Thoren stared at the incoming Iron Roar Komodo with a calm, unreadable expression.
Though the beast’s overwhelming presence pressed heavily against the battlefield, his mind remained clear.
His thoughts moved swiftly, calculating the most efficient strategy to bring down a Level 17 overlord.
With hundreds of undead beasts under his command, he was not particularly afraid of the Iron Roar Komodo.
He quickly arranged the undead beasts to form the vanguard, a living wall of expendable flesh and bone.
Behind them stood the elite undead servants, his true weapons. Their hollow eyes burned fiercely with yellowish soul fire, brighter and steadier than the beasts undead.
The Iron Roar Komodo suddenly released another deafening roar.
The sound tore through the basin like a violent storm. The shockwave rippled outward, distorting the air and crushing everything in its path.
It was powerful enough to rupture eardrums and scramble the spirit.
The weaker undead beasts were obliterated instantly.
Their bodies shattered from the inside out.
Bones crumbled into dust.
Rotten flesh burst apart as if crushed by invisible hands.
In re seconds, dozens of undead beasts were reduced to fragnts scattered across the cracked earth.
Watching the weaker undead bear the brunt of the roar, Thoren’s expression did not change.
"Kill."
With that ntal command, the stronger undead surged forward.
As they charged, they split into three coordinated groups, each targeting a different part of the Iron Roar Komodo’s massive body.
Charging directly at the front would be suicide. Even a foolish commander would understand that.
Victory would not co from brute force alone.
It would co from numbers, coordination, and calculated sacrifice.
The Iron Roar Komodo stood fearlessly. Its orb-like molten eyes burned with disdain as it regarded the approaching undead as insignificant pests.
Whoosh!
Its tail cut through the air like a massive iron whip.
The undead beasts on the left flank were sent flying before they even understood what had happened.
Boom!
Their bodies shattered midair.
Bones scattered in every direction.
Rotten organs rained down upon the basin.
The devastating tail strike nearly wiped out the entire left flank in a single sweep.
Yet several elite undead managed to survive.
Fearless.
Relentless.
They pressed forward without hesitation.
Undead wolves lunged at its legs.
Undead serpents coiled around its limbs.
Undead boars charged headfirst into its lower body, using sheer montum to destabilize it.
The Komodo did not even spare them a glance. Its molten eyes locked onto the largest group advancing from the front.
They were the strongest of the three divisions.
It opened its maw and unleashed the Resonant War Roar once again.
The shockwave struck the advancing undead head-on.
For a mont, their movents faltered.
But only for a mont.
They recovered almost imdiately.
Thoren’s Spirit attribute was his highest stat. He was not afraid of spiritual attacks. The connection between him and his undead reinforced their resistance.
The undead destroyed earlier had not fallen because of ntal collapse, they had been too weak to withstand the raw destructive force behind the roar.
The stronger the soul fire within an undead, the more resilient and intelligent it beca.
And now, only the strong remain.
Recovering fully from the war cry’s effect, the undead beasts released chilling, grating shrieks.
The sounds were unnatural and hollow, enough to send a cold shiver down anyone’s spine.
Without understanding why its roar had failed, the Iron Roar Komodo raised a massive claw and brought it down with terrifying force.
The air itself seed to tear apart.
The oppressive force of the strike suffocated the battlefield.
Receiving Thoren’s ntal command, most of the undead beasts dodged to the left. Only a few slower ones were caught beneath the descending claw.
They were crushed instantly.
Still, the battle did not slow.
Now fully surrounding the Iron Roar Komodo, both undead beasts and elite humanoid servants showed their true fangs.
Bang!
Bang!
Elite undead warriors attacked simultaneously.
Each strike targeted a vulnerable point.
A sharp blade slashed at the joint of its foreleg.
A hamr-wielding undead smashed into its belly, producing a deep, resonant impact that forced the Komodo to release a pained growl.
From the opposite side, a massive axe struck its rear leg, biting deep into scaled flesh.
Blood gushed from the wounds.
Roar! Roar!
The Iron Roar Komodo howled in fury, its molten eyes blazing with rage. It swung its claws wildly in wide arcs, attempting to clear space.
The elite undead retreated beyond the claw’s range.
The undead beasts, however, t the attacks head-on.
They served as shields, expendable buffers to absorb the overlord’s fury.
Thoren deliberately used them to block the Komodo’s movents while his elite servants continued to deliver precise, lethal strikes.
Scales were torn apart.
tallic scales cracked and shattered.
Blood flowed from its body like a broken dam, pooling across the basin floor and mixing with lava.
Yet the Iron Roar Komodo continued to fight with terrifying resilience.
Bang!
An elite undead suddenly lunged forward, sliding beneath the beast’s massive chest.
