"Well, that's not the kind of fish I was aiming to catch," Merry mumbled, completely stunned by the sight before him.

Gunnir was the quickest to react. Already closest to the water's edge, he bent down, plunged his hands into the surface, and withdrew them holding a slender, transparent ice spike in each hand. He immediately hurled them toward the colossal octopus.

The octopus finally surfaced, clearly taken aback that any human would dare attack it first. The two ice spikes were sudden and unexpected. Before the giant creature could fully register what was happening, they pierced its head and a tentacle, one after the other. However sharp the spikes were, Gunnir’s throwing strength was clearly lacking; they only penetrated a few inches beneath the skin, failing to inflict any significant damage.

Struck by the ice, the octopus finally snapped back to awareness, letting out a soul-shattering roar. Without waiting for Gunnir to attack again, it surged toward the shore, whipping several tentacles like whips directly at him. Judging by the sheer power of those massive appendages, a direct hit would surely mean instant death. Gunnir bellowed, "Zheng Zha! Save me!"

Zheng Zha sighed. He finally understood why Gunnir had sought an alliance with him. The reason was simple: Gunnir's attacks possessed a fatal flaw.

Aside from the requirement for energy cores, there was a massive vulnerability between his offense and defense. His attacks appeared powerful, yet they simultaneously carried immense personal risk. This was why Gunnir needed him—to share that danger.

Zheng Zha did not shirk his responsibility. Having agreed to the alliance, he was obliged to fulfill his duty. As the giant octopus’s tentacles struck, he darted forward, placing himself squarely in front of Gunnir. Then, he unleashed a flurry of strikes with the Hu Po, severing the incoming tentacles instantly. Without pausing, he raised the Hu Po blade high and brought it down in a massive cleave aimed directly at the giant octopus.

The blade aura of the Hu Po stretched over ten meters long. If this strike landed cleanly, it would slice more than half the creature’s body in two.

Unexpectedly, Gandalf roared, "Watch out! Dodge quickly!" Just as Zheng Zha brought the blade down, several water spikes materialized in the air around the octopus. As Zheng Zha’s strike descended, these water spikes shot toward him in return. If his attack had connected solidly, those spikes would have certainly impaled both Zheng Zha and Gunnir simultaneously. Startled, Zheng Zha only managed to pull his blade back to block. The ten-meter-long blade aura from the Hu Po extended forward, forming a shield directly in front of him and Gunnir.

With several sharp hissing sounds, the water projectiles slammed against the Hu Po blade’s aura.

Zheng Zha froze for a moment, seeming to notice something bizarre. He stared blankly at the Hu Po in his hand. The octopus, however, showed no mercy. Its tentacles began coiling around them from all directions. An arrow whistled through the air—both the Elven Prince Legolas and Zhang Heng loosed their bows simultaneously, each firing two ‘Explosive Arrows.’

The four shafts collided in mid-air and detonated, then shot into the octopus’s body at speeds imperceptible to the naked eye. Before their immense power fully dissipated, the two penetrating arrows tore through the creature’s body and shot out the other side.

Seeing the octopus grievously wounded, Zheng Zha was still staring blankly at his Hu Po. Gunnir shouted and lunged toward the creature. The surface of the lake beneath his feet instantly froze over. After a few rapid steps, he was right in front of the beast. Gritting his teeth, he hurled his entire body at the octopus’s mass. Before the tentacles could fully enclose him, he was pressed tight against the creature’s surface. The section of the octopus he touched rapidly encased in ice. Within mere seconds, a quarter of the entire creature had been frozen solid.

The rest became straightforward. Heavily wounded and now encased in ice, the giant octopus was quickly dispatched by the group. Gunnir had achieved his goal, claiming 3,000 reward points and a C-grade side mission, plus obtaining a C-grade water-attribute energy core from the octopus’s remains. The man’s face was split by a grin that seemed impossible to wipe off.

