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Disbelief flickered in the Golisopod's black, insectoid eyes.
Impossible!
Its signature move, [Razor Shell], had never failed it before.
Every battle, every kill it had carved through its foes like water through sand.
So why had its blade shattered here… against a mere Machop?
It didn't have time to think further.
Kael's blazing fist was already crashing upward into its abdomen, carrying the full fury of [Payback].
The red aura around his arm roared like a wildfire.
The air compressed into a scream as his knuckles struck, and the fighting energy exploded outward.
BOOM!
The monster's armored underbells are softer than the rest of its carapace split open.
Gray scales shattered like glass, scattering into the rain.
Green blood burst free in violent arcs as its organs convulsed from the shockwave.
The Golisopod's back arched, its claws flailing as if it had been struck by a hammer the size of a truck.
Its body lifted clean off the ground before crashing down several meters away, sinking half into the mud.
Kael stepped back, breathing heavily.
His chest heaved; each exhale steamed in the cold air.
His body screamed from the backlash of the [Payback] skill too much power, too fast.
He could feel his muscles trembling on the edge of tearing.
He needed a second to cool down.
As he steadied himself, his sharp gaze swept the convoy behind him.
None of them had moved. Not one.
A flicker of irritation crossed his face.
Are they seriously just sitting there?
I'm tanking this monster and they're… watching?
He clenched his jaw. If that thing recovered and decided to take hostages, he wasn't going to hold back to protect anyone.
He'd save who he could but he wasn't dying for cowards.
Scarlet sat in the mud, still staring blankly at the battle.
Her eyes were unfocused, her mind fogged by trauma and exhaustion.
The soldiers nearby were the samebtoo stunned, too scared, trapped in the herd instinct of humanity.
They didn't run, didn't fight, didn't think They simply waited, hoping Kael would somehow win.
But their strange paralysis turned out to be a stroke of luck.
Because the Golisopodbits' mind, shattered by the infection of the Nightmare Seed, had gone berserk.
Its intelligence was gone.
Now, there was only bloodlust.
It wouldn't take hostages.
It wouldn't plan.
It would simply kill.
A piercing shriek tore through the storm.
The creature's six auxiliary arms spread wide, claws dripping with seething green energy as it lunged once more wild, unrestrained, a mindless hurricane of rage.
Kael exhaled slowly, his breath fogging the air.
Finally.
A feral calm settled over him. Against a creature this furious, patterns were easy to read, attacks predictable.
And he had just the thing he'd been waiting to test.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Let's see if this works…"
Dark mist began to leak from his skin cold, ghostly energy swirling with his fighting aura.
For a moment, the two forces clashed in red flame and violet shadow before fusing into something new.
The ground at his feet trembled.
He'd unlocked this move only recently, right after reaching Level 20, but this would be its first trial in real combat.
The crimson light in his eyes deepened.
Energy built up inside him like a coiled storm, ghostly vapor rising around his shoulders.
A new skill ready to awaken.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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