Chapter 50 The Master of the Mace
“Go Dae-hyeop! Angilo is a formidable creature that wields that mace with tremendous power!”
【Anodontosaurus lv32】
【Status】
「Frenzy」「Fear」
Frenzy? And fear?
It was a somewhat contradictory state.
The information I could glean was that this dinosaur was extremely angry.
And that its name wasn’t Ankilo, but Anodonto.
“…Looking closely, it doesn’t seem quite like what I’ve heard. It might not be a full-fledged creature yet? Still, it’s a formidable opponent if underestimated!”
That was true.
Although it was smaller than an Ankylosaurus, it still had an enormous body.
The opponents I’d faced so far, despite their length, often appeared somewhat slender, giving a sense of being less substantial. However, Anodonto was different.
Its body was covered in iron armor. And it had that enormous mace-like tail.
It was an opponent that couldn’t be taken lightly.
However, there was one positive aspect.
The creature was a herbivorous dinosaur.
If I didn’t hunt it, it wouldn’t attack first.
I didn’t know why it was angry, but it wasn’t related to me.
“Gek gek.”
Let’s pass peacefully.
I was about to leave this place anyway.
I expressed my intention with a gentlemanly face.
Boom!
The stalactite in the cave literally shattered.
“Kiaaa!”
It roared with its mouth wide open.
Its mouth was so toothless that it looked pathetic, but that appearance only made it seem more grotesque.
As expected, it was a creature with a temper.
It was an opponent with whom communication was impossible.
“D-Dae-hyeop! This time, I’ll use my Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain….”
I shook my head.
“Grrr…”
Look at its osteoderms.
Would your hidden weapons even penetrate that body?
And I didn’t think Tang So-yeong could use Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain either.
Even if it worked, it would be like the difference between Complete Poison Immunity and Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity.
I gently pushed Tang So-yeong aside.
“Gek gek gek.”
Just handle the spiders.
Especially catch the Nephila well.
If you intervene again this time, it could really be dangerous.
“Kralalalack!”
I roared at the Anodontosaurus.
The meaning of the roar was, of course, to look at me.
It was a strong opponent.
Even if three Dilophosauruses attacked, this dinosaur would easily win.
Poison attacks were a variable, but it could easily crush their heads before being poisoned.
I had evolved and become stronger, but it would still be difficult for me to face three Dilophosauruses.
Two would already be challenging enough.
There was a clear difference in combat power between it and me.
Nevertheless, the reason I didn’t run away and chose to fight was because of the advantage of attributes.
I had the upper hand in attributes.
Its combat style would likely be to rely on the defense of its osteoderms and the attack power of its tail, coming at me in a straightforward manner. That was the greatest characteristic of the thyreophorans.
In contrast, I preferred a combat style of evading the enemy’s attacks with quick movements due to my footwork and then unleashing powerful techniques like Dragon Claws.
On top of that, I had mastered poison attacks, making me the antithesis of an opponent like Anodonto.
Boom!
Boom!
It charged at me.
Its speed was faster than I had expected.
But it was an obvious move.
It would either headbutt me or spin its body to target my head with its massive tail.
I was confident I wouldn’t get hit by either.
Here it comes.
Whooooosh.
Its tail.
Boom!
A tremendous shockwave spread throughout the cave.
If I hadn’t dodged, I might have died in a single blow due to its overwhelming power.
But if it didn’t hit, it was meaningless.
The creature was still in a spinning motion.
Naturally, the right to attack was mine….
Boom!
The tail that had destroyed the wall swung again.
Boom!
Normally, a dinosaur shouldn’t be able to make such movements.
The reason its attack was so powerful was because the force generated by its spinning body was concentrated in its tail. Therefore, if it failed in its first attack, the right to attack should shift to me.
But the creature kept attacking.
Boom!
I narrowly dodged its spinning attacks.
I was out of breath.
How could it keep unleashing such attacks?
This wasn’t a dinosaur’s movement.
It was martial arts.
To be precise, I had to think I was dealing with a martial artist who used a mace.
Boom!
Moreover, that martial artist was also wearing armor.
An enormous force shook the ground.
It was similar to the pressure I felt when Baek Yeonyeong walked.
Strong.
Very strong.
In terms of size, I was overwhelmingly outmatched.
Although I had grown considerably, this creature was a monster weighing several tons.
I couldn’t confidently say I had the upper hand in attack speed, though I might have in movement speed.
I quickly leaped backward to widen the distance.
A frontal confrontation was impossible.
[Using 「Poison Generation lv1」.]
So, I turned around.
I created poison in mid-air.
Sssshhh!
Of course, like with the Deinonychus, I didn’t intend to hit it directly with the poison.
Unless I struck its insides, this wouldn’t be enough to inflict a critical injury on that giant body.
I continued to consume MP.
The floor of the cave became soaked with poison.
Boom.
Boom!
The creature stomped to chase me immediately.
Anodontosaurus rushed at me with fierce momentum.
I targeted its side using Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step.
Whooooosh.
Its tail was just about to swing at me.
Tadak!
I kicked off the wall.
Gecko Kung Fu.
The movement of a tiger.
No, it was the movement of a gecko lizard.
I kicked off the wall and instantly took the opposite side of the creature.
Its tail was positioned on the opposite side.
Now was the perfect timing.
However.
I endured it once.
Whooooosh!
Anodonto’s extraordinary reflexes brought its tail to where I was.
