Shrimp.
Chu Tian knew that the scales on the iron-armored crocodile's body had extremely strong defense, even among D-level ferocious beasts, but its weaknesses were also obvious, namely the eyes and the deep throat inside the mouth.
These were the areas without the protection of the steel-like scales on its body. Of course, being able to penetrate the lower jawbone of the iron-armored crocodile in one go could kill it.
But sending himself into the mouth of the iron-armored crocodile to kill it was obviously unrealistic.
Moreover, even though Chu Tian had absorbed the previous archery talent, he was not proficient in using weapons like bows and arrows. Despite awakening his talent, he did not possess any martial skills, so his use of weapons was almost instinctive.
Keeping a distance from the iron-armored crocodile, the arrows formed by his ice talent continuously shot towards the crocodile, only slowing down the beast's steps.
A ball of flames leaped and condensed in Chu Tian's right hand. When the flames appeared, the intense heat made the iron-armored crocodile, which had been preparing for a fierce attack, slow down.
Clearly, fire was something all animals feared. Even ferocious beasts modified by spiritual energy would develop a hint of wariness toward it.
The iron-armored crocodile, about twenty meters away from Chu Tian, suddenly stopped. Both sides stared at each other.
In fact, Chu Tian was familiar with the abilities of the iron-armored crocodile from his past memories. Its skin seemed like steel, making it difficult for large-caliber bullets to penetrate its defenses. Once it clamped onto its prey, its death spin could easily twist a person's head off.
However, although the iron-armored crocodile's skin was tough, laser weapons could harm it. But due to the long charging time, laser weapons were currently used as defensive weapons in Federal bases or by some special combat personnel in sniper rifles.
As for Gauss-type weapons, although they could effectively kill ferocious beasts like the iron-armored crocodile, they were still in a semi-finished state due to braking issues and some special energy reasons.
So for now, the main force in combating ferocious beasts seemed to be the warriors.
The two faced each other for a few minutes, but the iron-armored crocodile seemed to be losing patience. Its huge mouth roared, and it pounced towards Chu Tian.
However, Chu Tian was not afraid at all. Instead, a fireball formed in his palm and was thrown towards the open mouth of the crocodile.
"Roar!"
Just as the fireball was about to hit itself, the iron-armored crocodile suddenly twisted its body, causing it to spin.
The fireball passed by the crocodile's back without slowing down and came back towards Chu Tian.
Chu Tian remained calm. He condensed ice in his left hand and hurled an icicle towards the crocodile's body. Then, he erected an ice wall in front of himself, leaving a hole in the ice wall large enough for the crocodile to pass through.
Although the crocodile was a ferocious beast, it was still an animal and instinctively tried to pass through the hole in the ice wall.
However, just as the crocodile's head had barely passed through the hole in the ice wall, Chu Tian seized the opportunity. The opening, originally large enough, instantly shrank, and in the blink of an eye, it froze the head of the iron-armored crocodile in place.
Only then did the iron-armored crocodile realize it had been deceived and attempted to break free from the ice wall with brute force.
Unfortunately, Chu Tian wouldn't give the iron-armored crocodile any chance. The ice wall rapidly expanded, and within a breath's time, it trapped the iron-armored crocodile in a huge block of solid ice, even freezing its head outside.
"Although you're a ferocious beast, you're still an animal," Chu Tian said as he approached. His right hand transformed into a long sword, and he aimed it at the eye of the trapped beast. He thrust the sword fiercely.
The blade penetrated deeply into the crocodile's head. Chu Tian grasped the hilt and twisted it forcefully, directly shredding the iron-armored crocodile's brain into pieces.
Immediately, a voice from the system rang in Chu Tian's mind:
"Detected decomposable materials. Would you like to decompose?"
"Decompose."
"Ding - Decomposition successful. Gained a small increase in strength/speed."
"Ding - Materials obtained, automatically placed in the spatial bag."
"Ding - Advanced mission: Kill a D-level ferocious beast. Mission completed. The system is about to upgrade, and new permissions will be unlocked after the upgrade. Would you like to upgrade?"
Unlocking permissions? Chu Tian suddenly understood that the system he had obtained before was probably just a probationary period given to him by the system. Now, it seemed that the probationary period had ended.
What was next? An apprentice?
Without hesitation, because the previous system had been completely disabled, he was eager to see what new abilities the upgraded system would provide.
"Can."
"Upgrade immediately," Chu Tian immediately said.
"Ding - Basic functions will be retained during system upgrade. This system will be fully upgraded in twelve hours. Please look forward to it," came the system's response. After that, Chu Tian couldn't hear the system's voice at all. Now, he could only silently wait for the system to finish upgrading.
Stepping out of the reptile house, Chu Tian found a sunny spot to bask in the sun and began to examine the items in his system space.
The intact outer skin of the iron-armored crocodile, its bones, and its blood – these three things were excellent materials for crafting defensive equipment and weapons.
Especially the bones of the iron-armored crocodile, which many Western craftsmen were very fond of.
While the East had mostly warriors, the Western alliance bases liked to call themselves knights or mages.
Although the city had its share of ferocious beasts, Chu Tian was somewhat tired of killing these low-level beasts.
He then turned his gaze towards the forest on the outskirts of the ruined city.
---
The forest was not very friendly to some low-level talented warriors, but it was also home to formidable individuals with strong talents despite their low levels.
Not long after entering the forest's outskirts, Chu Tian spotted a mutated spotted deer influenced by spiritual energy.
This spotted deer looked very beautiful, but its antlers were a strange metallic gray.
This was the Iron Antler Spotted Deer, and its antlers were highly valuable as weapon materials. The deer hides were highly sought after by many rich people in the base, making them excellent collector's items. As for the deer's sweat glands, they were a fantastic natural fragrance, with one gram worth at least a hundred thousand Federal Credits.
Encountering such a creature was rare, so Chu Tian naturally wouldn't let it go. After all, this was an adult spotted deer with well-developed sweat glands, and you could smell a faint musk from afar.
Chu Tian's hand transformed into a longbow, and an arrow formed from ice was nocked on the bow.
At this moment, he also heard the system's voice in his mind:
"Ding - Detected E-level psychic perception. Would you like to copy it?"
Chu Tian saw the data displayed above the head of the Iron Antler Spotted Deer:
"Iron Antler Spotted Deer"
"Gender: Male"
"Race: Beast"
"Level: E-level"
"Talent: Psychic Perception"
Without hesitation, Chu Tian silently said, "Copy!"
"Ding - Copy successful. Host gains E-level talent: Psychic Perception."