Survival 74

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*Change of plan! I’ll personally smash the skulls of those who retreat. Even if it means death, reclaim our target at all costs!*

In the face of an unfavorable battlefield, a demon turned his head back and sternly warned his subordinates not to flee.

A sudden shift to a battle stance akin to that of a fierce warrior.

“Ha! Mere humans, this is too precious for you to hold, isn’t it?”

As if that wasn’t enough, Lexton, grasping the front of his robe that had been enveloping him, revealed himself with a sly grin as he tore it apart with his strength.

His appearance was quite violent.

A face full of scars from countless battles.

Horns rising above his head, emanating magical power.

For the sake of stealth or ease of movement, a lizard’s tail as thick as a log trailed down from his leather armor.

“Give it to me, now!”

Lexton roared.

His eyes gleamed with greed, fitting for a malevolent dragon.

I tossed what I was holding into the air and caught it, tilting my head in confusion.

“Ha-ha. I won’t give it up easily, you know? The rental fee is quite high.”

“Hmph, only worth your life, perhaps.”

With a single leap.

He kicked off the ground, creating a gust of wind.

In an instant, he was upon me.

Specifically, towards the treasure of the gargoyle, closing the distance.

‘That’s disgustingly huge.’

Even without his horns, Lexton stood a full head taller than me, easily.

The pressure emanating from his large frame.

I licked my lips feeling as if his very presence was bearing down on me.

-Bang!

As expected.

His attack, transmitted beyond the reach of Raven claw, felt incredibly heavy, as much as his size suggested.

“You’re ridiculously strong!”

“Ha-ha! You, on the other hand, have become too weak for someone who used to stretch so far!”

Truly boss-level.

It was impractical to face him head-on.

Moreover, his attacks were not only aimed at me.

“Ugh!”

“What kind of wind pressure is this…!”

“Everyone, be wary of the enemy leader’s attacks! Just swinging a hammer can break our formation!”

The formation of the noble family’s soldiers surrounding Lexton’s subordinates wavered.

The wind pressure from his sheer brute strength.

And the vibration created as the hammer pounded the ground.

Just his attacks alone were causing a delay in the annihilation of the demons.

“I’ll smash that head of yours and take that treasure right away!”

As if he already had the treasure in his hand.

Lexton’s face was filled with a fierce smile as he swung his warhammer, his voice full of confidence.

Objectively, the battlefield seemed to be at a disadvantage for us.  

Despite this, a different emotion dominated my heart rather than worry.

‘Ah, I’m looking forward to this.’

When that ecstasy plummets to despair in an instant.

I wonder what kind of expression he will make.

Just imagining it makes me salivate with a thrilling excitement.

“Hehe. Even now, if you hand it over, maybe I’ll show you mercy?”

“If you laugh that wickedly, even your trusted ones might run away.”

The heavy hammer’s gravity trying to press down on me.

However,

‘The target is too obvious.’

I saw it all.

The previous words, the direction of the killing intent, and even the trajectory of the weapon.

All the information was headed my way.

“What?!”

And such an overt attack, it would be harder not to dodge.

The moment the war hammer pointed to the sky.

I dashed towards him, skimming the ground.

[Lexton is a skill boss]

[This guy’s attacks are just incredibly straightforward. Each attack could nearly be instant death, but there’s a long delay beforehand, so just stepping out of the range in that time is enough.]

[Plus, the timing between his attacks is slow, so it’s easy to find a window to deal damage.]

[With this in mind, why wouldn’t you go after boss Lexton, the generous?]

A guide post that had virtually taken over the community, receiving many upvotes and sympathies.

True to those words, dodging wasn’t that difficult.

I quickly slashed his wrist holding the war hammer with a dagger.

However, if there was one fact I overlooked,

It was that in this <Under the Chandelier>, the basic stats were brutal.

-Clang!

…Did I hit metal?’

A strike aimed at a perfect gap.

Yet, it failed to pierce through the leather armor.

Instead, the wrist that attempted the attack felt sore.

“Huh. Did a mosquito bite me?”

A so-called difference in weight class.

In front of overwhelming physical strength and durability, my attack couldn’t even make a dent.

The opponent, noticing this, laughed, revealing his ferocious molars and sharp canines.

“Wow, you’re definitely tough. Is that why? So slow it makes me yawn.”

Of course,

That didn’t mean I was going to lose.

With mockery met with mockery,

As I stepped back to return the gesture, anger flashed across his face.

“Getting lucky once and babbling nonsense! I’ll blow that mouth away first!”

Lexton was easily provoked, just as hot-tempered as his light banter suggested.

“Too bad. I too wanted to see it through to the end, but it seems impractical. After all, strong opponents are best dealt with through cooperation, don’t you think so, miss?”

The reinforcements that had just arrived raised an eyebrow.