If it had attacked immediately, that tail would have shattered my skull.
But now, I had won.
Crash!
Anodonto’s massive body fell instantly.
It was only natural that it lost balance after moving such a heavy tail like that.
Additionally, the floor was soaked with poison, making it slippery.
It was enough to make it fall.
Now was the opportunity.
While it couldn’t get up easily, I had to launch a fierce attack.
I crossed my hands and applied great force.
Dragon Claws.
But that wasn’t enough.
[Using 「Poison Gathering lv1」.]
I gathered the poison on the floor to a single point.
The range of this skill wasn’t very long, so using it from a distance like a projectile wasn’t possible.
But that was fine.
The location where the poison was gathered was my fingernails.
Dragon Claws and poison attack simultaneously exploded towards it.
It had no means left to withstand this attack.
Now it was over.
Shhhhhh!
Just as I was about to launch Dragon Claws towards it.
“Go Dae-hyeop! Behind you!”
Boom!
An enormous shock struck my body.
Literally, I was blown several meters away by the force.
Crash!
…What hit me?
My head spun.
Though my scales covered me, protecting from fractures, the immense shock still got through.
I couldn’t collect my thoughts.
“Go… Go Dae-hyeoooop!”
No, I had to gather myself.
I gritted my teeth and stood up.
How did it attack me in that situation?
It couldn’t have gotten up in such a short time.
Whoom.
The scene before my eyes was shocking.
Whoom.
It hadn’t gotten up.
It remained in the position it had fallen.
Boom!
It was just spinning madly, wildly swinging its tail.
I still couldn’t shake the thought that it was a dinosaur.
A human in a dinosaur’s skin, swinging a mace.
I had to think that way.
Crash!
Whoom.
Whoom.
Boom!
It approached me while still lying down.
I didn’t understand the mechanism, but it was moving by spinning its shell.
Crash!
Truly, it was the ultimate technique used by a master of the mace.
I was heavily impacted by its attack.
My vision was blurry.
Moreover, thanks to my instincts, I had raised my left hand to block its attack somewhat, reducing the damage.
As a result, my left hand was wrecked.
Despite blocking, this was the extent of the damage. Allowing one more effective hit would mean leaving this world.
I couldn’t afford to look back.
“Grrrrr.”
Anyway, if I got attacked once more, I’d die.
Shhh!
I transformed the shape of my scales.
To maximize attack power, resembling a Western dragon.
I had to pour everything into this.
[Using 「Inverse Scale lv1」.]
[Temporarily obtaining 「Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain」.]
The secret technique shown to me by the Dilophosaurus.
Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain was a technique of throwing countless hidden weapons.
The Dilophosaurus replaced hidden weapons with its poison-laden feathers.
I didn’t have such a thing.
Thus, my Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain was a half-baked version.
No.
Not even half.
Shhhhhh!
The poison on the floor flew towards it.
Originally, this attack wouldn’t cause any damage.
But now, it was showing its most vulnerable part, its belly.
It would surely have an effect.
Crack!
Whoom!
Its speed slowed down.
But this wasn’t a fatal blow either.
Even if poisoned, it wasn’t a strong enough poison to kill it.
My skill was a hastily created version of Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain.
[Using 「Inverse Scale lv1」.]
I gathered all remaining MP.
[Temporarily obtaining 「Nine Yin White Bone Claws」.]
Previously, I had used this technique vaguely.
A skill used with all my internal energy when my anger reached its peak.
The recently used Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain was pitiful compared to the original.
It was naturally weak since it was a hastily created martial art through the status window’s power.
Nine Yin White Bone Claws was also urgently borrowed through the status window’s power.
However, despite the vagueness, I had used it before.
Crack!
I remembered how to use it, what phrases composed it, all etched in my mind.
Crush the enemy’s head with five fingers.
Boom!
The five claws imbued with all my internal energy shattered the enemy’s head.
Thud.
Thunk.
The heavily shocked Anodontosaurus collapsed on the spot.
Yes.
I had won.
It had truly been a series of dangerous moments.
Anodontosaurus was a worthy opponent to be called a formidable enemy.
As a result of crushing its skull, my claws were completely chipped.
If it had hit me with its mace, my defeat would have been certain.
Look at this. Even now, it’s hard to move….
….
I had defeated the enemy, so why hadn’t my level risen?
Whoom!
Its tail swung rapidly.
It wasn’t dead yet.
I couldn’t avoid this.
Nine Yin White Bone Claws couldn’t be used again.
Dragon Claws were the same.
My left hand was already wrecked, and the claws on the other hand were chipped.
What remained for me now was my tail.
And my foot.
It was do or die.
I supported my body with my left leg.
Rotating my body minimally, I extended my right leg fully.
The target wasn’t the mace but the joint between the mace and the bone.
Only by hitting that spot could I block the attack.
Boom!
Dust filled the air.
…Did I succeed?
Yes. The fact that I could think such a thought was proof of success.
But why couldn’t I feel my leg?
It wasn’t that the leg was cut off by the attack, there was no pain at all.
In other words, it hadn’t collided with Anodonto’s tail at all?
It was something I couldn’t understand.
“Lizard.”
A familiar voice was heard.
“Little lizard.”
There was only one person in this world who would call me a little lizard.
As the dust settled, her figure appeared.
With one hand, she lightly held Anodonto’s tail and was looking at me.
“…You’re not that small anymore.”