CHAPTER 230: CHAPTER 160: EXTREME ICE EARTHWORM

They continued along the icefield. With no obstacles, everything on this snow-covered expanse was clear at a glance.

It was a world of white.

As they drew nearer to the blue dot, Pororo grew increasingly vigilant.

He said, "The commotion is getting louder. We must watch our step."

Even without Pororo’s warning, Alka and Jason could hear the sounds from beneath the icefield with their own ears.

It sounded like shattering ice, as if something was constantly grinding against the ice blocks below.

The cracking sounds were sometimes distant, sometimes near, but the creature making them had clearly sensed their approach. Although the sounds were intermittent, they could hear the monster circling them.

The three immediately stood back-to-back, alert.

"Careful, that monster has targeted us."

The circling sounds ceased and instead came straight for them. The grinding grew closer and louder.

"Jump!" Pororo shouted, and the three instantly leaped from the icefield, soaring seven to eight meters into the air.

With a loud BOOM, a massive hole erupted in the ice beneath where they had stood.

A white mist of ice shards billowed out as a snow-white monster, bristling with barbs, burst from below. It was a twisted, worm-like creature, resembling a snake.

Its massive maw, filled with serrated teeth, chewed endlessly. It had no visible eyes or nose, only a gigantic mouth that took up nearly half its head. Its snake-like body was covered in icicle-like barbs and a massive, shell-like carapace.

The gaping maw lunged at the three in mid-air, sharp teeth parting to reveal stringy, viscous saliva.

In mid-air, as Alka leaped, a blue card appeared in each of his hands, and he hurled them forcefully downward. The two blue cards traced beautiful arcs, converging on the monster’s mouth from either side before exploding.

Ten Water Chains shot out from the explosions, instantly linking and wrapping around the monster’s mouth. The maw, once open and exuding a foul stench as it roared, was slammed shut by the external force. It was bound tightly by several loops of the blue Water Chains.

In mid-air, tattoos resembling flowing water spread across Pororo’s hands and back, and his eyes flashed blood-red.

Then, the three began to fall.

Using the acceleration of his descent, Alka stomped hard on the monster’s head. Since its massive mouth, which took up nearly half its head, was now forced shut, his kick snapped several exposed teeth.

Pororo, meanwhile, landed beside the monster. His claws sank deep into its body, tearing a grotesque gash as he slid down its flank. Murky green blood, laced with dark red, gushed from the wound. Yet this grotesque blood carried the fresh scent of plants, not the foul odor its appearance suggested.

With its mouth tightly bound by the Water Chain, the monster thrashed, its agonizing screeches trapped in its throat.

Jason chose the same approach as Pororo. Landing on the monster’s other side, he plunged his Sailor’s Long Saber into its body, the force of his descent carving a similar deep gash.

As the monster struggled violently, the Water Chain around its mouth began to loosen. Alka produced a Red Card. He forcefully shoved the card into the gap where he had previously broken its teeth. Landing beside it, Alka delivered a heavy kick to the monster’s chin, snapping its head upward.

Alka landed hard in the snow.

A muffled explosion followed.

Flames erupted from the monster’s mouth. Its ear-splitting shriek almost pierced their eardrums, nearly unbearable. The monster, however, was now completely sprawled on the ice, part of its body still buried beneath the surface, not fully emerged. But as its immense body thrashed, it continuously pulverized the surrounding snow and ice, filling the air with a maelstrom of flying snow and ice shards.

The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air, and the surrounding temperature rose noticeably.

The monster lay on the ice, convulsing and twitching, but its movements grew steadily weaker until its body lay completely still. Its murky, green-and-red blood spread across the ice, slowly freezing solid.

An Icefield Monster, with power equivalent to Two Spirals, had been dispatched so easily by the trio.

Alka hadn’t even bothered to unleash his pink mist. Unconsciously, his strength had already reached such a level.

"This monster is unbelievably huge!" Jason exclaimed, staring at the corpse before them.

Its snake-like body was at least one and a half to two meters wide, but its length was even more terrifying. The section protruding from the ice was already seven to eight meters long, and clearly, a significant portion of its body remained buried beneath.

Alka approached the monster’s corpse, drew a dagger, and sliced off a piece of its flesh. He held the piece of flesh to his nose and sniffed. It indeed carried a faint, fresh scent of plants, and even its blood had no metallic, bloody odor.