Wolves of Hader

Chapter 97

KRRRAAAAH—

The Guardian charged forward and then leaped at me.

It looked ready to crush me with both its forelegs!

I immediately kicked off the ground and veered to the left.

KUKUNG—

The creature landed, slamming its forelegs into the earth. A tremor swept forward as if the ground was collapsing.

The Guardian twisted its body and came at me again.

As I watched it rush in, I turned left again. It roared, swinging its foreleg wide.

KRRAAAAH—

It lashed out at the air and then let out a breath attack.

The cold was so intense that even a touch could freeze my arm instantly.

I disoriented its vision and this time ducked to the right.

As I gained some distance, it crouched and then charged straight at me.

KUKUKUKUKUNG—

Like a massive bison, it brushed past my side. Then, it immediately twisted and pounded the ground.

Surprisingly fast for its size.

Since it needed to move that big bulk, its preparatory motions were large as well—crouching before a leap, gathering magic for a moment.

It seemed that as long as I dodged those major assaults, I'd be fine.

I just needed to avoid falling or entering its attack range.

If it went berserk, I could just get far away.

I kept circling behind the Guardian, and it kept twisting, trying to catch me.

Sometimes it would leap, changing its head's direction in an instant.

When it switched direction quickly, I'd slip away just as quickly, getting behind it again.

Then, I'd slash its back several times with my greatsword. If it twisted again, I'd move away too.

When this repeated, the frustrated Guardian would leap or charge.

If it got even angrier than now, it would probably unleash a massive attack.

KUOOO—

I dodged as the Guardian charged at me again, using [Dash] to escape.

At the same time, I slashed a long line down its flank with my greatsword.

KAGAGANG—

The sound was like hitting an ice wall! Its magic resistance was powerful enough to bounce my blade back.

It didn't have a separate barrier; its magic power was just immense.

Downswing, sideswing—dash to evade!

When the creature turned, I moved too.

When it leaped, I'd immediately leave the spot!

KUNG—

The Guardian's massive body landed right where I had just been.

Using a combination of dashing and simple attacks, I slashed at its tail several times.

KUWEEEAK—

It raised its upper body, thrashing again in agitation. It was really angry now.

Dodging quickly, I swung a horizontal sword arc this time.

CHING—

A red ray shot out, tracing the horizontal swing of my blade.

The ray struck the Guardian, spanning 20 paces ahead.

PEUPUNG—

There was an explosion, and the Guardian toppled forward.

The horizontal slash didn't cut through its body, but it was clear that it dealt a severe shock.

The fallen creature didn't get up right away.

Had it been stunned by the shock? Or...

A temporary incapacitation?

Thinking this was my chance, I leapt at it immediately.

Pouring magic into my greatsword, I brought the blade down on the creature's neck.

KUKWAKWANG—

Another explosion sounded as the magic power burst forth.

Despite pouring in all my strength, all that remained was an imprint on the Guardian's neck where the greatsword struck.

KWANG KWANG KWANG KWANG KWANG—

While it couldn't move for a moment, I relentlessly struck the Guardian's neck with my greatsword.

Three times! Four! Five! Six! Each time, my sword dug a little deeper!

KUHAAAK—

The creature thrashed, flipping itself over and sprang up instantly.

Then, it unleashed a ferocious breath attack at me—not at my front, but tracking my movement!

The creature's breath grazed my back as I moved away.

For a moment, my back seared as if it had been burned. The barrier kept me from getting injured, but still.

The creature's breath was truly terrifying.

Unlike its charge, leap, or foreleg attacks, the freezing air aimed at a moving target put my allies in danger.

Just then, I was passing in front of the party.

"Did you see it collapse a moment ago?"

"Yes!"

"If it takes a severe blow, it's temporarily incapacitated! That's when we have to attack in force!"

"Understood!"

"Go in when I signal!"

I dashed at the Guardian again.

