
Manducater begins to strike back!
Its body transformed instantly, no longer trying to copy the poison qi.
Instead…
It's bloated!
Crackle crackle!
The Manducater's chaotic limbs suddenly opened wide, dozens of new mouths appearing all over its body.
Then all of them at once—
OPEN THEIR MOUTH AND BITE DOWN!
GRAAAAAAARGH!!
The centipede roared in pain as hundreds of giant mouths bit into it at once. Green blood splattered everywhere, its legs were torn off, its body parts were crushed.
The Manducater doesn't just counter—it completely overwhelms it in one move!
The centipede tried to struggle, but at this point it no longer had a chance to fight back.
The Manducater delivered the final blow—using its entire massive body to slam down, crushing the centipede to the ground.
BOOM!
A loud bang rang out—the centipede's body shattered, blood and poison spilling everywhere.
The battle is over.
The centipede… was defeated.
But it did not die in vain.
Through the recent battle, it helped Ruminas find a weakness of the Manducater.
She narrowed her eyes, the corners of her lips curling up slightly.
"It can't copy the entire ability…"
She tightened her grip on the weapon in her hand.
"…If it finds more things it can't imitate, then maybe…"
Ruminas gripped her weapon tightly, her magic power had recovered quite a bit so now it was her turn. As for the Manducater's weakness, she already had a solution.
A gentle gust of air rose and Ruminas quickly appeared in front of the monster, the huge monster looked down at her with its eyes. When it saw its prey it pounced but she quickly teleported away.
"Slowly," Ruminas said.
The Manducater continued to charge like another hungry monster.
"Okay, let's start now."
The "Qi" flow that appeared to be of dense power, what she would use to counter Manducater was this one because Ruminas believed it could not learn this ability with just her copying ability.
"Although I'm not sure, I'm looking forward to this battle."