HUEY'S POV
Seeing Bennet lying in the crater as he did made my heart sink.
The man who had been the pillar that stood for the hope of Camp White. The man who had taken us into the camp. The man who had been willing to do whatever it takes to keep the people of Camp White safe from harm. The man who led the evolvers into battle and gave them hope that this was a battle they could win.
Such a man had fallen, crushed beneath the might of the Lurker no doubt. It felt as though we were losing too much in this battle. First it was the evolvers who fought for humanity, in fact some of those who had fought in this battle would no doubt come out with scars in their minds and others may very well be crippled for life.
Then there were the more personal loses. Like the death of Mordecai and Dulton. The death of those two had hit so that I almost lost all rationality and went on a rampage with no regard for saving some of my strength to be used for the very battle that would be inevitable against the lurker.
And now the mayor had gone down too.
I couldn't help but clench my fist in frustration. Was this really going to be the norm from now on?
Was this how cruel the world would be now? Always taking and not caring about the feeling of the people?
The world had always been cruel but it had never been to the point that you would just suddenly lose your life. But now it felt as if just blinking at the wrong time could lead to your death.
From the pit of my stomach something burned. A deep seeded hatred that felt stifling but I didn't know who to direct it at.
'All of this is because of the Spirit Record. I don't know who created it or why but it swear there will come a day when I'll either destroy this thing or find out the reason why such a thing was created and if the reason isn't satisfying to my ears I'll find the creator and beat him to death with my bare hands!'
Just as I swore in my heart
"UNCLE BENNET!!!" a desperate cry tore through the air followed by a figure shooting forward before anyone could even react.
Thorne who saw who it was yelled out:
"Conrad no!"
But his words fell on deaf ears.
Conrad was already rushing forward towards the crater that Bennet laid in. His mind was clearly clouded as he didn't even take into account one very important factor.
The Lurker stood directly in his way.
Maybe Conrad wasn't in the state of mind to think of this or he simply didn't care. Regardless of the reason Conrad was currently in more danger than he could possibly hope for.
"Tch" I grit my teeth and tightened my grip on [Black Salamander]. "He's gonna get himself killed. Jordan on me!"
I shouted as I rushed forward pumping strength into my legs. The ground i had previously stood on sinking with two deep footprints. Jordan was directly behind me, his body shrouded with a purple aura as he used [Power Boost] to strengthen himself.
We were running as fast as we could but Conrad who had a small head start was actually faster than expected and was already getting closer to the Lurker by less than three meters.
By now the Lurker had already noticed his presence turning its attention towards him. How could it allow Conrad to get past it so easily when it was so enraged. It lifted a single front leg in preparation for the strike that had brought down Bennet.
"We're not gonna make it!" I shouted in frustration. Were we going to lose another one right before my eyes? I felt my gaze burn with rage and determination. 'No fucking way!'
I stretched out a hand.
[Metal control]
The [Stonecrusher] lying beside Bennet suddenly trembled and rose from the ground before it spun forward at a rapid pace.
Shu! Shu! Shu!
The blade whistled as it cut through the air. Heading right for the back of the lurker's leg. The Lurker had been too focused on Conrad and when it did finally notice that something was odd...
Pchu!
It found its raised leg flying into the air. Cut off at a joint and sending green blood covering the air.
The Lurker froze for a moment before it finally registered what had ajust happened. And then it released a cry of agony. That pause was more then enough to buy Conrad the time he needed to get past it as well as give me and Jordan enough time to catch up.
I appeared before it swinging my blade at the beast and aiming right for its eyes while Jordan appeared just beneath what would have been its jaw. He jumped upwards slightly, his fist flying forward liek a hurricane.
Bang! Pchu!
Jordan's fist landed just as [Black Salamander] cut through one of the Lurker's eyes.
Due to the force of the blow was as the fact that it had lost its balance due to losing a single leg, the Lurker was pushed to the side.
SKREE!
The lurker managed to shake off its shook. It killing intent exploding forward. It was so intense that i felt shivers down my spine and felt my mind freeze for a moment. However I bit my tongue my gaze glowing with determination as I called upon my mana.
[Charged Mind]
My mana dropped by 6. It was such an insignificant drop but with my perception increased by 40% it wasn't something that could go unnoticed. Still everything seemed to slow down in that moment. Not because I had suddenly gained a boost in speed...of course with [Against All Odds] the increase was there, this was mostly the result of my thinking speed getting faster as well.
The twitch in the Lurker's fangs, the subtle trembling on the lurkers body due to the pain from having its leg cut off as well as the rising rage to nigh high levels.
The rush of power that swept through my body left me breathless. It was a feeling I had experienced several times in the past few days but no matter how much I felt it, I could never get used to it...not completely.
