Chapter 208
Chapter 208
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 208
Chapter Title: Chapter 60. Centaurus King (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
20.
It had been four days since the Resistance entered the fifth floor.
Hiiing!
The Centaurus King, which had been exuding an overwhelming presence, began to act differently than usual.
“The Centaurus King isn’t chasing us.”
The Centaurus King, which had been relentlessly pursuing the Resistance’s detachment force until now, had stopped in its tracks.
“What’s going on?”
It was hard for the Resistance to understand.
But Alby was different.
‘El Pam’s harassment worked perfectly, and now the Centaurus King has finally started to get cautious.’
She knew the reason.
But she couldn’t just explain it outright.
She had sworn on her life not to speak of anything related to El Pam.
And truthfully, there was no need to say anything.
“Things aren’t going its way, so that’s probably it.”
“I see.”
One of the Resistance’s absolute rules was to follow the leader’s words without question.
If Alby said it, no one would raise doubts.
“And if it holds back its actions, that’s a blessing for us. All we need to do is buy time.”
On top of that, this situation was one to welcome.
“Help the detachment force get as much rest as possible.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The detachment force, which had been serving as bait against the Centaurus King for four days, had reached their limit.
‘We can survive.’
No matter the reason, this breathing room was a godsend.
However, they couldn’t take it entirely positively.
“Don’t let your guard down. If the Centaurus King has started to get cautious, it’ll gather even more of its forces.”
If anything, this was the calm before the storm.
The Centaurus King would now roam around, bringing in even more Centaurus.
Right now, there were thousands, but when they faced it again, they’d have to deal with tens of thousands.
An unimaginable number.
“That’s all. We just need to keep running.”
But the Resistance tensed without falling into fear.
“We don’t need to think about catching the Centaurus King.”
They had an answer.
“No matter what we do, we can’t catch it anyway.”
A perfectly clear answer.
21.
El Pam, who had confirmed the now-cautious Centaurus King from a distance, knew it well.
‘We can’t catch it.’
It was impossible to hunt the Centaurus King with ordinary methods.
It wasn’t just that the Centaurus King was strong, in the usual sense.
‘The stronger the enemy that comes, the less it engages.’
The Centaurus King knew how to run away.
This was a crucial point.
Most monsters didn’t have the concept of fleeing. They usually fought to the death.
Even if they did run, it was out of blind fear, following instinct without thought.
Catching a monster fleeing like that was even easier.
You just had to follow and finish it off.
But the Centaurus King was different.
It used its subordinates to secure its escape route and knew how to flee.
That was on another level entirely.
‘Once it starts running, catching it is impossible.’
Moreover, when the Centaurus King was dead set on fleeing, no one could match its speed.
Not even El Pam, even with Hermes’ Boots.
Let alone hitting it with long-range magic.
That meant even El Pam couldn’t catch it.
‘But not now.’
However, the current El Pam was different.
He had a way.
‘Because I have this.’
The truly tattered book in El Pam’s hand right now—that was the way.
‘Fire Demon.’
The magic contained in that item was none other than the ancient magic, Fire Demon.
As the term “ancient magic” suggested, it was practically impossible to obtain in the current era.
Extremely rare.
Even finding someone who knew of its existence was hard.
‘Classified as forbidden magic in Ellinia.’
On top of that, the Fire Demon magic was one adventurers were not allowed to use.
The reason was simple.
‘Devil magic.’
This magic summoned a Fire Demon, a devil of fire.
Summoning a devil could potentially disrupt the balance of the Maple World if mishandled.
Of course, that was the biggest reason.
It was incredibly powerful.
The key feature of this magic was that the moment the summoned Fire Demon touched its target, it possessed it.
The possessed target couldn’t withstand the power, and its body began to heat up.
Naturally, its condition deteriorated rapidly. It was like burning alive until death.
In other words, a single hit kept dealing damage over time.
Of course, that didn’t mean it worked on every monster.
It had no effect on monsters with any magic resistance or tough ones.
Strong monsters could shrug off that level of heat with a laugh.
‘Normally, it wouldn’t work on something of this caliber.’
That’s why El Pam hadn’t planned to use this expensive Fire Demon magic he’d acquired against the Centaurus King.
‘But with Hyperion’s Helmet, it’s a different story.’
The blue flames of El Pam now held power on a whole other level compared to the previous red ones.
And that effect applied to the Fire Demon magic as well.
But it didn’t end there.
‘Once the Fire Demon possesses it.’
El Pam knew.
‘That’s when everything changes.’
There was another terrifying aspect to the Fire Demon magic.
That’s why, at this moment, El Pam didn’t hesitate.
He could catch the Centaurus King right now if he wanted.
