Translator: CinderTL
Bang!
With a dull thud, John's iron sword slammed into the Bloodscale Kobold's shoulder.
But instead of the expected tearing of flesh, a blinding shower of sparks erupted.
The sword's edge screeched against the scales, leaving only a shallow white scratch.
John's hand went numb, and he stumbled back two steps, a flicker of horror in his eyes.
As a veteran hardened by countless battles, he was no stranger to facing kobolds, those lowly demonic beasts.
He had slain dozens of them with his sword, but this monster was unlike any he had ever encountered.
"Damn it! This thing's hide is tougher than iron!" Red-nosed Tom cursed, lunging from the side with his sword aimed at the kobold's throat.
The Bloodscale Kobold merely tilted its head slightly, letting the iron blade graze its neck.
Sparks flew as scale scraped against steel, yet the creature remained unscathed.
Roar!
The Bloodscale Kobold let out a low growl and swung its massive arm in a sweeping arc. Tom hastily raised his shield to block, but the force of the blow far exceeded his expectations. The oak shield shattered instantly, and Tom was hurled backward, slamming into the burning hut's wall. A mouthful of blood gushed from his lips.
"Ryan! Flank it!"
Without a moment to check on Tom's injuries, John roared the command. His remaining men understood instantly, darting behind the Bloodscale Kobold in a single swift motion.
"Filthy mongrel! Look over here!"
John feigned a frontal assault, his left hand silently reaching for the shortbow at his waist.
Just as he drew the creature's attention, the massive, rust-covered axe descended with a piercing, wind-splitting shriek.
In the nick of time, John rolled aside, his right hand simultaneously reaching for his own shortbow.
Before his body had fully stabilized, he nocked an arrow and drew back the string, the entire motion flowing seamlessly.
Whoosh!
The arrow shot through the air, aimed precisely at the monster's left eye.
But the Bloodscale Kobold merely tilted its head, the arrow tip grazing its eyelid, striking sparks against the hardened scales before glancing off harmlessly.
"Even its eyes are scaled?"
John's heart sank.
His most powerful archery technique couldn't even wound this monster's vital point!
"Got it!"
Seeing the creature distracted, Ryan, who had successfully flanked it, roared and launched his attack.
But the instant his sword tip touched the scales, the Bloodscale Kobold reacted as if it had eyes in the back of its head, whirling around and sweeping its axe in a wide arc.
Crack!
Ryan's chainmail armor crumpled like paper before the axe's blade. His chest caved in as the Bloodscale Kobold cleaved him in two, sending his body flying through the air in a bloody arc.
John's pupils constricted.
Ryan was their most skilled fighter, having slain three kobolds in the earlier melee without a scratch. Yet against the Bloodscale Kobold, he hadn't lasted even a single strike!
"John! Retreat! We can't even scratch it!" Tom struggled to his feet, blood trickling from his lips, his voice trembling with terror.
John gritted his teeth, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.
Burning houses, corpses strewn haphazardly, and the relentless advance of ordinary kobolds in the distance.
They were completely surrounded.
"We can't escape," John said, his voice low and resolute as he gripped his iron sword. "If we don't kill it, none of us will survive."
Meanwhile, in the ruins on the other side, Gary echoed the same desperate sentiment.
"Let's make a run for it while the chaos distracts them!" Gary's voice shook as he stared at the Bloodscale Kobold, which stood nearly as tall as a grown man. "Even well-equipped soldiers can't stand against it. We—"
"We can't escape," Roland replied, his gaze fixed on the demonic figure looming nearby. His right hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
Peyton, standing beside him, nodded gravely.
"Gary, you saw it yourself when we were escaping. There were countless kobolds to the south—at least several dozen. This route has the fewest, and..."
"And the kobolds to the south are gradually converging on this direction!" Roland finished, taking deep breaths to recover his stamina.
He quickly rose to his feet, surveying the kobolds' positions as he murmured, "This is our only escape route. If we want to survive, we have no choice but to defeat this Aberrant Kobold blocking our path."
"Do you have a plan?" Peyton asked.
Throughout their journey, Peyton had grown to admire Roland's keen combat instincts. Roland consistently noticed and cleverly exploited details that even Peyton, a seasoned mercenary with countless battles under his belt, had overlooked. It was precisely this exceptional ability that had allowed them to repeatedly turn near-disasters into narrow escapes, ultimately leading them safely to this point.
