As Chang Long inspected her automatically changed attire within the cave, she discovered it bestowed upon her an aura of both elegance and intimidation. More strikingly, this outfit outshone the snake leather outfit she wore previously. Wandering around in this outfit would surely attract unwanted attention and attempts to rob her.

"Unable to wear any other outfits for life... I guess I'll be a thieves' target forever then,"

Chang Long mumbled with a heavy heart, contemplating how to camouflage this conspicuous outfit. Her attempt to layer it with another outfit was futile as the outer garments disintegrated instantly into shreds. Frustrated, she caught Kitsune observing her antics, a brilliant idea sparked in her head.

"Kitsune, can you still use your Transformation skill?"

Chang Long asked, her eyes twinkling with hope.

"I still have two uses left, master,"

Kitsune promptly replied.

"Perfect! Could you transform my outfit into the snake leather outfit like before?"

"I'll give it a try, master."

Kitsune stood, concentrated for a moment, and then employed his transformation skill on Chang Long's God of Death outfit. A bright light enveloped her for a brief moment before revealing her once again in the snake leather outfit, much to her delight.

"Excellent, Kitsune! Let's go beast hunting. Today's the last day for double experience event. After today, leveling up will be twice as hard,"

Chang Long remarked cheerfully. Kitsune's transformation was a success, even though it could not fix her pale skin and darkened eye lids. This meant she would not have to live in constant fear of being targeted daily, probably hourly for robbery.

"By the way, where exactly are we, master?"

Kitsune inquired as they stepped out of the tent.

"Hold on... Ah, we must be at the top of the Pine Forest. Oh! We're on Royal Cliff,"

Chang Long concluded after checking the map for their location.

"The name doesn't sound very safe, master,"

Kitsune commented warily.

"True, this place is likely filled with high-level beasts."

"What should we do, master? Do you still want to hunt beasts around here?"

"Of course! With me and the Sovereign Sword, there's nothing to worry about,"

Chang Long declared confidently.

Smiling at each other, they began to explore the area, surrounded by towering trees and dense bushes, with narrow, winding paths leading in various directions.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

Sounds emerged from a dense thicket ahead, drawing Chang Long and Kitsune's attention. They had not yet encountered any beasts. Both the owner and her pet stealthily approached the bush, curious about the source of the noise that resembled something being pounded with a stick.

Meanwhile, two mummies were facing severe difficulties. They attempted to unwrap the bandages, but due to Chang Long's well-intentioned but overly secure wrapping, fearing the bandages might come loose with too much movement, they were immobilized.

"An ou oe ua an a aa? (Can you move your hands at all?)"

Oliang struggled to ask his friend, managing to move his legs slightly.

"Aad a id aud a au u? (Just a bit, what about you?)"

Wet Trash Can replied, able to move his arms slightly.

"I an ou ai eg a id el (I can move my legs a little,)"

Oliang responded disheartenedly.

"Ah! Id o id ee am a ed ing an id ed eing an ae a en!! (Ah! it's so itchy, I'm sweating and it's getting unbearable!!)"

Wet Trash Can complained with muffled sound.

"am id ee u an u a ad ee? (I'm itchy too, can you scratch me?)"

Oliang suggested, inching closer to Wet Trash Can.

"aud a oud e? Am id ee oo (What about me? I'm itchy too,)"

Wet Trash Can complained.

"i il ad u ib u ad i erd i an eg id a ee o! (I'll scratch you if you scratch me first; I can't take it anymore!)"

Oliang negotiated, sounding frustrated that they could communicate even though his mouth was partly covered by bandages.

"A igh ad u ad ee ack am eying ere oo! (Alright, but you have to scratch me back. I'm dying here too!)"

Wet Trash Can agreed reluctantly, reaching to scratch his friend's back.

"Aa, ad a od eeb o ing (Ah, that's the spot, keep going.)"

Oliang groaned in relief, but Wet Trash Can stopped halfway.

"Ai id u ob? Id aud ad ed ing ood! (Why did you stop? It was just getting good!)"

