The investigation results of the astrolabe confirmed Gao Fei's guess.
The monster blocking everyone's path indeed belongs to a large family of mud monsters. To be precise, it is a super-large "black pudding monster".
Like other mud monsters, the black pudding monster has low intelligence and only relies on its hunting instinct to wander in the dark underground world. Once it senses a living creature nearby, it will squirm over to hunt for food.
This monster has a very diverse diet. As long as it is alive, no matter whether it is an animal, plant or fungus, there is nothing it does not like to eat!
The Black Pudding Monster looks bulky, but it's actually very dangerous!
Take the one in front of you as an example. It is more difficult to deal with than the two water monsters put together. It has a HP of 203 and a challenge level of 7. Its attributes are:
Before Gao Fei had time to look at the other data of the Black Pudding Monster, the monster was already rolling over and approaching, with four pseudo-legs extending from its smooth body. It tried to hug the hound in front of it, swallow it forcefully, and dissolve the prey with the acid in its body.
,Digestion and absorption.
Martin quickly called the hounds to retreat and fired twice at the black pudding monster.
Bang! Bang!
The sound of gunfire echoed in the closed tunnel.
Both shots were fired at the same location, and the lead bullet sank into the huge elastic body of the black pudding monster. In the blink of an eye, no trace of corrosion was left, and a stream of sour mucus emerged from the wound.
The Black Pudding Monster trembled slightly after being shot, and temporarily stopped crawling forward.
Before Martin could breathe a sigh of relief, he was stunned with surprise.
As he watched, the part where the Black Pudding Monster was shot split open vertically and split into two slightly smaller Black Pudding Monsters.
"Don't shoot!" Gao Fei shouted to stop Martin, "The bullets will not hurt the Black Pudding Monster, they will only cause it to divide and multiply!"
Jiang Feng saw Martin put away his gun and draw his sword, and quickly added: "Weapons such as swords can also cause the black pudding monster to split."
"Ah..." Martin looked at the shotgun and sword in his hand, his face full of depression, not knowing what to do.
In fact, the Black Pudding Monster reproduces through this method of self-division.
Even if it is not attacked, when a black pudding monster develops to a certain level, it will not continue to increase in size, but will split into two smaller individuals, which will hunt living creatures respectively, absorb nutrients, and grow to a certain level.
Split again.
After splitting, the black pudding monster has equal health points. When attacked by piercing or slashing weapons, it will continue to divide, split into two, and then divided into four. It will not stop until the split individual's health is less than 10.
According to the Monster Manual, only bludgeoning weapons such as sticks and hammers can effectively kill the Black Pudding Monster without causing it to split apart.
Jiang Feng looked at his clenched fists and missed Yangyan Monk very much.
With bare hands, of course it can be considered a blunt weapon.
In fact, even warrior monks would not dare to hit the black pudding monster with their fists easily.
Because the surface of this mud monster secretes thick acid, it will suffer strong corrosion if it sticks to it.
Not only flesh and blood, but also metal will be corroded by the black pudding monster's acid, suffering 3d6 points of acid damage each round.
The Monster Manual gives a hint that stone weapons can be protected from corrosion by this special acidic substance.
However, Gao Fei, Jiang Feng and Martin only had swords and guns in their hands, not even a hammer, let alone a stone hammer.
How to deal with these two black pudding monsters without a handy weapon?
Goofy raised his hand and released a string of magic missiles, which caused the same damage to the black pudding monster as scraping. Instead, it angered the two monsters and spit out acid at the same time!
Fortunately, the tunnel was narrow, and Gao Fei, Jiang Feng and Martin blocked the sprayed acid and endured the damage alone. The fur was corroded and smoke was coming out, and the wounds were oozing pus and whining.
"Damn it! This monster can also spray acid, guys, get out of here!"
Amid the exclamations, Martin was the first to activate the "Traveling Step" and teleport beyond the range of the acid.
The hound, which was flanked by two black pudding monsters, shared the spell effect with its owner, disappeared in a cloud of silver mist, and teleported to Martin's side.
The prey that reached the mouth just flew away. The two black pudding monsters were in a very unhappy mood. They squirmed their round bodies and tracked in the direction where everyone was retreating.
The road ahead is relatively narrow, and the diameter of the tunnel is not enough for two black pudding monsters to pass side by side.
However, the two monsters were not stuck, nor did they pass through one after another. They continued to crawl forward side by side.
When they arrived at the narrow area, the two black pudding monsters showed their advantage in using bullets.
They were huddled together, their bodies elongated and deformed, their movement slowed down, but they still crawled forward perseveringly, tracking their prey.
Before the black pudding monster catches up, Gao Fei uses the "First Aid Technique" to heal the hound's wounds and restore blood.
Brother Martin was not idle either, and hurriedly added an "anti-acid barrier" to himself and his companions, increasing their acid corrosion resistance by 20 points.
Gao Fei took another look at the introduction to the black pudding monsters in the astrolabe. It was mentioned that a few black pudding monsters have evolved long-range hunting skills, spraying out the digestive juices in their bodies. The range usually does not exceed 30 feet, causing 7d6 points of acid corrosion.
harm.
Martin's spellcasting level is still not high enough, and the "Acid Resistant Barrier" cannot perfectly protect against the acid spewed by the Black Pudding Monster.
Fortunately, the amount of digestive juice in the black pudding monster's body is limited. One injection is like losing a lot of blood. It requires eating a lot of food to replenish nutrients, so it is reluctant to use this trick frequently.
Jiang Feng activated the magic power contained in the "Spider Silk Ring", flicked his fingers, and with a hiss, shot out a large spider web, blocking the tunnel.
She tried to use spider webs to stop the Black Pudding Monster, but she soon realized that it was in vain.
The Black Pudding Monster's physique is very special, like a ball of viscous clay, or perhaps more accurately, a non-Newtonian liquid. It can adjust its body shape according to the size of obstacles and drill through narrow spider web holes.
As for the mucus attached to the spider silk, it seems to have no hindrance to this monster with a moist and smooth surface.
Martin saw the black pudding monster coming through the spider web and quickly released the "entanglement technique".
"Entangle" is one level lower than "Spider Web", and its field control performance is slightly inferior overall, but it has an advantage: the spider web is dead, but the activated vines can actively entangle the target.
Judging from actual combat, the "Entanglement Technique" has a significantly better hindering effect on the Black Pudding Monster than the "Spider Web Technique".
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long.
The two black pudding monsters, who were trapped by the activated vines, quickly gave up trying to break through and instead climbed up the wall.
These large slimes walk like worms, with many small and sticky hydraulic feet protruding from the bottom of their bodies. They can be adsorbed on smooth surfaces, hang upside down and crawl on the ceiling of the mine, and easily bypass the vines that are everywhere.
