Chapter 32 – Robbers Killed by "Cat" While Attempting to Break into Florida Man's House
"Why doesn't this move?!"
The assassin had enough. He kicked the cauldron, hoping to flip it over and get the precious medicines inside.
DONG
The cauldron didn't budge. Instead, the assassin's foot bones cracked because of the impact.
The man in black robes groaned and knelt, looking at his broken foot. He bit his lips to endure the pain. Because of the injury, the assassin failed to notice a creeping vine.
WHOOSH
A thorny vine suddenly coiled around the assassin's face. Then, it twisted his head.
CRACK
The assassin widened his eyes. Before his consciousness faded forever, he saw the shining eyes of a monster plant. It dragged the assassin to the roof and peeled his clothes. Then, it put him in its mouth.
.
.
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
The sound of breaking bones echoed in the silent forest. Leo frowned and looked at the store's ceiling, wondering what Cat was doing. While looking, Leo slapped a flying mosquito in front of him.
'There weren't many bugs and insects here before. Did that stupid plant attract bugs around here? He's getting louder than usual. Did he catch a beast around here or something?'
Leo was in a bad mood because of the bugs. He hung the towel on a hanger in front of the building and entered the store.
.
CLICK
After Leo had entered the store and locked the door, the assassins crept out of the bushes and shades. They surrounded the building and placed more talismans on the windows and the front door.
Unlike Leo, the group of assassins witnessed everything Cat had done. They saw how the monster caught one of their members and ate him alive.
Duan Mu came out from hiding. He spoke in a hushed voice.
"Kill the plant monster first. Treat it as a golden core cultivator."
Five assassins unsheathed their blades and leaped on the roof. They imbued their element Qi into their weapons and hacked the giant head of the chomper plant.
CLANK
CLANK
The metal blades broke in half upon impact!
"What the?!"
"HOW?!"
The five assassins were shocked. They had hunted countless 3rd-stage monster beasts, but they always cut through them like tofu. However, this guy's skin was harder than their steel blades.
"Meow?"
While chewing the previous victim, Cat turned around. Then, it found five more intruders.
"Nom-Nom Meow?"
The assassins pulled out backup daggers from their waists and stabbed Cat's face in unison.
CLANK
CLANK
Once again, Cat's skin was like an impenetrable fortress. The daggers' tips bent upon impact.
Cat's eyes were still bright red. It glared at the assailants and moved its arm, lashing its newest weapons.
WHIP
WHIP
The thorn whips lashed the five assassins' bodies. Their torsos were broken in half!
"AAAHHH!!"
Death throes of the assassins alarmed everybody in the area. Duan Mu looked up and found that the five-man team was instantly wiped out.
That plant was not a 3rd stage monster! Its strength exceeded its usual Qi.
'Not good!'
Their cover was blown. It was a matter of time before the Florida Man came out to fight them. Still, Duan Mu and his men completed their first objective.
"ACTIVATE THE QI SEALING ARRAY!"
Duan Mu bellowed, and the remaining 13 assassins surrounded the building. They formed a hand incantation and injected their Qi into the talismans in their hands.
RUMBLE
All talismans lit up, creating a red dome, covering the entire building. Even Cat got trapped inside the array formation.
All assassins sneered at the chomper monster. They had done this countless times, and no victim had survived this array. Duan Mu grinned while Ouyang Ting let out a long sigh of relief.
Ignoring the casualty on his side, Duan Mu informed his lord.
"Young master, it's over. That monster and the expert inside have already lost their abilities to use Qi. Once he comes out, we can use ranged weapons to kill him. He will be as weak as a commoner as long as they stay inside the dome."
Ouyang Ting was interested in this technique. He wished to learn it.
"How does this work? Is it because of the talismans?"
Duan Mu laughed, "That's right, young master. Our clan has a deep connection with the Situ Clan. They have been supplying us with these talismans in exchange for our services. We get rid of their competitors, and they reward us with their best talismans."
"Hahaha. Is that right? I heard the Situ Clan is the best when it comes to alchemy and talisman scribers. One of their clan members is the master of the Cauldron Gnosis Sect, one of the three powerhouse alchemy sects on the mainland! We ride on their tailcoat, and we can expect great things."
"Young master is knowledgeable. I'm envious."
While Ouyang Ting bragged and Duan Mu bootlicked his boss, changes occurred to the monster on the rooftop. It suddenly leaped and charged at the assassins on the ground, opening its mouth and trying to bite the nearest victims.
Ouyang Ting frowned and stood behind Duan Mu for safety. However, the assassin captain laughed again.
"Don't worry, young master. No monster and cultivator can escape the array! They will get stuck in there while we're free to attack them."
BOOM
Cat's head smacked with the array barrier. It fell to the ground. Then, it looked at the red dome and the semi-transparent energy wall in confusion and frustration.
"Meow?!"
Cat innocently tried to bite the assassins on the other side of the energy dome. However, he couldn't get through.
"Mya?"
Cat was annoyed. It lashed its whips at the wall, trying to destroy it.
