Chapter 137: _Look Death In The Eyes

"Aura... I need you to run down a few things." Ambrose’s back straightened as he snapped his neck in preparation.

[I assumed you’d want to start fleeing for your life. Seeing as there’s a literal A-Rank entity approaching.]

Ambrose smirked wryly.

He didn’t want to be smug, but so far, he had taken down a lower A-Rank beast and a group of B-Ranks. It was safe to say he’d be surviving another A-Rank too.

Hopefully.

"How many armadillo beasts did I take down?" He lifted his head heavenward, just in time to spot a flock of normal-looking birds flying en masse.

Like they were trying to escape something.

[Armadillobeastsslain: 22.]

Ambrose’s eyes widened with surprise.

He knew it was going to be a large amount. But... those beasts were all B-Ranks. Plus, before the discovery of his Burning Ice fusion ability, he wasn’t able to dent even one of them.

"Interesting." He nodded. "I’m curious though. How much EP do I have left?"

[The host has 3016/5000 EP left—the burning ice blast took roughly 1000 points alone.]

And... there it was.

A downside.

1000 EP for a single attack was just insanity.

His lips parted to ask something but then he froze. It was faint at first. Almost imperceptible. Yet upon concentrating more, he felt it.

The ground trembled for hundreds of meters as the A-Rank entity drew closer. It didn’t seem to be in a rush. At this point, Ambrose was already getting a rough picture of what he was up against.

"One last thing," he flicked his wrist, summoning Viktor’s Frost Dagger. He swung that plus one of the Dragon fang blades in his right hand. "Collect and sell any intact Aether cores from the fallen beasts."

[Collection loading...]

[ALERT: 6 aether cores detected.]

[Sold. Seduction coins gotten: 3000.]

Sigh... good enough.

He’d almost not expected to get anything.

Suddenly, the world around him became darker as an overwhelming shadow stretched over him. His body stiffened but he forced himself to turn around.

There it was.

A colossal bipedal beast, at least twenty feet tall. It was almost like the fallen armadillos—except its shell appeared sturdier and its muscles far bulkier.

Out of its back, two black feathered wings stood out more than anything else. The contrast of the sun on its body made its eyes glow like red torches etched against a void.

"Hmph." Ambrose huffed. "Now that’s a real tank right there. Look at those arms."

The beast let out a guttural growl as though it could understand him. It came to a halt at fifty meters away.

Silence.

Despite having a wave of confidence in his chest a few seconds ago... being faced with the beast now made his legs quiver.

His grip on the handles of his weapons tightened, a desperate attempt to keep himself grounded. His pulse stuttered once. Then twice.

Just when he thought he’d suffocate from all the pressure—the beast moved. It roared, spreading out its arms. Ambrose grunted, doing the same.

Once they were within striking range, Ambrose kicked himself off the ground. The beast punched downwards, the sheer force from it sending out a burst of air that nearly knocked him off.

Ambrose landed gracefully on one of its arms. He raised the frost dagger to land a hit—

—But that idea backfired hard in a flash.

The beast darted sideways, ramming its arm and Ambrose right through a smaller tree. It shattered upon impact, the Guide’s eyes bulging as air escaped his lungs.

His back and neck snapped. Blood sprayed out of his mouth like a fountain, his ribs caving in as he hurtled through the air.

BOOM!

His landing tens of meters away was explosive. Dust, debris and raw earth shot out every which way from the point of impact.

He heaved, realising quickly that he’d let go of his dagger.

[WARNING: Staggering HP drop detected.]

[Host’s HP at 903/1600.]

Ambrose ground his teeth, pushing himself to sit up despite the numbing pain hitting him from nearly every muscle. His vision blurred. Both ears rang as he searched through the dust-covered crater.

Fortunately, the frost dagger was only a few feet away. He reached out to get it—only to get stabbed by another jolt of pain, this time from his lower back.

"Argh!" He whimpered. "F–Fuck... I’m going to need way more than a massage after this."

As if the injuries weren’t bad enough, he could sense the beast readying itself for another attack. It bellowed, its wings spreading out as it inched toward him with long, heavy strides.

Ambrose gradually got off the ground, clutching his right shoulder after picking up his dagger. His eyes flickered with a cold blue light.

"Okay—new rule. I don’t fight flying armadillos anymore." He lumbered out of the dust as his gaze locked on the beast. "Come on! I’ve looked death in the eyes more times than I can count to give up now."

The beast spread out its arms again as white steam rolled out of its nose. Then—it charged, moving like a train. Ambrose prepped himself, his fingers curling harder around his blade’s handle.

He lunged at the very last second, skidding past the space between the beast’s legs. One slash at the beast’s ankle and it stumbled, letting out a thunderous roar.

Under the same beat, the beast spun on its heels, reaching for Ambrose. The latter dodged by barely a hair’s breadth, rolling on the ground until he was a safe distance away.

Except, in this case... There was no such thing as ’safe’.

Before his eyes as he lifted himself off the ground, the beast’s wings spread out wider. One flap took it off the earth, as it curled into a ball within a couple of seconds.

In its ball form it spun mid-air, like a cannon waiting to let loose.

Ambrose stood still, eyes widened at the eerie sight. "Well, shit."

The curled beast shot down like a meteor, its wings furling around its shell as it headed straight at the Guide. And Ambrose... stood his ground.