Chapter 324: Scratching Damage—Boss: "You Barely Nicked Me"
The Yoma of the Claymore world descended from dragons.
They were a unique species favored by their world, resembling magical beasts.
The Yoma, altered and created through research based on the dragon's lineage, carried a faint, chaotic magical aura—
much like low-grade Yoma with mixed bloodlines.
But due to the corruption of Qing Kingdom's dragon vein,
its deep forests and mountains had long been overtaken by zombies and vengeful spirits.
This led to a sharp decline in the population of true Yoma, who were assimilated into ghost-type monsters.
So when the Crimson-Robed Taoist suddenly detected a human with a Yoma-like aura,
he was thrilled.
"Corpse Fusion."
He formed a seal with one hand,
and though Gunilla tried to interrupt, he dodged smoothly.
Once the incantation was complete, the Taoist's chest swelled unnaturally,
sharp spikes protruding from beneath his skin.
Rip.
His crimson robe burst open, revealing a grotesque maw across his chest, filled with rows of jagged fangs.
He lunged and clutched a white-haired zombie—
the chest maw squirmed and devoured the creature in seconds.
After swallowing the zombie, the Taoist's body expanded like a balloon,
and a thin coat of white fur began to sprout across his skin.
"Damn, we can't let him eat more zombies!"
Gunilla's expression darkened.
She leapt forward with her greatsword, unleashing a slash enhanced with Yoki and a sharp-edge talisman—
but the zombie fur tangled the blade mid-swing.
The slash only left a faint mark on his shriveled skin.
And this was the same attack that had earlier severed his hand.
Corpse Masters could not only control zombies—
they could also devour them to temporarily gain the Zombie Body trait.
Now, even before his transformation was complete,
the boss's defense was already this high.
If he fully absorbed enough to become a White Zombie Body,
none of them would survive.
Boom.
Gunilla inhaled sharply as dark markings appeared on her cheeks.
Her teeth sharpened into fangs.
Yoki Release—50%.
This was already dangerously high.
Many warriors lacking strong willpower couldn't endure the euphoric pressure—
and would fully transform into monsters.
Slash!
Her beastlike golden eyes glinted with murderous intent as she brought her blade down.
It shattered the white fur armor and split open the Taoist's chest.
"So much pain… I want to eat you…"
A childlike murmur echoed from within the chest.
It turned out the devouring mouth was a separate entity—
a mutant zombie fused into the Taoist's body.
A barbed tongue like a venomous serpent lashed out, coiling around Gunilla's legs.
Crunch!
Her slender legs were torn off.
Gunilla fell, but gritted through the pain. She grabbed her severed limbs,
and used the force of slamming her blade against the ground to vault herself away from further attacks.
"Gunilla!"
Tanjiro shouted in panic.
Steam-like mist escaped his mouth as his lungs expanded, pumping blood with explosive force.
His naturally enhanced body was pushed further by his Breathing Technique, granting him explosive speed.
"Water Breathing—First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
Tanjiro flowed forward like water,
his sword shimmering with rippling energy and wave-like sounds.
"Don't aim for the neck—his weakness is the chest!"
Rin shouted, staying composed at the crucial moment.
She rushed to Gunilla's side and activated her healing jutsu.
Gunilla had kept her severed limbs because Claymores could reattach them using Yoki.
She just needed time.
With Rin's chakra-enhanced Healing Palm, the limbs were restored in an instant.
"Thank you."
Gunilla nodded sincerely.
Then she turned and dashed toward Tanjiro, whose leg had just been pierced by the Taoist.
Her heavy strikes forced the enemy back.
"I'll turn you into my most perfect zombie-Yoma hybrid."
The Taoist licked his lips,
retreating just far enough to grab another white-haired zombie and prepare to feed it to his chest maw.
Boom!
But the zombie he grabbed suddenly exploded into smoke—
and Rin's clone emerged from it, slashing the monster tongue from his chest.
"Argh!"
He let out a howling shriek of pain.
That maw had cost a fortune in resources to create—
he had slaughtered five entire towns to gather the ingredients.
And now these weaklings had damaged it!
Unforgivable.
"Do you kids like to dance?"
The Taoist writhed grotesquely and pulled a bronze bell from his robes.
Ding-a-ling…
Its sharp chime spread outward.
White-haired zombies began twitching and dancing bizarrely.
Then they turned on each other—devouring and fusing—
until they became two colossal monsters of blood-red muscle and hulking stature.
[Muscle Zombie Lv.12 (Elite Commander)]
The Taoist was already a Lord-tier boss.
It had taken all of them just to survive against him.
Now there were two Commander-tier monsters?
Their only hope was to flee.
"We can't escape. The area's covered in illusions—we're trapped."
Kuina bit her lip.
She had just relocated the would-be sacrificial villagers to prevent more undead births,
only to find herself right back where she started.
Fog smothered everything. They couldn't even find the graveyard's edge.
"Enjoying the taste of ghostly confusion?"
The Taoist stood atop one of the Muscle Zombies,
glaring down with icy malice.
He had rigged the entire graveyard with a formation.
Two vengeful spirits were the anchors for his Misty Ghost Array—
even another Lord-tier Taoist would have trouble breaking it.
"Ittoryu—Steel Slash!"
Kuina leapt skyward and slashed at one zombie's shoulder.
The blade carried a faint whirlwind—
But its muscle density was so great that it clamped the sword in place.
This was her strongest technique, developed before she fell down those fatal stairs.
It had one goal—cleave through steel.
And now?
These zombies' bodies were as tough as iron.
The Muscle Zombie swung at her,
trying to crush her with sheer strength.
Kuina braced, yanked her sword free, and landed safely.
[Crimson-Robed Taoist Lv.17 (Lord)]—4700/5000 HP
They all stared at the boss's health bar in despair.
Despite all their efforts, he had only lost 300 HP.
"Where is that Taoist Master?"
Rin's brow furrowed in frustration.
"I won't give up!"
Tanjiro's fists clenched, his eyes burning with determination.
Even against a hopeless foe,
he refused to yield.
He mentally reviewed every sword form his master had taught him.
"I can't die yet. I still haven't resurrected Teresa.
I need to see her smile again…"
Gunilla gritted her teeth,
her expression grim with resolve.
BOOM!
Yoki Release—80%.
This was the maximum threshold allowed by the Claymore Organization.
At this point, no Claymore could return to being human.
The transformation into a full Yoma would be permanent.
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