Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Medusa immediately recognized Gao Peng as soon as it saw him poke his head out from behind Fourth Baby. Even though it had been three whole years, to someone who spent most of their time in a labyrinth, Gao Peng was someone who was worth remembering.
âWant me to take care of this guy for you?â said Gao Peng, pointing at the Mountain Giant.
The Mountain Giant was a Rock-type monster. Immunity to Petrification was one of its passive skills. Petrification had little to no effect on it, as its body was already made of stone. Trying to turn it into stone would be like trying to drown a fish.
Medusa hurriedly nodded. It wasnât opposed to some help at this point. It knew that it was no match for the Mountain Giant, while the latter knew that it outmatched it, as well. Otherwise, it wouldnât have been there trying to usurp the title of labyrinth master.
Being on the weaker side of the Emperor-tier spectrum, the Mountain Giant would probably have a lot of trouble trying to take control of any other labyrinths. It had physical strength to spare, its skin was nigh impenetrable, and it was especially immune to Earth and Rock-type attacks. However, it had a glaring weakness: its overall lack of agility, thanks to its huge, cumbersome body.
Medusaâs petrification attack had no effect on it. As physical attacks werenât its specialty, it could only rely on its innate agility as it spun circles around the Mountain Giant. Medusa was already thinking about letting the Mountain Giant have this place if it meant that its heart could still beat a little longer. After all, it could always look for other labyrinths to call home. It just needed to take the stone sparrow statue out of the labyrinth first.
âFourth Baby, take it from here,â Gao Peng said. He didnât see the need to summon any other familiars to take on the Mountain Giant.
Fourth Baby was essentially Gao Pengâs glorified riding familiar. Unlike his other familiars, it didnât have a strong presence in the team. Gao Peng had no reason to let it fight his battles most of the time.
Fourth Babyâs eyes lit up. Its master only ever let Da ZI and the others take care of his enemies. This was the first time he had let it enter the battlefield. I canât disappoint Gao Peng now.
A silver light exploded from Fourth Babyâs Aurora Wings, which now looked like two huge swords slicing the air. Boom, boom, boom!
At that moment, the Mountain Giant was enveloped by its Aurora Wings. Its body was being slashed repeatedly by something sharp. Letting out a roar, the Mountain Giant rushed at Fourth Baby, ready to beat it to a pulp. However, the latter had flown out of its reach. No matter how hard the Mountain Giant tried, its fists couldnât reach Fourth Baby.
Fourth Babyâs Aurora Wings continued lashing out at its opponent like a pair of whips. In the end, the Mountain Giant couldnât take it anymore, and it ran off with its hands over the back of its head.
Upon seeing the Mountain Giantâs fleeing form, Medusa heaved a sigh of relief.
Gao Peng ordered Fourth Baby to descend to the ground. He then jumped down from its back and said, âLong time, no see. Iâve been abroad for some time, but now Iâm back. You look just as ravishing as the last time I saw you three years ago.â
Medusa blushed. Gao Peng snapped his fingers, summoning Stripey to him in order to protect himself from Medusaâs gaze.@@novelbin@@
Gao Peng and the others were now standing so close to Medusa that they could basically make eye contact with it. Fourth Baby was the only one who couldnât resist Medusaâs petrifying gaze. It turned away hurriedly, not daring to meet its eyes.
Medusa curiously looked at Stripey. It seemed to have grown a lot since Medusa had last seen it. It then turned to Gao Peng, inviting him to its labyrinth to rest for a bit.
Gao Peng graciously accepted the invitation. Along the way, he summoned Fatty Big Sea into the open with another snap of his fingers. It was in its shrunken form. âWeâre in a labyrinth, albeit a rather ordinary one. See if you can sense anything in it.â
As soon as it was summoned into the labyrinth, Fatty Big sea immediately picked up on a strange smell in the air. Frowning, it said to Gao Peng, âThis place was passed down by that elephant. No wonder it looks so familiar.â
Gao Peng then watched as Fatty Big Sea pressed itself against the labyrinthâs wall, sucking on it like a leech.
âWhatâs it...â started Medusa, giving Gao Peng a worried look. It had never seen such an odd spectacle in all its life.
âDonât worry, itâs nothing,â said Gao Peng casually. He walked over to Fatty Big Sea and pulled it off the wall. âLetâs go deeper into the labyrinth. The scentâs stronger there.â Upon hearing this, Fatty Big Sea stopped struggling and simply let Gao Peng drag it away by the tail.
âNo other monster has passed through these corridors in a long time,â said Medusa, who was leading the way in front of them.
The labyrinth was silent. Unlike other labyrinth masters, who had taken it upon themselves to groom their own servants, Medusa preferred living there alone.
Even if it wanted to take on another monster as a servant, it would be hard-pressed to find one that could resist its gaze. Most monsters would simply be transformed into stone ornaments for the labyrinth.
After some time, they finally reached the deeper parts of the labyrinth. There, Gao Peng could see that there was a bamboo forest. Sunlight passed through the bamboo leaves, beneath which the ground looked mottled. Stone statues of various shapes and sizes were gathered in the center of the place.
âThese are the stone statues Iâve collected so far,â said Medusa cheerily.
âThis is a golden boar. It was the first monster I encountered after leaving my motherâs labyrinth and also the first monster I petrified,â it explained, nostalgically caressing the life-like statue of a boar.
Gao Peng nodded as he gazed at the statues around him, all of which seemed to have been carved by an expert hand. He knew that these werenât statues that had been carved by hand, but rather, monsters that had been frozen into stone for eternity.
âAnd this here is...â Medusa began giving Gao Peng a grand tour of the place. Gao Peng nodded, listening to its every word attentively and even occasionally giving his own opinion on something.
On the other hand, Fatty Big Sea was left to scamper about on its own the moment they entered the place. âThat damn elephantâs scent is faint here. This place definitely has its architectural sense written all over it, but it has never been here, thatâs for sure. I donât think this place was even built by it,â muttered Fatty Big Sea.
âStill, there is the matter of its scent... Could this place have been built by its divine artifact?â it said, visibly excited. The thought of desecrating its sworn enemyâs grave by relieving it of its divine artifact excited Fatty Big Sea greatly.
âHave you ever thought about leaving this place? You could come along with me. Thereâs nothing interesting to do here in the labyrinth. Thereâs a more beautiful place out there waiting for you, you know,â said Gao Peng.
Medusa shook its head. âThe outside worldâs a bit too noisy.â
âBut the Mountain Giantâs still out there. You couldnât even fend it off yourself back there,â said Gao Peng, sighing. âOnce Iâm gone, itâll definitely come back to challenge you again. Itâs obvious that youâre at a disadvantage against it,â he explained.
Medusa closed its eyes as it pondered this for a good while. Opening its eyes, it said, âIf it comes to that, Iâll just let it have my labyrinth and find a new place to stay.â
âDonât you think thatâs a bit too troublesome? Will you be able to take all your possessions with you?â said Gao Peng, pointing at the pile of treasures and trinkets in the middle of the labyrinth.
Medusa fell silent again.
âYou and I both know that the Mountain Giant wonât let you take your sweet time to pack up when it comes back here again.â
âEven if I choose to leave with you, thereâs no way you can take all this with you,â said Medusa, sensing an obvious flaw in Gao Pengâs suggestion.
Gao Peng smiled. âThatâs what you think.â With a snap of his fingers, the amazingly convenient storage space that was Silly appeared in front of them.