Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: The Warrior Chief's Final Roar
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Chapter 158
"Is it dead...?"
Anyone watching that massive, destructive—and even beautiful—explosion would have thought the same as Su-chan.
But Ji-hee, the one who had unleashed it, calmly examined the lingering traces of magic that hadn't fully dissipated yet.
The enemy wasn't dead yet.
"No."
And Jeong-hyeon, who had been focusing all his attention on where Ashurek had been more than anyone else,
"I didn't expect it to be!"
immediately pulled out the three daggers—Black, Onyx, and another—and hurled them into the dust cloud and embers where the explosion's aftermath still hung in the air.
The blast had surely dealt damage, but he hadn't expected a monster like that to go down so easily.
"Kehehehe!"
At the same moment, a massive roar echoed across the clearing, sending chills through the air.
Clang—clang—
The sound was faint, overshadowed by the roar, but Jeong-hyeon's ears caught it.
Two of the daggers had missed their mark, blocked by something.
Immediately, a black silhouette shot out from the thick smoke.
It was Ashurek, his entire body charred black.
Jeong-hyeon twisted his body slightly and charged straight at the beast.
'I just need to avoid the front!'
He had no confidence in winning head-on against the warrior chief.
His only remaining option was to target the sides somehow and accumulate damage.
As he'd discovered earlier with his throwing attack, attribute-less magic worked well enough on the creature.
But Ashurek seized the initiative.
Claymore and pickaxe.
It was obvious which one held the advantage at this range.
Whoosh—
The beast's speed was even faster than before.
The greatsword swept back in an instant, aiming for Jeong-hyeon's nape.
Boom—
The whoosh reached his ears right after.
If he'd relied solely on the red warning from his combat sense like before, it would have been too late.
He had to trust his raw instincts.
Jeong-hyeon dropped low.
Then, from that crouched stance, he swung the pickaxe.
Targeting the creature's thigh.
For now, he aimed to slow Ashurek down to a speed he could match.
That way, he could maximize his own strengths.
Swish—
But even that attack from Jeong-hyeon came to naught.
The lizardman warrior chief planted one foot on the ground and pivoted, slipping out of range.
An astonishing reaction speed.
'No, it's not just reaction speed—it's the experience.'
This bordered on prediction.
Were those scars etched across its body like medals mere decoration?
In terms of pure combat sense unrelated to his trait—not his trait-enhanced combat sense—Ashurek was in a league beyond Jeong-hyeon.
And one of the three daggers Jeong-hyeon had thrown earlier was lodged in its right side.
Rip—
The creature yanked out the dagger as if it were nothing and tossed it to the ground.
Seizing that brief opening, Jeong-hyeon followed up immediately.
Shoo—
Another disruption with a mana bolt.
If direct attacks didn't work, he had to irritate its nerves as much as possible.
But Ashurek, seeing the mana bolt flying toward it, didn't panic like before.
"Ssuh."
It let out a tongue flick that might pass for a scoff among lizardmen, then swung its blade.
Boom—
The menacing sound was as chilling as ever.
A simple horizontal slash from right to left.
Yet it erased more than half of Jeong-hyeon's mana bolt.
"Wind attribute?"
Jeong-hyeon spotted an invisible energy similar to his own attribute-less magic but far more tangible.
Obviously, even a warrior chief couldn't decompose mana with just a claymore.
Instead, it seemed to have imbued wind attribute to neutralize the mana bolt.
Mana bolt disruptions were probably off the table now.
"Ji-hee, you're on your own now!"
The silver lining was that the beast no longer paid any attention to Ji-hee.
It must have realized she was following Jeong-hyeon's lead intelligently.
Ji-hee extended her arm slightly forward, entering a focused state, ready to cast at any moment.
She knew her own limits well.
She lacked the real combat experience to cast the most effective spells exactly where needed, as Jeong-hyeon hoped.
But no one could indulge her now.
She had to make it happen, no matter what.
Pouring everything she had into it.
'Just a little more.'
The stability from the trait stabilizer.
But since it wasn't her true power, it led to even greater fatigue buildup.
Even now, the ember flickering inside her was far rougher than at the start.
Plus, swallowing three in a row could temporarily suppress her traits like the trait inhibitor, so they had to subdue the warrior chief as quickly as possible.
'I can do this.'
Ji-hee's clenched fists tightened further.
Meanwhile, Jeong-hyeon and Ashurek were locked in a standoff.
They'd both realized rash approaches wouldn't end it easily.
For Ashurek, who held the initiative, charging was even trickier with Ji-hee present.
No matter how much he'd tempered his body or used magic enchantment to handle fire effectively, Ji-hee's flame magic was beyond what he could endure.
On Jeong-hyeon's side, he still hadn't found a way to take down Ashurek.
Close range yielded no answers, and throwing attacks were too easily blocked for random use.
He'd waited, hoping the system might reveal a weakness like with the grand mantis, but no such luck.
'No weakness, or just bad luck?'
He hoped it was the latter.
Lizardmen were humanoid enough in structure.
As they repeatedly formed and dismantled strategies,
Ashurek moved first.
