Chapter 42 : Five Against One!

In a small clearing near the lake..

Ragna was once again surrounded by a group of monsters. Those Lizardmen were holding a variety of weapon in their hands, making it more difficult for him to control the flow of the battle.

The 5 lizardmen stared viciously at him. This situation was quite dire even for top-level players. Five Lizardmen at level 29 was enough to decimate an expert.

One of them suddenly issued a shriek and charged right toward Ragna. It was holding a saber and a buckler and from the looks of it, the Lizardman had the role of a warrior.

Ragna quickly responded the attack by dodging to his right side. His hand clenched into a fist and he let out a punch which was blocked by the Lizardman. A Lizardman had decent reflexes and its movement couldn't be compared to the Golems Ragna faced in the Ancient Cave. Furthermore, those Golems' level were forcefully matched with Ragna. At level 1, there wasn't much room to improve. That same logic was also applied for The Sentinel.

Ragna knew that his punch wouldn't hit the lizardman's flesh. That was the reason why he didn't use his Soul Strike. Because the damage would be greatly reduced if the attack didn't cleanly hit the target.

While Ragna was attacking the first Lizardman, the three other Lizardmen were also charging at him. The only one who didn't attack was the one who had a bow as its weapon. Its bowstring was fully pulled but it didn't attack right away. It was waiting for the perfect timing as to not harm its comrade.

Facing multiple attacks, Ragna swiftly retreated by moving backward a few steps. He positioned himself to be in a line with the charging Lizardman and the Archer Lizardman, making it difficult for the archer to aim at him.

While retreating, his fingers glowed with a crimson glow. He swung his hand toward the charging Lizardman, releasing his only ranged attack.

Crimson Claw Strike!

Crimson Claw Strike could be used in two ways. One was to use it normally in a melee fight. The other way was to instantly release all of its energy toward an enemy, making something similar to the projectile released by the Shadow Wolf. Unfortunately, by using the skill that way, it instantly consumed all the energy within it. On the other hand, if it was used as a normal melee attack, the skill could last for few strikes.

Wham!

The Lizardman who was charging at Ragna didn't have a shield to protect him. Combined with the Ragna's quick cast of his skill, the Lizardman didn't have the time to guard itself with its weapon. The attack sent him tumbling backward for a few steps, leaving a crimson mark which seemed to be burning in its belly.

Status ailment!

Ragna was secretly surprised when he saw the burning mark at the lizardman's belly. His Crimson Claw Strike was already powerful enough as it is, coupled with the extra chance for the status ailment, this skill was practically great. Looks like Maya really was quite just when giving rewards to the player. The danger he faced when facing a flock of wolves being led by a Shadow Wolf was worth it!

The other Lizardmen didn't even frown when they saw their comrade received quite an injury from Ragna. They kept charging at him with a vicious glint in their eyes.

Even though they had good coordination with each other, they were after all just a monster. Without proper leader leading them, their strategy could be easily predicted by Ragna.

Right when the attack was about to hit him, Ragna closed his eyes to activate his strongest skill!

Essence Manipulation!

He bent his body to narrowly dodge the saber's attack, allowing him to steal some of the essence attacks in accordance with the skill's effect. His hand glowed brightly in the color of blood. He swung his fist toward another charging Lizardman who was yet to brandish its weapon.

Soul Strike!

Bam!

Ragna's fist cleanly connected to the Lizardman's head. The Lizardman had tried to dodge, but he managed to change his fist's direction at the last moment, making the fist able to successfully hit the Lizardman.

The Lizardman was pitifully thrown backward, smashing into another Lizardman. It was the one who suffered Ragna's Crimson Claw Strike. Both of them stumbled on the ground, momentarily unable to continue to fight.

Ragna felt a hint of danger from his left side. A Lizardman was thrusting at him with a spear. He quickly dodged the attack and broke off their encirclement.

Ragna didn't stop, he sped toward two Lizardmen who was laying on the ground. While chanting the required incantation, he sent out a punch toward the most injured Lizardman. Right when they were about to regain their composure and hit him back, Ragna was already a distance away from them, pointing right at their location. A magical circle sprang from the ground where they stood!

Earth Spike!

One of the injured Lizardman instantly died while the other had its health nearly depleted. Even though Lizardman was known for their strong defense and endurance, they were weak to magical attack. After being hit by Earth Spike, Crimson Claw Strike, and Soul Strike, it was natural for them to collapse. Don't forget that Ragna's soul strike had the special option of ignoring any defense. Furthermore, the first lizardman was already burning from the Crimson Claw Strike.

Without even seeing the injured Lizardman's situation, Ragna jumped backward. An arrow flashed by to the location where his body was at. By attacking the injured Lizardman, he also exposed himself to the archer's attack.

Unfortunately for it, Ragna had predicted everything.

Utilizing the time the archer took to recharge its arrow, Ragna once again sped toward the nearly dead Lizardman. The other Lizardmen who had been chasing after him were already right behind him. Their eyes were bloodshot, it seemed like Ragna had truly angered them by killing their kin.

Right when their attack was about to hit, a wall sprang from the space between them. Their attack hit the wall but only a slight crack formed on its surface. It was apparent that they would need a number of attack before being able to thoroughly break the wall.

Ragna used the brief amount of time to quickly finish the nearly dead Lizardman. Right after the Lizardman died, he quickly performed an incantation gesture toward its corpse. Orbs made from blood quickly congealed from the Lizardman's corpse one after another. Ragna felt a tinge of pain at his shoulder, he could see that his shoulder was grazed by an arrow. It seemed like the archer had used this opportunity to land an attack toward him.

Nevertheless, the wound only slightly grazed him. He already prepared his mind for the pain in order to not be disrupted during the Blood Orbs' extraction.

It was at this moment that two other lizardmen arrived at Ragna's location after circling his Earth Wall.

Unfortunately, what they found was Ragna fully prepared in his fighting stance with five orbs rotating around him.

Everything was already over for them.

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Author Note : Expect another chapter to be up in a short while! Let's hit 500 Followers and 100 Favs this time!