The reason he didn’t was simple.
‘On the seventh day.’
He was waiting for the right time.
And that waited-for moment had arrived.
22.
Hiiing!
The Centaurus King sensed crisis not from some external threat, but when its calls went unanswered by the Centaurus.
It was an extremely unusual occurrence.
For a Centaurus, ignoring the Centaurus King’s call meant declaring war!
It was practically suicide.
At first, it was furious at the fact, and the Centaurus King eagerly moved to punish those who ignored its summons.
And soon, it saw them.
The corpses of Centaurus!
The moment it saw that, the Centaurus King realized there was a being here strong enough to threaten its life, and from then on, it avoided battle.
Hiiing!
Instead, it began gathering its subordinates.
Hiiing!
Relentlessly, over and over.
Hiiing!
Even after more than ten thousand gathered, the Centaurus King didn’t stop calling.
It roamed the surroundings, gathering even more.
Hiiing!
Even after surpassing twenty thousand, it was the same.
Even with Centaurus clouding around it like a swarm, the Centaurus King kept gathering subordinates.
Hiiing!
Finally, when the number exceeded thirty thousand and reached forty thousand, only then did the Centaurus King stop its cries.
The might of the assembled Centaurus legion was pure moving terror incarnate.
Even standing still, its pressure could topple foes.
Dudududu!
And when it began to move, the rumbling, the sound alone was enough to kill adventurers.
A disaster, pure and simple.
Hiiing!
The Centaurus King leading this disaster felt no more fear or caution.
From that point, it moved to punish those who had frightened it.
There was no hesitation in the Centaurus King’s steps.
Dudu!
It charged forward without restraint.
That was the moment.
Fwoooosh!
A single fireball with a devilish face flew toward the Centaurus King in a surprise, rapid assault.
The Centaurus King wasn’t startled.
The fireball’s size was laughable.
So the Centaurus King casually swatted the incoming fireball with its bare fist.
Pfoht!
The fireball vanished into the air with a pathetic sound.
To the Centaurus King, it wasn’t even an attack worth calling one—barely worth a scoff.
That’s exactly what it was.
Hiiing, kek!
But suddenly, the Centaurus King let out a harsh cough.
Kekekek!
Its steps naturally halted.
The Centaurus following it stopped running as well and turned their heads.
What they saw was this.
Kek, kek, kek!
The Centaurus King, its entire body turned flame-red.
It wasn’t just a color change.
Paaa!
Sweat evaporating right off its body—the Centaurus King’s temperature began to skyrocket.
Of course, that was it.
Kek!
It coughed and staggered, but its eyes soon refocused.
The coughing stopped.
For such a tough Centaurus King, this heat was like a mild cold for an adventurer.
The initial hit was rough, but adapting was no issue.
And the moment it adapted, the Centaurus King would resume as planned.
Kek!
But from the instant its body color shifted from red to blue, the situation changed.
Steam began rising from the Centaurus King’s mouth.
Its saliva evaporating from the body heat.
The heat level was on another dimension, forcing even the Centaurus King to stumble.
The most lethal damage it had ever taken!
Hiiing!
However, it wasn’t fatal enough to kill it outright.
A day like this would be dangerous, but the possession had lasted less than a minute.
The Centaurus King knew.
It wasn’t about to die right now.
And a day was more than enough to sweep away everything here.
Hiiing!
With that, the Centaurus King issued the extermination order again, and the Centaurus resumed their charge.
Dududu!
The ground began to shake.
‘As expected.’
El Pam, watching from afar, remained expressionless.
‘Just as I thought.’
To him, this entire scene was no surprise—utterly predictable.
He knew that even the enhanced Fire Demon magic alone couldn’t kill the Centaurus King.
He knew the possessed Centaurus King would rage even harder.
He knew leaving it like this would devastate the Resistance.
In other words, he was prepared.
With a way to catch the Centaurus King.
‘Once possessed by the Fire Demon, its mobility vanishes.’
For now, the Centaurus King could no longer showcase its astonishing speed.
Meaning it could be taken down with magic.
Of course, ordinary magic couldn’t inflict proper damage.
That’s why.
‘The moment the Fire Demon possesses it, it inherits the Fire Demon’s weakness too.’
What gave El Pam confidence in hunting the Centaurus King.
‘It becomes extremely vulnerable to ice magic.’
One of the most terrifying things about Fire Demon magic was that upon being hit, the target lost all resistance to ice magic.
Simply put, its body became as fragile to ice magic as an Orange Mushroom.
No matter what magic El Pam used, it could no longer withstand it.
Naturally, El Pam pulled it out right away.
“Cold Beam.”
The Centaurus King hunt had begun.