Zheng Zha was still fixated on his Hu Po. Chu Xuan sat down beside him. Chu Xuan was casually munching on a snow-white fruit—a specialty of the Middle-earth world called a 'Snow Fruit,' which tasted subtly sweet and looked exquisitely beautiful due to its jade-like color. Such fruit had become Chu Xuan’s staple recently. Chewing slowly, he said, "...I was aware of the private agreement between you and Gunnir. Although you were utilized, given your strength, I assume you haven't suffered any significant loss, and you've even managed to foster goodwill with the North Ice Continent team, so I didn't intervene... However, what truly intrigues me is what caused you to ignore the earned reward points and side mission? Staring at the Hu Po in your hand like that—I need detailed information immediately so I can proceed with my next plans and arrangements."

Zheng Zha erupted in joyful laughter, roaring with delight. He didn't care that his outburst drew stares from those nearby. He tore the Dragon Crystal Necklace from his throat and commanded Chu Xuan, "Shoot me with the Gauss Pistol and see."

Chu Xuan nodded, showing no hesitation. He retrieved the Gauss Pistol and aimed it directly at Zheng Zha’s head. As Zheng Zha raised the Hu Po blade, the sight of the pistol aimed at his skull made his face turn pale. He quickly stammered, "Wait, wait! At least let me prepare! Shoot only when I give the word."

As he spoke, Zheng Zha channeled massive amounts of internal energy into the Hu Po. The invisible blade aura instantly manifested around the blade. Unsure what Zheng Zha was doing, he then told Chu Xuan, "Start now. Shoot me however you like!" Chu Xuan certainly didn't believe in politeness; he fired a rapid burst, each shot centered precisely on Zheng Zha’s forehead. Yet, they met an invisible barrier. While the Gauss Pistol's power wasn't comparable to Zero Point's Gauss sniper rifle, it was still terrifyingly potent; it had easily slain bugs back in the Starship Troopers scenario, but now it couldn't even touch Zheng Zha. After about ten shots, Chu Xuan stopped, frowning as he looked at Zheng Zha. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "A shield only manifests when attacked, so the Hu Po's blade aura can't conceal a built-in defense mechanism. The only possibility... is that you changed the shape of the blade aura, forming an invisible protective canopy around yourself?"

Zheng Zha laughed heartily. "Exactly! Just like that. When that octopus sprayed water at me earlier, I unintentionally broadened the blade aura, so I wondered if I could change its shape by sheer will. To my surprise, it actually worked! Haha! If this is true, doesn't that make me invincible? If I can wrap my entire body in the blade aura, and then use 'Explosion' and 'Destruction' to attack—ha! I'll be invincible!" He then laughed exaggeratedly.

Chu Xuan helplessly rubbed his forehead. For some reason, the man who usually felt no pain suddenly felt a strange sensation in his head. He managed to say, "How long did it take you to completely envelop yourself in the blade aura just now?"

Zheng Zha paused, considering. "About a second or so; definitely no more than two."

Chu Xuan nodded. "And how much internal energy did it cost to fully cover your body with the aura?" "About twenty percent..." Zheng Zha’s voice grew less confident as he spoke, realizing the inherent flaw in this application of the blade aura.

Chu Xuan continued calmly, "You mentioned before that once your internal energy is converted into blade aura, it dissipates on its own and cannot be converted back into internal energy, correct? Furthermore, the aura won't last longer than ten minutes. In other words, a sniper at Zero Point’s level or an archer like Zhang Heng’s level are your hard counters. If they spot that one-second interval, you are dead without question. Likewise, while the aura is incredibly tough, it does have a recorded breaking point, doesn't it? If an enemy wields a legendary magical artifact of that caliber, you are definitely doomed..." Zheng Zha immediately deflated, offering a wry smile. "I thought using the aura this way would be more efficient, but it turns out it’s just a mediocre trick after all. Ah... I got carried away by my own excitement."

"It’s not entirely useless. For the ten minutes before the protective aura fades, your combat power can increase by at least double, and it’s a skill that raises your survival rate... Focus on improving the speed of deployment. If you can reduce the time to around 0.5 seconds, that biggest flaw will vanish. You only need to guard against overwhelmingly massive attacks or legendary magic-level assaults... Keep at it, Zheng Zha."

Chu Xuan surprisingly offered comfort instead of his usual harsh critiques, which astonished Zheng Zha. Just then, Gandalf and the others nearby called out greetings. It turned out Frodo, following the expected plot progression, had figured out the riddle on the gate, uttering 'friend' in the Elvish tongue. The doors to the Mines of Moria were finally revealed before them... Jump to