The octopus monster's eight limbs stretched outward, each easily over ten meters long, its crimson skin smooth yet brimming with raw power. By all logic, terrestrial survival for such a massive marine creature was impossible; combat even more so. Without a skeletal structure, gravity would collapse its invertebrate body under its own weight.
But this was a world imbued with magic. Here, countless creatures had developed extraordinarily resilient physiques. The octopus before them boasted incredibly dense, powerful muscles, allowing it not only to fight on the beach but to withstand blades and swords with ease.
The three warriors confronting it fared far worse. Silver auras of battle qi shimmered about them—markers of mid-tier martial artists. The man at the center, their leader, radiated a brighter, more intense aura, signaling his supremacy within the trio.
Two corpses lay motionless nearby, victims of the initial assault. Now, only these three struggled to maintain their defense, barely capable of forming a coherent counterattack.
The battlefield shifted with blinding speed.
A warrior on the left just deflected one tentacle when he swung his sword at a second incoming limb—but found his strike inexplicably weak. His heart sank. The octopus monster was intelligent; the second tentacle was a feint.
Sure enough, a third limb shot from an impossible angle, ensnaring the warrior's ankle before he could react. The pull unbalanced him, sending him sprawling to the ground.
The principle of power rising from the ground and coordinated body movement was useless against this creature. Once fallen, the mid-tier warrior could not hope to sever the tentacle's grip, and the monster afforded him no reprieve: the limb he had deflected struck again, piercing his lower back.
A torrent of blood erupted. His aura dimmed, extinguished.
Jody and Elinor arrived just in time to witness it—a life extinguished in mere seconds.
The leader and the frail man beside him remained restrained by other tentacles, unable to act. Rage flared in the leader's eyes; a furious roar escaped him, but their frayed defenses were now riddled with openings. They could not hold for even a few more exchanges.
Jody and Elinor exchanged a glance and decided to intervene.
From behind the rocky cliff, they struck. Elinor launched first, summoning twin serpents of fire that surged toward the octopus monster's head.
The creature flinched at the onrushing heat, retracting a few tentacles to scatter the flames, though several were singed black.
Seeing her attack partially succeed, Elinor prepared to conjure another volley—but the monster suddenly secreted a thick, membranous layer across its body, forming a sticky defensive shield.
Jody held back. Even a seventh-tier mage like Elinor could not inflict substantial harm alone; his own offensive magic would be even less effective. Fire magic was the conventional choice against marine beasts in this world, so Elinor unleashed her most potent spell:
Fire Tornado!
Its force was immense. Inspired by Jody, she had infused wind elements into the tornado, linking it to the surrounding air itself as it roared toward the monster.
Yet this was no mere brute. It was a magical beast—and magical beasts wield magic.
White foam erupted from its mouth, partly to counter the fire tornado and partly to cloak itself. The tornado consumed far more mana to maintain its spin, losing both speed and power.
After a blast of searing heat, the creature shook off the foam unscathed.
Jody struck.
He had seized the time Elinor created to dash to the ocean, extracting massive quantities of salts—sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, and more. While the monster believed itself unharmed, Jody flung the crystalline powders at its body.
A marine animal on land? You secrete fluids? Let's see how much you can spare!
The octopus instinctively exuded more liquid, but Jody was not finished. He directed a concentrated spray of salt toward its mouth.
"Senior sister, keep it from returning to the sea!" he thought. This is osmoregulation. Soft-bodied creatures can't stop themselves from dehydrating. Let's see if you don't turn into dried squid!
The monster retched, literally expelling water to maintain electrolyte balance. It had no choice but to retreat toward the ocean.
Elinor intercepted it.
This time, she unleashed Palm Lightning. Blue-white arcs of electricity lanced through the creature, causing its powerful limbs to convulse uncontrollably. While the lightning alone could not kill it, it effectively immobilized the monster.
Jody seized the moment, hurling fist-sized chunks of elemental sodium into the octopus's water-laden mouth.
Any middle-school student versed in chemistry would know the result.
He lunged forward, pinning Elinor beneath him just as a tremendous explosion erupted.
BOOM!
The octopus's head violently disintegrated. Large pieces of sodium scattered, detonating again on contact with water. The creature lost consciousness; only its eight tentacles twitched reflexively.
Elinor, stunned, could only ask, "This… this is a spell? It rivals a full-power strike from a high-tier mage! How did you do it?"
Jody chuckled, giving no explanation. He knew the true factors behind the destructive spectacle: surprise and internal detonation. In real combat, conditions would rarely be so favorable.
Recovering composure, Elinor kicked him aside, brushed sand from her robes, and walked past the twitching remains of the creature, returning to her usual calm.