BOOM
BOOM
The array dome shook, and small cracks appeared. Again, Cat was confused.
"Meow…"
Duan Mu and the assassins sneered at Cat's attempt while they leisurely brought out small crossbows and poison darts to shoot at it.
"The array can repair itself. No matter how much it tries, its puny attacks can't get through. This array can even fend off any nascent soul cultivator's attacks!"
Cat tilted its head as it heard the comment. It climbed back to the rooftop and started rotating its whips. After getting a good momentum, it lashed the barrier again.
BOOM
BOOM
The two whips hit the same spot.
CRACK
This time, half of the barrier was cracked like a glass wall on the verge of falling apart.
"Huh!?"
Duan Mu and the assassins frowned. Nobody had cracked their array barrier to this extent, but this weak-looking monster almost shattered it in a few hits.
Not letting their guard down anymore, the assassins pointed their crossbows at Cat and imbued their element Qi into their bolts. Then, they unleashed a barrage.
The arrows passed through the array barrier as it was designed to block the insider's attacks while allowing the people outside to attack at will.
DING
All bolts bounced off Cat's skin, causing sharp noises as if they were needles hitting a thick steel plate. Instead of harming it, Cat was enraged.
It lashed the whips at the barrier again. This time, it didn't stop hitting the same area once or twice. Cat kept hitting it and roared.
"MYAAAA!!"
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
The array was fully cracked!
Duan Mu bellowed, "Strengthens the array! I'll attack that monster myself!"
After sending his order, Duan Mu unsheathed his long sword. He gathered metal essence in his sword, strengthening its durability, hardness, and sharpness. A semi-transparent soul of his came out from his body and overlapped with his real body. Then, he jumped to the sky and slashed down, shooting a long-range attack from the sky.
A crescent energy sword wave descent upon Cat.
Cat looked up. Sensing the danger, it jumped off the roof.
SWUA!
One of its roots was slightly cut and caused bleeding. Cat tumbled and fell to the backyard of the shop. Then, it noticed its small wound.
BOOM
The energy blade hit the building directly. However, it caused no damage to it.
"Hmm?!"
Strangely, the fragile-looking wood building was intact after being hit by his sword energy. Duan Mu always managed to cut through trees and steel plates with ease, but it didn't work here.
Duan Mu sensed something amiss. His instinct cried that he was in danger.
"MYAAAOW!!"
The monster suddenly yowled like a cat in pain or distress. Its eyes were moist, and it was calling for its parent for help.
The assassins repositioned themselves and surrounded Cat. The crossbowmen pointed their weapons at the plant monster again, ready to finish it off.
The back door of the shop suddenly blasted open.
.
.
"MYAAAA!!"
"Huh?"
The commotion got louder and louder while Leo was in his bed, trying to get some sleep. He sat up and complained, "What the hell, Cat? Are you fighting something weird in the woods again?"
Leo got out of bed. Then, he placed his ear on the wall, trying to listen outside.
BOOM
BOOM
Something loud was going on, and Leo didn't understand why. He got out of the bedroom and opened the front curtain to look outside.
There was nothing there.
BOOM
BOOM
The sound came from the east side of the store, where there was no window. Leo clicked his tongue as he didn't want to go out and get swarmed by bugs and night mosquitoes again.
As Leo was about to go back to sleep, he received a rare message from the shop domain system.
DING
"…"
Leo stopped on his track. He turned his head to look at the message.
"Attacked? By whom?"
He didn't remember provoking anybody except the wolves. It confused him why he would be attacked out of the blue. But then, as a former American, his instinct remembered the usual burglary and robbery in the neighborhood.
Leo scratched his head in frustration.
"I thought Asians are educated and humble. I guess not everybody follows the stereotype."
Leo cracked his fists and walked toward the back door. But then, he suddenly had a weird inspiration.
"Say, system. I know that I can't steal my customer's lifespan without their consent, but is there a way to punish those intruders for raiding my store? How about a fine? Of course, they have to pay with their lifespan."
Normally, the system never replied to Leo's questions. However, this time, it gave him support.
"Good to know."
Getting the confirmation, Leo felt a lot better. He tried to open the back door.
Click-Click
The knob didn't turn as if it was stuck by something even though it was unlocked. Leo frowned and exerted more force.
CRACK
He exerted too much force. The doorknob was broken.
"Tsk."
Without a choice, Leo kicked the door, sending it flying outside. Then, he heard a strange shattering sound of glasses upon impact.
The door was blasted open, and a layer of red wall collapsed.
"Finally."
Leo deeply sighed and looked at the broken door. He scratched his head, thinking about how he would repair the door after this. While looking at the door, he noticed that Cat was nearby. He gazed at the plant.
It was bleeding. Green blood was dripping from one of Cat's major roots. Moreover, the plant was yowling.
"…"
Leo silently stared at the injured plant. Then, he shifted his eyes, glancing at the assailants outside. Finally, he discovered the assailants.
"You there… Which one of you hurt my Cat?" Leo stared at the nearest assassin.
The black-robed men readied their weapons, preparing to shoot crossbow bolts at Leo.