"Boss, I’m here to save you!" Boudica declared, raising her War Halberd and thrusting forward. The weapon penetrated without hesitation. The sensation in her hand was like plunging it into mud; there was so suction when she tried to pull it back, but it wasn’t a major hindrance. However, the sticky substance clinging to the halberd sent an involuntary shiver down her spine.
At this mont, she had no ti to dwell on it. The instant she withdrew the War Halberd, she put all her strength into a powerful hack. She refused to believe it would be ineffective.
The axe blade of her halberd chopped into the giant cellular mass, stirring it up, but that was the extent of the damage. The gash healed in the next second, doing nothing to halt the creature’s relentless advance.
Nevertheless, Boudica’s continuous assault drew the attention of the giant cellular body. Amidst its violent shaking, it suddenly split off a large clump that shot toward her like a glob of spit.
"Stand behind !" Balistan shouted, moving forward with his Shield to block. He hadn’t expected the creature to behave so erratically.
When the clump collided with his Shield, it grotesquely distorted and adhered to the surface, attempting to engulf Balistan as well.
"Damn it!" Balistan instinctively dropped his torch and drew the Morningstar Hamr from his waist, hoping to repel the enemy. However, the hamr proved even less effective than Boudica’s War Halberd. The cellular mass seized the opportunity to climb further up his body.
Facing a cellular body immune to physical damage, even a seasoned veteran like Balistan found himself hard-pressed, the pressure on him skyrocketing.
"Don’t move!" Boudica certainly wasn’t going to stand idly by while Balistan, who was protecting her, was in danger. After shouting, she whirled her War Halberd and brought it down in a powerful slash.
Hearing her voice, Balistan instantly ceased his futile struggles—an act that required imnse trust in his comrade.
Boudica did not betray that trust. While her previous attacks on the large clump had been ineffective, her War Halberd, with its sharp edge, now sliced away more than half of the cellular mass clinging to Balistan.
Her exquisite combat skills and weapon mastery were on full display as she expertly wielded the War Halberd, severing most of the clinging substance in a few swift strokes. The remaining cellular mass, now significantly smaller and no longer an overwhelming threat, was quickly flung off Balistan.
Rescued by his comrade from the monster’s clutches, Balistan felt the pressure on him lessen slightly, though he was still breathing heavily.
Undeniably, those last few monts—re breaths in duration—had subjected him to greater pressure than his earlier encounter with the Ghoul.
After all, the Ghoul, though fierce, had a tangible form; his attacks and defenses received feedback. This current monstrosity, however, was amorphous. All his combat experience and techniques were utterly useless against it, completely neutralized.
But the ordeal wasn’t over. The chunks of cellular mass that Boudica had severed, now lying on the ground, began to coalesce once more. This developnt couldn’t help but place imnse pressure back on both of them.
"HRAAAH!"
The explosive shout drew their attention. Looking up, they saw the giant cellular body, as large as five or six n combined, split down the middle. A figure wielding a greatsword then burst forth from within—it was the Lord!
"You two, step back. I’ll handle this," Lance commanded.
He glanced at the severed fragnts of cellular mass on the ground, then reached out and touched them, initiating a Sacrifice.
Feeling the return of Spiritual Essence, he knew that no matter how large this soft cellular mass grew, it was rely fuel for him.
The attacks from Boudica and Balistan had been ineffective. However, the Giant Slayer, a weapon specifically forged for hunting monsters, always displayed extraordinary efficacy, especially in Lance’s hands.
The greatsword swung. Empowered by Lance’s brute strength, its massive Sword Blade cleaved the cellular body—once, twice, again and again...
Under the continuous barrage of slashes, the original cellular body and its subsequent divisions were chopped into countless fragnts, all of which Lance promptly Sacrificed. All sorts of miscellaneous debris spilled from the disintegrating masses, but regrettably, there was no equipnt to be found, only trash.
After Lance had physically whittled it down several tis, the giant cellular body was reduced to the size of a single person. Just as Lance prepared to eliminate this final piece, an unexpected change occurred.
The maggots, scattered earlier when the Flesh Lair was obliterated, had entered a strange state. Unnoticed by the humans, they had congregated and now suddenly sward onto the lone remaining piece of cellular mass.
The gnawing sounds, which had ceased monts before, resud. Lance and the others turned to witness an exceedingly bizarre scene: in just two or three seconds, the entire piece of cellular mass was devoured by the maggots.
