Ruminas glanced back at her status board, her magic power was less than half but if she ran now it would definitely chase after her and that would be difficult for her.
So she had to have a battle with it first, just hit it enough or gain a little advantage and retreat, then it would know to retreat on its own.
Ruminas wasn't too worried about the other surrounding issues because the monsters' opponents weren't just her alone, there was also that centipede. Even the three-way melee could give her the chance to kill a few more monsters to gain experience.
"Okay, get in here!"
Ruminas was all prepared, but surprisingly the centipede only looked at her for a while before turning to torment the other monsters.
"Huh? What's wrong? Didn't the description say it would attack any creature in sight? And it's actually doing that but ignoring me?"
Ruminas was a bit puzzled but at the same time she also saw this as an opportunity, with the centipede in front attracting attention then she could use her stealth ability to secretly attack the monsters.
"Here is your chance to gain experience!"
Ruminas immediately took advantage of this opportunity. She suppressed her aura, activated her invisibility ability, and quietly moved around the chaotic battlefield. The giant centipede was frantically tearing apart other monsters, blood and flesh splattered everywhere, creating a chaotic and horrifying scene.
The mid-level chaos monsters mobilized other monsters to counterattack, they rushed in and used everything they had but only managed to cause a few minor wounds to the centipede.
"That's really bold…"
Ruminas quickly looked around, looking for weaker or heavily injured monsters. A mid-level chaos monster was missing a part of its body, staggering as it tried to retreat. Ruminas didn't miss it—she appeared right behind it, swinging her axe down!
The axe blade tore open the monster's head, black blood spurting out like a fountain.
"Having someone prepare food for you is really great."
Without any time to stop, Ruminas immediately moved on to the next prey.
A parasitic dog was struggling under the centipede's claws, but before it could be devoured, Ruminas threw a spear through its head, taking its life before the centipede could even eat it.
"Next!"
The centipede only glanced at Ruminas but still did not choose to attack her.
"If you keep giving in, don't blame me!"
She just took advantage of the chaotic battlefield to gain experience safely. The centipede was still focused on the other enemies, seemingly not noticing her actions, or perhaps it did not consider her a threat.
But just as Ruminas was about to take down his next prey—
BOOM!
A strong shock shook the ground.
"What now!?"
She immediately teleported away to avoid being affected. When she looked back, she saw that the centipede had pinned a mid-level chaos to the ground and was slowly crushing it with its legs. But what caught Ruminas' attention the most was the centipede's eyes.
It... was looking at her.
"What? You want to fight?"
Ruminas clenched her weapon, ready to fight. But just as she was about to fight, the centipede turned away and continued to tear at the other monsters.
"Again?"
Ruminas didn't quite understand, this was her first time encountering this kind of monster but if it didn't attack then she would just continue her freeloading job.
The battle became more and more chaotic as another group of monsters ran in from outside and they quickly rushed into battle with the centipede.
Ruminas had already quickly escaped first, waiting for both sides to gradually wear down before continuing her work. Suddenly, another unexpected incident occurred.
The monsters felt they couldn't beat the centipede and used another method that made Ruminas widen her eyes as it was her first time seeing this.
"What the hell is this!?"
She saw—
The monsters were merging together, starting from a mid-level chaos that roared to call the others and then they all rushed towards that chaos but not to fight but to dissolve into it.
"Huh?"
As more monsters approached, their fused form grew larger and took on a monstrous shape that Ruminas didn't know how to describe.
A giant body with parts placed haphazardly, different eyes, looking everywhere without any unity, arms and tentacles overlapping each other and moving freely.
The huge monster roared, but even its roars were not unified, and Ruminas could tell that it was the voices of several different monsters.
"Appraisal!"
[Chaos Unified - Manducater (Unfinished)]
[Description: It is a form where many other monsters merge together but lacks connection and looks like nothing more than a mess but don't underestimate its power]
[Features: Has various attack and defense methods, recovery abilities, and special traits from merged monsters]
[Weakness: None specific, can only be destroyed with a powerful blow that causes its body to completely explode]
"Can this kind of monster really exist? It doesn't look like much, but it's true that it would take quite a bit of time and damage to defeat it."
"Let's just observe for now."
After completing its fusion, the Manducater immediately attacked the centipede, but the centipede was not willing to give up.
Two giant monsters faced each other, the surrounding space filled with suffocating murderous aura.
The parasitic centipede moved extremely fast, its long body wriggling, hundreds of legs clinging to the ground, creating terrifying rustling sounds. Every time it charged, rocks and dirt flew everywhere, accompanied by sharp bites from its giant jaws, aimed straight at its opponent.
Manducater, despite its chaotic and monstrous body, was not as slow as it appeared. Its arms, tentacles, and other extra parts of its body continuously stretched out at unexpected angles, receiving the centipede's attack and immediately counterattacking.
The two rushed at each other like two brutal whirlwinds.
The centipede opened its mouth wide, spitting out a stream of corrosive venom. The viscous liquid splashed onto the Manducater, causing a portion of its body to boil, its flesh peeling off, emitting a horrifying sizzling sound. But within seconds, that portion of its body quickly regenerated, as if the wound had never existed.
The Manducater was undeterred.
It used a huge arm to slam it down on the ground, creating an earthquake that made the centipede lose its balance. Then from other parts of its body, dozens of arms suddenly extended out, gripping the centipede's body tightly, fixing it in place. A giant mouth suddenly opened right on Manducater's body, sharp teeth biting hard into the centipede's midsection, causing mucus to splatter everywhere.
The centipede screamed, writhing wildly to escape its restraints. Its long, sharp legs dug into the Manducater's body, piercing through the slimy flesh. Despite being pierced, the Manducater did not stop, continuing to squeeze its opponent with its mass of tentacles.
Both sides struggled, neither side giving way.
The centipede took advantage of its speed, continuously digging into the ground, wriggled out of the encirclement, and suddenly charged from a dead angle, crashing straight into Manducater. But Manducater reacted in time, a long tentacle like a whip lashed out, knocking the centipede away, sending it flying, collapsing a large section of ruins behind it.
Ruminas stood at a distance, squinting his eyes to observe.
The battle is changing.
At first, the two sides fought evenly, but now the Manducater showed its fearsome side—not only was it strong, but it was also constantly adapting, putting the centipede on the back foot.
"There's a high chance that the centipede will lose, so I should prepare something. Once the centipede is defeated, I will be the next target, and if I leave and let this monster roam around, it'll be too dangerous!"
"Their ability to evolve and adapt is beyond question, so there's no telling what the monster will evolve into if given more time. In any case, it's best to deal with it, but we need to have some basis for that. Hopefully, the centipede will try harder to find the monster's weakness."
Ruminas continued to observe the battle but she silently tightened her grip on the weapon in her hand, ready to strike at any time necessary.