Allen's expression was priceless.

A face that seemed to say, 'What kind of freak is that?'

The Guardian turned savage again, leaping at me.

Its pattern was slightly different from before.

Instead of leaping high and dropping down, it came at me low and fast.

Reacting a bit late, I dove to the side.

KUKWAKWANG—

The ground shook. As soon as it landed, it swung its foreleg at me, already in motion.

A surprise attack—I barely blocked it with my greatsword.

TUKUNG—

The greatsword collided with the creature's foreleg and bounced off.

The Guardian's strength was monstrous; I realized if my sword bent, I could be finished.

They said the Guardian's movements were simple, but that wasn't true.

It anticipated my moves and attacked accordingly. The nearby minions loitering around were also annoying.

KRACK—

PUHK—

I chopped off the neck of a blocking monster and sprinted again.

If I ran in only one direction, the creature would anticipate it, so I changed directions frequently.

I darted back toward my allies.

"Did you note the preparatory movements?"

"Yes! Charge. Leap. Foreleg attack. Whenever it was going to exhale, it did the same motion!"

"The attacks were a bit different too?"

"Same attack, slight timing or directional differences! But the preparatory moves were all similar!"

"Good! When I lure it, move in!"

The Guardian seemed about to head for the party, so I drew its attention, luring it back as I circled around it, activating Buffer skills.

First, aura of Combat Power.

A red aura radiated from my body boosting assault power, and a blue one for defense.

Next—stamina, endurance, strength, Agility, focus, and skill amplification auras, in turn.

A dazzling rainbow light poured from me. This was my first time using every buff.

If I held back Buffer buffs and someone got hurt, that'd be trouble.

When the Guardian saw the auras, it roared even fiercer, charging at me again as I dodged and gave it another big slash on its flank and avoided with Dash.

"Move in!"

My teammates joined, following as I moved behind the Guardian.

Soon, they too began to emanate a glow of auras one by one.

Their movement speed doubled instantly. Buffer effect duration: about 5 minutes. In that time, we maximize assault.

During incapacitation, we focus attacks for max damage.

"I'll hit and pull aggro in front, you hit-and-run from behind and the side! Hold off on the big techniques!"

"Yes!"

I smashed the Guardian's face, then dodged out with Dash.

As it swung at me with its foreleg, my party surged in, slamming and slashing with greatswords.

KRRAAAA—

With 8 people attacking at once, the Guardian went berserk.

When it turned toward the party, they immediately backed off. As it shifted, I attacked again.

If position was bad or the party was scattered, I circled around the Guardian; if I drew aggro, the party struck from behind.

This repeated in the same pattern.

After three or four attacks, the creature would charge or leap, but the party dodged easily, especially with the Buffer effects.

"Right side! Re-buff!"

"Move to the right!"

All party members dashed and sprinted away from the Guardian.

I waited and refreshed Buffer skills in turn.

The party gathered within five paces to get buffs and then broke off.

Any who missed the buff got it by rushing close in battle.

The same kind of assault continued.

The difference between buffed and unbuffed combat power was huge, especially in speed—it was visibly different.

Of course, knight order Buffers' skills and mine are different.

Buffers give up to 30% boost, but mine are usually more than double.

My Buffer skills only affect our team.

Elementals have to recognize you as an ally, and the gear must be equipped with buff attributes and amplification properties.

Again, we consistently struck the Guardian.

Its pattern didn't change much—no visible wounds, but internal magic shock seemed clear.

Maybe our smooth attacks annoyed it.

Or maybe it hurt or wounded its pride.

Allen charged in, brandishing his hammer.

"Can you give me that weird light too?"

"It doesn't work on you!"

"Are you a mage?"

"Have you ever seen a mage swinging a greatsword?"

"You're not a mage, but you're casting such magic? Why is your body glowing? How are your subordinates suddenly so strong?"

No one answered.

