Chapter 390: Chapter 390: The Berserker Snake [2], Emilia’s Stand
SWASH!
A giant bone-like spike impaled the boss monster, smashing directly through its defenses and making it hiss loudly as it seemed to be genuinely hurt by the attack.
The bone spike remained in place as it pierced the snake, and blood trickled from the wound, staining the ground below and forming a small pool.
’Holy shit, Emilia, I didn’t expect you’d be able to do that...!’ Leon thought, genuinely impressed by her display of power.
Still though, everything came with a cost, and after using such an attack, even Emilia knelt down, exhausted and barely able to stand, her body trembling from the strain.
The snake kept wriggling around the clearing as it tried to pull itself out of the spike, but it was embedded straight through its body, holding it in place and causing immense pain.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
It smashed through the walls of the clearing and even crumbled the cave the elves had been hiding in, destroying everything in its path as it thrashed wildly.
It kept struggling more and more, until eventually, with a final desperate lurch, it forced itself free.
SCRACH!
It forced so much that it detached itself from the part of its body where the bone spike had impaled it, leaving a massive chunk of itself behind on the spike.
Of course, the damage to the berserker snake must be devastating, and it would likely die from that as it would bleed out over time, but it wasn’t dead yet.
Still, it rushed forward, its mouth aiming to swallow Emilia once more, and this time, she couldn’t do anything to stop it, completely drained.
Leon stood there, his eyes wide with shock at the scene unfolding before him, his mind racing.
He had not expected Emilia to actually be able to do that much damage to the berserker boss.
In fact, he even considered that she had defeated the boss by herself with that single attack.
Because even though she’d die from the snake’s counterattack, she had also killed the snake, meaning it was a draw between them.
But of course, Emilia would die if she had been alone against this beast, and unfortunately for the snake, Leon was already here and ready to intervene.
TIME STOP!
He activated his forbidden skill as time stopped, the snake’s massive mouth inches away from the elf, frozen in place, then he rushed toward her with all his speed.
Fwoosh!
Leon managed to snatch Emilia from the spot where she was right as time resumed, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her to safety just as the berserker snake’s massive mouth closed in on the spot where she had been standing only seconds ago, snapping shut on empty air with a sickening crunch.
Emilia had closed her eyes, resigned to her fate and accepting that she would be eliminated from the event.
But after a few seconds of realizing that nothing happened and she was still alive, she slowly opened her eyes and saw Leon standing before her like a guardian angel.
"LEON," she shouted in shock, her voice filled with a mix of surprise and overwhelming relief, "You’re here!"
"Yeah," Leon slowly allowed her to stand up on her own as he gazed at the berserker snake, his eyes narrowing as he calculated his next move, "Gotta take care of that thing before it causes more trouble."
Leon knew that if they left it alone it would surely die soon enough from the massive wound Emilia had inflicted.
But he couldn’t allow that to happen because he needed the mana points for himself to stay ahead of Orion.
He felt bad about taking her achievement and stealing the kill from her, but even if Emilia took the kill, she wouldn’t have nearly enough mana points to compete with Orion at the top of the rankings.
And to be honest, Leon planned to share his rewards, so if he was first place at the end of the event, it would benefit the entire group in the long run and make up for it.
Which is why, without any further hesitation, he made his move and dashed forward with incredible speed.
Fwoosh!
In an instant, he closed the distance with the berserk snake, and while it was distracted by the pain it was in and its mobility severely reduced by the fact it lost half its body, he swung his sword with all his might.
SLASH!
He slashed at its neck with devastating force, making it bleed even more than before as it stood there, swaying unsteadily, its massive form trembling.
Then after a few seconds, it dropped dead, its body collapsing to the ground with a thunderous crash that shook the clearing.
Ding!
[You have defeated "Berserker Snake (Mana Monster Boss)"]
The boss turned into blue orbs that seeped into Leon’s mana storer jar, granting him more mana points and bringing him to the top spot, the jar glowing brighter with each addition.
’Nice,’ Leon grinned, satisfied with the outcome.
And of course, soon after, the announcement rang across the domain, visible to all remaining participants who looked up at the sky.
Ding!
["Celestial" has defeated the "Berserker Snake" in the "Treacherous Mountains"]
"You did it," Emilia beamed, her face lighting up with joy and admiration, "I really thought it was gonna kill me there for a second, that was way too close."
"Would have died even if I didn’t come," Leon shrugged, "You can consider that you beat it yourself with that attack you landed."
"No way!" Emilia shook her arm and head vigorously, refusing to accept the credit, "Without you, I’d be dead and eliminated from the event right now!"
"Sure," Leon smiled, not wanting to argue with her and letting her have the last word.
[Mana Points: 403]
With that, Leon was quite sure he was the first place in the entire event, having accumulated a significant lead over most other participants through his relentless hunting.
And he was ready to head toward the third berserker boss to make sure Orion didn’t claim it and catch up to him in the rankings, potentially stealing his victory.
But before he could even take a step forward, another notification appeared that dashed his hopes and reminded him of the competition.
Ding!
["GoldenAngel" has defeated the "Berserker Guardian" in the "Darkened Plains"]
"Goddamn it," Leon’s expression darkened, "Looks like we’re back to where we started, we just made sure no one else but us could get close to the top."
That meant Orion likely had 428 Mana Points or slightly more if he had defeated some additional monsters on the way to the boss, putting him back in the lead.
The difference between them was indeed not much anymore, only requiring one impossible difficulty monster to be even or potentially surpass him.
And yet, that didn’t change Leon’s plan in killing Orion, because he knew the angel wouldn’t stop until he secured the top spot and the best rewards for himself.
"Did you see Celeste anywhere?" Leon asked Emilia as he turned around to face her.
"No," Emilia shook her head, "I think she might be in the forest or plains somewhere, but I haven’t seen her since the event started and I’ve been on my own most of the time."
"Damn," Leon scratched his chin, "Just gotta hope she didn’t get killed by any of the berserkers or other players before we can find her."
Emilia sat down against a rock as she recovered her mana, her breathing slowly returning to normal, and Leon planned to wait for her a little until she was fully rested and ready to move.
He told her about everything that happened, though very quickly, and after a moment of silence, Emilia spoke up with gentle determination.
"You should go," Emilia said, her voice soft but firm, "If you wanna be first, you should find more mana monsters before that angel claims them all."
"What about you though?" Leon asked with a neutral expression, not wanting to leave her alone in such a dangerous place.
"Doesn’t matter," Emilia shook her head, a small smile on her face, "You did say we’d share the rewards, right? So go do it for us and bring back the victory!"
Leon looked at her for a few seconds, searching her eyes for any sign of doubt or fear, but seeing her determined gaze, he sighed in resignation.
"Yeah, you’re right, need to beat that goddamn angel and secure the top spot before he runs away with everything," Leon admitted.
It didn’t truly feel right to leave her like this though, so he summoned all of his undead skeletons around Emilia to defend her in case any monsters or players came near while she recovered.
"Don’t think this is a sacrifice," Leon spoke, his voice serious and reassuring, "You’ll get back up and kill more monsters as well, I need you in the top ten after all to maximize our rewards."
"Sure," Emilia giggled, appreciating his concern and his confidence in her, then she pointed toward a direction that went deeper into the mountains, "There’s a giant crater in the middle of the mountains with a horde of monsters, nobody approaches it since its too dangerous, but I’m sure you can wipe them out and get a ton of mana points from them..."
"Thanks," Leon actually appreciated the info a lot.
Then without waiting any longer, he rushed forward, looking back a few times to make sure Emilia was resting well and protected by his undead guardians.
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