Sly Monster
"The plan is this! Thomas and Ptolemy, you both, along with Chris, are level 31. You'll be responsible for cutting off the monster's retreat to prevent it from escaping. Olaf and Gruff, you're on the front line! Ryan and I will support from the sides," Evelyn decisively assigned tasks.
Everyone silently agreed to Evelyn's reasonable arrangement, knowing full well that cooperation was essential to slay this ferocious beast. Thus, each person took their designated combat position according to the plan.
"Heh, prepare to die, you beast!" Olaf, ready for battle, pulled out his trusty, high-quality sharp axes that had seen countless skirmishes. With a leap, he soared into the air, diving towards the monster feasting on a corpse with a cold laugh.
The sudden attack stunned the monster, which then looked around with a furious expression, quickly noticing the seven mages who had surrounded the courtyard.
Olaf roared, his axes swirling with tremendous magical power as he fiercely chopped down at the monster.
The monster screamed in rage, dropping its meal and vanishing from sight with ghost-like speed. Before Olaf could react, the monster reappeared behind him, swiping its claw!
"Damn, that's fast!" Olaf cursed inwardly, panic forcing him to spin around and block the vicious strike with his axes. A dull thud echoed as Olaf was sent flying, casting several magical barriers mid-air to steady himself, his eyes wide with shock at the terrifying power of this so-called vampire beast.
The strength displayed by the monster took everyone by surprise, making them realize its power had increased.
While shocked, Ryan and the others didn't idle, quickly moving to attack the monster, thwarting its onslaught on Olaf.
"Damn it! How can this monster be so strong?" Olaf, feeling his palms numb from the impact, couldn't help but swear.
Fortunately, despite the monster's speed, the relentless magical assaults from the group had it retreating, making its defeat seem only a matter of time. This ignited a fierce determination in everyone's hearts.
After tangling with the monster for a while, Ryan quickly spotted a flaw in the monster's defenses during the battle. Seizing the opportunity, he unleashed his magic to its fullest, channeling it into his"Silver Serpent" sword and slashing at the monster's neck.
The monster felt the imminent threat of death and, unable to dodge in time, twisted its neck to avoid the fatal blow. Then, it braced itself with its shoulder against the sword strike. The Silver Serpent left a deep gash on its shoulder, from which a large amount of foul-smelling, black blood poured out.
Injured, the monster's crimson eyes flashed fiercely as it recognized the black-haired, purple-eyed youth who had seriously wounded it, feeling a sense of familiarity. It quickly recalled the figure from the night before who had thwarted its hunting.
"You again! The damnable human from last night!" Enraged, the monster spoke in human language, its aura seething with intent to kill. Ignoring the attacks from others, it lunged at Ryan in a frenzy.
Ryan calmly conjured fist-sized fireballs, hurling them at the monster as he retreated.
Evelyn and Olaf capitalized on the monster's moment of emotional upheaval, unleashing their most powerful spells. As Ryan watched dispassionately, the monster, already reeling from the magic assault, was struck down by Olaf's axe from mid-air. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust as the monster hit the ground.
Gruff seamlessly followed up, plunging his longsword into the monster's heart the moment it hit the ground.
The monster howled in agony, flailing weakly and struggling in vain as Gruff pinned it firmly to the ground, rendering it immobile. In Gruff's cold stare, the monster eventually stilled and slowly closed its eyes.
"Is it dead already?" Gruff looked puzzled, feeling the battle ended too abruptly. He kicked the monster's body to make sure there was no response and finally let his guard down.
But as he turned to share the good news with his companions, the monster suddenly opened its eyes, revealing a cunning and sinister glare. It grabbed Gruff's longsword with its sharp left claw, yanked it out, and, to everyone's horror, leapt at Gruff!
"Oh shit! It was playing dead! Damn it! Fuck!" Olaf couldn't help but curse.
"Danger!" Evelyn's face paled as she screamed.
