Ch.110110. Tzompantli (2)

The first to move in this scene was, naturally, Chompantlus, who had built up physical abilities rivaling those of a superior-grade monster.

Could it have realized through its high intelligence and instinct that I was now the leader guiding these creatures?

Chompantlus targeted me and charged forward in an instant, attempting to split me in half with the sharp claws on its forelimbs—

-Kuuuuuung—!!!

[[[—■■■■■■!!!]]]

The beast’s attempt to take down the leader from the start was completely blocked by Hydra, who threw itself forward to intercept the attack.

Normally, Hydra, merely an upper-mid grade creature, wouldn’t be able to overcome Chompantlus, which could partially challenge superior-grade monsters. Nevertheless, there were several reasons why Hydra managed to defend against Chompantlus’s charge.

In addition to Hydra’s inherent upper-mid grade physical capabilities, there were various buff spells that Astra and I had cast on it.

Indeed, thanks to these factors, Hydra was able to block the charge of Chompantlus, which had an even larger body….

[—■■■■■!!!]

Noticing this, Chompantlus immediately resorted to its next measure when its attack was blocked.

Several skulls, starting with what appeared to be a reptilian skeleton hanging on its chest, scattered into particles of light.

Immediately after, aura-specific sharp magical energy began to envelop the reptilian’s entire body.

Certainly, that’s truly dangerous.

Chompantlus already possessed physical abilities rivaling superior-grade monsters, but if such a creature gained the power to wield aura, how much stronger would it become?

Of course, the aura control ability was disposable—time-limited and not its innate ability, so it would only serve as a layer over its body….

Even considering all these conditions, no, even if that were its only advantage, aura is dangerous.

Chompantlus, now able to use aura, had essentially gained the power to silence Hydra in a single blow.

However…. I had no intention of just watching this unfold.

[Spew forth!!]

—Phyuuuung!!

Following my command, one of Hydra’s heads that I had brought along fired a magic-poison bullet at Chompantlus, the same kind it had shot at the makeshift golem earlier.

-Clang!!

This venom magic, which crushed magical energy, shattered the aura that Chompantlus had wrapped around itself like armor. However, due to the nature of that special ability operating externally rather than internally, it had no real effect.

-Phyung! Phyung—!!

I continued firing magic-poison bullets at Chompantlus itself and the skulls it wore, but after confirming that the magic-destroying effect wasn’t activating on either target, I immediately took action instead of deliberating.

[—Attack!]

That is, I issued a command for coordinated assault through telepathy.

The first among us to move was, of course, Corin, the fastest of our group.

Hovering at a moderate height from the ground and gradually gathering storm clouds, it used the vast amount of rain clouds accumulated during the rainy season to strike down lightning bolts in succession.

-Krrrrrung!! Krrrrrung!! Krrrrrung!!

The lightning bolts striking at regular intervals crisped Chompantlus’s body before it could even react….

And before Chompantlus could respond to the powerful electric current flowing through its entire body, our attacks poured down in the intervals between lightning strikes.

[[[■■■■■■■—!!!]]]

Hydra, this brave magical beast, despite its low intelligence, strictly followed my orders and thrust its heads forward.

Even though it had regenerative abilities, it must still feel pain, yet this Hydra unhesitatingly extended its heads, attempting to bite into Chompantlus’s flesh.

-Kwagak!!

Perhaps noticing Hydra and the venom dripping from its fangs, Chompantlus, even in such a chaotic moment, consumed several skulls to harden its skin and defend against Hydra’s attack.

Of course, Hydra’s attack wasn’t the only one.

—Kwaaaang!!!

-Seogek—!!

Nightmare Mary, enveloped in scarlet flame energy, rammed into Chompantlus, while Griffin Gretel repeatedly soared into the sky, struck, and retreated.

Of course, penetrating Chompantlus’s defense—its muscle fibers hardened like steel—would be no easy task even with aura-infused claws or beaks….

From the beginning, in battles between mid-grade creatures, the role of attack belongs to magic users.

