novelraw Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Chapter 63
I could feel that something was wrong with the original plan of wearing the monster down through a siege.
Some of our people had already withdrawn from the battlefield, yet the creature was still going strong.
The Crocodile species was a monster with relatively clear strengths and weaknesses.
Its back hide was incredibly tough, but its belly was vulnerable, and with its short legs, its attack range wasn’t that wide.
The Variant Crocodile didn’t stray far from this category, but the problem was its size.
Its body was several times larger than an ordinary crocodile, making it a threat in itself, and because it was so massive, its short legs were hardly a real disadvantage.
On top of that, true to its nature as a variant, it was several times sturdier than a normal crocodile.
The knights’ attacks were barely making a dent.
The weak point—its belly—wasn’t easy to reach.
At best, they were aiming for its flanks, but those were as solid as its back hide.
To tire it out, we needed to inflict as many wounds as possible, but with the knights’ attacks not landing properly, only our fatigue kept piling up.
‘And that heat.’
More than anything, the heat it emitted was the greatest problem.
The heat pouring off it was overwhelming, palpable even from afar.
Even I had to keep shielding myself with Aura just to approach.
Because I had to constantly waste Aura to block the heat, we would inevitably tire faster.
‘This heat is the worst possible match for the Crimson Comet.’
Things were even more serious for the Crimson Comet.
Their iron armor was heating up under the Variant Crocodile’s blazing breath.
No matter how enchanted the armor was, iron was still iron—apply enough heat and it would start to burn.
If the battle dragged on like this, in the worst case, the Crimson Comet might melt down together with their armor.
“Crimson Comet, discard your armor!”
Of course, Celine knew this well.
After all, she herself was facing the monster in the hottest part of the field.
Realizing there was no other way, she threw off her own armor and ordered the others to do the same.
—Wouldn’t that make it even more dangerous?
‘One wrong move and this could turn into a massacre. We’ll have to finish this quickly.’
Watching that, I knew I couldn’t let this fight drag out.
Without armor, if anyone took a direct hit from its front or hind legs, casualties would be unavoidable.
If someone were to die instantly, the situation would spiral out of control.
This wasn’t some kind of final boss in a game—I couldn’t afford to sacrifice knights one after another just to bring it down.
“Haaah!!!”
The one relief was that Irene, despite the heat, was fighting at her full capacity.
As a Fire-attribute Aura user, she had natural resistance to flame, and with ‘Phoenix’ equipped to absorb heat, the monster’s fire posed no threat to her.
‘But she’s lost her offensive edge.’
Unfortunately, her attacks weren’t doing any damage either.
To hurt the monster at all, Aura had to be used. But her Fire-attribute Aura was useless against it.
She tried to inflict physical damage at least, but no matter how hard Irene smashed down with her hammer, it barely seemed to notice.
Still, by hammering away at its snout right in front of its jaws, she kept its attention on her, letting me and Celine strike from safer positions.
But that alone wasn’t enough to inflict any decisive damage. It was time to change strategies.
As I said before, time was on its side, not ours.
‘If I had faced this thing without Leisha or myself here, the outcome is clear.’
Without me, there would be no way to land a decisive blow.
The strongest in the Crimson Comet, Irene, was bound by her Fire affinity, unable to deliver a fatal strike.
Celine was skilled, but against a Variant Crocodile estimated to be Class 1, she too couldn’t finish it.
It was just like how I couldn’t defeat the Variant Cyclops before becoming a Master.
Most likely, they would’ve dragged the fight out, only to be picked off one by one.
Even Irene, who could endure the heat, would eventually fall to it.
‘I understand the situation now. The question is, how do I deal with it?’
I recalled how Leisha had slain the Raptor Queen during the great escape.
With a single strike, her Mana Blade pierced through the back of its neck and scrambled its brain.
If I was to end this in a short battle, I too would have to strike in such a way.
‘That means the target is!’
There were only two places where a single strike could kill it.
The heart, or the head.
But given its massive size, going for the heart didn’t seem feasible.
I’d need to get deep into its belly to reach it, and it wasn’t about to let me get that close.
That left the head.
Like Leisha, I would have to drive an Aura Blade into its neck and pierce through to its head in one blow.
And I would only have one chance.
Unlike Leisha, who could manifest Aura Blades without limit, I had a finite supply of Aura. I couldn’t sustain an Aura Blade for long.
“Irene! There’s no time. We have to finish it in one strike.”
“Understood, Lord Iron. Fall back first. I’ll definitely create an opening! Let’s go, Sister Celine!”
“Yes, Captain!”
Irene knew as well as I did that the situation was dire.
Agreeing with my call for a swift battle, she rushed forward, determined to make an opening.
The Crimson Comet knights, now without armor, also charged in with their lives on the line. Thus, the second round began.
‘Damn, this is cutting it close.’
Irene was now locked in deadly combat with the monster in the most dangerous position of all.
