Chapter 97: The Terrifying Defense

“Then become Lord Herrick’s food!”

Greed gleamed in Herrick’s eyes.

Lin Wei swung his right fist. Black grains of sand wrapped around his knuckles as he drove the blow straight toward the rat’s head.

Bang!

The once-ferocious giant rat, Herrick, was sent flying like a cannonball and slammed into the wall with a thunderous crash.

“That’s all?”

Lin Wei was slightly taken aback. That mysterious giant rat, beyond the detection of the intelligence core, could not even withstand a single punch from him?

“Aaah!”

Herrick rolled once and sprang up, roaring, “You brat, how dare you hit the great Lord Herrick!”

It charged at Lin Wei again. This time, all four paws were on the ground, its head lowered like an enraged bull.

Bang!

Lin Wei struck again. Herrick’s bulky body spun through the air before crashing heavily to the floor.

“Aaahhh, it hurts so much!” Herrick sat down hard, clutching its behind and screaming hysterically.

Watching the giant rat throw its tantrum, Lin Wei was somewhat surprised. “It doesn’t have a single wound on it... not even the slightest sign of a fracture, or even a scratch on its fur...”

His gaze sharpened. This time, instead of waiting for Herrick to attack again, he walked straight toward it.

“Hm?!” Seeing Lin Wei approach with obvious ill intent, Herrick suddenly went silent. Fear crept into its eyes as it clutched its backside and shuffled backward until its back was pressed against the wall and it could move no farther.

“H-hey, hey, hey! I’m telling you, I am the great Lord Herrick! Food, what are you doing? You... ow! Ouch!”

Herrick’s shrieks came one after another.

Lin Wei raised his fists and gave it a thorough beating.

“Still no marks. Not a trace of injury.” While pounding on Herrick, Lin Wei kept observing any changes to its body.

“Damn it! I was wrong! Lord Herrick won’t treat you as food anymore! Stop hitting me!”

Herrick cowered at last and hurriedly begged for mercy.

Lin Wei ignored its pleas entirely, instead increasing his force little by little until he was nearly pushing his strength to the limit.

“You food! You’re hitting even harder now! Lord Herrick will fight you to the end!”

In the brief opening while Lin Wei was striking, Herrick suddenly righted itself and lowered its head to ram him.

Smack!

Lin Wei slapped its rat head aside.

“Aah!” Tears welled in Herrick’s eyes from the pain. “I was wrong, I was really wrong! Please, sir, I was really wrong! Waaah...”

“Not even... not even a scratch?”

Lin Wei stopped, shock flickering in his eyes.

Seeing him relent, Herrick thumped to the floor before him, prostrating itself in submission.

“Perhaps I should try another method.”

Lin Wei murmured softly. Above Herrick’s head, a razor-sharp black blade condensed and came crashing down.

“Hm?” Herrick noticed Lin Wei had suddenly gone still and secretly lifted its head to take a look. The moment it did, it saw a scene that nearly scared its soul from its body: a black blade was cutting straight down toward its forehead.

Clang!

“Aaaah!”

Herrick felt as though its throat would go hoarse from screaming. The pain was simply too intense.

Lin Wei watched Herrick closely. At the instant the black blade passed over it, Herrick’s fur merely paled slightly before immediately returning to normal.

“I refuse to believe it.”

With a sweep of his sleeve, Lin Wei sent a swarm of insect-like creatures toward Herrick.

Herrick looked up. This time it did not dodge or beg. Instead, its eyes lit up with eager anticipation. “Food!”

It reached out with its short little arms and scooped them up, catching two of the creatures in its paws.

Munch, munch.

Herrick stuck out its tongue and stuffed the two creatures directly into its mouth. After a satisfied chew, it wore a blissful expression.

Just as Herrick was about to catch the rest of them, it suddenly let out a terrible scream, feeling as though its stomach were on fire.

No, not as though.

It truly was on fire.

Herrick rolled wildly on the ground, clutching its belly, while the remaining creatures clung to its fur and began burning as well.

Lin Wei watched Herrick without blinking.

“It hurts, it hurts!”

Herrick wept and howled, tears and mucus streaming down its face.

Soon, the flames on Herrick’s body were completely extinguished, and the agony in its stomach gradually faded as well.

It lay sprawled on the ground, the whole rat looking utterly exhausted.

Lin Wei stared at it, his eyes narrowed to thin slits. “How can this be... not a single injury. Even after swallowing the creatures, it still suffers no damage from within...”

With a sudden bounce, Herrick sat up, its gaze full of fear as it looked at Lin Wei. “Sir, I was wrong, I was really wrong. Please spare me! As long as you don’t treat me as food, anything else is fine!”

The lenses of Herrick’s spectacles, made of some unknown material, had survived Lin Wei’s beating without breaking. They hung crookedly on its face, while its tiny eyes held a pitiful, miserable look.

Lin Wei gave no direct answer, only walked over to Herrick’s side.

“Again?!” Herrick jumped in alarm.

But Lin Wei did not savage it as it had expected. Instead, he placed his palm directly on Herrick’s fur.

Soft. Smooth. It seemed no different from any other animal’s.

“What a headache...” Lin Wei shook his head regretfully. “With a body this absurd, there’s no way to dissect it. Even a scalpel can’t cut through.”

Since tormenting Herrick further was pointless, Lin Wei had no intention of wasting time with it. After all, he had come here for the witch’s hidden treasure.

“Herrick,” Lin Wei called.

At the sound of its name, Herrick instantly clenched its rear end against the ground and snapped its plump body upright. “What are your orders, sir?”

Seeing how completely different Herrick looked from the first time they met, Lin Wei gave a faint smile, though it quickly faded. “Do you know Brent?”

“Brent?” Herrick answered at once. “Of course I do! That foolish boy who always brings food to serve me! He’s very respectful toward me, so I suppose he’s got some heart!”

Herrick puffed itself up again without realizing it, but when it caught Lin Wei’s half-smiling gaze, it trembled and quickly tucked in its tail.

Lin Wei arched a brow and instantly understood. Brent had been fooled by this giant rat’s initially inscrutable disguise. It was likely that even in death, Brent would never know that the Lord Herrick he had served and flattered was nothing more than a coward.