After letting his chuunibyou¹ run wild for a short while, Zhang Che continued walking deeper into the swamp.

Every Swamp Crocodile that could be seen fell before him under the effects of the Psychedelic Ghost-Patterned b.u.t.terfly's powder. All he needed to do was step forward and harvest their lives.

The ground ahead was starting to become softer. He might find himself stuck in the mud if he was careless.

Fortunately, Zhang Che had covered his clothing with the Maneater Leech King's soft armor beforehand. Otherwise, he'd find himself stained with mud.

Although his steps sank deeper the further he walked forwards, Zhang Che was enjoying every bit of it. He had no intention of letting his subdued beasts do all the work for him. The feeling of harvesting an exotic beast's life with every swing of the sword was too enjoyable!

When Zhang Che cut down the third Swamp Crocodile's head, he finally obtained the first beast card of the day.

=========

[Swamp Crocodile]

Level: Two Star (Level 18)

Quality: Bronze

Type: Armor Type

Characteristics: Tough Skin, Above Average Defenses

Weakness: Low Resistance to Corrosion

Potential: E Rank

Cultivating Directions: ...

=========

"Hmm? I didn't expect it to be an armor-type beast card… but its potential is really trash. There's no value in cultivating them at all," Zhang Che pouted, and put the bronze card away. He wasn't even interested in seeing how it'd look like.

It wasn't even freaking comparable to his Maneater Leech King armor; what need was there to try it on!?

Zhang Che stepped forward again and killed a few more Swamp Crocodiles. After obtaining another two beast cards, Zhang Che had no choice but to stop advancing forward. His legs were now sinking in the mud from the kneecaps down, and he didn't dare to move forward any more.

"Forget it; there's not much sense of accomplishment in killing these kind of trash beasts, anyway. I'll just leave it to the little ones."

Shaking his head, Zhang Che returned in the direction he came from uninterestedly. On the other hand, the Fiery Scorpion and Wind Shadow Wolf quickly pounced at the Swamp Crocodiles affected by the Psychedelic Ghost-Patterned b.u.t.terfly's powder.

However, the two's performance were very contrasting.

The Fiery Scorpion was faring decently. This fiery red scorpion was now a two-star tier beast, its quality one level above the Swamp Crocodile's. All it took was a sting, injecting a little poison into the crocodile's body, and it would kill the exotic beast almost instantly.

On the other hand, the Wind Shadow Wolf's offensive strength wasn't high to begin with. In addition, the Swamp Crocodile's entire body was covered in tough scales. There was nowhere the Wind Shadow Wolf could bite down on. It took quite a bit of effort before it was done with its first kill.

Meanwhile, the Fiery Scorpion was already stinging the fifth Swamp Crocodile, aiming at its eye.

Looking at this scene, Zhang Che couldn't resist letting out a long sigh, "It's about time to phase out this mediocre beast with almost zero redeeming qualities."

Even the Fiery Scorpion was almost at the limits of its potential. In the future, it could only lay quietly in a cabinet as a collection card.

Despite the underwhelming performances of the two two-star beasts, Zhang Che didn't order the Purple Jade Condor to swoop down and finish the job. This fellow was a three-star dark gold-quality beast; what if it scared off the yet-to-appear lords of the Swamp Crocodiles?

The Fiery Scorpion and Wind Shadow Wolf continued harvesting the lives of the Swamp Crocodiles hurriedly. The Psychedelic Ghost-Patterned b.u.t.terfly was already finished with its job and fluttered back to Zhang Che, hovering over his head.

Suddenly, ripples started appearing on the muddy water surface about two hundred meters away. Two huge bodies concealed under the water's surface swam towards Zhang Che at high speed.

"So you're finally coming out, huh?" Zhang Che's lips curled up, focusing on them with a narrowed gaze.

Soon two huge, savage figures broke out of the murky water's surface, letting out low roars in unison as they pounced at the Fiery Scorpion and Wind Shadow Wolf separately.

Unlike the ordinary Swamp Crocodiles, these two lord-cla.s.s Swamp Crocodiles were not only covered in yellowish-brown scales, there were silvery lines on top of them, and their scales were deeper in color, as well.

The most obvious difference was their bodies. They were nearly twice as large as ordinary Swamp Crocodiles. Their long snouts were slightly open, revealing the mouthful of sharp teeth hidden within.

If you threw a small car in their way, these two were able to tear it in half with a single bite!

"Come back!"