I took a quick peek at my stats
…
Strength: 174>> 244(+20)(30)
Stamina: 109 >> 153 (30)
Agility: 184 >> 258 (30)
Mana: 185>>259 (30)
Magic: 154 >> 385 (30)
Health: 188 >> 263 (30)
Shadow Art{UNIQUE}: 25 >> 35(30)
…
The results were enough to give me some reassurance but I knew that this wasn't enough but it was still better than nothing I had to admit. Still the Shadow Art stat looked glaringly pitiful as compared to the rest of my stats but there was nothing I could do about it, at least not right now.
Jordan beside me went through a similar change as his [War State: First Layer] passive skill kicked in.
In the short amount to of time that I had been paying attention to my stats as well the changes that Jordan was going through The Lurker managed to regain its bearings.
Roar!
A heavy sounding roar seemed to come from the beast as the follicles across its chitin began to dance. They swayed back and forth repeatedly. There movements so small that the only reason I was able to even notice them was due to the speed of my mind and even then it was difficult.
However what was most noticeable though the sickly green gas that seeped out of the Lurker's body. The moment the Lurker released this cloud of my senses went into overdrive. Something was coming.
"Be careful of the gas!" I said as I tried to leap backwards but the gas had already covered the entire area- about 10 meters around me.
The moment I breathed in this gas, notifications flashed in my retina.
[Poison resistance had managed to resist the poison]
[Poison resistance had managed to resist the poison]
[Poison resistance had managed to resist the poison]
"Jordan its poison be careful not to breath it in"
Jordan nodded as we both retreated as far as we could manage however the Lurker wasn't going to let us go that easily. Through the cloud of poison, the Lurker moved with reckless abandon.
It appeared before Jordan like a dark shadow and swung down with its other front leg.
"Jordan!" I shot in his direction but the Lurker had already struck.
Jordan grit his teeth as he folded himself in a roll that barely saved him from the Lurker's strike.
Boom!
The ground shook under the weight of an explosive force. The shockwave pushed Jordan further in an uncontrolled roll. That sent him tumbling. Pain jolted through Jordan's side and a groan escaped his lips as air was knocked out of his lungs.
He rose to a knee and on reflex he took a breath.
Instantly Jordan's eyes widened as he realized his mistake.
Cough!
He felt his lungs burn and his breathing become laboured. Not only that but his skin felt uncomfortable and it felt as though his vision might turn blurry at any moment. The poison made his veins turn darker and his blood flow slow to a crawl.
'Dammit' I cursed seeing the state Jordan was in. unlike me he didn't have any poison resistance skills. In fact none of them did, I was the only one equipped to deal with poison related stuff and yet it was Jordan's strength that would be the key to finishing this fight.
So how was he supposed to fight the Lurker at close range if the poison would kill him before then?
It felt like the world was playing a cruel joke on us.
Lashing out with my sword I released two [Shadow slashes]. They tore through the air, separating the poison gas wherever they went. The moment is saw this an idea formed at the back of my head. The Lurker sensed the [Shadow slashes] and reacted in kind by lashing out with its leg.
Bang! Bang!
Like glass the [shadow slashes] shattered under its might. However that had never been my goal to begin with. While the Lurker was dealing with the attack, I sunk into my shadow and using [Shadow veil] I moved to Jordan's side before cancelling the skill.
Before I could even feel the ground beneath my feet I already acted. It reached down with a single hand and grabbed the back of his collar (armor). With my other hand I unhooked the [Spiritual earring] and pinned it to his ear.
"Tell Lydia to release the strongest gust of wind she can managed on this poison cloud!"
My muscles tensed as a took a strong step forward, pivoted my hips and then with all my strength I threw Jordan up and over and into the distance where he would hopefully land outside the range of this poison cloud.
Then I focused all my attention on the Lurker which seemed to be looking in the direction I just threw Jordan.
"Eyes on me you ugly bastard!" I shot a palm forward and launched a curtain of flames at the beast.
The temperature rose as the flames headed for the Lurker. The Lurker dodged to the side before it opened its mouth. A sharp acidic smell rose into the air as what I can only describe as a ball of poison shot forward in my direction.
My eyes widened slightly, the ball was fast as though it had been launched from a canon.
I rolled to the side avoiding the attack. The lurker wasn't done though. I barely managed to land on the balls of my feet before another poison attack was before me.
"Tch!"
[Shadow step]
It looked as though I had teleported as I appeared a short distance away. Before I shot forward. As I did so I kept my focus as high as I possibly could.
More poison balls appeared in the air above me. However thanks to the help of [Charged Mind] I as able to calculated the trajectory lines of the attacks.
Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!
HISSSSS!
As the poison blobs landed on the ground behind me I could hear the ground melting with every impact and cold sweat couldn't help but coat my back. Who knows what would have happened had those cursed things landed on me squarely.
The lurker was now in striking distance.
I swung [Black salamander] with all the strength I could muster. There was no need to hold back now. It was all or nothing.
The Lurker responded in kind and raised its single remaining front leg to meet my blade.
Clang!
My wrist trembled in pain and I almost lost my grip on [Black Salamander].
'Dammit just how tough is its shell! Its like hitting an iron wall!' I cursed however there was no time to think in this fight.
The Lurker was already swinging its leg again once again. It was aiming for my chest. This time I didn't strike back carelessly, instead I blocked, making sure the strike slid off the blade while simultaneously side stepping.
Even such a movement felt as though I was trying to push aside a truck that was travelling at high speed.
"Arghh!" a groan escaped my lips as I rolled beneath the beast and shot palm upwards.
Boom!
Screech!
The Lurker screamed in pain as [Sun god's palm] had landed directly beneath its body where its body was the most vulnerable.
In retaliation though another leg knocked me from behind sending to the ground a distance away. I only had a split second to even think before using [Aura Skin] to protect myself but even then my internal organs trembled in agitation and I coughed out a mouthful of blood.
I rose to a single knee, using my sword to support me. My right wrist was swollen, if I took another strike like I did before then it would no doubt break and this fight would no sooner end in my defeat. Still there was nothing I could do about it, risks had to be taken.
Cough!
I coughed out another mouthful of blood. I rose to my feet and wiped it off the back of my sleeve.
The Lurker stood before me landing its hateful gaze towards me. At a glance one could see the smoke rising from beneath its large body that was accompanied by the smell of burnt flesh. The Lurker was clearly in as well.
I used my other hand to hold onto the hilt of my sword and took a solid stance, blade pointed forward.
Everything stilled for a moment before we both shot forward leaving nothing but craters in our former position.
The clash was explosive. Sending shockwaves and pockets of air in all directions that parted the clouds of poison.
Every clash made the ground tremble. Every swing of the sword made my arms ache and every time the Lurker released a ball of poison I had to desperately dodge out of the way. We weren't stationary. We bounced along the battlefield leaving craters in our wake.
I launched a palm forward, releasing flames just as the Lurker launched another poison ball at me. I didn't know how long we had clashed and fought with the aim of taking each other's lives but it felt like a really long time.
The moment my feet touched the ground I moved, dodged out the way as the Lurker's heavy body crashed into the area as though it were a boulder. Sweat fell down my brows I attacked once more this time aiming for another eye.
I struck out in a downward stroke. Shadows shooting from the edge of my blade and into the direction of the Lurker's eye. Before the attack could land though the large abdomen to the Lurker's back moved, shooting forward a wall of webbing that met the shadow strike.
"Tch" I kissed my teeth in frustration but I was already moving. Aiming to go round the beast however before I could travel a meaningful distance...
From above a blob of poison fell as frightening speed. I had no choice but to slide on the hard floor. The poison blob whistled above my head by a few inches.
As I was about to rise to my feet a shadow suddenly loomed. Before I could fully register the Lurker bit down aiming to tear my arm off.
'Shit!'
I could only do my best to roll away however one of the Lurker's fangs grazed my skin dosing me with a drop of its poison.
Ba-dum!
It felt as though my arm was burning from the inside out, the veins in my arms started to darken and a green pigment began to colour my arm. From my finger tips it began to spread up to my wrist before it slowed.
[Poison resistance failed to resist the poison]
[Poison resistance failed resist the poison]
[Poison resistance failed to resist the poison]
[Poison resistance partially resists poison. Spread of poison has been greatly reduced.]
When was the last time I had been affected by poison? It was probably on the first day of the apocalypse when I faced of against the Mutated Black Wasp. However since then this was the second time I had been affected by such a thing and the feeling was as unpleasant as ever.
I rose from the ground slowly. The lurker in its haste to bite me hit its head in the ground leaving it stunned for a moment.
I stomped into the ground and launched myself into the air. I raised my sword above my head and shifted my grip into a stabbing motion. Landed roughly on the Lurker's back and begun to strike as much as I could.
I pierced down and felt dark satisfaction when I felt the blade tear into its eye and make a squishy sound.
ROAR!
A dark grin spread on my face. I yanked the blade out spraying green blood in the area, before I pierced down once again.
The Lurker roared in agony once again before jerking its body and violently knocking me off its body.
With a heavy thud I landed on the ground. In the distance the Lurker writhed in pain.