Those dark red eyes locked onto the three people hiding behind the rock.
“Roar — !”
A low but menacing roar erupted from deep within the stone-skin lizard’s throat, shattering the deathly silence of the surroundings.
Its massive body suddenly rose from its light slumber, its thick four limbs causing the ground to tremble slightly. A wave of primal, savage aura rushed toward them!
‘We’ve been spotted!’
Julius felt a chill in his heart. Almost instinctively, he raised his shield in front of him, while simultaneously shouting in a low voice to the two behind him, “Prepare for battle!”
However, the stone-skin lizard moved faster than they could have imagined.
It didn’t bother with any probing attacks. The moment the roar ended, its massive tail, which resembled a heavy rock hammer, tore through the air and swept toward them with the sound of howling wind!
*Boom — !*
Under the force of that heavy blow, the rock the three had been using for cover exploded as if it had been hit head-on by a battering ram!
Debris flew in all directions, and the powerful impact kicked up a cloud of dust.
“Scatter!”
Helos shouted. Just before the tail struck, she had already tucked her head and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
Julius held up his shield and endured the impact of several flying stones, his arm going numb from the vibration.
Gavi’s figure flashed instantly to Helos’s side, shielding her.
As the dust cleared, the stone-skin lizard’s massive form was fully exposed before them.
Looking at the giant magical beast, Helos suddenly realized how naive her previous talk about hunting magical beasts had been.
If she hadn’t undergone this period of special training, she would never have been able to dodge that strike.
The stone-skin lizard flicked its tail, its eyes filled with violence and hunger. In its eyes, these three were nothing more than snacks delivered to its doorstep.
‘This guy is incredibly strong!’
Julius gritted his teeth. He could feel that the power of that last strike was much heavier than Barton’s full-force axe swing! ‘Is this really just a magical beast from a D-class commission?’
“Julius, distract it from the front!”
Helos scrambled to her feet, pulling a potion bottle from her belt while calmly issuing orders. “Gavi, look for an opening on the flanks! Its joints and belly are its weak points!”
“Understood!”
Julius shouted back and took the initiative to meet the beast. He knew his role in this team; only he could stand at the very front with his shield.
Seeing this small creature dare to provoke it, the stone-skin lizard let out another roar. It took heavy strides and charged at Julius like an out-of-control chariot!
“Come on!”
Julius planted his feet firmly into the ground. The holy light crystal on his shield glowed brightly. He poured all his strength into the shield, preparing to withstand the impact.
At the same time, Gavi moved.
Her speed was like that of a ghost. She moved across the uneven, jagged rock slope as if it were flat ground, silently circling to the stone-skin lizard’s side.
*Click.*
The armor-piercing spikes on her arms slid out, a sharp silver light gleaming under the sun.
*Boom — !*
The stone-skin lizard’s massive head slammed into Julius’s shield, producing a deafening crash.
Julius felt an irresistible force surge through him. He was pushed back several meters, his feet carving two deep ruts into the ground.
“Ugh — “
A metallic taste rose in his throat, and he almost spat out blood, but he managed to grit his teeth and hold his ground!
In that instant, while the stone-skin lizard’s entire attention was focused on Julius, Gavi struck!
She leaped from the side, the armor-piercing spikes on her arms carrying a lethal chill as she stabbed them toward the joint where the lizard’s front limb met its body!
However —
*Clang! Clang!*
Two crisp metallic sounds rang out!
Gavi’s armor-piercing spikes, which were capable of penetrating refined steel, only produced two strings of bright sparks when they hit the scales at the joint. They left nothing but two shallow white marks!
“What?!”
Helos’s eyes widened in disbelief from a distance.
The flickers of light in Gavi’s eyes shifted, as if a trace of rare surprise had passed through her. Having failed to land a decisive blow, she immediately retreated, dodging the lizard’s follow-up claw swipe.
“Why does its defense feel even stronger than the records say?!” Julius shouted, his voice heavy with tension.
“Damn it!”
Helos bit her lip. She knew that if even Gavi’s armor-piercing spikes couldn’t break the enemy’s defense, they had almost no chance of winning.
Having forced Gavi back, the stone-skin lizard locked its violent gaze on Julius again. It opened its bloody maw and spat out a stream of green liquid smelling of sulfur, aiming directly for Julius’s face!
It was acid!
Julius recoiled in shock and hastily raised his shield to block.
*Sizzle — !*
The acid splashed against the shield’s surface, sending up a plume of acrid smoke. The holy light protection on the secret silver shield began to show signs of erosion under the acid’s corrosive power.
‘This won’t work!’