That cellular body was one unlucky bastard, Lance thought. Making such a dramatic entrance only to end up as my Sacrifice fodder and then food for these maggots.
Before Lance could internally grumble further, the worms suddenly coalesced. They ford a monstrous mass, similar in shape to a cellular body but composed entirely of worms.
It’s mimicking what it devoured!
Upon closer inspection, one could discern the continuously writhing maggots. The entire entity seed to be in a constant state of flux: maggots crawled upwards, tumbled down, then crawled up again, sohow maintaining the grotesque, shifting form.
"So evil... What in the hell is this thing?" Boudica muttered.
"Ancestors preserve us," Balistan prayed.
The rapid succession of grotesque transformations and the twisted nature of the new monster exerted imnse psychological pressure on both Balistan and Boudica. Even Lance’s expression turned grave at the sight of the maggot aggregate; he too found this abomination difficult to process.
The maggot aggregate, however, paid no heed to the stunned humans. It raised a limb-like appendage and flung out a clump of maggots, which detached and soared through the air.
This attacking motion startled the trio. Its target, however, was not them, but the pieces of cellular mass Lance had scattered across the ground earlier.
"Damn it, it’s growing!" Lance exclaid.
By the ti Lance fully registered what was happening, the flung maggots had devoured their targeted piece of cellular mass. They then quickly wriggled back towards the main aggregate, rejoining it and causing its overall form to grow even larger.
Boudica’s face contorted in disgust, but not fear. Hearing her Lord’s exclamation, she gripped her War Halberd tighter, preparing to charge.
"It’s no use," Lance said. "Physical attacks are ineffective against that kind of body structure. How many maggots can you kill with one slash? Besides, that thing has been devouring corpses; who knows what diseases it carries. If it touches you and you get sick, we’ll have real trouble."
Boudica was fearless, but she recoiled at the ntion of contracting a disease.
Balistan, too, could tell that conventional attacks would likely be useless against such a monster. He asked, "My Lord, what should we do now?"
"What now?" Lance responded, a grin spreading across his face. "You two step back and enjoy the show."
Faced with this grotesque enemy, Lance showed no signs of panic; on the contrary, he seed amused.
He produced a glass bottle and hurled it directly at the aggregate, which was still busy absorbing the outlying pieces of cellular mass.
The bottle shattered on impact with the ground, its contents—a black, viscous liquid—spilling out and quickly spreading.
Lance didn’t stop there. He produced two more bottles and smashed them near the aggregate, thoroughly dousing the surrounding area with the dark liquid.
Only after completing this preparation did Lance retrieve the torch Balistan had dropped earlier. He tossed it towards the base of the maggot aggregate. The mont the torch landed, fierce flas erupted.
Engulfed in fire, the aggregate could no longer maintain its twisted form and began to disintegrate. If it had a throat, it would surely be shrieking incessantly right now, Lance mused.
Instead of screams, however, another sound filled the air: the relentless, sickening POP and CRACKLE of plump maggots roasting in the inferno.
Watching the aggregate crumble and listening to this grueso symphony, Lance, Boudica, and Balistan felt an odd sense of cathartic relief.
Wood tar, Lance thought, observing the blaze. A byproduct of charcoal production. It’s not just useful for preservation and insect deterrence; it’s also an excellent fuel. In an age where alcohol is difficult to produce in large quantities, wood tar makes a fine ingredient for Incendiary Bottles.
During my past battles with the Witch and her demonic minions, I often felt my offensive options were too limited. Against normally sized creatures, I could manage. But it was a different story when facing the endless beast tide, the Corrupt Giants, or the Witch’s supposed masterpiece—the Banshee’s true form.
If I’d had a few Incendiary Bottles back when I faced that beast tide, I could have ignited them and broken their charge imdiately. I wouldn’t have needed to fight a bloody battle every step of the way, nor would I have been forced to lure them to the farm and burn it down, suffering such heavy losses.
And then there was the Witch’s ’perfect creation’—the Banshee. If I could have just tossed an Incendiary Bottle at it, the fight would have been over much sooner. Would Reynard and the others have needed to attack so desperately? Would we have ultimately had to rely on so aspect of the Banshee itself to finally slay it?
I always learn from my battles, using every resource at my disposal to cover my weaknesses and refine my strategies.
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