Even if its heat couldn’t harm her, she wasn’t truly safe.
If she were swallowed whole, no resistance or flame affinity would matter—she would die.
She had already brushed past death multiple times.
Celine and I had each driven our blades into its gaping jaws to stop it from devouring her.
But now that I had stepped back, that responsibility fell entirely on Celine.
“Hyah!!”
Standing slightly apart from Irene, Celine intercepted its strikes, using every chance she had to slam her massive crescent blade into its head.
Her attacks weren’t lethal, since she couldn’t yet form a complete Aura Blade. But the weight and size of her weapon still forced the monster to take notice.
It was too much of a nuisance to ignore.
While Irene persistently hammered its snout and Celine landed heavy head strikes whenever she could, the Variant Crocodile couldn’t disregard Celine’s attacks.
In its eyes, Celine was even more dangerous than Irene.
Because her crescent blade hurt far more than Irene’s hammer.
“Everyone, charge!”
“Die, you damn crocodile!”
“Stab it! Stab it!”
The Crimson Comet knights surged in to fill the gap I had left.
Another group of warrior women, the Crimson Comet, rushed in, disregarding life and death, harassing the monster.
The knights’ sole objective was to prevent its attacks from focusing entirely on Celine and Irene.
The Crimson Comet staked their lives to create even the smallest opening.
After all, the knights had already stripped off their armor.
‘I need that chance.’
I had pulled back, only occasionally throwing Aura Blades that pierced into its hide.
Despite the knights’ efforts, its attacks were now concentrating solely on Celine.
It had realized that their strikes couldn’t harm it.
“Sister, let’s begin!”
“Yes, Captain!”
Watching the flow of battle, Irene started a new plan, taking advantage of that fact.
She was conserving her strength, waiting for the monster to lunge at Celine.
I was doing the same.
If I wanted to pierce through to its brain with a single strike, I had to draw out every last ounce of power.
It meant I couldn’t waste Aura shielding myself from the heat.
That was why I had stepped back—so I could pour all of my Aura into the greatsword and wait for the moment.
“Now!”
“Haaah!!!”
And then the chance came.
At Irene’s signal, Celine leapt, aiming at its head.
The monster, seeing the opportunity, opened its jaws wide to swallow her whole.
At that instant, Irene, who had been waiting for this moment, dashed in under its chin and swung upward like a golfer, smashing its jaw with an uppercut.
With that single desperate strike, its jaw was forced open, and its massive frame lurched, exposing the vulnerable belly beneath its chin.
—Now, Master!
“Lord Iron!!!”
“Uuughraah!!”
I too had been waiting for this moment.
As the monster lunged for Celine, I slipped beneath its chest and drove my Aura Blade upward, wringing out every last bit of strength.
—Krrraaaagh!
“Push!”
“Uaaaahhh!!!”
The razor-sharp Aura Blade cut through its hide without resistance, but splitting its thick jawbone and piercing up to its head wasn’t easy.
When my momentum started to falter, I shouted to Irene to push me forward.
Without hesitation, she rushed in from behind, pouring every drop of her Aura into shoving me upward.
—K…k…kghh!
The pressure from behind.
With Irene’s strength as my leverage, I gave everything I had left, driving the greatsword upward once more.
Together, our desperate assault pushed Unbreakable’s blade clean through, bursting out the back of its skull.
—Is… it done?
No living creature could survive with its head pierced through.
The Variant Crocodile was no ordinary monster, but even it couldn’t survive once its skull was shattered.
But I had momentarily forgotten how tenacious creatures of this species were.
And how vindictive.
—Kueeeghhh!!
“Shit!”
—Danger, Master!
The monster screamed as Unbreakable pierced its head, collapsing in agony. For a moment, I let my guard down.
But even if I hadn’t, the outcome would’ve been the same.
I had poured every last drop of Aura into the greatsword. My legs were trembling, barely holding me upright.
That was my mistake.
The beast was dead—but it still had one final card to play.
With its last breath, it spewed searing Flame Blood from deep within its heart, straight onto me, half pinned beneath it.
Even as a Master, if I was engulfed by that inferno, there was no way I could survive.
“Lord Iron! Ugh!!”
But in that very instant.
Irene, who had been pushing me from behind, hurled me aside and took the full force of the Flame Blood head-on.
By the smallest margin.
“Sir Irene!!”
“Captain!”
The Flame Blood roared, as if intent on burning Irene to ashes, and I could only stumble back under the heat.
I tried to smother those cursed flames with anything, but the earth was dry, nothing could help.
Frantic, I scooped dirt with my hands and hurled it onto Irene, but the fire only grew fiercer.
Celine, just as frantic, rushed in and began shoveling dirt with me.
The knights joined as well, burying her halfway under a mound of soil, but still the flames consuming Irene refused to die down.
‘This is insane!’
We could only watch in shock and despair.