[Claws of the shadow-cloaked wolf, appear here and slash the enemy!]

—Seogek!!

With my complete incantation, a slashing spell cut through one side of Chompantlus’s relatively vulnerable belly.

The slashing spell, concentrating all its power in a single strike, finally tore through Chompantlus’s hardened skin, creating an opening….

[—Dieeeeee!!!]

Lobo, who had been biding his time and watching for an opportunity, lunged with his fangs toward the wound exposed by the slash.

Chompantlus’s extremely hard muscles were flesh in name only, practically metal chunks, so Lobo’s fangs merely grazed the muscles between the torn skin.

Of course—Lobo’s attack was just beginning in earnest.

-Srrrr…….!!!

With a sound like something freezing, Chompantlus’s side wound froze over.

This stopped the bleeding that had been oozing from its side, but in exchange, it began to freeze and necrotize Chompantlus’s flesh.

No matter how hard Chompantlus’s muscles were, they were fundamentally masses of proteins and other substances containing water.

The frozen tissue, affected by Lobo’s intense cold, was destroyed, and the result of this mystical damage was—a flower of cold air blooming as it ate away at its side.

But….. it was still too early to let our guard down.

[Pagagagagak—!!]

With a strange sound, dozens of “skulls” disappeared at once.

The magical beast known as Chompantlus reappeared, having healed all its injuries.

Of course, this unknown ability wasn’t simply healing, as not only did Chompantlus recover from its wounds, but its hardened skin was also restored to its original state.

So as I was thinking this ability might be of the “rewinding” type and beginning to chant an incantation…..

—Eudreuk!!

With an explicit sound of something piercing through skin, crests about 1 meter long protruded from both of Chompantlus’s shoulders.

That is, the very same crests that Parasaurolophus beasts used to emit sound waves.

[—Block it!!]

[[———!!!!]]

Immediately after I urgently changed the direction of my incantation to form a shield made of Hydra’s scales.

Terrible sound waves poured from the two crests onto the shield protecting all of us.

The Hydra scale shield, hastily formed with all the magical power I could muster, was blocking the sound waves but didn’t seem like it would last long.

[Barrier without wind!]

-Kwajik!!

[[——————!!!!]]

Fortunately, just before the shield broke, we were barely able to block the sound waves thanks to the vacuum barrier deployed by Sophia.

Had we not anticipated this situation at all? Feeling perplexed at the skull-like head, I realized we needed to move our animal friends before Chompantlus acted again.

No words were necessary. Understanding each other’s intentions through our mental network, we moved without hesitation.

As the crests that had protruded from Chompantlus’s shoulders fell off, Hydra, which had regenerated about half of the heads torn off in the brief battle, boldly advanced through the dissipating vacuum wall.

Perhaps knowing the danger of Hydra’s poison through the special ability activated by sacrificing one of its heads?

While visibly wary of Hydra, Chompantlus began gathering magical energy in its mouth while consuming several heads.

If nothing else, seeing that magical energy concentrating in its mouth made it clear.

Right now, Chompantlus was using Bloodsaurus’s magical amplification organ to fire a magical beam.

It compensated for insufficient magical energy by consuming several of the skulls hanging on its body. The casting time was also significantly reduced through consumption.

If this continued, a magical beam shot from Chompantlus’s mouth would break our formation in just a few seconds…..

But wouldn’t it be stranger to just stand by and watch?

“Now!”

[—Yes!]

From the mouth of Tarask, remotely controlled by Sophia, support fire based on Bloodsaurus’s magical amplification organ was launched.

-Kwagagagagagagagagagagagagaang—!!!

The magical beam fired with tremendous roar would have blown away everything in its range, but its reflexes were as sharp as a blade.

Just before impact, Chompantlus barely managed to throw itself aside to avoid a fatal blow, but to prevent losing an entire limb, it had to consume a significant number of its remaining heads……

With this, the number of remaining skulls was only about 9.

Chompantlus’s death was right before it.