The weak have many ways of averting the strong. This is especially true in nature. Take a look at the lizard for example, when in danger it would cut off its own tail and flee. Its tail would act as a diversion
After all, as long as the crucial parts of the lizard is still around. The tail can always be regrown.
Xue Longyan wasn't particularly sadistic, he was just cold and indifferent. He sees anyone who is weaker than him as trash, he wouldn't take their lives seriously.
The journey progressed smoothly, they avoided the black swamps and used a map drawn by travelers. After two weeks of travelling, Bian's primitive geno points almost maxed out.
[Flesh of swift mantis eaten. One primitive geno point gained]
And after a few more days of travel, it was finally at a hundred. Then they came across an apparition. According to the map, the groove they were about to cross through, should only have dead trees without any vegetation or sign of life.
The moon shined brightly on the grasses and leaves on the trees. At the heart of the grove, a moonlit glade beckoned travelers with its soft, silvery glow. The grass on the floor looked dreamy under the moonlight glow.
One of the weaker travelers who barely had any geno points collapsed. Xue Longyan, Bian and the rest of the travelers watched on in horror, as the female traveler was enclosed in grass that had a silver sheen.
Dai, her boyfriend tried to pry her free from the grass, the grass suddenly extended and turned him into a sieve. As he collapsed on the ground the grass covered his corpse and dragged it under the soil.
"Run!" Xue Longyan yelled and rode his mount at full speed. Everyone rode their mounts as fast as they could but suddenly an earthquake occurred and opened up a fifty-meter crack in the ground.
A humanoid creature came out of the crevice created by the earthquake. It was 20 meters tall and had grass like tentacles growing on its back. It seemed to be made of mud, bushes, soil and grass. In its chest was a purple stone as big as a human head fluctuating like a beating heart.
Its eye glowed an eerie purple as it rushed towards the group. When it got in range its elongated grass like tentacle would move forward and skewer both the rider and the mount. They would be sucked into the monster.
Bian summoned a beast soul spear and posed to strike as he took aim at the monster's eye. An invisible ring only he could see appeared, initially it covered the entirety of his perception but eventually it got smaller and smaller until it became a dot focused on the monster's eye.
During this period of time, eight more people had been assimilated into that monster. The ones who tried flying away were quickly dismantled by the monster's tentacles. Luckily for Bian, he was positioned towards the front while the monster started its onslaught from the back of the crew.
"Haa!" Bian threw the spear with all his might. It fell right through the eye and got destroyed by the mud in the monster's body. The mud was constantly churning like a cement mixer, this pressure destroyed the primitive beast spear.
Of the two members of the special forces of armor shelter, one decided to act. He brought out a sacred blood long sword and charged at the monster.
"Die!" He yelled
CLANK
The sound of iron striking iron echoed through the valley. He's strike on one of the grass tentacles inflicted no damage.
Instead the tentacle tilted, its sharpest edge facing him. It accelerated towards him at an astonishing speed.
Too late to dodge he tried blocking with his longsword.
A clean vertical slice was made. A thin line appeared from his forehead to his crotch as his body split into two, his sacred blood weapon destroyed.
'Super beast!' Bian yelled in his mind and beckoned his mount to travel faster. Having gained a considerable distance from the group the monster stared at them as it dissolved into the ground.
"It's all over" one of the travelers heaved a sigh of relief.
BOOM
The ground under his feet exploded as a huge mouth swallowed the mount and his rider.
As they were looking back towards the monster a person fell of his mount. The humanoid creature didn't miss opportunity it quickly ran an assimilated him.
His blood curling scream echoed through the grove. As they continued to ride on no one spoke but they could feel the pressure of the monster, as though it was watching them.
The ground started rumbling and Bian noticed Xue Longyan nodding his head towards the man on his right, the man flicked his hand as a silver light flew and landed on the second member of the special forces who accompanied them.
The man soon lost consciousness. Xue Longyan stood on his mount, the steel-hooved mutant horse, jumped off and landed on the man, he used him as leverage to jump back to his mount while the recoil of his jump, sent the man tumbling to the ground. He did all this in a single breath.
The monster popped up and devoured the man giving the rest of them breathing space. The tag alongs started yelling;
"What did you do!"
"You killed him"
"Murderer"
Xue Longyan scoffed and said "don't feel sad for him, you're next" some members of the group began knocking people of their mounts. Before they could make head or tail of the situation, the monster popped up and began a slaughter.
Watching all this from the sidelines Bian decided to ditch the group during the anarchy. 'Even if we survive from this monster that bastard Xue Longyan might decide to silence any witnesses'
Bian wasn't the only one thinking this as three more persons went in random directions. Xue Longyan called out to someone "Tengu, do it!"
A man draped in a brown cloak which covered his face began flicking towards the runners while summoning a beast soul between his fingers.
Bian heard the whistling of the wind from behind and tilted his head instinctively, a v shaped bullet with spikes scratched his cheek as it zoomed by. It looked like the fangs of a spider.
"You missed one of them" Xue Longyan yelled.
"I'm all out" Tengu said with no particular emotion.
'All out?' Bian was confused, suddenly his head started aching and his vision became blurry. "Poison!"
After devouring the fallen members, the beast looked towards Bian and Xue Longyan's group.
It should have aimed for the group with more people but chased after Bian instead. With his primitive mount he was slower than Xue Longyan's group riding mutant mounts.
"Shit" Bian cursed as he felt his consciousness slipping, the last thing he saw before passing out was the monster stopping as he rode out of the grove and onto an arid land.