Helos’s mind raced. In a head-on clash, they had no chance of victory. She had to find a way to weaken its defense!
Wait —
The **[Kiss of Thorns]**!
And my **[Silent Oath]**!
The only way to break the deadlock suddenly flashed through her mind.
“Julius! Gavi! Find a way to lure it over and force it to lift its body! Attack its belly!”
She shouted at the top of her lungs, while quickly grabbing the bottle of dark purple liquid — the **[Kiss of Thorns]** — from her belt.
Julius and Gavi immediately understood her intent.
Julius stopped defending passively. With a roar, he initiated a shield bash, slamming the heavy shield into the stone-skin lizard’s lower jaw.
The massive impact forced the magical beast’s head to snap backward.
Gavi, like a ghost, cut in from the other side again. This time, her target wasn’t the hard skin, but the stone-skin lizard’s thick back legs!
Pained, the lizard instinctively tried to raise its front claws to swat Gavi away. Its entire upper body rose high, exposing the belly area that was relatively poorly defended and lacked thick scales!
“Now!”
Helos sprinted out from behind the rock like an arrow released from a bow!
Without any hesitation, she threw the **[Kiss of Thorns]** potion bottle with all her might!
The dark purple bottle traced a precise arc through the air. Before the stone-skin lizard could react, it shattered against its soft belly with a *pop*!
A plume of acrid smoke instantly rose, accompanied by a bone-chilling corrosive sound.
*Sizzle — !*
The stone-skin lizard let out an unprecedented roar of agony and fury. The intense pain from its belly, as if it were being burned by acid and fire, drove it into a state of total frenzy!
It abandoned Julius and whipped around, its dark red eyes locking onto Helos, who had just attacked it!
“Oh no!”
Julius’s expression changed drastically. He swung his longsword, trying to keep the stone-skin lizard pinned down.
However, Gavi was even faster.
The moment Helos finished her attack, Gavi had already anticipated the danger. Her figure transformed into a bolt of black lightning, reaching the beast before it could strike!
This time, she didn’t attack the hard scales. Instead, she drove the armor-piercing spikes on her arms toward the lizard’s massive eyes!
The stone-skin lizard flinched in pain and instinctively closed its eyes, using its hard eyelids to block the lethal blow.
But that wasn’t Gavi’s true goal.
Gavi exerted her strength, her two armor-piercing spikes acting like iron pincers to wedge themselves between the lizard’s upper and lower eyelids, preventing it from opening its eyes again!
Then, Gavi wrapped her legs around the lizard’s neck like iron pillars. No matter how wildly it thrashed its head, it couldn’t shake her off!
She had successfully restrained the frenzied magical beast!
“Helos! Now!”
Julius’s voice rang out from nearby.
A cold, decisive light flashed in the girl’s eyes. She downed a vigor potion and, without hesitation, gripped her secret silver rapier, concentrating all her strength into the tip of the blade.
As she approached, the field of the **[Silent Oath]** instantly enveloped the stone-skin lizard.
The creature’s mana, already chaotic from the pain, seemed to have its source cut off. Its violent aura suddenly weakened. Even the scales on its body softened visibly to the naked eye!
“It’s over!”
The girl’s clear voice echoed across the rock slope.
She leaped high, her rapier drawing a silver arc in the sunlight. With all her strength, she drove the blade into the stone-skin lizard’s belly, which had been horribly corroded by the **[Kiss of Thorns]**!
*Squelch — !*
This time, there was no resistance.
The sharp blade easily pierced the skin, which had become as soft as leather. It plunged deep into the magical beast’s body, reaching all the way to its Monster Core!
As a large amount of blood gushed out, the stone-skin lizard’s struggling grew weaker. Helos seized the opportunity to deliver several more stabs to its vital organs.
The lizard’s massive body gave a final, violent shudder before its frantic movements ceased entirely. The last light in its eyes faded quickly, and it no longer had the strength to open them.
*Thud — *
With a heavy sound, its body collapsed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
The battle was over.
***
“Phew…”
Helos leaned on her sword, kneeling on one regular knee as she gasped for air.
The physical exhaustion was manageable, but the excitement in her heart made it hard to breathe.
Her body was covered in the blood of the magical beast and dirt, making her look quite a mess. However, on the face hidden behind her mask, an irrepressible joy overflowed.
She had succeeded. She had personally slain a real magical beast!
**[Prerequisite Quest—Completed]**
**[Valiance Arts Alchemy—Unlocked]**
A line of cold yet infinitely tempting crimson text quietly surfaced in her mind.
WEll, that this arc finally down.