“Still haven’t dealt with it? Surprising. I thought this would be over quickly.”

“Ahaha… I’ll humbly accept the criticism. It was a bit too much for me to handle.”

“I wasn’t intending to reproach you.”

Luciana stepped forward in front of me, blocking Lexton’s path.

Even with the significant difference in size between me and her, Lexton, who was almost twice my height, must feel even more imposing.

Standing tall amidst the intimidation of his size, she straightened her back.

“What’s this?! Do humans have a tradition of sending children to battle?”

-Twitch.

Luciana’s elegant eyebrows quivered slightly.

At the same time, a frown slowly formed on her forehead.

‘Ah, right.’

Just as much as that blabbering Lexton,

Luciana was also known for her temperament, always ready for a duel or sparring.

“That vulgar mouth pollutes the air of the Speda family’s mansion, and your dirt-covered feet have made a mess of the floor. Your sins are heavy.”

-Swish.

Her anger was soon visible in the pure white blade she wielded.

At the tip of the blade, emitting a smooth and sharp aura, red blood droplets fell.

“Your subordinates’ blood. They’re nearly annihilated. The valiant soldiers of the ducal family are taking care of them one by one. I have also contributed.”

-Whoosh!

As if shaking off the blood, a pure white aura exploded from where the hilt met the blade.

“You too will become a decoration on this floor in the same state as them.”

Facing the aura filled with killing intent head-on, Lexton let out a bright, beaming smile.

“Uhaha! So that’s why you have that title, a formidable opponent!”

I found myself grinning without realizing.

‘Good.’

Finding pleasure in meeting a strong opponent, defeating them, and taking their weapons.

The Levain, a race innately drawn to combat, seemed to find Luciana’s challenge more of a joy.

But no matter how much he was covered in muscles, the sight of a muscular uncle in leather armor smiling brightly in front of a silver-haired girl was, well…

‘It looks perverse no matter how you look at it.’

“Getting cocky because you’ve relied on tricks! It’s so satisfying to see, human child!”

Before I knew it, he had raised his war hammer high.

-Bang!

The pure white sword and the black hammer crossed, sparks flying.

“…Kugh!”

Luciana, who had received the blow with good momentum, was pushed back slightly in the struggle of strength.

At a disadvantage.

The slight, but evident, lack of strength on her part was proof of that.

“In front of a true warrior’s fight, numbers are merely decoration! My subordinates are on the verge of annihilation? What does that matter? If I defeat you here, those ragtags will be crushed in no time.”

Just as Luciana’s sword aura exploded in response a moment ago, mana flared from his horns as well.

“Being pushed back once doesn’t mean the fight is over. I will surely cut you down.”

“Try if you can!”

As they stared each other down, weapons poised to clash, “Such a pity. Seems you’ve forgotten about me?”

Lexton, startled, swung his hammer around him.

A familiar pattern.

[Namely, the Windmill Pattern. Lexton uses it to fend off threatening foes, but it’s simple to avoid by stepping out of range and then closing in again. Unlike Lexton’s usual moves, the wind-up is short, making it somewhat harder to dodge.]

Knowing the pattern well, and Luciana, not the primary target, also noticed and swiftly moved out of range.

“Oh, Lady Luciana. That was a splendid move!”

It would indeed be strange for a servant of the noble house to know all about the enemy, especially demons.

I was a bit worried since I couldn’t share the information in time, but she avoided it beautifully.

“Hmm. The muscles on his right shoulder were more turbulent than usual. It would be strange not to notice.”

Oh, that’s a strategy I hadn’t known.

I’ll have to remember that.

‘It could come in handy again and again.’

A great tip.

Not like I’m going to fight Lexton, the generous mob that drops enhancement materials, only once.

Lexton, having stopped in his tracks, glared at me with a huff, unable to hide his confusion.

“Eh, when did you get behind…?”

“While our lady is indeed beautiful, staring blankly won’t help.”

Of course, Luciana does boast a beauty that captures everyone’s attention!

And with her dazzling talent, she captivates hearts once more!

But still, forgetting the person you were originally facing is problematic.

Lexton, glancing back and forth between us, gripped his ax tighter, mulling over his next move.

“Hmph. Come to think of it, I’ve been too scared of a mere fly.”

Despite the humiliation of being caught off guard once, there was no sense of crisis in his eyes.

A dismissive look.

The Levain-like attitude of treating the weak as insects was fully displayed in him.

“Wow. I suppose I don’t even register as a threat to you.”

“Don’t interfere with the duel. After I deal with her, I’ll crush your skull too, so wait your turn…”

-Thunk

However, he couldn’t finish his sentence.

Due to the armor, made of who knows what leather, falling to the ground with a significant noise.

“What, what’s this…?”

“You should have taken better care of your belongings.”

