Master Of Astral Summoner-Chapter 165: Fight with hidden creature

[What? How?]

"We need to destroy every large rock in this area until thick dust fills the entire chamber," Shaan said as he tightened his grip on his dual short swords. His expression turned serious. "After that, I’ll use Dash and strike it."

[That’s it? Are you sure this plan will work?] Robin Hood raised an eyebrow, doubt flickering across his face. [You’ll only cloud your own vision. You won’t see anything except silhouettes.]

"I know—and that’s exactly the point." Shaan smiled faintly. "When everything turns blurry, that creature’s silhouette will appear too. I only need to find the one that looks unnatural. That will be the thing that has been attacking us this whole time." Shaan exhaled. "It sounds risky, but it’s worth trying."

[Good grief... that actually makes sense.] Robin Hood stroked his chin. [I didn’t expect you to think this far ahead, Shaan.]

"Now listen carefully," Shaan said. "Use Swift Quiver again—but fire continuously this time. Destroy as many rocks as you can before that creature attacks."

[Understood. Executing.]

After hearing Shaan’s instructions, Robin Hood drew his bow and shattered every large rock in his path. Within moments, waves of dust flooded the chamber, swallowing everything in a thick, blinding haze.

Now I just need to find the unfamiliar silhouette.

Shaan channeled mana into both of his dual short swords. This time, I’ll find it.

He swept his gaze rapidly across the area, examining every silhouette that appeared in the dust. Most of them looked the same—shapeless, chaotic, and completely motionless. They resembled piles of rubble rather than living beings.

Something has to be here.

Then Shaan’s eyes locked onto one silhouette that looked different. It stood among the scattered shapes yet moved slightly, as if searching for something. Its form resembled a lizard—similar to the Lizardman Shaan had fought before—but smaller and leaner. More importantly, it moved.

"That’s it. This is my chance."

Without hesitation, Shaan dashed forward. He pierced through the dense dust at blinding speed, making his movements impossible for the mysterious creature to track.

"Take this, you bastard!"

’Slash! Slash!’

Lightning-fast strikes tore into the creature’s body, and thick, dark-purple fluid splashed across Shaan’s dual short swords. Shaan said nothing. A satisfied smile curved across his lips. His plan had worked. He had found the damned creature—and wounded it.

"No more hiding, you bastard."

The dense dust slowly thinned, fading from the air until the chamber came back into view. For the first time, the mysterious figure that had lurked in the shadows revealed its true form. Shaan’s suspicion proved correct. A blue-scaled lizard-like creature stood before them, its long claws gleaming under the dim light.

[Excellent work, Shaan.] Robin Hood smiled with confidence as he raised his bow. [Now feel my attack, you filthy creature.]

Arrows shot forward in rapid succession, tearing through the air toward the injured beast. Yet the creature still moved. It twisted its body with uncanny agility, dodging every arrow before vanishing once again.

[Argh—damn it!] Robin Hood clenched his fist, his jaw tightening. [It disappeared again. How are we supposed to catch it now?!]

"Calm down," Shaan said as he pointed toward the ground. "We can still track it easily." His finger followed a dark trail along the stone floor. "I wounded it. Look—this black-purple liquid is its blood. It’s still flowing..."

His finger traced the trail until it stopped near a pile of broken rocks not far away.

"There. That thing is hiding among those stones."

[Good. Then I won’t let it escape.]

Robin Hood fired another barrage of arrows. The stones shattered, and the creature’s camouflage collapsed instantly. Its form emerged clearly this time. Good. They wouldn’t lose it again.

’Now’s my chance.’

Shaan burst forward. His body shot through the chamber as he swung his dual short swords at blinding speed. He spun sharply, turning his body one-hundred-eighty degrees as he unleashed a relentless flurry of strikes, aiming to break the creature’s defense.

’Cling! Cling! Cling!’

The creature raised its claws and blocked every blow with terrifying precision. At the same time, sharp spikes burst from its scaled body and launched toward Shaan.

"Damn it—!"

Shaan twisted aside just in time, dodging the spikes by a hair’s breadth.

I didn’t expect it to counterattack this fast.

[Hey! Are you okay?!]

"Yeah, I’m fine." Shaan raised his thumb with a grin. "But we need a distraction. Throw something—anything—to draw its attention. I’ll finish it once it slips."

[Something to throw... Ah, how about those empty drums?] Robin Hood said. [We can use the drums to distract that creature.]

"Brilliant, Robin Hood." Shaan smiled in approval. "Your job is to throw every single drum before that creature launches its spikes."

[I understand.]

"Alright. Time to execute the plan."

Robin Hood moved swiftly toward the pile of empty drums that had served as Shaan’s hiding spot earlier. Without hesitation, he grabbed them one by one and hurled them forward. The drums flew through the air nonstop, forcing the blue-scaled lizard to slash wildly with its sharp claws.

[Take this, you damn lizard!] Robin Hood shouted as he threw the final drum with all his strength. [Shaan—now’s your turn!]

The moment the creature shredded the last drum, Shaan burst forward. He dashed straight toward the lizard at full speed and swung both of his dual short swords in a single, lethal arc. The blades sliced cleanly across the creature’s neck. The blue-scaled lizard collapsed instantly.

[You have slain a Blue Lizard]

[You obtained: 1x Blue Lizard Hide] 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

[Ding!]

[Current Rank: 450 out of 500 participants]

’Phew!’ Shaan let out a long sigh. ’ Still a long way to go... but at least I’m not last.’

Shaan released a long breath. That’s a good sign.

[Shaan, that was an incredible plan.] Robin Hood smiled with satisfaction. [We finally took down that damn creature that kept irritating me.]

"That’s true," Shaan replied, lowering his blades. "But our ranking still lags far behind the others. We need to hunt more of those annoying blue lizards."

[I agree.]

"We also need to find Chelsie and Nalira," Shaan added. "I can’t stop worrying about their condition."

As they turned to leave the place, a sudden flash of blue light erupted from a passage across the room. Shaan froze. He had never seen anything like it before.

[What was that blue light?]

"I...I don’t know," Shaan answered, his eyes fixed on the glow. "But we’re going to find out."