novelraw Chapter 89 : Seeking a Counterattack
Chapter 89 : Seeking a Counterattack
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—
The six mana cannons at the tips of the tentacles fired in rapid succession, explosions roaring in a deafening chain.
The shockwaves blasted back the black silhouette that had tried to pursue, the dazzling bursts forming an invisible barrier. At the same time, Rozelite used the push of the shockwaves to widen the distance at high speed.
Rozelite lowered her head and looked at her left arm.
Light-blue liquid writhed at the severed edge, gluing the arm that had just been cut off forcibly back into place. Finally, it reshaped into a blue arm ring, fixing the severed limb to the shoulder joint together with the metallicized battle armor.
But the arm had not truly been reattached.
As mentioned before, Russell had no healing ability.
His so-called “blood lock” was nothing more than using his shapeshifting ability to patch Rozelite’s shattered body back together. What he was doing now was no different—the arm was already severed. There was no way it could fully recover just by sticking it back on. After all…
Rozelite was still just a human.
However…
Even though Russell could not repair Rozelite’s arm, he could enter it himself.
Whether it was severed or reattached made no difference to him.
Rozelite tried clenching her fist.
Her fingers curled and straightened exactly as she willed, movements smooth and responsive, as though the arm had never been cut.
“By combining 【Symbiosis Lv8】 with 【Mental Integration Lv3】, we can achieve zero-delay synchronization of thought. Whatever you imagine, I’ll immediately map onto the arm, making the same movement.”
Russell’s voice sounded in Rozelite’s ear.
“Fight as usual. While reading your thoughts, I’ll operate the arm. Just act as though you were never injured.”
“Then, Mr. Slime, I leave this arm to you.”
“Heh, no problem.”
“...”
“You’re wonderful, Mr. Slime.”
Rozelite whispered to herself inside.
At last, she could fight side by side with him like this.
“Am I helping you now? Am I becoming your strength? To you, have I become even more important?”
Just realizing this truth erased every trace of fear and unease within her.
Meanwhile—
The glow and shockwaves of the explosions faded.
The black silhouette, greatsword in hand, stood unmoving. Dark-purple patterns still shimmered across his armor, flawless, unbroken, as though the earlier attacks had been nothing more than mosquito bites.
Russell glanced at his stat panel. His HP bar hadn’t budged. All those attacks had been completely ineffective.
And his MP…
Full?!
At the start of the fight, it had been slightly lower.
Could it be, like that tentacle monster they encountered before, he had the ability to draw mana from subspace and recover instantly?
But unlike that octopus that only flailed its tentacles, this one wouldn’t just stand still and take hits.
So then… how were they supposed to fight it?!
This was without question the most troublesome foe yet. His inflated stats aside, even his skill list was dazzling.
【Subspace Erosion】【Mana Enhancement】【Magic Resistance】【Demon King’s Blessing】
Each one more brutal than the last.
Even if Russell didn’t know the exact effects of some, it was obvious they were all monstrous.
Multiple blasts of 【Mana Cannon】 had landed on him directly, yet failed to break his defenses—that was already Russell’s strongest attack at this stage.
His magic resistance was absurdly high. Even a level 8 cannon wasn’t enough.
Maybe at level 9, there might be hope.
At the same time, in both speed and strength, the black silhouette suppressed Rozelite utterly, dominating the offensive. Even with the Astral Silver Sword’s blessing, she could not change the tide.
It was almost inconceivable.
He wasn’t just a monster-like foe—he was a stat-abusing monster.
His numbers were off the charts, raw mana damage did nothing, beheading him wouldn’t work either, and he seemed to have no real weak point. His mana replenished faster than it was consumed, and buff after buff stacked sky-high. It was unimaginable how they were supposed to kill him.
So… should they retreat?
Russell had never been proud.
In a crisis that meant death, retreat was never shameful.
He understood clearly: as long as one lived, there was hope. Dignity, bottom lines, ideals, freedom—
They were all meaningless before life itself.
And more importantly, he was not alone here. Rozelite stood with him.
“No, wait… Calm down, Russell. Don’t be shaken by this guy.”
“Don’t panic just because you’ve only ever crushed weaker foes until now, and suddenly run into a difficult opponent. Don’t tell me you’ve fought too many overpowered stat monsters and forgotten how to actually fight?”
Russell pressed down his unease, forcing himself to think of a breakthrough.
Magic couldn’t be relied on. Even those earlier test shots made it clear—no matter how many volleys he poured out, even a saturation bombardment would yield the same result. And even if he drained some MP, the foe would refill instantly via subspace.
So it really did come down to that one technique.
Heart-Sync Slash.
No matter how overpowered the foe’s numbers, nothing could withstand that strike.
But the problem remained—the foe’s inflated stats. His speed and strength crushed Rozelite in close combat, leaving her only able to defend desperately, unable to seize a chance to strike.
Even when such a chance arose, the angle for a 【Heart-Sync Slash】 never appeared.
“Numbers, numbers, numbers… Is there a way… to raise our numbers just a little?”
Just a little was enough—to ease Rozelite’s pressure in melee…
Yes.
Russell’s gaze fell upon the scattered corpses of the Undead Dragon Knights littering the palace floor.
“These… these are… all free stats!”
Without hesitation, tentacles burst from Rozelite’s back, darting toward corpse after corpse. If he devoured them, raising 【Subspace Erosion】 further, he could absolutely close the stat gap between Rozelite and the black silhouette!
And as though sensing Russell’s intention—
The black silhouette finally moved. That towering body lunged forward like a phantom, swinging its black greatsword single-handedly in windmill arcs.
Rozelite stepped forward to meet him.
Clang—!
The black greatsword and Astral Silver Sword collided midair, sparks flying.
Rozelite’s feet dug hard into the ground, her arm trembling. The stump that had been severed earlier shook violently. She skidded back several meters uncontrollably—the pure stat clash once again put her at a disadvantage.
Even with double enhancements and the metallicized battle armor’s boosts, she still could not match him.
And yet, Rozelite still forced herself to block the black silhouette’s path.
“Mr. Slime, I’ll buy you the time you need. This is the only thing I can do now. Even if I have to give my life, I won’t let him interfere with you.”
Her simple, clear resolve passed through 【Symbiosis】 and 【Mental Integration】 straight into Russell’s heart. He said nothing—in this moment, any words would be meaningless. Only victory! Only by defeating this enemy before them could they earn the right and space to express gratitude or recognition.
Besides… he had no room left for words.
At the same time, he was:
Controlling Rozelite’s severed arm.
Repairing the metallicized battle armor alongside her movements.
Channeling mana into his tentacles to boost Rozelite’s strength and speed.
Directing other tentacles to devour the Undead Dragon Knights’ corpses.
Russell could only control eight tentacles with precision. He had already reached his limit. Any further threads added would cause a collapse in accuracy.
So gambling on some reckless overextension…
No.
That wasn’t something Russell would do.
A hot-blooded “defy destiny” awakening in the face of life and death?
An ultimate technique born of love and justice in a fated showdown?
An explosive last stand powered by friendship and bonds?
Such things were laughable, unreliable, and unworthy of staking his and Rozelite’s lives upon.
At this point, he had no right to gamble with Rozelite’s life.