Chapter 208 - 207: Sneak Attack
All sorts of explosions echoed ceaselessly, booming and thundering.
Sometimes, the Fractal Fire scattered by Zelir would happen to collide with a Thunder Arrow.
The moment these two already-violent Powers made contact, they would unexpectedly erupt with even greater destructive force.
BOOM!!!
An exceptionally loud detonation erupted as a red-and-blue intertwined Flame Thunder Energy Ball blossomed in midair.
Even several nearby corrupted giant trees were snapped in half by the aftershock!
Its Power was several times greater than that of a Fractal Fire or a Thunder Arrow exploding on its own.
"Ha..."
Zelir, who was in the middle of Casting, noticed this scene.
Witnessing the spectacular explosion, he found it quite interesting.
’It’s just like a low-spec version of the Flame Thunder Spear...’
Zelir remembered clearly that when Instructor Lena had unleashed the Flame Thunder Spear, she had also brought Flame and lightning together.
It seemed that Magic of different Elements could indeed produce wonderful chemical reactions under specific circumstances.
Such a dense bombardment tore off sheets and sheets of flesh that clung to the tree trunks.
A rain of pulped flesh fell from the sky.
"Ugh!"
Gray, who was entangled in a fight with a Parasitic Wolf, had just found an opportunity to lop its head off with his sword.
Just then, a wad of flesh sent flying by Zelir and Valles splattered onto him.
Gray jumped back, complaining loudly, "This is definitely the most disgusting battle I’ve ever fought!"
On the front line, Marcus blocked the parasitic creatures’ attacks with his Shield while watching the meteor-like Magic Fireballs and lightning Arrows streak past.
Waves of heat washed over everything.
He couldn’t help but marvel once again.
’It’s such a blessing to have these two ranged core DPS on the squad...’
Maki, on the other hand, had gone completely berserk, like a wolf charging into a flock of sheep.
Before the absolute Power of his Heavy Sword, no enemy could withstand a single blow.
One Tornado Slash cleared a small area of parasitic creatures.
Then he would charge, and with another Tornado Slash, clear another area.
But he had overlooked one thing—not all parasitic creatures were so conspicuous. There were also vicious things lurking on the ground.
Just as he finished slaying a parasitic boar, a parasitic snake stealthily slithered up to him.
Seizing the opportunity, it struck like lightning, biting at Maki’s leg!
CLINK!
What followed was not the dull thud of fangs piercing flesh, but the crisp sound of metal striking metal.
The parasitic snake did indeed bite Maki, but its fangs were shattered.
"I’m wearing Leg Armor under here, you idiot."
Maki grinned.
He snatched the parasitic snake, tossed it into the air, and with a swing of his Heavy Sword, cut it in two.
After several rounds of bombardment, nearly all the surrounding trees had been screened.
Zelir raised his Magic Wand again, unleashing another massive Fractal Fire.
This time, just as the resulting Fireballs were about to hit a tree, the thick layer of flesh clinging to it suddenly moved.
That huge, tumor-like mass of flesh suddenly squirmed upward, dodging the Fractal Fire’s attack.
"There!" Valles immediately noticed the anomaly.
"Found you...!"
A cold smile, like a Hunter who had found his prey, appeared on Zelir’s face.
He acted first. Before Valles could finish forming his Thunder Arrow, the tip of the Night Peace Staff began to gather energy.
This wasn’t Fractal Fire this time.
It was a dispersing Aurora Energy Beam!
THUMP!
A thick beam of blue light instantly enveloped the mass of flesh that was trying to escape.
Blasted by the immense Arcane Magic Power, the camouflage of flesh on its surface melted away like snow and ice, revealing the true scene hidden beneath.
It was a huge, translucent fleshy sac, its walls covered with a network of dark red, vein-like tendrils.
Countless twisted, tiny flesh buds danced wildly on its surface.
The sac was filled with a yellow-green pus, within which a giant, murky core slowly bobbed up and down.
That was the true body of the Life-Devouring Blood Boil!
Hit head-on by the Aurora Energy Beam, the Life-Devouring Blood Boil tried to gather other layers of flesh to resist.
But it was all in vain.
The Magic Power annihilated the squirming flesh tissues with overwhelming force and destroyed its core along with them!
With a sharp wail, the first Life-Devouring Blood Boil died!
Level 20 (158/575) -> Level 20 (378/575).
On Zelir’s data panel, his Experience Points shot up.
Just as Marcus had predicted, no matter how ridiculously powerful the Life-Devouring Blood Boil’s parasitic abilities were, once its true body was found, it was a one-shot kill.
After all, it was just a [Difficulty]-rated Demon. It wasn’t like it could overturn the heavens.
As this Life-Devouring Blood Boil died, some of the parasitic creatures it controlled on the battlefield suddenly froze.
They stood rooted to the spot, their bodies convulsing uncontrollably.
Then, the overgrown flesh began to disintegrate, falling off piece by piece to reveal the bare bones beneath.
After that, even the skeletons began to collapse, crumbling with a RATTLE into piles of dust.
However, the other living parasitic creatures began to attack even more fiercely.
Perhaps the surviving Life-Devouring Blood Boils sensed the threat from this Adventurer Squad and were desperate to eliminate them.
"Keep finding the rest of the Life-Devouring Blood Boils!" Marcus roared, knocking away a lunging Parasitic Wolf with his Shield.
Zelir increased the intensity of his bombardment, continuously firing Fractal Fire like cannonballs leaving the barrel, turning most of the battlefield into a sea of flames.
Just as he was concentrating on finding the other Life-Devouring Blood Boils, the carpet of flesh under his feet suddenly began to stir.
Dense bumps slowly emerged, looking just like goosebumps.
These bumps then rapidly thickened and lengthened, growing sharp maws and forming fleshy tentacles.
In the blink of an eye, several fleshy tentacles shot up from the ground, striking at Zelir and Valles with extreme speed!
Just as the fleshy tentacles were about to touch Zelir, a faint, hazy halo of light suddenly bloomed around him.
Fog Flowing Gauze, automatically activated by his Trigger Skill!
BANG! BANG...!
The tentacles’ stabs and lashes were still within the realm of physical attacks, so they failed to break through Zelir’s defense.
After being deflected and having their force dissipated by the fog, the tentacles were knocked aside, no longer a threat.
"Hm...?" Only then did Zelir snap back to reality, his brow furrowing slightly.
He had been so busy bombarding the layers of attached flesh nearby that he hadn’t actually noticed this surprise attack orchestrated by the Life-Devouring Blood Boil.
Zelir himself was fine, but Valles was another story.
At that moment, he had just unleashed a Thunder Arrow and was in that awkward phase where his old strength was spent and new strength had yet to gather.
Although his keen intuition had allowed him to sense the Life-Devouring Blood Boil’s sneak attack a split second before Zelir did.