Chương 70: A Crushing Defeat

"That is a big lizard!" Arthur exclaimed. It was the size of a carriage truck that carried tons of marble stones for construction. If it were possible to rewind time, Arthur wanted to silently walk away without disturbing the water.

"Everyone, let's retreat into the vegetation." Arthur decided to fight the lizard using the trees and the cover of the bushes.

"Spread out. Maan, you take the front battle," Arthur commanded. Although he was a little surprised by the sheer size, he was not going to back down. Currently, they were in Alpha Standard Monster territory. Even if this lizard was the size of a truck, it was still an Alpha Standard Monster; they would hunt it without fail. When the lizard exited the lake, the four readied themselves, and Arthur moved further down. The lizard was made of black scales.

Just by looking at the monster, Arthur could feel this fight was going to be very difficult. The sheer pressure the lizard radiated was suffocating. However, Arthur was not going to run away. [Absolute Calculation] Following which, he used his newly acquired Innate Ability. Instantly, his vision turned from reality to a matrix of numbers that ran through every direction. He focused his intent on the big lizard, and the numbers changed. Arthur instinctively gulped a big lump. The numbers did not stop increasing.

When it finished analyzing, the lowest numbers he could see on the lizard's body parts were 48 and 53, existing in only two places. Other than these two spots, there were no weak spots. Arthur canceled the ability and suddenly felt a warm sensation on his upper lip; blood was dripping from his nose. Why the hell do I have a nosebleed? he thought. He hadn't even kept the Ability active for more than ten seconds.

Ignoring the physical backlash the ability had inflicted, Arthur issued his commands internally to the skeletons. He dared not yell another order aloud. The lizard had two weak spots, though in Arthur's genuine estimation, they weren't exactly "weak." The beast was so formidable that its lowest defensive numbers would be considered the absolute highest for lesser monsters. Still, since they had already committed to the fight, Arthur decided to press his luck. If things got out of hand, they could always retreat.

The two vulnerable areas were located on its tail and its right ear—specifically only the right, as the left ear displayed a significantly higher number. Arthur quickly delegated the offensive: Coburn would strike the tail from behind, Dolph would target the right ear, and Maan would launch a frontal diversion. As Arthur finished issuing instructions, the lizard analyzed the "insects" spreading out around it, its slit eyes darting ominously.

Maan was the first to act, charging forward with his shield held high in front of him. Seeing this insignificant figure approaching, the lizard lunged. In a single, explosive bound, it closed the distance to Maan, opening a gaping maw wide enough to swallow a mini-truck whole. Compared to that massive mouth, Maan looked like a helpless chicken. The skeleton leaped high into the air to avoid being swallowed.

Seeing its prey jump, the lizard pushed off its front legs, its open jaws snapping upward to follow Maan's trajectory. Meanwhile, Coburn and Dolph were already in motion, executing Arthur's commands to strike the creature's weak points while Maan stalled it for their deadly ambush. [Shield Charge] While suspended in mid-air, Maan activated a Ability that violently propelled his body downward. With tremendous force, it braced his massive door-shield in front and crashed directly into the lizard's inner lower jaw.

BOOM! The lizard's head smashed into the dirt with a deafening impact. Maan quickly leaped away from the cavernous mouth before he could be gulped down into its stomach. The unexpected blow seemed to make the beast second-guess the strength of its prey, a realization clearly visible in its reaction once it regained its wits. It shook its heavy head to clear the daze and quickly reasserted its stance. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

It glared at Maan, who stood just a few meters away. The crest on its back flared up, and it let out a furious hiss, a terrifying rage building within it. However, before the beast could charge its puny aggressor, it suddenly convulsed. Coburn had already reached the rear and struck the weak spot on its tail. Reacting to the ambush from behind, the monstrous lizard violently thrashed its massive body, destroying the surrounding trees and bushes in its wake.

It moved with such blinding speed that Coburn was unable to maintain his continuous assault on the tail area. Pluck! Wiggling back to attack Coburn, it did not try to attack its regular way. Instead, it sent something like a black rope in lightning speed. While Coburn was in the run to keep up its assigned attack, it noticed the sticky tongue of the Lizard was about to touch its skeleton body.

Realizing the attack couldn't be blocked with its sword, it knew if it were to use the weapon, the sticky tongue would definitely snap the sword back with it. Without a weapon, it was bound to be the next prey. To avoid that situation, it jumped towards a big tree stump that was destroyed by the Lizard. The sticky mucus mitt narrowly missed the Skeleton. However, the tree stump was not lucky. The tongue hit the stump like a missile.

Once the Lizard felt the prey, it retrieved its tongue like a spring back to its mouth. The force of the tongue ripped the stump upward, tearing its thick web of roots straight out of the dirt. Coburn did not wait for the ceremony. Scrambling and running without any delay, it was afraid another tongue missile would be launched to its way. Enraged by this failure, the Lizard spit out the tree stump as it moved its body, aiming at Coburn again.

However, before it could launch another tongue missile, it moved its head to avoid a direct hit that was about to land on its ear. Simultaneously, it whipped its tail to the side when it felt it would attack Coburn, who was running towards its rear to attack its tail. The devastating whip destroyed everything in its path, landing squarely on Coburn's midsection. The skeleton raised its sword to block, but the sheer impact caved its bony frame inward.

The blade snapped in two, and the overwhelming force launched Coburn into the air like a missile. Coburn's body flew high above the forest canopy, hurtling further away from the battlefield. Watching from a distance, Arthur witnessed the brutal strike. A sickening sensation twisted in his stomach—an overwhelming dread fueled by the sudden realization that he had grossly miscalculated the monster's danger level.

He stood paralyzed for a moment, waiting and praying he wouldn't receive a system notification confirming his summon's destruction. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four seconds. Five seconds. No message appeared. Coburn hadn't been shattered by the attack. Flooded with relief, Arthur immediately issued a mental command for his forces to retreat. He turned and sprinted in the opposite direction to widen the gap between himself and the beast.

He just needed to escape the monster's detection range; once he did, he could safely dismiss the skeletons. Following the order, both Dolph and Maan abandoned their assault and dashed away. Seeing its aggressors attempting to flee, the enraged Lizard frantically gave chase, obliterating the forest in its wake. The monster's speed was astronomical, and the retreating skeletons simply could not keep up. Dolph flanked the Lizard's path of pursuit, but Maan lagged behind, weighed down by its heavy shield.

Arthur, standing at the edge of the forest, saw that Maan was about to be overtaken. Reacting instantly, he focused his intent to dismiss the skeleton. A glowing diagram immediately materialized on the ground before the summon. Maan took a single step onto the formation and vanished completely. The Lizard abruptly halted its charge. One second its prey was right in front of it; the next, it was gone. The beast tilted its head, its limited intelligence struggling to comprehend the phenomenon.

It glanced in the direction the other enemy had fled, silently monitoring its surroundings for a moment. Apparently satisfied that the intruders were dealt with, it turned and began lumbering back toward the lake. Straddling the boundary between the forest and the barren land, Arthur breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Even as he watched the monster abandon the chase, his face remained deathly pale. His overconfident decision had almost ended in disaster.

But one burning question remained: how was this Lizard so incredibly strong? As he pondered this, Dolph emerged from the treeline just a short distance away. Now, he needed to find Coburn. Hoping the skeleton hadn't sustained critical damage, Arthur set off in the direction his summon had been launched.