Chapter 00274: Psionic Crossbow
# Psionic Crossbow
Chapter 274
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 274: Psionic Crossbow
The sudden tremor froze the expressions on everyone's faces.
If it were just a common underground shake, it wouldn't matter; the earthquake would pass quickly.
But things didn't go as they hoped.
The frequency of the tremors not only grew higher but also closer.
It felt as if some colossal creature was charging straight for their position.
One after another, they drew the weapons they had just put away, staring intently in the direction of the sound.
About four or five seconds later, Nimia suddenly shouted:
"Get down!"
Almost at the exact moment everyone ducked, the left wall of the captain's quarters was smashed apart.
A huge, streamlined monster broke through the wall and crashed into the wall on the other side.
The sound of the chitinous walls and the flesh of the Nautiloid being torn apart flooded their ears.
However, no one got a clear look at what it was; they only felt a massive black shadow fly over their heads before they were buried by falling debris.
"Did anyone see what it was?"
"No!"
"Quick, pull me out!"
Delge lifted a piece of the chitinous ceiling that had landed on him and reached out to pull the Halfling Priest out from under the collapsed debris.
The only one not buried was Audel.
The debris that fell on her was repelled by a translucent shield.
She looked at the two large new holes in the walls and mused:
"These marks... they look like they were left by a Bulette."
"That thing is not easy to deal with."
The Dwarves' homeland was also underground, so Delge was well aware of how terrifying a Bulette could be.
This monster was practically a great white shark that could move on land, one of the top predators.
They could dig through caves at high speed as easily as a fish swims through water, and their enormous heads had equally enormous, bloody maws.
When they launched a surprise attack from underground, they could swallow a person whole in one bite.
Moreover, Bulettes weren't very fond of the meat of Elves and Dwarves.
Perhaps because these two races had long lifespans, the Bulettes found their meat too tough.
In contrast, the flesh of Halflings was their absolute favorite.
And as it happened, there was a Halfling in this party.
Perrin immediately jumped to his feet.
"What are you waiting for! Let's run!"
"We can't outrun it. A Bulette's movement speed is much faster than ours."
Audel tapped the floor with her staff.
Along with the sound, a ripple spread out.
"The Bulette passed through the Nautiloid and went outside."
"Does that mean it let us go?"
"No, it's just toying with us."
Bulettes enjoyed chasing and playing with their prey.
Only when the prey was completely exhausted and could no longer run would they devour it in a single bite.
Fighting a Bulette face-to-face was very unwise.
The creature's carapace could not only defend against many weapon attacks, but even magic wasn't very effective against it.
Its massive size, combined with its strong and powerful limbs, gave the Bulette its most formidable ability: the death leap.
To put it simply, it was like Mount Tai crashing down.
It would suddenly leap out and crush you with its several-ton weight.
Who could withstand that?
And even if they managed to injure it, the Bulette would burrow into the ground and flee if things looked bad.
It was very difficult to take it down in one blow.
If that happened, they would be followed by a top predator that could pop out of the ground at any moment for the rest of their journey.
In other words, they had to find a way to kill the Bulette with a single, fatal blow.
As they say, a Mage's mind works fast.
Audel immediately said:
"Come on, let's go to the deck."
The captain's quarters they were in was connected to the Nautiloid's bridge, and outside the bridge was the ship's forward deck.
The group ran out quickly.
Delge smashed the glass of the bridge's floor-to-ceiling window with his axe, and soon they were all standing on the open forward deck.
Looking around, they could faintly see a continuously moving bulge in the ground.
It was the trail left by the Bulette moving underground, looking very much like a shark circling its prey.
"Found it, over there."
"What's that?"
It was a nautilus-shaped object, about the height of a person, with a row of muscular supports underneath, placed neatly on the forward deck.
"The Nautiloid's Psionic Crossbow. One shot is enough to destroy the Bulette."
Audel ran over to inspect it.
