Blood Nemesis-Chapter 125: Crab

The day soon drew to a close, and a shroud of darkness enveloped the land.

Still, through the terrifying gloom, barely illuminated by the moon, Oliver walked to the marshy shores of the island, carrying a sack of ground eel meat pressed into small balls. It was the same eel he had bought from the fish market before they set out for Crab Island.

After a few minutes of walking, he reached the vast marshy plain, covered by lake water. The silvery-white reflection of the moon on the water trembled as Oliver stepped into it. His foot sank into the muddy waters until the water rose to his knee.

’Crabs on this island love eel meat, especially Rock Eel meat,’ he thought, gazing at the vast body of water with its floating weeds and swaying grass.

Beneath the surface, hidden in the waterlogged grass, were hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of baby crabs foraging for food. The balls of eel meat in Oliver’s bag were the special bait he had made with ground eel meat, some fish oil, and flour. It smelled horrible.

But, disregarding the unpleasant odor, he grabbed the sack from his shoulder and walked into the water. As someone who had dived into sewers, the smell was not enough to deter him from his goal.

’I need to find a rocky, shallow area that I can view from above and place the bait over it. I should also avoid the area where huge crabs spawn.’

’Today, I am not here to catch the large ones...’

Oliver scanned the area, trying to find an elevated spot where small crabs could get to, but not the large ones.

Suddenly, he felt something clinging to his pants. He crouched down to feel around his leg and pulled off the creature that had poked his calf. It was something small and red, the size of a coin.

’A red one. Not the one I am looking for.’ Oliver shook his head.

It was a small crab, similar in size to what he was looking for, but not the right kind. He grabbed it and threw it away.

"A silver one is rare. A one in a million," he muttered, gazing up at the night sky. "There is plenty of time." He added, continuing to walk in search of the perfect place to deposit the bait.

Oliver was searching for a special type of mud crab found only on the island—a silver-white crab with a lustrous body. It was a rare kind that would spawn randomly among the crab population. The reason for their rarity was twofold: first, the genetic mutation that made it resemble its predecessor; and second, the high rate at which predators hunted it due to its notably different shell. The silver luster of its shell made it a target for any creature seeking a quick snack, so most of them never grew to maturity.

Currently, Oliver was one of the predators searching for the crab, and he had a very specific reason for doing so: the crab was just the first step in catching the real creature he wanted.

After walking for a while through the marshy land, Oliver neared the lake’s edge. The water became even deeper, and he felt the presence of a mana beast moving quickly through it. To protect the bait, he carried it over his head and continued to walk. To his right, there was a large, round rock, big enough for him to stand on. Nearby, he could see shallow spots—perfect for leaving the bait.

’That’s it.’ An excited Oliver walked quickly towards the rock. But suddenly, he felt a mana signature closing in on him.

Due to his constant training with golden mana, his senses had improved, allowing him to detect vague mana signatures. Though the creature swimming towards him was weak, barely in the range of an E-rank mana beast, he could see its large body causing rippling waves over the waist-deep water. At the speed it was traveling, it could certainly knock him over, throwing his precious bait into the water. That would be inconvenient.

So, Oliver released a small amount of blood and anchored himself to the ground. Blood tentacles shot out like a spear, their tips hardening to pierce the creature. The creature underwater swam directly into the blood tentacle and impaled itself.

*Plch*

With an odd sound, Oliver pulled the limp body of the creature out and looked at it. The dim moonlight allowed him to see its head vaguely, and he instantly recognized it.

’The red and black lines across the silver-grey body. Fierce, pointy teeth. Long, slender body. It’s a tiger fish. Damn!’ Oliver was disappointed to see it.

Tiger fish were predatory beasts known for their aggressive nature. They killed and ate anything they saw and were one of the apex predators of the region. Once he recognized it, Oliver knew his chances of finding a Silver Crab had decreased significantly.

’But why are these damned fish swimming into shallow water? My luck!’

*Sigh*

Oliver discarded the two-meter-long body of the tiger fish and walked a short distance before climbing onto the large rock. His mood had turned sour as he observed the water. Many similar mana signatures were leaving streaking lines, moving swiftly through the shallow waters.

’There are a lot of them.’ Oliver felt a wave of disappointment wash over him.

A Silver Crab was like a signboard, asking to be eaten. Would it survive amidst the feeding frenzy? Oliver didn’t think so. The chances of his catching a Silver Crab had gone down drastically.

Oliver placed the sack of bait down and sat on the rock.

’Maybe I should go back and observe Root.’

’It would have been fun to see him seething in fury.’

The expression when Root realized he had been tricked was the funniest.

"He he he," Oliver giggled. The successful prank he pulled elated him.

’Next time, I should put him through something even more difficult.’

Although Crab Island was dangerous and many beasts existed that could seriously injure or kill Root, Oliver didn’t believe he would suffer at their hands. Root was a D-rank superhuman. Most of the large mana beasts on the island were C-rank. At a glance, it might look like he had no advantage, but that wasn’t true. For one, the most important distinction between Root and the mana beasts was their intelligence.

’Root would never take on a fight he can’t win. And he was professional at running away. He will not suffer enough... maybe I should make him...’ Oliver smirked.

The last time he saw Root, he was climbing a huge tree to make a shelter. He would be resting in the tree at night.

’Should I drop a snake on him? No, that’s too much, and it’s not realistic. It wouldn’t be a survival challenge if I directly intervened.’

’What should I do?’ Oliver searched his mind for an answer.

Finally, a bulb lit up over his head.

’I know! I should put the bait below the tree.’ Oliver looked at the sack of bait. He had made about ten sacks of it. Nine of them were still in the freezer of his car. Wasting a sack was inconvenient, but not detrimental when considering it would create a challenge for Root to overcome.

’He he he. That would work out.’ Amused by his thoughts, Oliver patted the rock.

But suddenly, his hand stopped. The hand that was patting the rock under him trembled. No, he was not the one trembling. It was the rock!

"Eh!" Oliver shifted his body to look at the rock once again.

Rough, rocky surface. More than half of it was submerged underground.

"Don’t tell me."

*Sigh*

There were many different types of crabs on the island. One such was a crab known to camouflage itself as a rock. The outer shell of this crab grew a rocky layer that looked and felt no different from a real rock. Most importantly, it was known to have the ability to hide its mana and survive for long durations without food and water. It was literally a rock; if it weren’t for waking up once in a while to eat and poop, no one would think otherwise.

’I am kind of lucky and unlucky at the same time. This giant rock crab is even rarer than a silver crab, and yet, I saw one.’ Oliver gazed up at the night sky. The twinkling stars and half-moon came into his view. He stared past the moon and stars into the darkness beyond and said:

"Are you kidding me?"

As he spoke, the rock beneath him creaked and cracked. The giant crab, the size of an elephant, stood up from the muddy marsh. Oliver felt his body lifting into the air. The distance between him and the water increased.

After that, the crab ignored Oliver, who was on top, and walked forward. The jerking motion almost threw him off, but he still held on, grasping a cracked portion of the shell.

’Anyway, I’ve heard that Rock Carapace Crab is tasty,’ he muttered in a barely audible voice.