Two more weeds burst from the ground simultaneously, bringing the total to seven.
Seven Killer Weeds. Seven sets of reaching vines. Seven bodies working as one coordinated organism with one goal: eliminate the intruders.
'Seven is nearly E rank equivalent,' Cid thought desperately. 'This quest was supposed to be starless. F rank individual enemies. But with seven working together, this is approaching E or even D rank difficulty. This is completely beyond what the quest rating suggested.'
Through his bond with Regulus, he felt the Lion Emperor's frustration mounting toward rage. The cub was injured, blood matting his golden white fur in several places, forced into constant retreat by superior numbers. The indignity of it burned through their connection like acid.
Rimuru was stretched across multiple weeds, the slime's coherence beginning to fail as it tried to fight in too many directions at once. The gelatinous body was thinning dangerously, approaching the point where structural integrity would collapse entirely.
Cid's own energy was depleted from multiple Flashstep uses. His foot throbbed with pain from the earlier Vital Hit strike. His options were narrowing rapidly.
'We need to change tactics,' he thought frantically. 'Need to do something drastic. Something that breaks their coordination or eliminates multiple targets simultaneously. But what? What can we do that we have not already tried?'
The answer came through his bond with Regulus.
The Lion Emperor was done being cautious. Done fighting defensively. Done accepting limitations.
Through their connection, Cid felt Regulus gathering power. Drawing on reserves deeper than what should be accessible in cub form. The seal was still in place, still restricting ninety percent of his true capabilities, but within that ten percent there was still substantial power if the Lion Emperor was willing to push himself to the absolute limit.
Lightning began to arc across Regulus's entire body, more intense than anything Cid had seen from the cub form before. The small fiery mane blazed so bright it hurt to look at directly. Electricity crackled between the strands, building charge, accumulating power for something big.
'He is going to use everything,' Cid realized. 'Every bit of power available to him in this form. All at once. A decisive strike to end this before we lose.'
Regulus activated Flashstep, but not to retreat. To advance.
The cub teleported directly into the middle of the defensive screen, appearing between four of the newer weeds. Before they could react, before their vines could converge on him, Regulus used Spark Pounce at point blank range.
Not targeting a single weed. Targeting all of them simultaneously.
The lightning enhanced leap became more explosion than movement. Electricity detonated outward in a spherical blast, the accumulated power releasing in one devastating burst. The four weeds caught in the blast radius convulsed as lightning coursed through their structures, burning through plant tissue faster than regeneration could possibly compensate.
All four weeds' main stalks cracked simultaneously, critical structural damage overwhelming their ability to coordinate or heal. They toppled in four different directions, their vines going limp as the electrical damage fried their systems beyond recovery.
[KILLER WEED DEFEATED]
[KILLER WEED DEFEATED]
[KILLER WEED DEFEATED]
[KILLER WEED DEFEATED]
Four notifications appeared and faded in rapid succession.
But Regulus paid a price for that attack. The cub dropped to the ground after the explosion, panting heavily, his lightning dimmed significantly. That level of power output had nearly exhausted his available energy. Through their bond, Cid felt the Lion Emperor's fatigue, the cost of pushing beyond normal limits.
'Four down in one strike,' Cid thought, stunned by the effectiveness. 'But Regulus is nearly spent. That was everything he had left in the tank.'
Three weeds remained. The original one at the back, now fully exposed without its defensive screen. And two of the newer ones that had been positioned too far away to catch in Regulus's blast.
The two newer weeds immediately moved to protect the original, positioning themselves as a new defensive screen. But their coordination was noticeably less perfect now. The loss of four members had damaged the hivemind's effectiveness.
Rimuru, no longer stretched across multiple targets, consolidated its mass and surged toward the nearest remaining weed. The slime had taken damage during the extended fight, portions of its gelatinous body torn away by thorny vines, but it was still functional and mobile.
The slime activated Engulf, wrapping around the weed's main stalk and pulling itself upward despite the plant's desperate thrashing. Acid ate through the purple tissue, burning through the outer layers and seeking the vital core beneath.
The weed's vines wrapped around Rimuru, thorns piercing deep, trying to pull the slime away. But Rimuru clung with stubborn determination, refusing to release. The slime's simple consciousness had locked onto a single goal: destroy this target.
The acid reached the weed's core. The plant spasmed once, violently, then went still as critical damage overwhelmed its regenerative capabilities.
[KILLER WEED DEFEATED]
Two left. The original coordinator and one newer weed.
Cid saw his opening and took it without hesitation.
The newer weed was focused entirely on Rimuru, trying to defend its companion by attacking the slime from the side. Its main stalk was exposed, undefended, presenting a perfect target.
Cid activated Vital Hit, feeling the last of his energy reserves pour into the skill. His perception sharpened again, the critical strike points highlighted in his awareness. He charged forward despite the pain in his foot, despite his exhaustion, despite every instinct screaming that he should be staying at range.
The weed noticed him too late. Vines turned in his direction, but they were too slow. Cid reached the main stalk and struck with everything he had, a palm strike aimed directly at the node point his enhanced perception identified as vital.
The impact sent shockwaves up his arm, but the Vital Hit critical multiplier made the strike devastating. The node point shattered under the force. The weed's coordination failed instantly, its vines going limp as the connection to its root system severed.
[KILLER WEED DEFEATED]
One left.