When her finger touched the pattern on the back of the shell, a square screen lit up.
The screen displayed an image of where the crossbow was aimed, complete with a crosshair.
This meant the crossbow still had power, though it was unclear how many shots it could fire.
Normally, the Psionic Crossbow was telekinetically controlled by the Mind Flayers on the Nautiloid.
But sometimes the Mind Flayers might be occupied, which required their slaves to be able to operate the crossbows and join the battle.
In other words, this thing could be operated both remotely and manually.
The Bulette's senses were extremely sharp.
If Audel wanted to deal with it using magic, she would have to use a powerful spell.
A powerful spell required some time to prepare and would leak a huge magical power signature when cast.
The Bulette wasn't stupid.
If it sensed something it couldn't handle, it would definitely run.
But the Psionic Crossbow was different.
It made no sound before firing.
By the time it fired, it would be too late for the Bulette to react even if it noticed.
Handing control of the Psionic Crossbow to Nimia, who had experience with bows and crossbows, Audel turned and said:
"Now we need a lure to draw the Bulette over."
Delge and Perrin looked at each other, and finally, Perrin raised his hand in resignation.
"Alright, I'll go."
Bulettes loved the flesh of Halflings most, making him the perfect bait.
Delge patted his shoulder and said:
"Though our time together was short, I will not forget you."
"I'm not dead yet!"
They tied a rope around Perrin, and then he jumped off the deck and stood on the ground, stomping his feet hard.
The Bulette was extremely sensitive to ground vibrations, especially the footsteps of its favorite meal, a Halfling.
Having established a visual link with her Arcane Eye, Audel, who was watching the surroundings, immediately saw the Bulette, which had been circling the Nautiloid, abruptly change direction and head towards Perrin.
"It's coming. Get ready."
"I'd better get a bigger share of the money! Do you hear me! I want a raise!"
Perrin could also feel the terrifying vibrations of the Bulette rapidly approaching him.
He felt as if the tremors had made his heart skip a couple of beats.
"Quick, pull me up!"
"Wait a moment, it's not time yet."
Audel watched through her Arcane Eye as the Bulette got closer and closer.
They had to wait for it to emerge from the earth.
Just as the bulging layer of earth was about to crash into the stomping Perrin, a loud bang was heard.
The Bulette burst out from underground, opening its bloody maw towards Perrin.
"Now!"
Delge immediately used all his strength to pull the rope up.
Amidst Perrin's screams, the Bulette could be seen leaping like a fish out of water, its teeth nearly snagging Perrin's boots.
Nimia, who had already taken aim, immediately pressed the button.
The Psionic Crossbow emitted a sharp hum, followed by the piercing noise of a blue wave of light cutting through the air.
The arrow-like psionic energy field struck the side of the Bulette's head.
With the sound of cracking bone, it pierced straight through the Bulette's entire head.
With the boom of something heavy hitting the ground, Perrin was pulled up.
He was panting heavily from the tension.
Looking back, he saw the Bulette was nearly torn in two, completely and utterly dead.
"Haha! That's what you get for trying to bite me!"
But his joy was short-lived.
The Nautiloid began to make strange creaking sounds, and the forward deck beneath his feet started to sway back and forth.
From not far below them came the sound of earth and rock collapsing.
"Let me down! The Nautiloid is going to fall!"
The Nautiloid had made an emergency landing on the edge of an underground chasm.
Just now, the Bulette had been tunneling in circles around the ship, loosening the originally solid rock like an earthworm.
Everyone immediately scrambled and tumbled off the Nautiloid.
As Delge, the last one, jumped down, the battered Nautiloid rolled down the slope and into the bottomless abyss.
Only after a long while did they hear the loud crash of its fall and see a flash of an explosion light up the darkness.
"What a pity. There were still many things of research value on it."
Audel stood at the edge of the cliff, shaking her head in regret.
But when she turned around, she saw that the aurora which had disappeared earlier had reappeared, guiding her way forward...