novelraw Chapter 159
Chapter 159
Chapter 159
The foundation's underground shelter, built to withstand missile strikes, had been breached.
Attacking them now was a dragon that should exist only in legends.
"First a monstrous cat, now a dragon? This is turning into a full-blown monster war."
Bradley let out a sigh.
He drew his naginata and took a proud, imposing stance.
With so many lives behind him relying on him, he was the only one who could fight now.
And so, he fought.
He needed no other reason.
Bradley exhaled sharply and took off running.
The dragon twisted and coiled like a tornado.
Swirl, swirl, swirl, swirl.
Once it had built up enough momentum, it swept its tail in a wide arc.
A horizontal strike from its accelerating tail.
A massacre of civilians, attempted as easily as brushing something aside.
If the dragon's attack landed, thousands would die.
"'Skill Activate—Grand Summoning, Giant Serpents'"
Bradley decided to use his trump card.
Sacrificing half his HP, he summoned the largest of his familiar monsters.
Tearing through the shelter floor, a giant serpent over 80 meters long emerged.
Three of them. Appearing simultaneously, the massive serpents blocked the dragon's sweeping tail with their thick bodies, preventing the civilians from being reduced to silent lumps of meat.
Bradley coughed up a massive amount of blood from the skill's backlash.
"......'Dragon Thunder'"
Lightning flashed again.
A divine strike that split the earth.
One of the giant serpents was pierced by yellow lightning and collapsed to the ground.
(No time to rest......!)
Wiping away the blood, Bradley forced his heavy body to move.
He leapt onto the back of a giant serpent, ran up its length, and set his sights on the girl riding the dragon.
Ten meters left. Eight. Six. This is it.
(If this absurd dragon is a familiar monster, then killing that brat should stop it.)
He leapt from the serpent to the dragon's back and rushed straight toward the girl.
When the girl noticed Bradley approaching, she said, "No."
In response, the dragon suddenly opened its mouth.
From within, two faceless synthetic humans emerged.
Bradley instinctively came to a halt.
He wasn't ignorant of the threat posed by synthetic humans.
One had just put a hole through his chest.
He knew all too well how terrifying they were.
"Thanks for making it all the way up here. Goodbye, explorer Bradley."
The synthetic humans briskly approached Bradley.
Bradley enhanced his naginata with 'Sharpness Lv5', 'Bleed Attribute Lv4', 'Deadly Poison Lv4', and 'Critical Wound Lv4'.
Then, using the skill 'Summoning Art—Venomous Serpents', he called forth more serpents to counter the synthetic human threat.
The synthetic humans broke into a run. Their massive bodies closed in with speed.
He issued commands to the serpents, ordering them to entangle the synthetic humans.
The serpents were natural hunters, their bodies armored in powerful muscle.
When they gathered in numbers and combined their abilities, they could definitely immobilize even the strongest brute force.
"Hold them right there!"
Bradley closed the distance to the synthetic humans in an instant.
He slashed twice at their necks with all his strength.
But as expected, the blades barely cut.
Bradley leapt back like a dancer to reassess the situation.
One second. Two. That was enough.
(No bleeding. The poison's not working either...... With the critical wound combo, most creatures would die instantly, but...... tch, what a pain.)
Bradley switched his skill set from anti-living enchantments—Bleed & Poison—to anti-inorganic enchantments—Shatter Attribute & DMG Boost—and continued fighting.
The synthetic humans were powerful.
Still, the circumstances were different from their last clash.
Bradley could now use skills, and he knew how terrifying the synthetic humans were.
He gauged the distance based on their specs, stepped in carefully, and disrupted them with a variety of skills.
As long as he wasn't trying to kill them, there were ways to deal even with monsters above his rank.
Betting his pride as the 6th-ranked A-rank explorer, he fought with every cunning trick he had.
After about 15 seconds of holding out, the girl finally began to show concern. "What's taking so long?"
"A-rank explorers are surprisingly troublesome."
The girl pulled out the Witch's Withered Finger from her sleeve.
(Wait, don't tell me the entire Sword Prison Society has those Witch's Withered Fingers?)
"You've got to be kidding me......!"
Shocked, Bradley put a large distance between himself and the girl.
But he couldn't escape the effect of the Witch's Withered Finger.
