Chapter 79 Thirteen’s Dangerous Gamble The Stone Axe bounced off its body, dealing no damage whatsoever. However, the boy had successfully triggered the Monster and made it advance in his direction. Seeing this, Brutus and Bruno hastened their approach, almost running at full speed in order to bridge the distance. However, the Yellow Striped Dusk Brute had already seen the two of them quite a while ago and had also taken precautions in case these two Monsters attacked him at the same time. The Human boy was annoying, but he posed no threat to it whatsoever. Because of this, the Monster turned its attention to Brutus, who was closest to it, and unleashed a poison spray that had an effective range of twenty meters. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺 The Troll might not be the fastest monster in the Houdini Desert, but it was still faster than an Ogre. Brutus swiftly dodged to the side, evading the Poison Spray. Upon impact, poisonous white fumes erupted from the earth, thinly enveloping the surroundings. Seeing that its attempt had failed, the Yellow Striped Dusk Brute prepared to release another spray attack. However, it stopped after it caught sight of the approaching figure of the Ogre from the corner of its eye, whom it recognized as the bigger threat at the moment. Knowing that it couldn't afford to let the powerful monster get close, the Yellow Striped Brute Monster unleashed its Poisonous Spray once more. This time, it increased its power and range, creating a wide-sweeping cone of toxic mist, making sure that the Ogre had nowhere to escape. A few seconds before the Poison Spray reached the Ogre, Bruno turned into particles of light as he was recalled by Cristopher at the nick of time. The Yellow Striped Dusk Brute was surprised to see its target suddenly vanish in front of it, making it stop its spray attack completely. It made sure that the Ogre didn't just duck or hide itself somewhere to escape its attack. Because its attention had been focused on the Ogre, it didn't notice the seven-year-old boy who was approaching it from behind. Thirteen had activated his movement technique, Traceless Shadow, which was the perfect assassination footwork due to its soundless nature. With the Monitor Lizard's attention completely focused on the two stronger Monsters, it didn't notice that the boy had made a beeline toward it from behind. When Thirteen was only a meter away from the Monster's head, he grabbed something from his Spatial Storage that resembled a muzzle, which he had specially crafted for the Yellow Striped Dusk Brute. With a calmness that far surpassed anyone his age, Thirteen fearlessly jumped onto the Monster's head and slipped the muzzle over its jaws in one swift movement. He then firmly locked it in place with the strap that was made from the long thick hair of a Houdini Mustang, which Thirteen had baited towards one of their pitfall traps. The seven-year-old boy had no intention of riding the Monitor Lizard like a cowboy since it was also known to do Death Rolls. As soon as he finished what he intended to do, he hurriedly jumped away before the Monster could even react to the sneak attack he had unleashed from behind. The Yellow Striped Dusk Brute wasn't really the smartest of creatures. With its strength, it could easily kill anything in sight, allowing it to move unhindered anywhere in the Houdini Desert. Perhaps it was for this reason that it took a while for it to realize what had happened to it, buying Thirteen precious seconds to run away with all of his might. The boy had already run six feet away from the Monster when it finally showed a reaction to what the annoying Human had done. It immediately tried to pry the muzzle off of its jaws, rubbing its face against the ground in an attempt to dislodge it. However, it held strong. It was made from the body parts of the Spiny Bronze Anteater, making it exceptionally durable. The Monitor Lizard had small clawed feet and hands, which couldn't reach up to its jaw, so it couldn't use it to remove the muzzle that was placed on its head. Perhaps out of anger, it then started to do a death roll, which was something that crocodiles and alligators did to tear their prey apart. While it was doing this, Brutus had finally closed the distance and raised its spiked mace high over its head. With a roar that reverberated in the surroundings, the Troll smashed the Mace down, targeting the back of the Yellow Striped Dusk Brute's head. Sparks emerged from the point of impact, showing just how hard the Monster's scales were. Even so, Brutus' attack still did damage to it. Shallow puncture wounds could be seen on the Monster's head. The Troll repeatedly bashed the Monitor Lizard, who had tried to defend itself by lashing the Troll with its tail. This attack sent Brutus falling backward due to the force behind the attack. At the end of the day, the Yellow Striped Dusk Brute was still a peak Rank 2 Monster, making it a very formidable enemy even without using its poisonous breath. However, Brutus propped itself up in a matter of seconds and once again engaged the enemy in close combat. Left with no choice but to use its tail and short claws to fight, the Monitor Lizard did its best to use its body's robust defenses to endure Brutus' fierce attacks while counter-attacking from time to time. But just as it was about to use its tail to attack the Troll for the sixth time, something grabbed its tail from behind, preventing the Yellow Dusk Brute from lashing it toward the Troll, who had been smacking the back of its head non-stop with its spiked mace. The Monitor Lizard hissed in anger when it realized that the Ogre it had tried to kill earlier had not only returned but was also holding onto its tail. This gave Brutus the perfect opportunity to keep on pounding the monster's head, drawing more and more blood. Bruno, who was holding onto the Lizard's tail with its left hand, raised the bone club in its right and smashed it down on the Lizard's back leg, making the latter hiss in pain. The two Brute Monsters were pounding it at the same time. With all of its means of attack neutralized, the Yellow Striped Brute was unable to show any kind of resistance. A purplish liquid was dripping from its mouth as it tried to unleash a poison spray despite the muzzle that was preventing it from opening its jaws. There was still a way for it to poison the Troll and Ogre. With the intention of letting the purple droplets hit the Troll's and the Ogre's bodies, it shook its head from side to side. Having noticed this, Brutus decisively sat on the monster's neck and rode it like a champ, holding it in place. Bruno, on the other hand, sat on the monster's back, adding extra weight, which burdened the oversized lizard from moving and throwing them off with a death roll. After several minutes of painful pounding, the Yellow Striped Dusk Brute finally breathed its last, dying with a heart full of resentment. Not only was it unable to use its ability in battle, but it was also pounded until it died, making it die a slow and pitiful death. Unfortunately, it didn't turn into an Avatar, proving that it wasn't really a Brute-Type Monster. However, Cristopher gained equipment from it, making him extremely happy. It was none other than the Dusk Brute Armor, which covered the wielder's entire body. Thirteen almost laughed out loud when Cristopher equipped it because he looked like a chubby, Yellow Striped Dusk Brute that was standing on two legs. The armor provided exceptional defense, and it could also help fool their enemies because it made Cristopher look like a Yellow Striped Dusk Brute, which the denizens of the Houdini Desert avoided like a plague. As long as the chubby boy lay down on the ground on all fours, anyone would think that he was the dreaded poisonous monster instead of a teenage boy who was pretending to act like one. "First things first, let's hang this monster upside down in one of the pitfall traps, so that the poison in its mouth will drain out," Thirteen proposed. "We can collect its Monster Core later. This time, you will absorb it, allowing you to build your body up." "Yes, Young Master," Cristopher replied with a smile. The chubby boy looked forward to strengthening himself with the Beast Core, allowing himself to become stronger. In order to achieve the Rookie Rank, he would need to absorb a hundred cores, allowing him to gain a strength that far surpassed normal Humans. This was also the first stage for Wanderers, which increased their lifespan by twenty years and doubled their strength and the overall performance of their bodies. If possible, Cristopher wanted to become a Rookie before he returned to Pangea, which was something that all those who had been spirited away prioritized. This was to ensure that, on the day of their Second Wandering, they would be stronger than their past self, giving them a higher chance of surviving the next stage of their trial, which would allow them to become Adepts.