The Stryx tore its way into the factory with a triumphant cry, its claws scrambling against the smooth floor before it caught onto a railing.
A hoot of delight left its unnaturally sharpened beak as it flapped its wings to maintain balance in the cramped space, cracking the walls.
Its sharp eyes suddenly caught a strange sight. A human was walking up the stairs towards it, instead of running away as most prey did.
It did not hesitate much, before opening its beak wide in the human's direction.
A spray of foul-smelling white liquid sprayed from its throat, engulfing the staircase as it began melting all it came in contact with.
The Stryx walked over to the staircase, the acidic liquid not affecting it in the slightest. It decided to have the melting human as a small snack before it began hunting the big group once more.
Every step crunched through the iron walkway as it forcefully maintained its balance, arriving at the top of the stairway.
To its surprise, there was no perfectly melted human corpse to enjoy.
Suddenly, its head swiveled behind it, just in time for its beak to block an azure fang aimed at the back of its head.
The clash of Fang against Beak lit up the darkened factory in a shower of sparks.
Lu Zhang was forced away by the Stryx, landing nimbly on the destroyed iron walkway.
'That's surprising. Its beak can withstand an Empty Fang?'
A shriek of rage rang out as the bird clawed at its beak, showing a clearly chipped off area where the Empty Fang had hit.
'Not entirely huh?'
Throughout their journey so far, the skill Lu Zhang depended on the most was [Empty Fang]. It was never hindered, no matter the opposition, doing its job perfectly.
Lu Zhang didn't get to ponder much longer as the overgrown bird projectile vomited another spray of foul milky liquid towards him.
"You stink," he commented off-handedly as he leapt off the side of the walkway entirely.
While the acid melted the walkway down, the Stryx leapt off towards the airborne Lu Zhang, ready to shear him in half using its razor sharp beak.
[Double Jump]
Lu Zhang created a platform of mana under his feet, suddenly arresting his momentum as the Stryx's leap put it right below him.
Lu Zhang spun with a kick towards the Stryx's back, [Empty Fang] flaring into existence around his leg at the last moment, aiming to cripple the bird by cleaving straight through its spine.
True to its nature as a creature of the skies, the owl spun around extremely fast, swatting Lu Zhang away with its wing instead of letting him attack its back.
Lu Zhang pushed off the wall he was thrown towards, rolling as he landed on the floor of the iron factory alongside the Stryx.
He felt his left leg sting as he put his weight on it, thin cuts running upto his knee, partially shredding his pants.
'Those feathers are dangerous too.'
The Stryx hadn't escaped the clash unscathed either.
It examined its torn wing, licking the wound that had torn its way through hollow bone and thin flesh, shedding its sharp feathers with every flap.
Its wariness of the Empty Fang rose manifold. It swung its head towards Lu Zhang, before turning its large body towards him.
The Gale-Crested Stryx hissed at Lu Zhang, spreading its wings and ruffling its feathers to look bigger.
Lu Zhang looked at it, puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
He seemed to completely ignore his bleeding leg as he settled into a comfortable stance, ready for anything the bird threw at him.
"Ah..."
"You're scared, aren't you?"
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Su Yao and Cai Dajian hurriedly moved the people away, heading deeper into the iron factory.
Arthur hurriedly herded the people further in, while ensuring they didn't make too much sound. The worst thing would be if more creatures were drawn in by them while Lu Zhang was busy fighting the Stryx.
"We'll go back and help Lu Zhang. Arthur, take over-" Su Yao cut herself off as she saw one of the running survivors' body jerk as he was lifted off his feet by a thin rod that had pierced through his mouth.
Yellowish-brown eyes lit up in the shadows, as something far bigger than a human began moving within.
Su Yao's eyes caught a brief glimpse of glimmering silver and grey skin slither into the darkness, before a paw stepped into the moonlight seeping in from the glass roof.
[Bulgasari Lv 11]
[Inspect Lv 5 -> Inspect Lv 6]
It had a body like a bear's, towering over the humans by a good margin. A trunk like an elephant's hung before its maw, accentuated by two razor sharp iron tusks that jutted out of its lower jaw around the trunk.
It had wide, unblinking yellowish-brown eyes that took in the entire group.
It would have almost looked cute if it wasn't for the iron tusk having speared through a human, whose body hung limply atop it.
Metal flowed over its body like liquid, forming spiky armour.
Iron crunched against stone. A clanking rumble emerged from deep within the beast's chest, shaking the floor.
"Get back. Now." Su Yao didn't bother waiting too long for them to scramble away from the large monster as she unleashed a concentrated burst of flame at the Bulgasari.
[Inferno]
The bright flame heated the air instantly, covering the beast's large body.
Su Yao was slightly relieved as her attack connected, letting out a shuddering breath she was holding in.
'That has to at least injure it.'
A large snort could be heard before a spear of red hot metal shot past Su Yao's cheek, killing another survivor in an instant.
To her dismay, the large beast stood there unharmed. It's metallic carapace glowed red-hot, its control unffacted by the heat.
Instead, they now had to deal with scalding metal shooting towards them, rather than the original sharp spears.
The Bulgasari's eyes followed Su Yao unerringly, letting out a comfortable trumpet from the warmth it felt.
The ground shattered under it slightly as metal hooks drove into it, moments before the beast propelled itself towards Su Yao, aiming to pierce her with its tusks.
With her middling Speed, she wasn't able to do much more than futilely raise an arm in front of her.
'Oh...'
'I'm dea-'
"YAARRGGHHH!!" A battering ram crashed into the Bulgasari's side, sending it veering off course just enough for the hot metal to singe a lock of Su Yao's hair.
Cai Dajian stood there, his shoulder sizzling from forcefully pushing the Bulgasari away.
"It's possible! We can defeat this thing without Lu Zhang!" He announced despite the skin sloughing off his shoulder.
Su Yao felt her heartbeat stabilize from it's heightened, irregular rhythm as she came down from her fear-based agitation.
'That's right. It was never about winning alone.'
'We just need to survive.'
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[Name: Cai Dajian]
[Level: 9]
[Strength: 30]
[Speed: 30]
[Intelligence: 20]
[Endurance: 40]
[Stat Points: 8]
[Mana: 200/200]
[Skills: Inspect lv 5]