Before Gruff could process what was happening, the monster had seized his right arm. Shocked to his core, he realized it was too late to break free.
The event unfolded so suddenly that just as Gruff was coming to terms with the situation, a chilling"crack" sound was heard, followed by Gruff's agonizing screams echoing throughout the village.
The sudden turn of events stunned everyone. Ryan's expression darkened as he realized the gravity of the situation.
With the group in panic, the monster gruesomely tore off Gruff's arm, then slammed its claw into Gruff's forehead. Gruff's head exploded like a watermelon, splattering blood and brain matter across the monster's sinister face.
They watched in horror as Gruff's headless body fell.
"Fuck! The bastard killed Gruff!" Olaf yelled, enraged.
After killing Gruff, the monster didn't rush to attack the others; instead, it crouched down and began to greedily consume Gruff's blood.
"Quick, stop him!" Ryan suddenly realized something crucial, his voice tightened with unease, shouting at everyone.
Without hesitation, Ryan summoned"Wings of the Gale" and rushed towards the monster at high speed, stabbing at its head with his sword.
However, the monster let out a bizarre laugh and easily caught the incoming sword. Under Ryan's intense gaze, the monster's aura visibly strengthened. After consuming the blood of a level 30 human mage, its strength instantaneously surged to level 34.
Feeling a chill down his spine, Ryan promptly abandoned his Silver Serpent sword and quickly backed away to a safe distance of fifteen meters, eyeing the monster warily.
The rest of the group, shaken by Gruff's death and the shadow it cast over their hearts, hastily deployed various mid-level magical skills against the monster.
For a moment, the battlefield was awash with a deluge of magic, raining down on the monster.
However, with an air of nonchalance, the monster tossed aside the sword in its hand and conjured a blood-red magical barrier in front of itself, effortlessly blocking all attacks. Then, it vanished from its spot, bringing a wave of dread as it targeted Chris and the twin knights, the weakest among them. The monster realized that a frontal assault against a united group of mages was unwise, so it shifted its strategy to divide and conquer.
As the roaring beast charged at him, Chris felt as if he were locked in the gaze of eyes as dark and abyssal as the night itself. The monster's sinister laughter filled the air, and an indescribable fear surged from the depths of his heart, his scalp tingling with dread as if he were about to become the monster's next meal. His heart pounded as if trying to escape his chest, each beat a ticking clock reminding him of the precious seconds he had to flee. Paralyzed by fear, each step felt like lifting feet made of lead. The air was thick with the stench of the monster, exacerbating Chris's panic.
"You idiot! What the hell are you doing?! Damn it!" Olaf, seeing Chris nearly petrified with fear, roared in urgent anger. To him, Chris's death would be inconsequential, but if it allowed the monster to gain strength, they might all end up as the monster's dessert.
Fortunately, Olaf's shout snapped Chris out of his fear, prompting him to cast several defensive magical barriers in front of him, desperately trying to block the charging monster.
Simultaneously, the calm and collected twin knights, coordinating with Chris's defensive magic, launched a series of fireballs at the monster, managing to temporarily repel the vicious beast.
Ryan and the others quickly joined in, sparing no effort in bombarding the monster with a volley of magical attacks.
Despite their full-force assault, the group's efforts seemed to barely inconvenience the monster. It swiftly conjured a blood-red magical shield that emanated an evil aura, covering its entire body. It moved rapidly past Ryan, Evelyn, and Olaf, ignoring their spells and fixating its gaze on Chris, the weakest mage among them.
Realizing he had become the monster's sole target after Gruff's tragic end, Chris was consumed by fear, his instinct to survive overwhelming all reason and courage. Under such immense pressure, he turned and fled, abandoning his companions and the battle, driven by a single thought: to escape this death trap.
Perhaps he should never have been part of this farce from the start.
Watching Chris abandon his comrades and flee, the group's faces were a mix of disappointment, anger, and confusion. At that moment, their unity and trust seemed shattered by a heavy blow.