Oliang protested when Wet Trash Can ceased his scratching.

"Id ua an ao. Ad.(It's your turn now. Scratch.)"

Wet Trash Can demanded, turning his back to Oliang, expecting some reciprocal scratching.

"ein ad oo oh ee a na aa oun ob ad ing. Am iu id ee (Fine, but you owe me another round of scratching. I'm still itchy,)"

Oliang conceded grumpily, attempting to scratch his friend's back. However, his arms were immobilized, posing the question of how he could possibly return the favor.

"Ad a oo aid ing o? Am id ee ad ell ere! (What are you waiting for? I'm itchy as hell here!)"

Wet Trash Can scolded when Oliang failed to start scratching.

"a ai a ai... ad a ae on... ed oo id (Alright, alright... just a second... let's do this,)"

Oliang, left with no choice, used whatever resembled hands to scratch his friend's back in return.

"Oooh...ed...aight ae. Oh ad a ee ong (Oooh...yes...right there. Oh, that's really strong,)"

Wet Trash Can moaned in satisfaction, while Oliang, pleased with his friend's reaction, scratched even harder.

"a... aid a e id, I od oo ood un oob ur am? O od aa oo ood ing o ad e...o...? (Huh...wait a minute, I thought you couldn't move your arms? So, what are you using to scratch me...or...?)"

Wet Trash Can suddenly realized something after remembering Oliang mentioned he could slightly move his legs.

"Hu hu... i ood, ob od. (Heh heh... my foot, of course.)"

Oliang snickering replied.

"Aghhh! Oliang, you...how could you use your foot to scratch my back?!!"

Wet Trash Can exploded with anger, effortlessly tearing the bandages that had confined him.

"Ach an, I id eun oo id on ur ode! In I oo eun oob i am, I ad oo ood i ood!! (Ouch Man, I didn't do it on purpose! Since I couldn't move my arms, I had to use my foot!!)"

Oliang hurriedly explained as he saw his friend menacingly approaching.

"You think I'm going to buy that? ...heh heh,"

Wet Trash Can responded coldly, picking up his own bandages and looking at Oliang with a mischievous glint.

"Arrgghhh eed oo! (Arrgghhh please no!)"

Oliang shrieked, realizing what was about to happen.

Ignoring Oliang's desperate pleas, Wet Trash Can went ahead and wrapped his friend even tighter than before, transforming him from a mummified figure into a human ball, then sat laughing at his handiwork.

"I'll get you back for this!"

Oliang silently vowed, fearing retaliation if he spoke out.

...

What Chang Long and Kitsune saw were five colorful mantises, in shades of light green, dark green, leaf brown, and yellow, each about a meter tall. They seemed to be intently observing something. Driven by curiosity, Chang Long and Kitsune tried to get a closer look but accidentally stepped on a dry twig, alerting the grasshoppers. As one of the mantis beasts locked eyes with Chang Long, the system immediately notified her:

"Level 40 Rice Pounding Mantis Beasts appear."

With five in total, Chang Long was stunned by both their names and what they were doing. As soon as the mantises noticed Chang Long and Kitsune, they quickly lined up as if to protect something behind them.

"Indeed, they live up to their name as Rice Pounding Mantis."

Chang Long muttered to herself, still slightly in awe. The mantises were deftly wielding their white wooden pestles, eyeing Chang Long menacingly. Behind them was the reason for their vigilance: a large white mortar and bags of rice emitting a fragrant aroma.

"Master, they're attacking!!"

Kitsune warned as one of the mantises swung its pestle at Chang Long.

Thud!

Chang Long swiftly drew the Sovereign Sword to block the attack. Seeing its attack thwarted, the mantis quickly retreated to its group.

"There are five of them, and there are only two of us. What shall we do?"

Kitsune asked, concerned.

"Kitsune, distract them for me. I'll take them on one by one... Can you do it?"

 Chang Long asked, her gaze never leaving their foes.

