The Frail Guide Who Devoured an Entire Pollution Zone

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Creating an Opportunity

Ignoring the Golden Octopus, Xu Qingsui fixed her gaze on the enormous turtle head staring them down.

The turtle’s massive necks were constantly swaying, occasionally roaring at the team members before it.

A foul wind accompanied the roars, and several team members nearly buckled under the stench.

’Seriously, it’s like it hasn’t brushed its teeth in ten thousand years. This smell is on a whole other level.’

Perhaps adhering to the principle of ’if the enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move,’ Lu Jingyu and the others also held back.

’How long is this standoff going to last? The one thing this behemoth isn’t afraid of is a waiting game.’

Unwilling to wait any longer, Xu Qingsui took the initiative and stepped forward.

Catching sight of Xu Qingsui stepping forward out of the corner of his eye, Lu Jingyu frowned slightly.

He turned his body halfway, shielding Xu Qingsui behind him.

”Stand behind me. I... We will do everything in our power to protect you.”

Lu Jingyu didn’t finish his sentence. A strange feeling rose in his heart, and he quickly corrected himself.

”I appreciate the sentiment, but I want to do something too. You don’t have to worry about me; I’ll be responsible for myself.”

”Responsible for yourself? What could you possibly do? Tickle the Mutant?”

Even though she had been warned, Li Yaru couldn’t control her emotions when she saw Lu Jingyu protecting Xu Qingsui.

She wanted to say more, but one look from Lu Jingyu forced her to retract her gaze, resentful.

”Relax. I can do more than just tickle. As a guide, my primary role is to help Sentinels soothe their emotions, but don’t forget, my spiritual power is stronger. I might be able to find the Mutant’s weakness, which would be another way to help you fight it.”

Xu Qingsui had no intention of revealing that she could devour the spirit bodies of pollution sources.

But she wouldn’t just sit back and take it while Li Yaru targeted and tried to frame her time and again.

Glancing at Li Yaru, she spoke a few clear, logical sentences that reached everyone’s ears.

Although none of them had ever heard of a guide operating this way, no one, including Lu Jingyu, could find a flaw in her reasoning.

Especially when they thought about guides they’d known in the past—arrogant, coddling their own lives, and hiding as far away from danger as possible.

It was a stark contrast to Xu Qingsui, who had voluntarily offered to enter the instance and face the enemy alongside the Sentinels.

Lu Jingyu’s doubts vanished. He just assumed that previous guides had hidden their full capabilities to avoid danger.

”Alright, then. But you must be careful. If there’s danger, hide behind me. Even if we come away with nothing, don’t push yourself.”

Xu Qingsui nodded and finally moved to stand beside Lu Jingyu.

But neither side showed any intention of attacking. This was just a waste of time.

”’Don’t move until the enemy moves’ might work on a battlefield, but we have zero advantage against this behemoth.”

Lu Jingyu was the leader of this team. Xu Qingsui knew she couldn’t order the others around, nor was it her place to give Lu Jingyu direct orders.

She kept her eyes on the giant turtle and voiced her thoughts as if speaking casually.

Her words stirred something in Lu Jingyu. ”Given this Mutant’s size, it’s highly unlikely to flee. But if we just stay on the defensive like this, we’re accomplishing nothing.”

”If the Mutant stays put, sure, we buy more time. But how can we compete with it in a waiting game?”

”If we can’t drag this out, our only choice is to attack and create an opening. In that case, there’s no point in waiting for it to make the first move.”

As he spoke, Lu Jingyu tightened his grip on his dagger and began to channel his internal energy into the blade.

Facing such a formidable enemy, their only chance to buy time was to go all out.

Seeing this, the other team members adopted expressions of grim resolve and began to gather their strength.

Even Li Yaru, despite suspecting they were being led by the nose by Xu Qingsui, took up her weapon.

Her goal achieved, Xu Qingsui ignored the hostile glare from a certain corner and said in a low voice, ”I’m counting on you all. I’ll do my best to find the Mutant’s weakness.”

Lu Jingyu watched her and nodded. His lips moved several times before he finally spoke. ”Be careful. Even if you can’t find a weakness, just focus on finding a chance to escape to safety.”

With that, Lu Jingyu raised his dagger and was the first to charge the giant turtle.

”Attack its necks and heads first!”

At Lu Jingyu’s command, four other figures charged toward the giant turtle.

Sensing the killing intent, the turtle heads stopped swaying and instead swept out horizontally toward the Sentinels.

Xu Qingsui hadn’t moved, but the turtle head targeting her did.

Its neck, as thick as a water tank, slammed toward her like a massive tree trunk.

Before the neck even arrived, the massive wave it created swept toward her.

Knowing that her combat experience from her past life wasn’t entirely applicable here, Xu Qingsui didn’t dare to face the attack head-on.

Just as she was about to dodge, a figure appeared before her.

The massive wave instantly struck Lu Jingyu, but he used the momentum in midair to twist his body and meet the neck that followed right behind.

Xu Qingsui froze for a second, her gaze catching the other neck—the one targeting Lu Jingyu—also sweeping in.

But Lu Jingyu showed no sign of abandoning her to deal with his own attacker.

With a single impact, he somehow managed to single-handedly hold off both necks.

”You don’t have to—”

”Focus on finding a weakness. Whether we get out of this alive is up to you.”

Lu Jingyu cut her off, then turned his full attention to the Mutant.

Xu Qingsui’s heart tightened. Not daring to be distracted any longer, she focused on finding an opportunity.

She watched as the other team members were struck one after another by the massive necks, crashing heavily to the ground.

But they would quickly scramble back to their feet, spit out a mouthful of blood, and charge back into the fray.

Although Lu Jingyu was fighting two at once, he didn’t seem to be struggling nearly as much.

’It looks like Lu Jingyu is my only hope for an opportunity.’

So far, Lu Jingyu was handling his opponents with ease and showed no signs of entering a frenzy.

’If he used his Frenzy Power, he should be able to overwhelm the giant turtle.’

’It’s risky, but it’s also the most likely way to create an opportunity for me to devour the spirit body.’

Xu Qingsui hardened her heart. ’It might be unfair to Lu Jingyu, but it’s better than all of us just waiting to die.’

’Besides, I’ll be here. I’ll do everything I can to soothe him and help him calm down afterward.’

Weighing the pros and cons, Xu Qingsui seized an opportunity when Lu Jingyu dodged another attack, moving to his side.

”This behemoth relies mainly on its shell. Its other strengths are just from being ancient. Don’t hold back. We still have a hope of taking it down.”

After hearing her words, Lu Jingyu’s gaze grew even colder as he looked at the enormous turtle heads.

’There’s hope! Then I’ll bet it all!’

With a flick of his wrists, a dagger appeared in each of Lu Jingyu’s hands. Clenching one between his teeth, he tore a strip of cloth from his uniform with a loud RIP.

He used the strip to tie the dagger securely to his hand.

Then he did the same with the other dagger.

Lu Jingyu could handle two of the turtle’s necks with strength to spare because he was an SSS level sentinel.

But the other team members were no match for him. Within moments, several of them were sent flying past him.

He reached out and caught a teammate, whose face was completely drained of color.