"It wasn't gnawed off by someone; it simply wasn't drawn."
"Not drawn?" Tarak was even more bewildered.
It wasn't just him; Serie, hidden in the shadows, was equally startled and suspicious.
Based on her understanding of the Mad Eater Witch, especially the Mad Eater Witch who possessed her full power a thousand years ago, killing these spear-wielding humans would have been like crushing ants.
What exactly happened back then?
Before any of the three could unravel the mystery of that year, at that moment—
Tap… tap… tap…
Clear footsteps, echoing off the rock, emerged without warning from the darkness deep within the passage…
Dead silence!
Time seemed to freeze at that instant.
Chloe and Tarak were like statues, instantly frozen in place.
Tarak's burly body visibly trembled, and the flashlight beam bounced wildly like a startled rabbit.
A current of shock, absurdity, and bone-chilling cold simultaneously shot up the spines of all three present, making their hairs stand on end.
Someone is here?
How is that possible?!
No warning, no roar.
Just as the footsteps approached the corner, a point of dark red light suddenly exploded from the darkness—
A black stone spear, wreathed in dark red energy and seemingly forged from tainted blood, ripped through the air, heading straight for Tarak's heart.
Fast! Too fast!
The speed completely exceeded the limits of human reaction.
"Wha—!" Tarak's mind went blank; he only managed a half-scream, his body clumsily trying to twist away.
Too slow! It was about to pierce him—
"Get out of the way!" Chloe abruptly shoved him aside!
Screech!
The black spear grazed Tarak's arm as it flew past.
The dark red energy from the spear tip merely swept by, instantly charring and carbonizing his sleeve.
A searing pain mixed with an icy numbness shot up his arm like lightning.
Boom!
The black spear violently embedded itself into the rock wall behind.
The rock was pierced as if it were tofu, the spear's tail vibrated violently, and spiderweb-like corrosive marks with a foul stench rapidly spread from the point of impact.
"Ugh!" Tarak fell to the ground, his face pale, large beads of cold sweat instantly covering his forehead.
The spear's wind whipped Chloe's black hair; she stared fixedly into the darkness as the owner of the footsteps finally stepped into the beam of light!
A ghastly white leg bone, reflecting a faint glow, stepped onto the slick rock!
Clinging dark purple putrid flesh squirmed like asphalt, dripping black oil, "sizzling" as it corroded the ground, sending up white smoke!
One… two… three…
Twisted figures slowly oozed out of the darkness.
These creatures were composed of fragmented frameworks of decayed bone, to which large patches of highly decomposed dark purple flesh stubbornly adhered, or rather… were forcibly confined, mainly concentrated in their chests, spines, and some limbs.
Their heads were slightly raised, their eye sockets completely devoid of eyeballs, containing only two clumps of dark red energy like ghost fires.
In their skeletal hands, they tightly gripped crude black stone spears.
"They're Anomalies!" Chloe's pupils contracted; she turned and shouted, "Tarak, run!!"
"What-ies?!"
Tarak had never heard that term, but he understood the word "run"; he scrambled to his feet, not bothering with Chloe, and turned to flee.
However, he hadn't run two steps before another figure blocked his retreat.
It was Serie, who had been following the two.
Her inhuman, eerie green eyes and the dense serrations in her mouth scared Tarak so much that his legs went weak, almost making him kneel before Serie.
But Serie didn't even glance at him; she was staring at the black spears in the Anomalies' hands.
The material of those black spears was the same as the muzzle that bound her!
This meant…
A massive amount of Gluttony Counts!
Serie stared at the black spears, her eyes glowing green, her mouth practically watering.
How many layers did a handful of broken stones give?
What about that special black metal?
Just a muzzle-sized piece exploded for 700 layers, not even counting the Pig Out bonus.
These weren't monsters; they were clearly walking Devouring gift packages!
I'm rich!
If the Wildfire Witch's body made Serie aggressive and bloodthirsty, then the Mad Eater Witch…
Aside from giving her a bottomless stomach, it also almost completely shielded Serie's fear nerve!
At this moment, she was even fiercer than an old lady fighting for discounted eggs at a supermarket opening!
"Aow—!" With an inhuman, excited growl, Serie transformed into a snowy white afterimage, rushing headlong towards the leading monster without a care.
Her speed created a gust of cold wind!
As she passed Chloe, Chloe initially thought Tarak had lost his mind and returned to play the hero, but when she turned her head—
Moon-like snowy white long hair? A small face with an inhuman, enchanting beauty?
And those… eerie green eyes shimmering with abundant appetite?!
Chloe's eyes widened in disbelief.
Was this ancient tomb really so lively?
In a flash, Serie had pounced in front of the leading monster, the Mad Eater Witch's wild instincts completely unleashed.
She didn't even think of using any technique; she simply opened her mouth, revealing a flash of cold, sharp fangs—
Crunch!!
She bit down hard on the opponent's thigh bone!
Whoa! It's quite hard, isn't it?
The bitten skeleton monster clearly felt no pain; it merely paused.
It instinctively raised its skeletal arm, striking Serie's head and shoulders with bits of decaying flesh, thumping loudly.
But Serie had no idea what letting go meant; she was as stubborn as an adorable, thousand-year-old white softshell turtle!
The two monsters beside them reacted, raising their black stone spears, wreathed in dark red energy, and fiercely stabbing Serie.
Pffft! Pffft!
One spear pierced her side abdomen! One spear pierced her arm!
Intense pain struck!
But… pain?
What is that?
Is it tasty?
Is it as fragrant as the "big bone" in her mouth?!
"Wuu!" Serie let out a muffled groan of pain, but instead of letting go, she was stimulated to become even more ferocious.
Her jaws unleashed terrifying biting force!
Snap—!
A crisp sound that made one's scalp tingle!
That heavily eroded thigh bone was actually bitten clean through and torn off by her.
The leading skeleton monster instantly lost its balance and crashed to the ground.
"Gulp!" Serie retreated a few steps, barely chewing, and swallowed the thigh bone whole.
As it went down, a burning, throbbing pain came from her pierced wounds.
[Mad Eater Witch used Wasteful Devour on "Erosion-Spawned Garrison Thigh Bone"]
[Gained 94 Devouring Layers]
[Current Gluttony Counts: 1363]
[Agility F+ → Agility E]
["Bone Erosion" +7%]
["Bone Erosion" current progress 7%, upon completion will gain ability "Chilling Devour"]
How much?
The surge in Gluttony Counts made Serie forget the piercing wounds on her body, finding them fragrant instead.
Are the bones of these "Erosion-Spawned Garrison" so nourishing?!
Bone broth is good for people; the ancients truly didn't deceive me!
Serie slowly raised her head, and as her purely appetite-driven, inhuman gaze swept over them, the already decayed bodies of the three Erosion-Spawned Garrison trembled uncontrollably, a sudden chill rising from their backs.