[‘Tut’ has successfully unlocked ‘Lexton’s Leather Armor’.]

[‘Hans Byron’s infamy rises within the ‘Evil Dawn Empire’.]

Durability? Armor?

All of that doesn’t matter if you strip it away.

The small, shimmering secret weapon was slipped back into my pocket.

‘As expected, against humanoid foes, it’s almost cheating.’

No matter how tough a Levain he might be, he wasn’t born with skin as hard as a gargoyle’s.

Though the exposed, ruggedly muscled abs looked strong, they certainly weren’t enough to fend off a sword.

“Well done, Hans.”

Naturally, even a graze from Luciana’s superior swordsmanship could prove fatal.

“It was only what needed to be done.”

The subtle praise from my favorite character lifted my spirits.

Then,

“Tch, given the situation, fighting against a descendant of the great warriors seems futile.”

He closed the distance between us in an instant, perhaps disliking the smug look on my face, or maybe he remembered his original objective.

His outstretched hand was menacing.

“Don’t think I’ll let you off that easily!”

“Everyone, stop her! It’s an order from the True Dragon! Use whatever means necessary to retrieve the Golden Jade Seal!”

As his voice echoed throughout the room, Levain mercenaries began to gather around Luciana.

-Ching-

The left side… Ugh!

It’s open, everyone, stab!

Naturally,

Forcing their way through the soldiers’ encirclement at his command, those standing before Luciana were in a dire state.

Not sparing flesh and bone but sacrificing both to obey the command.

However, there was a result.

The soldiers were momentarily thrown into confusion by the sudden charge of the mercenaries.

Thus, Luciana, whose path was completely blocked, found herself without any hope of assistance.

“Such folly, not even considering one’s own injuries.”

“Hans, just hold on! I’m coming!”

The voice that reached me was filled with a hint of concern, but more so with thick trust.

‘How could I not be energized?’

With Luciana’s encouragement as my foundation, I faced the enemy before me.

“Last warning. Hand over the Golden Jade Seal!”

“Kukuk. That’s a funny joke. Why would I hand it over?”

Would a thief hand over the treasure they worked so hard to obtain?

That’s as likely as a dog grazing on grass.

“And you’ll never be able to touch me. Never.”

Despite his roaring face full of fierce momentum, Lexton’s feet and tail moved stealthily.

Yes,

‘Lexton the Bastard’ was not only a treasure trove dropping essential enhancement items but also one of the relatively strong mid-bosses.

A tricky boss that could lead to character deletion rather than treasure looting ‘was.’

Had some newbie not posted “Lexton Easy Kill Strategy in 10 Steps” at 3:43 AM,

his infamy would have continued to feed on the tears of newbies for a long time.

To be frank,

I was the author of that strategy post.

[Always keep an eye on the boss’s feet.]

The foot he put forward now was his left.

The hammer swung vigorously towards me, but reacting promptly, I dodged by dropping down.

[The pattern changes depending on which foot is put forward.]

Left foot.

Swing once more, this time, a slight jump.

Right foot.

Maneuver diagonally to avoid,

[For the instant death pattern with a short wind-up, known as the windmill, just know the counter! Before casting, there’s a precursor where the tail hits the ground twice. Just create distance then.]

Lastly, as soon as the tail hit the ground twice, I immediately leaped backward, escaping his attack range.

“Why… Why! Why doesn’t it hit!”

“Maybe because you’ve become too slow?”

Even if he fuels mana into his horns and infuses his hammer with aura, what’s the use?

It’s a simple enhancement.

If it doesn’t hit, all that effort is futile.

“It’s indeed the easiest boss, right?”

Lexton, fuming with rage, was a sight to behold.

Unfortunately for him, even that was a precursor I knew of in his pattern.

[Not instant death, but getting hit means rapid loss of health. Keep the sound on max. When he snorts, immediately…]

With a ringing in my ears, his tail rushed at me at an incredible speed. 

Avoiding a mass as large as a log coming at me with such velocity was impossible. 

“Argh!”

However,

Knowing when and how he would attack—

Where I should have been sent flying by his tail, various hidden weapons poured from my anchor took its place instead.

His broad and massive body was an easy target.

Naturally, everything I poured from the spatial bag hit its mark without fail.

“Now, the strategy is complete!”

While Lexton was disoriented by the shards embedded in various parts of his tail,

My dagger grazed his head as it passed by.

-Swish.

A demon’s symbol and pride.

A storage of power.

The proud, pointed horn that once stood tall on his head was now in my hand.

The pleasing heaviness and luxurious feel in my hand were immensely satisfying.

“You should take better care of your belongings. Well, look at this, following the Golden Jade Seal, another treasure rolls right to me.”

[‘You have obtained the Horn of a Levain Noble!’]

A material for strengthening needed to defeat the Demon King.

I managed to obtain it much more easily than expected.

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