Mutated Kobold

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, the iron sword in John's hand fiercely chopped down on the Blood Scale Kobold's shoulder.

However, the expected sound of flesh and blood tearing did not appear. Instead, a cluster of dazzling sparks erupted.

The edge of the iron sword scraped against the scales, emitting a harsh screech and leaving only a shallow white mark.

John's hand went numb, and he staggered back two steps, a hint of horror flashing in his eyes.

As a battle-hardened veteran, this was far from his first encounter with low-level monsters like Kobolds.

He had personally slain at least dozens of Kobolds, but a monster like the one before him was unlike anything he had ever seen.

"Damn it, this monster's hide is harder than iron!"

Tom, with his red nose, cursed and lunged from the side, his sword point aimed straight for the throat.

But the Blood Scale Kobold merely tilted its head slightly, allowing the iron sword to graze its neck.

Scales and steel rubbed together, sparks flying, yet it remained completely unharmed.

"Roar!"

The Blood Scale Kobold let out a low growl, its thick arm sweeping out with sudden force. Tom hastily raised his shield to block.

But the power of this blow was far beyond imagination. The oak shield instantly shattered.

Tom was sent flying, crashing heavily against the wall of the burning hut, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Ryan! Go around behind it!"

With no time to check Tom's injuries, John roared. His remaining subordinate understood immediately and darted behind the Blood Scale Kobold.

"You mongrel! Look over here!"

John feigned a frontal assault, while his left hand stealthily reached for the shortbow at his waist.

The moment he drew its attention, the rust-covered great axe whistled through the air, descending towards him.

At the critical moment, John rolled, his right hand reaching for the shortbow at his waist.

Before his body had fully stabilized, he nocked an arrow, the entire sequence fluid and seamless.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow cut through the air, accurately aimed at the monster's left eye.

But the Blood Scale Kobold merely tilted its head to the side, the arrowhead grazing its eyelid, scraping a spark off the hard scales before bouncing off weakly.

"Even its eyes have scales?"

John's heart sank.

His strongest archery couldn't even wound this monster's vital points!

"Got it!"

Seeing that the monster hadn't noticed him, Ryan, who had successfully circled behind, roared and launched his attack.

But the moment his sword tip touched the scales, the Blood Scale Kobold, as if it had eyes on its back, abruptly turned and swung its great axe.

"Crack!"

The chainmail on Ryan's body was like thin paper before the axe blade. His chest caved in, and he was cleaved in half and sent flying, blood arcing through the air.

John's pupils contracted sharply.

Ryan was the most skilled among them. He had fought through the melee and killed three Kobolds without injury, yet before the Blood Scale Kobold, he couldn't even withstand a single blow!

"John! Let's retreat! We can't hurt it at all!"

Tom struggled to get up, blood trickling from his mouth, his voice filled with terror.

John gritted his teeth and scanned his surroundings.

Burning houses, bodies scattered everywhere, and ordinary Kobolds gradually closing in from a distance.

They were surrounded.

"We can't escape."

John tightened his grip on his iron sword, his voice low and resolute.

"If we don't kill it, none of us will survive."

At the same moment, in the ruins on the other side, Gary said the same words with despair.

"Let's escape in the chaos!"

Looking at the Blood Scale Kobold, which was easily as tall as a grown man, Gary continued, his voice trembling.

"Even the well-equipped regular soldiers are no match for it, so we..."

"We can't escape."

Roland looked at the Blood Scale Kobold, which resembled a demon god, his right hand gripping his sword hilt tightly.

Beside him, Peyton nodded with a heavy expression.

"Gary, you saw it when we were escaping just now. There are countless Kobolds to the south, at least dozens. Only this route has the fewest Kobolds, and..."

"And the Kobolds to the south are already gradually converging in this direction!"

Roland picked up the conversation, taking a few deep breaths to quickly recover his depleted stamina.

He then quickly got up, surveying the surrounding Kobolds' positions as he spoke softly.

"There's only this one escape route ahead. If we want to get out alive, we have to try and defeat this mutated Kobold blocking our path."

"Do you have a plan then?"

All the way here, Peyton had been completely in awe of Roland's keen combat instincts.

Roland could always perceive and cleverly utilize details that even he, a veteran mercenary, had overlooked.