"No problem at all when it comes to distractions,"

Kitsune confidently replied, gripping his python fang sword tightly.

"Great! Let's start then."

As Chang Long spoke, she moved away from Kitsune. One mantis immediately leapt after her, but the rest were blocked by Kitsune.

The brown mantis that followed Chang Long attacked first, not wanting its adversary to prepare. Chang Long easily dodged its pestle and countered. However, the mantis was agile, dodging Chang Long's swift strike as well.

Both took a moment to reassess and faced off again. This time, Chang Long initiated the attack, aiming for the mantis's flank. It blocked with its pestle, but Chang Long did not let it shift. She jumped backward before stabbing the sword into the mantis' chest. The mantis tried to block the attack with its saw-like front legs but Chang Long's blade was too sharp, piercing through its leg and into its chest, exiting out the back.

With a strong pull, Chang Long withdrew her sword, and the mantis' clear blood sprayed out. It staggered drunkenly, using its large pestle to stay upright, its eyes dimming. Not wasting a moment, knowing four more mantises were besieging Kitsune, Chang Long delivered two more forceful stabs into the same wound, immobilizing it. Its soul turned into a white light, rushing towards Kitsune.

Kitsune, tasked with distracting the remaining four mantises, used his fire breath to weaken and block them from aiding their companion fighting Chang Long. With agility surpassing his master, Kitsune evaded every attack, keeping the mantises at bay.

"Kitsune! Let them come"

Chang Long commanded. Kitsune let the light green mantis pass through.

"Let another one come!"

Chang Long ordered again when she noticed Kitsune had only let one pass.

"But..."

Kitsune hesitated, worried.

"It's okay. I can handle it. I'll leave the rest to you,"

Chang Long confidently shouted as she fended off an attack from a yellow mantis, dodging its pestle swings every time. Seeing his master managing well against the mantis, Kitsune felt reassured enough to let another mantis go to Chang Long.

"My master has allowed me to kill. Brace yourself!!"

Kitsune cheerfully told the remaining two mantises before darting towards them with incredible speed.

The dark green mantis was caught off guard by Kitsune, who kicked it away forcefully. As its companion was sent flying, another dark green mantis immediately swung its pestle at Kitsune, missing as Kitsune dodged so swiftly, almost as if he could disappear.

With a sweet smile, Kitsune sliced its head in two with his python fang sword, causing clear blood to spurt from the wound. Despite the injury, the mantis attempted to retaliate with a slightly weakened strike, but its efforts were futile against Kitsune's agility.

Kitsune gleefully dismembered the mantis piece by piece, rendering it immobile due to its severed legs. Once satisfied, he ended its suffering with a single thrust to its chest, its soul turned into a white light that was absorbed into Kitsune, like its companion.

The other dark green mantis, having been kicked away by Kitsune, stood up shakily, terrified, and attempted to rejoin its two companions attacking Chang Long. However, it was shocked to see its yellow companion impaled by Chang Long's sword, bleeding out before its soul turned into a white light, absorbed by Kitsune.

"Now it's just you and me, a fair one-on-one, right?"

Kitsune approached the last dark green mantis with a smile. The grasshopper, pale with fear but tried to muster courage to face Kitsune.

The duel of speed began, with Kitsune clearly outpacing the mantis. It attempted to increase its speed by throwing away its pestle and using its saw-like front legs instead. Kitsune laughed, pleased to see his opponent's speed increase after discarding its cherished pestle.

Chang Long, evenly matched in speed with the light green mantis, engaged in strategic feints. Her rapid and continuous attacks were not all serious but designed to confuse and force the opponent into defensive errors. When the opponent fell for a feint, Chang Long would strike with speed and ferocity.

If the opponent saw through the feint and did not fall for it, Chang Long would immediately redirect her strength into that attack, swiftly dealing with the yellow mantis and now gaining the upper hand against the light green one.

-----

Read 'Adventure World Online (AWO)' before anyone else with more chapters at https://www.jinovel.com/en

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.