27: Chapter 27 Encounter with the Petrified Lizard

In a clearing at the corner of the canyon, three "statues" stood abruptly.

They were three human "stone statues," standing rigidly, preserving their final moments while alive.

One person held a sword, its tip pointing toward the sky; another was half-crouched in a blocking stance, with a shield held in front.

The last person was turning to flee, their right foot already raised but not yet having landed.

Their skin and clothing had turned into grey-white stone, the expressions on their faces frozen in the moment of greatest terror, mouths wide open.

The left arm of one statue had broken off; the severed end was not flesh and blood, but a grey-white stone cross-section, still bearing rough tooth marks from having been gnawed by something.

"How tragic, they've all been petrified."

Morpheus walked up to the statues and lightly tapped the surface of one with his finger, producing a hollow stone echo.

His tone was not as composed as usual, and his voice sounded very tense.

"We're in trouble; I'm afraid these are foraging Petrified Lizards."

"Petrified Lizards!?" The gnome Jinbao gasped, his small body stepping back twice, nearly bumping into Richard.

"Are you talking about those big reptiles with eight legs, mouths full of sharp teeth, that can turn people into stone with their eyes?"

"I'm afraid there's more than one," Morpheus said, his brows already furrowed, his fingers unconsciously reaching for the small staff at his waist.

"According to the habits of Petrified Lizards, a male and female usually occupy a nest. They use their Petrifying Gaze to turn prey into stone, then slowly gnaw on the petrified corpses."

"They don't eat it all at once, but feed in batches, because the meat after petrification suits their taste better. If Victor is nearby..." He didn't finish his sentence.

Richard didn't feel afraid; he just thought this creature's ability was truly peculiar.

They walked over to the three statues and began to check the details of each statue's face and clothing one by one.

The three individuals' attire and appearance suggested they were guards or bodyguards, and it matched the merchant's description of his attendants, indicating that Victor was likely nearby or even deeper inside.

Just then, a low hissing sound came from the gravel slope deep in the canyon, carrying a guttural tremor peculiar to reptiles.

The black cat reacted the fastest; she sprang up from the rock almost the moment she heard the sound.

Her left hand drew the short dagger from her waist, while her right hand retrieved the already-cocked hand crossbow from the backpack on her back. She crouched low, shrinking behind a protruding rock.

Morpheus's face went a shade paler, and he stammered, not knowing what he wanted to say.

Jinbao looked terrified, but he was quick; in a few swift movements, he pulled a fist-sized sphere from his tool bag.

The surface of the sphere was densely wrapped in copper strips and thin iron wires, and a faintly glowing green liquid could be seen inside.

Richard gripped his halberd tightly, took a step forward, and together with Cecilia, stood in front of all his teammates.

Then he saw these unique magical creatures.

The first Petrified Lizard crawled out from behind a boulder at the canyon corner.

Eight thick legs supported a flattened torso, the whole body covered in a layer of coarse, grey-green scales, with a row of bone plates growing along its spine, their edges as sharp as polished iron sheets.

Its head was broad and flat, with a massive mouth slit that stretched from one ear hole to the other.

Its mouth was full of sharp teeth, the upper and lower teeth interlocking, each tooth as long as an adult's thumb.

What was most chilling were its eyes, which contained magic; the pupils were vertical slits, and the surface of the eyeballs was covered in a layer of wet, transparent membrane.

The second one crawled down from the gravel slope behind them. It was slightly smaller than the first, but faster—this was a female Petrified Lizard.

It didn't make any sound; its eight legs only produced the faintest friction against the gravel as it moved.

By the time Richard discovered it, it had already blocked their route of retreat.

Its spine was darker in color than the other lizard's, and stone powder and dried blood remained in the gaps between its scales, with a strand of unswallowed fabric hanging from its jaw.

The group was caught in a pincer attack.

"Jinbao!" Morpheus shrieked.

The gnome gripped the metal sphere in his right hand and pulled a handful of fine, bright white powder from the leather pouch at his waist with his left.

The sphere smashed onto the gravel ground in front of the male lizard and exploded, a dense, nearly opaque grey-white smoke instantly expanding, swallowing the male lizard and most of the gravel slope around it.

Immediately after, Jinbao tossed the flash powder from his left hand as well.

Richard and the others quickly closed their eyes.

The moment the fine powder touched the air, it erupted with blinding white light, illuminating the entire canyon brighter than the midday sun in less than a second.

Both Petrified Lizards let out a sharp hiss simultaneously.

They felt immense pain.

The visual systems of Petrified Lizards are more sensitive than most creatures, so the impact of the flash powder on them was even more severe.

The light scorched their moist eye membranes, causing them to temporarily lose their sight and fall into a blinded state.

This wouldn't last long.

In a few seconds, or at most a dozen seconds, the lizards' eyes would recover automatically, and then the Petrifying Gaze would be unleashed as usual.

Richard and Cecilia seized the opportunity and moved simultaneously.

Cecilia's enchanted sword emitted a crisp hum the moment it was unsheathed, the light of the sharpness rune flowing along the blade.

Her target was the female Petrified Lizard, the closer, slightly smaller, but faster threat.

Her physical capabilities had long since surpassed her former mortal body; the Vampire's strength and speed bonuses made her so fast during her explosive dash that her footsteps were almost impossible to see.

The moment she approached the female Petrified Lizard, she leaped, her knee striking the lizard's jaw, and her sword pierced through from below!

The tip of the sword pierced through the scales of the female Petrified Lizard's lower jaw, driving into the soft tissue of the upper jaw from inside the mouth, and deep purple blood mixed with bits of flesh gushed out from the wound.

The female Petrified Lizard thrashed its head wildly, all eight legs clawing at the ground simultaneously, gravel and dust exploding beneath it, but Cecilia did not let go.

She used all her strength to lever the female Petrified Lizard's head up with her sword, forcing it backward to prevent its eyes from seeing the group.

Richard quickly initiated a Charge, cutting into the female Petrified Lizard's flank.

The spear tip of his halberd aimed at the joint socket of the female Petrified Lizard's front right leg; under the enhancement of the Charge skill, the spear tip thrust in with a ferocious force.

This strike pierced the cartilage and ligaments in the joint socket, splashing purple blood all over his face.

He didn't stop; he pulled out the spear tip and backhanded another strike with the halberd. The axe blade of the halberd chopped into the knee of the same leg, cutting into the gaps between the scales and leaving a deep crack in the bone.

The female Petrified Lizard's front right leg was ruined, and its body tilted violently to the right, exposing an area of thinner scales on its flank.

Cecilia immediately seized this opening, pulling out her sword and stabbing in from the side, passing through the weakest gap between the scales and ribs, aiming straight for the chest cavity.

As the female Petrified Lizard's chest cavity was pierced, those eyes that were still shedding tears suddenly snapped open.

The effect of the flash powder was fading; its pupils refocused, the vertical slits aiming directly at Lia's face.

Then its eyes lit up.

A turbid, grey-green light erupted from the female Petrified Lizard's pupils. The light shot out, spreading like an invisible toxic mist, enveloping everything in front of it.

Petrifying Gaze!