Chapter 23 - Cataclysmic Beast

Boom!

Upon seeing Little Black heavily crashing in front of him, Irving's expression suddenly turned sour, and a sense of foreboding surged in his heart.

In fact, he had sensed something unusual when the beast tide arrived. Different species of beasts inherently had restraining relationships, like the butcher and the pigman. However, they were able to harmoniously coexist within one camp…

"Could it be… there are even more powerful beasts in this tide?" Irving muttered to himself.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground suddenly began to shake.

From within the sea of fire, a huge figure was steadily moving towards them, getting closer and closer.

A massive figure about five meters tall appeared, its body covered with hard rocks. Its eyes, glittering like red rubies, were filled with a fierce glow.

The raging fire could not pose any threat to it, and even the swamp trap could not hinder its steps.

"This is terrifying. Is it… still considered a beast?" Vicky, looking up at the enormous creature in front of her, voiced out tremblingly.

In her impression, beasts were creatures of flesh and blood, whether they were butchers, pigmen, or wolf-headed humanoid beasts… This stone giant in front of her had obviously gone beyond this category.

At this moment, a system notification sounded in Irving's mind.

[Player has successfully unlocked Cataclysmic Beast!]

[Rockman]

[Introduction: A low-level beast of the Elf race. The Rockman is formed from the essence of the earth, nurtured by the essence of sun and moon for hundreds of years, gradually gaining life and consciousness. It possesses an indomitable physique and strong defense, with weaknesses being slow movement and eyes...]

[Hint: Every cataclysm will generate a Cataclysmic Beast, which is a test from the will of the Blue Star to specific players. Once defeated, rich rewards will be granted.]

"Damn it, did I hit the jackpot?" Irving felt bitter inside.

The player chosen by the Will of Blue Star was directly related to Irving's strategy of using swamp traps and fireball spells to burn thousands of beasts.

After all, other players were fighting life-and-death battles with the beasts at this moment. Their cries of despair echoing all around. Some of them had even fallen prey to the ruthless slaughter of the beasts... Meanwhile, Irving was leisurely waiting for the fire to die out, then casually picking up equipment scattered on the ground.

If other players were to see this scene, they would definitely be furiously spitting blood: "Is this a human thing to do?"

Although the system mentioned that defeating the Rockman would yield generous rewards, but how easy could it be to defeat a cataclysmic beast?

Most importantly, if Irving were to die in this process, and the shelter were to be destroyed, the consequences are unthinkable.

Irving just wanted to safely survive the first cataclysm, but now he had no choice!

The next moment, the Rockman, with eyes like eerie gemstones, stared at Irving, then roared and charged through the sea of fire.

Its five-meter-tall body was like a heavy bomb that would pulverize anything it hit.

"Irving!" Vicky's gaze fell onto Irving. She put all her hopes on this man.

If it weren't for him, she would probably not have survived the first wave of the beast tide.

Now, facing the cataclysmic beast - the[Rockman], she made up her mind, even if she were to die, she would die with him!

"Don't panic." Irving's brain was running fast. He knew that panicking would only make him die faster.

However, he didn't have much time left...

As the Rockman was about to break free from the swamp trap, Vicky closed her eyes in despair. She just prayed now that the pain would come quickly. Just then, a familiar voice came into her ear.

"I've got it!"

Irving's deep eyes stared at the Rockman. He swiftly waved his staff and casted the subsidiary skill [Gravity Swamp].

The next moment, the Rockman's figure lurched downward, its movement to pounce became clumsy and slow.

Roar!

The Rockman roared continuously, striking the ground with its massive hand, as if trying to break free from its binding.

Upon witnessing this scene, Vicky's expression was one of disbelief.

The Rockman, who was previously able to easily traverse through the swamp trap, now seemed confined in place, seemingly exerting a lot of effort to move forward even a single step.

"How did you do it?" Vicky asked, puzzled, but more so surprised.

Irving smiled, not offering an explanation, but nodded satisfactorily within.

[Auxiliary Skill: Low-Rank-Gravity Swamp! (Skill hint: Apply gravity magic within a certain range, the current stage is twice the gravity, the speed of the beasts or players within the spell range will be slowed down...)]

This was the second auxiliary skill he obtained after upgrading his staff. It allowed all beasts within the spell area to bear twice their gravity. Meaning—the Rockman was currently enduring twice its own weight!

However, Irving's smile did not last long.

At this moment, he felt his mental power being consumed rapidly. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to hold on for a minute. The [Gravity Swamp] he just deployed would fail.

He looked over at Vicky: "Hurry! Use your healing spells at full strength. We need to figure out a solution quickly."

As threads of flowing light radiated from Vicky and rapidly entered Irving's body, he quickly cast his talent skill [Soul Plunder] as he looked towards the charred bodies in the sea of fire.

The next moment.

Slowly, bodies stood up from within the sea of fire, ranging from the lowest-ranked Pigmen to butchers and the Wolf-headed beast. They seemed to have been resurrected, feeling no pain even standing amidst the raging fire, like walking zombies.

Irving, on the other hand, was not faring well either. He had to maintain the oppression of the [Gravity Swamp] on the Rockman while controlling more than two dozen beasts. Even with Vicky, the healing mage, constantly supplying mental power from behind, he was still running out...

Sweat droplets the size of beans appeared on his forehead, he clenched his teeth: "Attack!"

With his command, over twenty beasts charged forward, furiously gnawing at the Rockman trapped in the swamp.

"It doesn't seem to be working..." Vicky could see clearly. The Rockman's outer defense was too strong, even amidst the siege, no damage could be done to it.

Roar!

The Rockman roared forcefully again, swinging its massive arms. The beasts that had just pounced on it were knocked into the air. With each thud of landing, their already charred bodies shattered upon impact.

"Is there really no other way?" Irving shook his head.

He suddenly remembered the system's hint, which clearly stated the Rockman's weaknesses:

One, slow movement speed, two…

Irving gazed into the Rockman's eyes, which shone brilliantly like gemstones.

He slowly lowered the staff he held in his hand.

"Irving, what's wrong with you?" Vicky was still working hard, exerting all her strength to cast the talent spell [Healing Art], she continued: "There must be other ways…"

However, when she said this, she could feel a significant lack of confidence in her heart. After all, what stood before them was the cataclysmic beast, the [Rockman]!

As the staff was put down, the [Gravity Swamp] that had been bound to the Rockman also disappeared. It was as if a beast had escaped its cage, vigorously climbing out of the swamp, swinging its massive arm made of rock, and slamming toward Irving's direction.

"Irving!" Vicky shouted, her voice filled with both grief and anger.

Even Little Black, who had initially been thrown out of the sea of fire, raised its head with difficulty at this moment. Its big watery eyes watched this scene and couldn't help crying out a desolate howl.

The arm of the Rockman that was lifted was falling rapidly!

"Little Black!" Irving suddenly turned his eyes to the side, "Help me! Get up there!"

As he said this, his gaze was firmly fixed on the Rockman's eyes.

With just these few keywords, the clever Little Black seemed to understand something. It suddenly rose up and began to run with all its might. On the other hand, Irving seized the opportunity, jumped up while stepping on Little Black's back, using Little Black's upward inertia, his whole body leaped several meters in the air.

However, just as Irving leapt, the Rockman's arm also slammed down with a resounding crash. Bang! With a violent collision sound, the world seemed to become quiet at this moment.

Vicky despairingly closed her eyes, a tear trickling down her cheek…

Yet, she didn't notice a golden ray that suddenly flashed by!