One careless second, a breath from the creature could freeze you, and a follow-up attack would shatter you.

With Allen joining in, the Guardian got even angrier.

His hammer didn't seem ordinary; whenever Allen struck, he would draw the aggro.

KRRAAAH—

Suddenly, the Guardian spun around, breathing out at Allen.

In that instant, Donnie pushed Allen aside, tumbling with him.

At that moment, I leaped and punched the Guardian in the face.

This shifted the creature's breath away from Donnie's back.

Donnie yelled in my stead.

"What are you doing not moving?!"

"Damn it! Are you mocking me because my legs are short?!"

"You curse me even when I save you!"

"Then give me that light too!"

"It really doesn't work on you!"

"Boss! Focus, please!"

"Sorry!"

At Hans's shout, Donnie laughed sheepishly and focused on the fight. Donnie and Hans really did seem like brothers.

I wondered if the party had been hiding their closeness in front of me.

When Allen hit cautiously with his hammer, he stole aggro again.

This time, the Guardian attacked with its foreleg!

Allen barely dodged.

"Why does it keep following me?!"

"Your hammer is incredibly heavy, right?"

"It's at least five times heavier than your greatswords? This hammer is infused with the finest Weight Reduction enchantment!"

"You haven't unleashed your magic into it yet, have you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then, when the beast gets incapacitated, go all out! Focus on smashing its head with that hammer! Don't get greedy—just five strikes!"

"When does it get incapacitated?"

"Everyone, fall back!"

The party and Allen fell back at once. Since the Guardian could chase, I struck it immediately and took position.

Then, another horizontal slash!

CHING—

With a sharp metallic sound, a red ray cleaved through space.

The Guardian, startled, tried to leap, but its huge body needed prep time.

KUKWAKWAKWANG—

With an even louder boom than before, it crashed forward.

Its defense had dropped significantly—its chest was badly slashed, though no blood flowed.

"Focus your attacks!"

I shouted, maxing out the assault buffer.

Triple assault power!

As the team rushed in, they opened with Whirlwind.

TUKAKAKAKANG—PUHPUPUPUHUK—

The sounds of blades striking ice and flesh rang out at once.

Max damage buffer made a real difference. The Guardian's hide, which had seemed so tough, was finally cut.

PUHPUNG—PUHPUPUPUHUK—

Whirlwind strikes battered its body relentlessly. I kept hacking at its neck.

Allen, too, pounded the Guardian's limp head with all his might.

A hammer strike filled with magic nearly spun its torso around!

Then another furious blow!

KWANG—

The Guardian's head slammed into the ground, its body rebounding.

I and the team struck the downed Guardian with all our might.

"We've extended the incapacitation!"

"It'll wake up soon! Don't use big techniques!"

"Okay!"

The Guardian now stayed down far longer than before.

Earlier, it got up after about 10 hits when I was solo; now, even after dozens by many, it didn't rise.

I wondered if it was over—but it wasn't.

A strange purple aura began flowing from the Guardian's body. It started to twitch.

"When it gets up, buff up and go again!"

"The monster seems weird!"

Sure enough, the Guardian looked off. The aura from its body grew ever more intense, looking ready to explode!

"It's going berserk! Fall back!"

The team drew back tensely, keeping their distance.

Perhaps its internal injuries were severe, despite only a few major external gashes.

The Guardian's bizarre energy reached even us, standing far away. Its body shook as if it would explode any moment.

Was it going berserk—or prepping for one big attack?

KRRAAAAAAAAA—

The Guardian unleashed a tremendous roar and lifted itself up.

About to detonate! A tremendous force began to surge from its body.

This wasn't simple rage!

"Evacuate!"

"Eilin, run! Nabak too!"

I and the team all rushed into a narrow passage.

Once inside, I looked back and didn't see Allen. He was still far away.

"Save me!"

"Hurry!"

I immediately activated my barrier.

At that very moment!

A burst of light—and something exploded.