Although he couldn't see the attributes of these two huge crocodiles, Zhang Che could sense that the Fiery Scorpion and Wind Shadow Wolf were no match for them at all, and he immediately made the decision to recall them.

After receiving Zhang Che's order, the two subdued beasts immediately stopped their one-sided ma.s.sacre of the Swamp Crocodiles and changed directions, running back to Zhang Che's side.

Naturally, the two horrifying crocodiles wouldn't let things end just like that. Each of them worked their thick, strong claws rapidly, chasing the two subdued beasts like relentless heavy tanks.

Seeing the two horrifying crocodiles approaching the hundred-meter range, Zhang Che mumbled to himself, "It's about time!"

A purple figure suddenly descended from the skies, covering a thousand meters in a flash, swooping straight down at one of the horrifying crocodiles like a bolt of purple lightning.

Before the crocodile could react to it, the Purple Jade Condor's talons were stabbed deep into its head, followed by a violent tearing that ripped off the top of its skull. Fresh red blood mixed with white brain matter was strewn about, and the crocodile was dead on the spot.

"What a pity, it didn't drop a beast card."

Zhang Che shook his head regrettably as he watched the crocodile's corpse turning into a white glow and dissipating. Afterwards, he s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the other side.

The remaining huge crocodile was scared out of its mind after the sudden demise of its companion. It hurriedly changed directions and crawled towards the nearest pool of water with all its might, running for its life.

Alas, how could its speed be comparable to the Purple Jade Condor's?

In the blink of an eye, the Purple Jade Condor caught up to the huge crocodile. Using the same moves, its sharp talons found their way into the crocodile's skull, ripping it open in the next second.

==[You Killed a Swamp Crocodile King. Obtained 24 Points of Soul Force. Obtained Swamp Crocodile King Card!]==

The wonderful sound of notification rang in his mind, as Zhang Che watched the Swamp Crocodile King's corpse turning into a s.h.i.+ny golden card. It was caught by the Purple Jade Condor with its beak, and it flew back to his side.

========

[Swamp Crocodile King]

Level: Three Star (Level 30)

Quality: Gold

Type: Armor Type

Characteristics: Exceptional Defenses, No Defensive Blind Spots

Weakness: Hinders Movement Slightly

Innate Attribute: St.u.r.dy. Provides an Incomparably Heavy Sense of Defense, Guards Extremely Well Against Charge-Type Attacks

Potential: C Rank

Cultivating Directions: ...

========

"Heh, a three-star gold-quality defensive beast card!" Zhang Che's smile was so wide that his eyes narrowed into slits. He finally had a fully defensive armor!

He immediately erased his spiritual imprint from the Wind Shadow Wolf card, and triggered a spiritual resonance with the Swamp Crocodile King card, materializing it.

A layer of golden light quickly enveloped Zhang Che, and turned into a deep brown full-bodied hard armor covering every inch of his body.

"There really is no defensive blind spot... Even the head is a closed full helmet. I wonder what it looks like on the outside..."

Zhang Che was completely covered in the hard armor. Even the eye area was covered in a layer of transparent material, providing a layer of defense.

As for breathing, Zhang Che could tell that there were many tiny holes in this set of hard armor, which didn't affect his defenses. Air could pa.s.s through easily, so he wouldn't die of suffocation wearing it.

He tried moving his arms and legs. He discovered that although the joint areas were much softer, there was still a feeling similar to wearing a thick layer of winter clothing, impeding his movements.

It seemed like that was exactly the weakness of the armor, hindering movement slightly. However, it wasn't a huge problem.

Zhang Che looked around and found a pool of water nearby. He strode over, lowering his head slightly and saw the complete outer appearance of the armor.

"Siii… why does this look so much like a freaking cosplay prop?!"

What entered his vision was a savage-looking crocodile head, its design extremely exaggerated.

The armor covering the rest of his body was very thick, as well. The overall appearance resembled a crocodile-turned-demon, leaving Zhang Che relating it to a cosplay prop.

It was indeed a little ugly, although he had no idea how strong its defenses were.

Zhang Che turned to look at Hanxue, who was waiting at the outskirt of the swamp. He wanted to test exactly how st.u.r.dy the armor was, as described by its Innate Attribute.

________________________

Translator's Note:

1 - A j.a.panese term, literally meaning Grade 8 Syndrome, typically used to describe people who have delusions of grandeur, imagining themselves as having some sort of hidden knowledge or secret power.