A pale white hand bone, covered in sharp spikes, pierced through the back of "Mao Mao Tu's" head and exited through its forehead.
Crimson blood, thick and viscous like paste, dripped slowly from Mao Mao Tu's brow.
The bone extended deep into the bushes, its exposed portion alone measuring two to three meters in length.
The bone was encircled by rings, like a bamboo stalk, its surface bearing the mottled marks of time.
*Chiiu.*
The bamboo-like bone was retracted, and Mao Mao Tu convulsed for a moment before collapsing to the ground.
A thumb-thick bloody hole marked Mao Mao Tu's forehead, from which blood gushed forth.
A single bone could not reveal this monster's attributes.
One would need to see at least four-fifths of the creature's form.
The slender bone slowly retreated, disappearing into the depths of the bushes.
Silence descended upon the jungle, a deathly stillness.
Lu Fei squinted, his expression one of horror. Bone, but no flesh? What kind of monster was this? It seemed rather ferocious...
After some deliberation, Lu Fei decided to take a detour before the monster discovered him.
There wasn't only one path, so why risk his life? It wasn't easy for him.
With his back to the monster, Lu Fei slowly said, "Ironhead, we can't afford to mess with this monster. Let's scram!"
Lu Fei then slowly led Ironhead away from the area.
Just then.
A cold wind blew through the air, causing the leaves to rustle violently.
Lu Fei and Ironhead quickly retreated, reaching a spacious clearing outside the forest's edge. In the center of the clearing lay a crystal-clear lake, where aquatic contracted beasts could be faintly seen moving beneath the surface.
Just as Lu Fei thought they had escaped the monster, two slender bone hands emerged, and behind a giant tree, a pair of sinister eyes stared at them.
Throughout their journey, Lu Fei had been sighing internally about one issue: Ironhead excelled at close-quarters combat, but was too lacking in long-range probing attacks.
If their party had a contracted beast proficient in ranged attacks, at the very least, they could gauge the enemy's strength and weaknesses, and wouldn't be so passive.
As Lu Fei was about to lead Ironhead to rest nearby, the monster in the depths of the forest suddenly stirred. A hand bone covered in spikes shot out from the trees with incredible speed!
In the blink of an eye, the bone extended dozens of meters.
Ironhead's ears twitched. With a powerful lunge, it pushed Lu Fei aside, and the bone passed through the gap between them.
"Damn it! It's chasing us!" Lu Fei was still shaken.
There was no time to consider anything else. The enemy had found them, so they could only face it head-on!
However, as Lu Fei looked around, he found no enemy in sight. Even the hand bone that had suddenly appeared moments ago had vanished without a trace.
Lu Fei was terrified. What kind of attack range was this? And a sneak attack, with long-range capabilities? There was no way to prepare for it. Had this contracted beast's intelligence reached such a high level?
"Ironhead, let's head towards the most open area! This monster must be hiding behind the giant trees!"
Lu Fei stated decisively.
Ironhead whimpered "Wei" several times, its expression guarded as it scanned its surroundings.
On the outskirts of the forest, two individuals in uniform attire were slowly making their way into the deeper parts of the woods.
"Old Qiu, we've pretty much cleared out the rampaging contracted beasts in this area. Why are villagers still reporting that there are killer rampaging contracted beasts here?" a young man said with a grave expression.
The middle-aged man named Old Qiu shook his head. "The eyewitnesses said the rampaging contracted beast was all bones, with no flesh. Perhaps these fellows were too scared and saw wrong. How could there be such a contracted beast? I've been hiring beast tamers for over twenty years, and this is the first I've heard of it."
Lu Fei had seen these two before; they were the escorts who had accompanied Fifth River to the drunkard's house. The older middle-aged man was Qiu Xia, whom everyone in the association called Old Qiu, and the young man's name was Zhao Biao.
Old Qiu added, "Don't be careless. We haven't actually entered this forest. When we came last time, we saw a pile of dead rampaging contracted beasts on the ground, and assumed the contracted beasts here had been cleared."
"But according to the villagers who reported it, one person has already died this time... If there are further casualties, we'll be in trouble. This area is our responsibility!"
Zhao Biao pouted. "Are these villagers crazy? They were told there were rampaging contracted beasts in the forest, and they still insisted on going in. Isn't that just asking for death?"
Old Qiu glanced at Zhao Biao and intensified his tone. "What are you saying? The commissions we earn are from taxpayers' money. This is our duty!"
Compared to Zhao Biao, the older Qiu Xia possessed more professionalism.
"Stop the nonsense and hurry up. If someone in the forest is in trouble and we're late, it'll be bad!"
Zhao Biao shut his mouth resentfully.
In the forest, Lu Fei resolved to face the enemy. Rather than wait to be slaughtered, it was better to take the initiative.
"Ironhead! Chop down these outer trees!"
As the command was given, Ironhead, crackling with lightning, swung its hand-sword like a woodcutter. Lu Fei meticulously observed their surroundings. He had roughly estimated that the hidden monster's maximum attack range was only thirty meters, and they were currently within thirty meters of the edge trees. With no way to retreat into the lake, Lu Fei's only option was to expand the combat area as much as possible.
As thick trees fell one by one, just as Ironhead was about to chop at one of them, a bone-like finger, as white as bone, shot out like a sharp sword directly towards Ironhead's throat!
Ironhead reacted swiftly, its body swaying to the side, dodging the sudden attack. It flipped several times, landing steadily. Looking at the monster that appeared before them, a cold sneer curved its lips.
Ironhead had already anticipated the previous attack; it was all about reaction speed!
Before long, a tall figure emerged from behind half a tree, standing about five meters tall. From its shoulders, two bone fingers dangled down on either side of its body, reaching the ground.
Lu Fei stared at the monster before him, his heart seized with alarm, for its body was entirely bone, devoid of flesh or facial features – it was a pure white skeleton!
"Damn, a white bone spirit?"
Lu Fei took out his beast-taming illustrated book, attempting to gather information about this contracted beast. However, the illustrated book emitted a series of beeping sounds, offering no response for a long time. Finally, a few words appeared on the screen: "No relevant information!"
Lu Fei was stunned; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
The bone monster, angered by being discovered, let out a low growl. Then, a finger bone shot out like a dart towards Ironhead. Ironhead was clearly startled, never expecting this thing to be so ferocious!