Splash—
For such a heavy body, the approach was eerily quiet and stealthy—less a run-up, more a glide.
A scene showcasing its prowess.
Then, a wall of fire erupted before it.
A sickly yellow blaze that instinctively terrified any living thing.
"Keheek!"
But Ashurek merely roared and plunged through without slowing.
"I knew it!"
Jeong-hyeon, who had anticipated exactly that, hurled three daggers at once.
Erecting the fire wall to halt the charge was a solid call.
Just the wrong opponent.
Thud—
The lizardman warrior chief's massive frame burst through the wall in an instant.
A black dagger greeted him immediately.
One cloaked in flames similar to those he'd just shattered.
Crunch—
Ashurek coped by simply twisting his body, having imbued it only with water magic.
The dagger lodged in his arm, its flame magic dispelled.
Swinging the claymore or fully dodging would negate the point of breaking through the wall.
He had to complete his intended attack perfectly.
Until breath failed.
Like a rampaging tank.
Jeong-hyeon smirked at the sight.
All according to his prediction.
"Ke-?"
Ashurek uttered a short gasp of surprise.
Jeong-hyeon had thrown three daggers.
The one he'd taken minimal damage on his arm was Black, enchanted with flame magic.
So where were the other two?
Crackle—
The lightning-enchanted Onyx daggers arced sharply from above, plunging toward Ashurek from both sides.
"!"
How could daggers move like that?
That unnatural trajectory was surely why Ashurek noticed them late.
But reasons aside, the daggers were now right upon him.
Too late to respond.
Magic enchantment already used, and dodging impossible.
Pat-pat—
Jeong-hyeon had charged toward Ashurek the moment he threw them.
Dodging forward would play right into his plan.
Backward? The fire wall still stood.
And above all—
Crack—
The very fact he was hesitating was the biggest problem, overriding all else.
The crackling Onyx daggers plunged into Ashurek's unprepared shoulders.
"Keeeek!"
A scream of agony followed.
Even plain lightning magic packed pain, but Ashurek had water magic on his body—the lightning's perfect conductor.
He'd blocked the flames effectively, but now he'd amplified the damage himself.
Jeong-hyeon and Ji-hee didn't miss this golden opening.
"Hup!"
Jeong-hyeon swung the pickaxe at the leg he'd failed to hit before.
Attribute-less magic imbued—it would deal serious damage if it landed.
Ji-hee extinguished the fire wall and unleashed a new spell.
A fireball shaped like a bird, about the size of a mace.
In this moment, precise control mattered most.
Even if the power was lacking, it was her will to hit exactly where needed.
Crunch—
Jeong-hyeon's pickaxe struck Ashurek's thigh first.
It met resistance from the tough scales, but sank over an inch deep.
He didn't stop—twisted the blade downward while pulling it out, ripping downward.
In an instant, scales tore grotesquely from Ashurek's thigh, blood gushing from the wound.
"Keeeek!"
Another agonized scream.
Confirming the pickaxe's retrieval, Jeong-hyeon pulled back.
Better for the follow-up without him in the way.
Whoosh—
Ashurek's exposed wound, laid bare by Jeong-hyeon's retreat.
Ji-hee's flame bird dove toward it.
The water attribute he'd self-applied in pain had vanished.
Even the tough scales that had merely singed from her first spell now gaped open.
Ji-hee's incomparable flame magic struck home—irrecoverable damage assured.
"My god..."
The party members watching the combo attack gasped in awe.
They said this was only their second hunt together.
Yet their synergy rivaled any veteran fixed party.
'No, even fixed parties couldn't pull that off...'
Even parties specialized in hunting lizardman warrior chiefs couldn't corner it like this with just two.
Plus, Jeong-hyeon's attacks using monster magic enchantment—usually a massive hunter penalty—were masterful.
"Kehehe...he..."
Thud—
Ashurek, too weak to scream, knelt on his wounded leg, barely propping himself with the claymore.
'Time to finish it.'
Jeong-hyeon gripped the pickaxe firmly and approached.
It had gone down easier than expected in the end, but what a relentlessly tough bastard.
Without Ji-hee, he never could have soloed it.
Up close, Ashurek's leg was more mangled than thought.
Half the thigh gone or charred.
Yet its eyes still blazed fiercely at Jeong-hyeon.
Not mere regret at defeat.
Jeong-hyeon's heart raced.
'No, I have to kill it quick!'
He'd never seen eyes like that lead to a peaceful end.
Jeong-hyeon raised the pickaxe to head height.
And as he swung down—
Thud—
'What?'
Jeong-hyeon found himself airborne.
From a single punch by Ashurek.
A near-corpse packing that power was astonishing.
"Ji-hee, finish it! Anyone! Something's wrong!"
"Yes!"
If he couldn't, Ji-hee would.
Anyone, really—just end it now.
Hearing him, the party unleashed attacks.
Ji-hee cast her spell; Yeon-hee and Su-chan sprinted at full speed toward Ashurek.
But before their strikes landed—
"Kiyaaaaak!"
Ashurek's roar exploded.