It was thanks to this extraordinary ability that they had managed to escape danger time and again and safely retreat here.

Furthermore, with his current injuries making movement difficult, he naturally followed Roland's every word.

"I noticed just now that although this mutated Kobold has astonishing Strength, its movements are even slower and clumsier than ordinary Kobolds, and..."

In the open space ahead, John was skillfully evading the Blood Scale Kobold.

Roland gritted his teeth, suppressing the dizziness that constantly assaulted his mind, and activated his [Focus] Trait.

A few seconds later, when he reopened his eyes, his gaze was clear, and his voice was steady and firm.

"There's a small area on the back-left side of that mutated Kobold that isn't covered by scales."

"As long as we seize the opening and deliver a fatal blow, even if we can't kill it on the spot, we can at least heavily wound it. Then, whether it lives or dies, we can seize the opportunity to escape."

"Alright!"

Suppressing the dizziness from excessive blood loss, Peyton stood up somewhat unsteadily, his face pale as he said.

"I'll create this opportunity for you. As for the rest, it's up to you."

Peyton let out a low roar and then charged out from cover, dragging his injured body.

The eyes of this usually life-preserving old mercenary now gleamed with determination.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, Peyton's iron sword got stuck in the gap between the scales of the Kobold's knee joint, emitting a grating sound.

But the Blood Scale Kobold showed no reaction, merely turning its bloodshot eyeballs to lock onto the foolhardy human, its mouth curling into a smile, revealing uneven fangs.

The expression was clearly one of amusement.

Seeing that Peyton had attracted the Blood Scale Kobold's attention, Roland didn't hesitate and strode forward.

At the same time, he roared at the somewhat stunned John.

"Shoot!"

Although he still didn't quite understand the situation, upon hearing the shout, John instinctively rolled to the side and knelt down.

The fully drawn shortbow groaned under the strain.

"Bastard! Look over here!"

Peyton suddenly attacked.

The experienced mercenary accurately found the gap where the scales joined.

With a twist of the hilt, the sharp blade actually penetrated half an inch.

Hit by this blow, the Blood Scale Kobold let out a painful howl, its thick tail sweeping across.

Seeing this, Peyton quickly bent down, narrowly avoiding the powerful sweep.

At the same time, a whistling sound echoed.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow flew at lightning speed, directly towards the monster's right eye.

But the Blood Scale Kobold swung its weapon again, completely ignoring the arrow. It closed its eyes once more, just as before, attempting to protect its weak point with its scales.

"Opportunity!"

The [Focus] Trait reached its peak at this moment.

The world suddenly slowed down in Roland's eyes.

The arrow spinning through the air, the tremor of the monster's muscles as it raised its arm, and even the trajectory of distant sparks were all clearly visible.

His right hand automatically grasped the sword hilt, and the opening stance of the Lion Swordplay appeared as naturally as breathing.

"Roar!"

The moment the arrow grazed the Blood Scale Kobold's eyelid, Roland moved.

Within three steps, his sword was already unsheathed.

The sharp blade glinted under the bright moonlight.

The deadly techniques of Lion Swordplay were displayed to their fullest extent at this moment.

By the time the Blood Scale Kobold sensed the danger, it was already too late.

Roland's sword tip precisely pierced the patch of pink, soft flesh on its back.

"Pfft!"

After a muffled sound, bright red blood gushed out like a fountain.

"Waaagh!"

The Kobold let out a piercing howl, wildly swinging the great axe in its hands.

Roland knew that such an injury was far from fatal, and immediately retreated several steps to create distance.

"Let's hurry. Huh?"

Just as he was about to call Peyton and the others to retreat, the scene before him made him swallow the rest of his words.

He saw that the fresh blood spurting from the Blood Scale Kobold's back had not yet hit the ground before it transformed into scorching flames in mid-air.

Accompanied by a pungent smell of burning, the flames swept inward from the outside, instantly engulfing the Kobold's body.

In the blink of an eye, the Blood Scale Kobold, which had been ferocious just moments ago, howled amidst the raging inferno and turned into ashes.

Just as the flames were about to extinguish, Roland narrowed his eyes.

Within the ashes, something seemed to be faintly shimmering.

It was a small crystal, emitting an eerie red glow, flickering in and out of sight within the embers, like a vibrant heart, beating with a dim, intermittent pulse.