Now, with Peyton wounded and his mobility impaired, he naturally deferred to Roland's judgment even more.
"I noticed earlier that while this mutated kobold possesses astonishing strength, its movements are even slower and clumsier than those of ordinary kobolds. Moreover..."
In the clearing ahead, John was using his agility to evade the Bloodscale Kobold.
Roland fought back the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm him, gritting his teeth as he activated his [ Focus ] ability.
A few seconds later, when he reopened his eyes, his gaze was clear and his voice steady and resolute.
"There's a small, unscaled patch on the left side of the Aberrant Kobold's back."
"If we can exploit that weakness with a decisive strike, even if we don't kill it outright, we can at least cripple it. Then, whether it lives or dies, we'll have our chance to escape."
"Good!"
Peyton, still reeling from blood loss, staggered to his feet, his face pale.
"I'll create the opening for you. The rest is up to you."
With a guttural roar, Peyton charged out of cover, dragging his wounded body forward.
The veteran mercenary, who had always valued his life above all else, now burned with a fierce resolve.
Clang!
Peyton's iron sword jammed into the gap between the scales at the kobold's knee joint, producing a grating, bone-jarring sound.
But the Bloodscale Kobold showed no reaction. Its bloodshot eyes swiveled to lock onto the reckless human, and its lips peeled back in a grin, revealing jagged fangs.
The expression was unmistakably a smile.
Seeing that Peyton had drawn the Bloodscale Kobold's attention, Roland didn't hesitate. He sprinted forward in long strides, simultaneously bellowing at the dazed John.
"Shoot!"
Though still disoriented, John instinctively rolled to the side at the shout, landing in a half-kneeling position.
The fully drawn shortbow groaned under the strain.
"You mongrel! Look over here!"
Peyton suddenly lunged forward.
The seasoned mercenary precisely located the gap between the Bloodscale Kobold's scales.
With a twist of his sword hilt, the razor-sharp blade pierced half an inch into the creature's flesh.
The Bloodscale Kobold roared in agony, its thick tail sweeping across the ground.
Seeing the attack, Peyton ducked low, narrowly avoiding the devastating blow.
At the same moment, a whistling sound cut through the air.
Whoosh!
An arrow hurtled toward the monster's right eye with lightning speed.
But the Bloodscale Kobold simply swung its weapon again, ignoring the arrow completely. As before, it closed its eyes, attempting to protect its weak point with its scales.
"Now's my chance!"
Roland's Focus trait reached its peak.
The world suddenly slowed to a crawl in his eyes.
He saw the arrow spinning through the air, the tremors in the monster's muscles as it raised its arm, even the trajectory of distant sparks drifting down.
His right hand instinctively gripped his sword hilt, and the opening stance of Lion Swordsmanship flowed from him as naturally as breathing.
Roar!
The instant the arrow grazed the Bloodscale Kobold's eyelid, Roland moved.
Within three steps, his sword was already drawn.
The sharp blade glinted with cold light under the bright moonlight.
The lethal techniques of Lion Swordsmanship were now on full display.
By the time the Bloodscale Kobold sensed the danger, it was already too late.
Roland's sword tip pierced precisely into the soft, pink flesh of its back.
Thwack!
A muffled sound followed, and crimson blood gushed out like a fountain.
Howl!
The kobold let out a piercing shriek, wildly swinging its massive axe.
Knowing the wound wasn't fatal, Roland immediately retreated several steps to create distance.
"We need to retreat—"
He was about to call out to Peyton and the others to withdraw when the scene before him forced him to swallow the rest of his words.
The blood spurting from the Bloodscale Kobold's back hadn't even hit the ground before it transformed into scorching flames mid-air.
With a pungent, burning smell, the flames surged inward, instantly engulfing the kobold's body.
In the blink of an eye, the once ferocious Bloodscale Kobold was reduced to ashes, howling in agony amidst the raging flames.
Just as the fire was about to die down, Roland narrowed his eyes.
Something flickered faintly within the ashes.
It was a small crystal, glowing with an eerie red light, half-hidden in the embers. Like a living heart, it pulsed with an intermittent, flickering rhythm.
(End of the Chapter)
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