Nearly thirty venomous snakes he had summoned vanished like illusions dissipating into mist.
The skill's power had been negated, forcibly dismissing his familiar monsters.
"As expected of the assassin Bradley. I'll give you that. Now, do die already."
The synthetic humans advanced——
"Nyan!"
"Ah, you're......!"
The Norwegian Bakeneko reappeared.
Its fluffy cat tail smacked into the synthetic humans.
The synthetic humans crossed their arms in an X to guard.
Sliding across the dragon's scales with a rumbling sound——
"You're alive?"
"Nyan♪"
"That cat...... I'm sure it took a direct hit from 'Dragon Thunder'......!"
"Alright, good! Go take out those monster weapons I can't stand!"
"Nyaaaan!"
The Norwegian Bakeneko began rampaging, whipping its tail around.
The synthetic humans took it on together, trading blows with its rapid-fire cat punches.
But even it couldn't keep up with two opponents, looking like it could use an extra paw.
The synthetic humans grabbed the fluffy cat and hurled it into the air.
"Nyaa—!?"
The Norwegian Bakeneko was flung outside the shelter.
"We should definitely finish off that cat."
As the girl spoke, the dragon bit the giant serpents to death and began gently ascending outside the shelter.
Bradley stabbed his naginata into the dragon's scales and clung on to avoid being thrown off.
Outside, the Norwegian Bakeneko and the synthetic humans resumed their fierce battle. It was still short on cat punches, but at least it was buying time.
Seeing an opportunity, Bradley moved.
"As long as the Bakeneko's here, they'll keep them busy. You've got no shields left to protect you."
With renewed vigor, he slashed at the girl.
"Oof—" the girl said casually as she pulled a long object from her kimono sleeve.
What she drew was a naginata far too large to fit in a sleeve.
With the tip of the blade, the girl gave Bradley a light poke.
An abrupt attack. The blades of the naginata and naginata clashed.
Gachin!
Sparks flew violently.
A heavy metallic clang rang out.
(What the—this Power!?)
Unable to keep his footing, Bradley was sent flying, rolling over the dragon's scales.
Somehow, he managed not to slip off.
He tried to stand, but his legs were trembling too badly to get up properly.
Bradley had taken more damage than he realized.
"By a kid like this... someone who's not even an explorer... Losing in brute strength... Gah!"
He spat blood, his face contorting in humiliation.
"You've got it backwards. Honestly. What's more irritating is the idea that an explorer could do anything to me. I'm Sword Prison. I was hired to kill you."
(So she's Sword Prison... Damn it. One of those high-risk groups—even without diving into the dungeon, where the hell did she get this kind of Power...?)
"I don't particularly like using a blade myself, but the others seem quite occupied... So, Bradley, I'll be the one to kill you."
With that, the girl from Sword Prison lifted the hem of her kimono, revealing her pale thighs.
The moment she tied up the cords for easier movement, she charged at Bradley.
Bradley forced himself up through sheer willpower, determined not to die for nothing, and blocked the blow with his blade.
But the difference in strength was overwhelming.
He floated up and was blown away.
(I can't win... Am I going to lose again...?)
That thought crossed his mind as he braced for death.
Thud.
Someone caught him.
When he looked up, a black, slimy, abnormal face stared back at him.
At some point, a group clad in black had gathered around them.
"You're Finger Man's..."
In complete silence, they dutifully carried out Finger Man's orders.
They were the proud warriors of the Black Swamp.
Now, they were the familiar monsters known as the 'Black Fingertips.'
"So you're the familiar monsters who've been rampaging through the town. You might be able to fight a little, but underling-type familiar monsters that rely on numbers just can't perform. That's an undeniable truth."
The girl from Sword Prison smiled confidently and readied her naginata again.
"If you think someone like me can be taken down by underlings of your level, you're sorely mistaken——"
The leader of the Black Fingertips moved.
In an instant, they dashed forward, leaving afterimages behind.
Bradley couldn't track the speed with his eyes.
The next thing he registered was a black fist of a warrior burying itself deep into the girl's beautiful face.
The Black Fingertips had no concept of holding back just because she was a pretty girl.
He didn't know what just happened.
But Bradley felt a sense of catharsis.
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