Astartes had obtained close to over 120 low Class E attribute cores and about 35 middle Class E cores. He was definitely quite satisfied with today's loot. But he was determined to defeat the Catacomb Lord before leaving this catacomb.
The final floor was a grand arena at the peak of a mountaintop, a scenic final floor vastly different from the other catacombs he had raided. The picturesque view of the overlaying land would have been blissful and wonderful to admire if not for the massive six-meter-tall monster that stood at the centre of the arena staring at Astartes with a murderous gaze. It was a kobold that possessed four arms and had red and blue dragon scales all over its body, an appearance starkly different to the dozens of Kobolds Astartes had encountered.
This was a different kobold species, a likely more powerful mutation of the Kobolds, the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord!
In the face of such a giant creature, Astartes, who was almost two meters tall, seemed quite insignificant in comparison. In the hands of this Catacomb Lord was a weapon. Its lower two arms wielded a chain whip and a chain flail each, while the upper two arms held a greatsword and shield.
The moment Astartes stepped onto the arena, the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord swung both of its massive chain whip and flail at Astartes!
On the other hand, Astartes was already prepared for this attack and had already activated all of his skills before stepping into the arena. His [Icicle Blast] met the attacks of the chain flail and whip head-on, causing a fierce shockwave in the surroundings. The exchange of attacks cancelled each other out without suspense.
Undeterred, the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord advanced vigorously, swinging its chain weapons at Astartes once again, but was once more met with Astartes's 'ice sword'. Despite the power exuded by Astartes's [Icicle Blast] skill, it snorted disdainfully and dealt with the attack in the same manner it had done previously, protecting itself against Astartes's attack and continuing its charge.
However, several 'black snakes' emerged beneath its feet all of a sudden and attempted to restrict its movement. However, the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord demonstrated its immense physical prowess and destroyed Astartes's [Darkness Hand] skill with a simple stomp. It closed the distance between itself and Astartes within seconds, displaying superb mastery of chain weapons, deflecting and withstanding Astartes' attacks with ease.
Astartes's expression was tranquil as he continued with his attacks, continuing to cast the [Icicle Blast] every single moment, while looking out for opportunities to sneak attack Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord with his [Darkness Hand] skill.
[Icicle Blast]
Astartes once again used his skill against the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord, but this time transformed the skill into 'icicle bullets' and shot them at the latter. The Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord lifted and brandished its shield to block the attacks while its other arms moved and swung its chain weapons to destroy the remaining 'icicle bullets'.
Seizing the initiative, it swung down its greatsword towards Astartes's head, but was met by the latter's [Magic Shield]. However, against its forceful and immense physical power, the [Magic Shield] was gradually overpowered and shattered with its single blow!
But before it could land on Astartes, a black coil emerged around the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord's arm, briefly restricting its arm from swinging downwards!
It unleashed a fierce roar and swung its lower arms in response, and its chain flail and chain whip pincered Astartes smashing towards him from both sides with wild abandon!
However, Astartes did not bother to dodge or protect himself from this attack at this moment and seized the few seconds afforded to him by his [Darkness Hand] skill to unleash another [Icicle Blast] skill. This time it appeared as the massive ice sword which pierced towards the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord's head.
However, how could the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord not anticipate this?
Its upper left hand, which had been holding onto the shield, moved to intercept Astartes's 'ice sword' attack.
But it was also at this same time that Astartes made his move.
[Darkness Hand]
Several dozen dark snakes emerged on the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord's shield arm just immediately after its 'greatsword arm' finally broke free of the 'dark snake restraints'.
This brief yet pivotal restriction of its movements allowed Astartes to tilt the direction of his attack slightly, and his massive sword of ice slashed towards Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord's greatsword arm and severed it in one blow!
On the other hand, Astartes had little time to evade the incoming attacks of the chain flail and chain whip and could barely cross his arms before him before he was blasted away several meters, ultimately crashing into a boulder and creating a massive dust cloud!
The Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord roared painfully after one of its arms was severed, and even with its powerful physical body, it could not regenerate from such a vicious blow! Even so, the wound on its severed arm was quickly closing up, and its pain lessened gradually. It was now completely enraged and more ferocious than before.
From within the dust cloud, Astartes's figure could be seen. He coughed a mouthful of blood, and several parts of his armour were visibly cracked and destroyed. However, despite the several injuries that he had sustained, his gaze was incredibly bright and was filled with fighting spirit.
If he had not activated his [Greater Heal] skill at all times, giving his vitality and health an unprecedentedly heightened condition as well as the light armour that provided him with boosts in his defensive capabilities, he would have most likely been killed by that attack!
However, his risky gamble had paid off, and he managed to deal the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord a significant blow. His body kept giving off a pristine and healthy shine, and within moments, his body began to heal itself. The blood on his skin dried up, and his wounds closed up completely. But before he could heal entirely, the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord attacked him once again with its chain weapons, this time deftly swinging the flail above his head and the chain whip from his blindside.
At this same time, Astartes's blue triple-layered mana barrier appeared before the attacks could land on him, protecting him. However, this time, the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord did not stop with this attack alone, and the scales on its body glowed with a brilliant blue halo and unleashed its skill.
[Icy Breath]
A frigid gust of airflow burst out of the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord's mouth and froze the entire arena into an icy plain. Astartes's [Magic Shield] could hardly last seconds against this skill and cracked into blocks of ice within moments. Exposed once again and not having healed completely, the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord unleashed a raging roar and once again slammed Astartes with its chain flail and chain whip with all its power, intending to kill Astartes for good this time!
But it was also at this same time that Astartes executed the unthinkable!
[Darkness Hand]
Two 'dark hands' appeared beneath his feet and lifted him into the air at the perfect timing, allowing him to evade the attacks of the chain weapons. The Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord did not relent and changed the direction of its swing, its whip and flail tailing Astartes and gaining increasing momentum,
However, Astartes was prepared for this and activated his [Icicle Blast] skill, creating a massive ice greatsword and delivering a downward slash towards the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord's head. Unfortunately, his attack was met with the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord's shield, and he was unable to cause any damage.
However, suddenly, several 'ice blades' appeared right after the clash of skills and appeared from the fog, shooting straight at the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord's face! Before it could react to this sudden attack, one of its eyes was destroyed by the ice blades and streams of blood flowed out from it incessantly, causing it to release a guttural roar!
Astartes activated his [Magic Shield] and blocked the chain weapon attacks from the air, capitalising on the momentum to land beside the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord.
[Icicle Blast]
Although the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord was still able to see Astartes's actions through one eye, its dynamic vision was ultimately crippled and was unable to react in time to the ice greatsword that sliced open its stomach.
It could only watch on with anguish and despair as its guts spilt out of its stomach to the ground while it got restrained by another pair of 'dark hands' while its other arm, the 'shield-wielding arm', was severed from its body as well.
Astartes said nothing, looking the kneeling figure of this massive creature coldly before executing another [Icicle Blast], decapitating the Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord in a final blow.
Astartes breathed heavily for several seconds after the incredibly intense life-and-death battle he had just experienced. With his [Greater Heal] skill active throughout the battle, he recovered his vitality very rapidly and in the next minute, returned to top condition.
"The Four-Armed Kobold Catacomb Lord is most definitely the toughest creature I have faced," he couldn't help but mutter to himself.
According to Blaze Beam, he was only able to kill this Catacomb Lord with his Class D strength; no Class E Ranker had been able to do it. Despite being of the same class as rankers, most Catacomb Lords were truly the peak elite of their class, possessing power that could rival and outmatch some entities of a directly higher class!