Chapter 105 - 101: Boss Battle: Exhausting the Enemy
Chapter 105: Chapter 101: Boss Battle: Exhausting the Enemy
"That’s enough."
Velin’s voice was soft, yet it bolstered the confidence of everyone who heard it.
The glow of the Earth Barrier was fading, and the leader of the giant crocodiles, its mind still reeling from the sonic blast, had yet to fully recover.
"Sarah," Velin said without turning his head, "use your children. Pin it and its guards in place for me."
The queen of the swarm sensed the will in Velin’s thoughts and silently complied. The movement of over a hundred Bader Dung Beetles was the best answer she could give.
They were no longer harassing the enemy chaotically. Instead, they formed into combat units of ten, like clusters of black, mobile reefs, swarming the crocodile leader from all directions.
They didn’t attack vital points, but frantically climbed onto the crocodiles’ limbs and tails, digging their mandibles and horns deep into the gaps of their Scale Armor.
The leader was given special attention. It thrashed about madly, each swing like swatting a fly, smashing several beetles into pulpy messes of chitin and bodily fluids that splattered everywhere.
But the gaps were filled in an instant. The insects used their own bodies and weight to forcibly clamp a set of ever-tightening shackles onto the massive beast.
"Knights, take out the guards!" Velin’s tone was exceptionally harsh now. "You’re all Level 3 Knights. Don’t make this look so pathetic. Are you Rock Breakers all useless?"
The four remaining Knights had been holding back their frustration. With furious roars, they charged the five elite giant crocodiles entangled by the beetles.
Velin’s fingers pulled two Alchemy Potions from his pocket, which he threw in a triangular pattern.
CRACK! CRACK!
The vials shattered near the three foremost elite giant crocodiles. Two clouds of mist, one black and one purple, clung to their bodies as if they were alive.
[Touch of Corruption]
[Slow Skill]
One of the elite giant crocodiles, just as it was about to pounce on a Knight, felt its limbs go weak, its speed dropping by more than a beat.
The Knight was a seasoned veteran. Seizing the fleeting opening, he thrust his Longsword upward, plunging it through the crocodile’s soft underjaw all the way to the hilt.
Blood sprayed violently.
On the other side, Ola had already climbed back to his feet.
He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. The blood and muddy water on his beard mingled together. His gaze locked onto the crocodile leader, which was still beset by the swarm, and he broke into a savage grin.
"You bastard... Today, I’m... gonna rip this hide right off you!"
He stopped looking for weak points. He just swung his enchanted warhammer in wide arcs like a madman, smashing it again and again against the thickest Scale Armor on the crocodile leader’s flank.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
With every strike, the warhammer left a spiderweb of cracks on the Scale Armor that was harder than steel.
The crocodile leader, driven mad by the pain, swept its massive tail horizontally, the air shrieking as it was torn apart.
Unable to dodge, Ola could only cross his arms and take the hit with his enchanted armor.
CLANG—!
With a tremendous crash, Ola was sent flying like a battered tin can. His chestplate caved in, and the sound of his ribs cracking was clearly audible.
With every breath, a froth of blood tasting of rust welled up in his mouth. But he didn’t fall. Instead, he laughed—a smile uglier than a grimace of pain.
"Dammit..."
Leaning on his warhammer, he staggered back to his feet. "Now that’s more like it... This is a real fight..."
Just then, the last of the crocodile guards was beheaded by two Knights working together.
All five elite Gray Swamp Giant Crocodiles were annihilated.
On the battlefield, only the lone leader remained, hopelessly entangled by the swarm and Ola.
The scales of victory seemed to be tipping in their favor.
However, a heavy, dense vibration came from the distance—the crocodile swarm that had been lured away was returning.
At the edge of the horizon, a black tide was surging past the frost zone Velin had laid, countless savage heads bobbing in and out of view under the moonlight. It formed a torrent of destruction rushing toward the center of the hollow.
The giant beast’s movements paused for an instant.
It abruptly raised its head, looking toward the valley entrance.
Its kin were returning.
The next moment, the violent aura around it suddenly contracted, compressed, and condensed inward.
The very air seemed to thicken as a suffocating pressure descended upon the center of the battlefield.
That pressure, compressed to its absolute limit, erupted from the crocodile leader’s throat, transforming into countless invisible spikes that brutally stabbed at the souls of everyone present!
[Draconic Fury Roar]!
The second time!
The group, who had only just recovered, felt their vision go black once more. Their minds felt as if they’d been thrown into a churning, icy river, and Sarah’s link with her swarm was violently torn apart again.
In the distance, Ryo let out a muffled groan, taking even longer to come to his senses this time.
The crocodile leader seized this moment of paralysis and made its move.
It turned its massive head, ignoring the defenseless Knights, ignoring the insects clinging to its body, and ignoring the Silence Tuning Fork that Ryo was about to activate. Its huge, golden, vertical pupils locked onto the figure on the field who was the most heavily injured and had caused it the most trouble—Ola.
[Tidal Charge]!
It was going to eliminate the toughest nail in its side at top speed!
The mud beneath Velin’s feet began to hum faintly.
He saw that Ola wasn’t dodging. Instead, the blood-soaked figure took a step forward.
His heavy plate boots sank deep into the muddy ground. He turned his body sideways to the crocodile, holding his enchanted warhammer horizontally across his chest. The hammer’s head rested against his left shoulder, his right hand gripping the end of the handle.
He had turned himself into a fortress braced for impact.
"Show me what you’ve got!"
Ola’s roar was torn apart by the sharp whistle of the wind generated by the charge.
The next instant, they collided.
BOOM—!!!
A deep, thunderous boom, like a collapsing mountain.
Velin saw Ola’s body shudder violently. The runic light flowing across his enchanted armor dimmed in an instant.
A spray of blood shot from the visor of his helmet, turning into a red mist.
But he did not fall.
He had actually, with nothing but his own body and his enchanted armor, withstood the monster’s full-force charge.
The crocodile leader’s charge was brought to a dead stop, its massive head less than half a meter from Ola’s face.
A bestial astonishment appeared in its golden, vertical pupils.
It couldn’t understand how this tiny creature had managed to block its Tidal Charge.
After a brief stalemate, it suddenly threw its head back and opened its massive maw, which was filled with savage, sharp teeth.
A foul, stinking gust of wind washed over him.
The jaws snapped shut!
Using the residual force from the impact, Ola threw himself sideways, rolling ungracefully into the cold, muddy water.
CRUNCH!
The crocodile’s upper and lower jaws slammed together, striking a few sparks.
Having missed, its movements didn’t pause for a moment.
Its massive tail, thicker than a water bucket, swept horizontally with a piercing shriek, carving a deep gash in the ground wherever it passed.
Ola had just pushed his upper body out of the muddy water when the danger returned!
With a roar, he pushed off hard with his legs, leaping backward in a twisted posture.
The tail scraped right past his chestplate, drawing a long, ear-piercing screech from the enchanted armor.
Ola lost his balance in mid-air and crashed heavily to the ground, leaving a fatal opening.
The crocodile leader seized the opportunity. Its enormous body twisted with incongruous agility as it once again opened its giant maw and pounced on the Dwarf on the ground.
This time, Ola only had time to throw his left arm up in front of him.
CRUNCH—!