Chapter 762: Gatekeeping
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
An old saying said that lap dogs received nothing in the end. But at the same time, there was a contradictory old saying—lap dogs receive everything in the end.
“Everything…” The Li Tribe elders watched this big dog run wildly across the grassy field in shock.
A couple of days earlier, it had still been a very typical Hell’s Three-Headed Dog, but that day, it became a spiky monster hybrid of a porcupine and a three-headed dog.
“Awoo—”
“Woof woof woof!”
“Awoo—”
The three heads let out loud barks, dashing over the yard to their heart’s content.
In the past year, Sahara had eaten a lot and gained a lot of strength. The first time they had met, the creature was only Level-71, barely at the Overlord tier.
Now, it was at Level-86. Although it was still Epic-grade, it had two special characteristics.
However, Sahara’s first ability was rather useless. It was called Gatekeeper, and it was pretty common. All it did was increase strength and speed. Increasing strength and speed was never bad—no matter the time, strength and speed were the most important assets in battle. They were also key links, cornerstones. But as cornerstones, strength and speed could be increased.
When one increased a monster’s level, strength and speed increased proportionately, but some special abilities wouldn’t increase even when their level increased, like Devil-Thorn Storm-Off.
“Is it Your Majesty’s familiar?” asked an elder.
“No.” Gao Peng shook his head. “He’s my familiar’s pet.”
The elder looked at Sahara on the grass that gave off a Saint-tier aura and fell into contemplation.
Goldie heard their conversation, and jumped out to exclaim, “My pet! What do you think of my pet?”
“Uh…” The elder was astonished. He had thought the king was kidding. Was this Saint-tier three-headed dog really just a familiar’s pet? The elder felt like his world had turned upside down.
Not only him, but but the other elders on the side were also amazed. They even had a sense of indescribable oddness.
The elders all had their theories.
“It wasn’t like this yesterday…”
“Yeah, this is my first time seeing a three-headed dog that turned into a porcupine.”
“Could its father be a Hell’s Porcupine?”
What could Gao Peng say? Was he supposed to mention that it would grow five tails in a while? What would they think then, that the grandfather of this Hell’s Three-Headed Dog was, in fact, a Hell’s Scorpion…?
“I just promoted its attributes. It has evolved now,” Gao Peng explained.
The other elders’ expressions changed when they heard this.
“Evolution takes time and outside stimulus. Send your familiars to fight with it,” Gao Peng said.
The elders were hesitant. They weren’t stupid; they noticed things from Gao Peng’s actions. Over the past year, the Li Tribe had some conflicts with the four big tribes. The four big tribes had been severely punished by the king, and now it was their turn, except His Majesty was using a gentler method.
This was only the pet of one of His Majesty’s familiars. Even if they won, it wouldn’t be honorable or affect the king’s reputation, but if they lost, it would be a great disgrace.
“Haha, all right. It’s my opportunity to see how Your Majesty raises familiars.” Gu Zha laughed gallantly without a trace of concern.
Gao Peng sat on a chair, smiling with his back to everyone.
“But… Your Majesty needs to watch out. My familiar is also a Saint-tier, but it’s at the peak.”
“That’s fine. If you kill it, I can get a new pet.”
“Awoo…” Sahara turned around to gaze at Gao Peng bitterly.
Gu Zha stretched out his right hand, distorting the air. A dazzling purple light enveloped the entire area as a colossal monster descended from the sky.
It was a humongous centipede that was over 65 feet in length. Its upper body stood tall like a giant serpent coiled on the plain. Its body had 67 segments in total. Each segment’s backshell had a pair of small, sharp, light pink wings.
The gigantic centipede flicked its greenish-black tongue, and a vicious aura came from inside.
[Monster Name]: Gigantic Demon Centipede Leader (Mutated)
[Monster Level]: Level 90 (Saint-tier)
[Monster Grade]: Legendary/Legendary
[Monster Attribute]: Poison
[Monster Ability]: Divine Power Level 8, Crimson Venom Level 8, Hunting Tracks Level 8
[Special Characteristics]: Giant Predator (Passive Effect 1: Has an oppressive aura towards smaller opponents.
Active Effect 2: After activation, the Gigantic Demon Centipede can steal vitality from its venom. This effect lasts for a while.)
Deformed Heart (A deformed heart has 12 air holes and greater explosive power than ordinary monsters of the same kind.
Passive Effect 1: Increased stamina.
Active Effect 2: When it explodes its greatest power, it can have three times its normal attack speed.)
[Monster Weakness]: Fire
[Monster Description]: A vicious centipede that lives in marshes, it has a large stature and is aggressive and belligerent. Sometimes, it even eats its own kind when it’s low on food. This Gigantic Demon Centipede is a rare mutated variant. Its heart is stronger than others of its kind.
The Gigantic Demon Centipede’s giant tail swept across the ground. At the same time, it released a dense crimson fog from its mouth. The soil and plants it touched corroded instantly.
The area of the crimson fog became a restricted zone. Sahara’s middle black and white head frowned, its two big eyes showing a human-like expression of shock as it dashed away wildly to evade the dense fog.
Behind it, the Gigantic Demon Centipede pursued savagely, leaving ruins in its path.
Even Sahara didn’t dare face this giant centipede upfront. It could only run wildly to avoid its attacks, while also looking for an opportunity to strike back.
Goldie, who was standing behind Gao Peng, lowered its head to look at Gao Peng’s back. From this angle, it couldn’t see Gao Peng’s face, only the thick, glossy black hair on his head.
After a moment of hesitation, Goldie raised its head to look at Sahara and said loudly to the dog, “Hey, you three fools! I order you, from now until the end of battle, you’re the gatekeepers of this door!”
After it said this, Goldie took out a small item to put on the ground, a wooden door the size of one’s palm. Rather than a door, it was more like a children’s toy.
Gao Peng turned his head slightly and saw the wooden door by his feet, which wasn’t even four inches tall and could be crushed with a single step. He couldn’t help but take a deep breath. He was astonished by Goldie’s actions.
Sahara, on the other hand, had just escaped an attack from the Gigantic Demon Centipede and rolled over on the ground. Its six little eyes all saw the door on the ground at the same time.
A door?! The six dog pupils narrowed to slits, their gazes instantly growing piercing.