Its spear flashed forward.
The weapon plunged deep into the Komodo’s chest.
The beast roared violently, thrashing its massive body in rage.
Whoosh!
Before it could retaliate against the spear-wielding undead, a blazing fireball slamd into its face.
Flas exploded upon impact.
Roar!
It staggered backward, montarily disoriented. Deep injuries marred its once-pristine iron scales. Smoke rose from its scorched face.
But how could Thoren allow it to retreat?
"Press forward."
The command was cold and imdiate.
From the right flank, an elite skeleton wielding a katana dashed forward with astonishing speed.
Its movents were fluid and precise.
Whoosh!
It leapt high into the air and landed upon the Iron Roar Komodo’s jagged, ridged back.
Feeling a presence on its back, the komodo grew furious and shook its massive body, trying to throw the attacker off.
It twisted violently, claws gouging into the fractured earth, but the motion was halted midway.
Bang! Bang!
An undead beast’s powerful tail lashed against the komodo’s flank.
A violent tremor rippled through its enormous fra, the impact ringing like tal struck by a hamr.
The fierceness in its molten-orange eyes flickered, shifting through rage, shock, and sothing dangerously close to unease.
But the undead assault was far from over.
The attacks crashed down from three sides at once.
Wherever the komodo turned its head, another threat awaited it. When it snapped its jaws open, attempting to lock onto a target only for a fireball slamd into its face.
Flas burst against its iron-gray scales, scattering sparks and embers across its ridged snout.
The harassing tactic disrupted its focus, forcing it to recoil for a split second.
If it had only been harassnt, the beast might have found an opportunity to counterattack.
If it had been a single direction, a single foe, its overwhelming strength could have broken through.
But it was not.
It was being attacked from three sides simultaneously.
Blades hacked at its legs.
Claws tore at the joints beneath its armored plates.
Blunt force strikes hamred against its ribs.
Each precise blow targeted the gaps between its hardened scales, carving through flesh beneath the tallic hide and inflicting grievous wounds.
When the komodo’s toxic blood splattered onto the undead beasts, their bodies began to corrode.
Smoke hissed upward as corrosive liquid ate into rotting flesh and brittle bone.
Yet the undead did not falter.
They did not scream.
They did not retreat.
Thad had already died.
What was corrosion to creatures that no longer feared pain?
At the back of the Iron Roar Komodo, the katana-wielding skeleton advanced with chanical precision.
Its blade flashed again and again, slicing through the intimidating ridges along the beast’s spine.
Each strike chipped away at the forged-like protrusions, splintering them one after another.
Pain.
For the first ti in its life, the komodo truly felt fear.
Before the relentless coordination of the undead legion, its mighty strength ant nothing. Its resonant roar had failed to scatter them.
Its scales were no longer impenetrable. Its corrosive blood only slowed the inevitable.
Its front legs buckled under accumulated damage. Its rear limbs trembled, tendons severed and muscles torn.
Across its broad chest, blood poured freely, pooling beneath its massive body.
Death was already beckoning.
The Iron Roar Komodo released a miserable, broken roar as it attempted to turn and flee deeper into the basin.
Bang! Bang!
Before it could pivot fully, two devastating blows struck its rear legs.
A hamr crushed downward with bone-shattering force.
An axe followed, cleaving into exposed muscle.
It was a ticulously coordinated attack.
"Raaahhh!"
The komodo’s agonized scream tore through the basin as its hind legs gave way.
Its colossal body collapsed, slamming into the ground with catastrophic force. A deep crater ford beneath it, spiderweb cracks racing outward in all directions.
It wailed in agony, struggling to push itself upright, claws scraping uselessly against fractured stone.
But the katana-wielding skeleton was already there.
It moved without hesitation, stepping onto the beast’s fallen head. The blade rose, catching the glow of molten lava in its polished edge.
Then it plunged down.
The cold, lethal steel glead brilliantly in the fiery reflection as it drove deep into the komodo’s skull, piercing through bone and into its brain.
Roar!
A soul-rending scream erupted from the komodo’s throat, reverberating through the basin as the blade sank deeper.
Its fierce eyes lost their luster.
The molten glow faded into dull embers and its massive eyelids trembled once... twice...
Then slowly closed.
With a final, heavy thud, the komodo’s head hit the ground and did not rise again.
For a long mont, the basin was terrifyingly silent. Only the faint bubbling of molten lava and the whisper of hot wind disturbed the stillness.
The undead stood motionless around the fallen overlord.
However, Thoren’s gaze did not linger on his trophy.
His silver eyes shifted, narrowing as they focused far deeper into the basin.
He had locked onto sothing else.
"A rat." He whispered.
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