Chapter 403
Chapter 403
The Mantiscor lurched toward him once more, utilizing its Predator’s Lunge ability. It closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, its body a blur of motion. The air hissed as the Mantiscor thrust its deadly stinger toward Jake at an impossible speed. He ducked under the lethal blow just in time, the stinger passing so close that he felt the wind of its passage on his flesh, barely evading the lightning-speed lunge.
Undeterred by its narrow miss, the Mantiscor followed up with a swift swipe of one of its razor-sharp foreblades. After narrowly avoiding the first strike, Jake found himself with no time to dodge the second, as it came in a blur right after the first. The foreblade connected with a sickening crunch against his armor, inflicting a significant amount of damage on him.
–55,875 HP
HP: 294,125 / 350,000
He felt the scythe-blade rake across his body, digging deep into his armored flesh and leaving a long, gaping slash that stretched from his shoulder to his hip. The wound was so deep that mana immediately began to seep out.
But he wasn’t poisoned, though. Either the elite beast’s venom only worked when the creature used its Bloodfang Frenzy ability, or his own resistance rendered the toxin useless against him. Whatever the reason, despite the wet green sheen clinging to the insectoid’s serrated foreblades, he remained unaffected.
In one hit, he had lost 15.96% of his total hit points. Jake knew that after using Predator’s Lunge, the beast’s next strike always inflicted critical damage. However, the next strike after performing the lunge had been a stab with its stinger, which he had managed to avoid.
The Mantiscor’s speed was increased by 80%, and the effect would last for 5 seconds, another result of the ability. So this led to two possibilities: either every attack during that brief window would land as a critical hit, or the brutal hit he had just taken had been nothing more than the creature’s base damage output.
The second was most likely, so Jake knew he had to avoid taking any more hits at all costs. Not only did the Mantiscor’s regular attacks inflict enormous amounts of damage, but they also caused deep wounds that made his mana seep away. If the creature’s standard strikes were capable of dealing this much harm, Jake didn’t even want to imagine the damage a critical hit could inflict.
He had been battling the insectoid beast for a few minutes now, but this was the first time it had managed to land a hit on him. He had been able to evade all of the monster’s attacks because, until now, the creature hadn’t unleashed its Predator’s Lunge, a powerful ability that granted it a significant boost in attack speed.
At the same time, he had been unable to inflict any damage on the creature, as it had dodged or deflected every strike he delivered. Even in its normal state, the insectoid beast moved with incredible speed and agility that defied its size.
The insectoid beast lunged toward him again, eager to follow up its first successful attack with another. Jake managed to duck under the sweeping foreblade, just barely, sensing the scythe-blade slicing through the air above him. In a heartbeat, bladed tentacles unfurled from his body, whipping forward in a deadly counterattack at the monster just as it swiped at him with its other foreblade.
Several were cut clean through as the creature’s scythe-like blade tore through them, but at least they managed to slow it down a bit, giving Jake enough time to get out of the way. He then launched a circular saw blade at the monster. The insectoid beast reacted with astonishing speed, its bladed limb whipping out to meet the projectile, striking it in a shower of sparks and knocking it off its trajectory.
That was when the Mantiscor’s five-second speed boost finally ended. Its movement and attack speed dropped back to normal levels. While the insectoid beast was still fast and agile, its attacks were at least manageable now. Jake dodged several slashes from its foreblades and jabs from its stinger. While he managed to avoid taking any more damage, the monster attacked relentlessly, making it difficult for him to find an opening for his own strike.
After ducking low to evade another slash from its foreblade, he dashed away from the monster, putting some distance between them. Just as the creature lunged after him, its numerous segmented legs becoming a blur of motion, he unleashed a rapid barrage, circular saw blades whirring through the air one after another, toward the charging beast.
The first shot pinged off the creature’s armor-like chitin without leaving so much as a scratch. The same happened with the next two he fired. The fourth shot, however, managed to pierce through one of the creature’s armor plates, plunging deep inside and lodging itself in the flesh beneath.
The insectoid beast didn’t take it well. It emitted a high-pitched scream before lunging toward him with impossible speed, closing the distance in an instant. Jake knew that burst of speed. The elite monster had just used the Predator’s Lunge again. With a cooldown of only thirty seconds, the Mantiscor could employ the ability quite frequently.
The insectoid beast’s stinger sliced through the air toward him with tremendous speed, and this time Jake wasn’t able to avoid it. He felt the curved, pointed tip slam into his obsidian armor chest plate, driving him back a step. Two system notifications exploded across his field of view.
–175,340 HP
HP: 118,785 / 350,000
You have just received a Medium Paralysis status effect: movement speed reduced by 35% for 90 seconds.
He had taken over three times the damage he had received from the regular attack just moments ago. This elite monster was undoubtedly extremely powerful. It seemed that getting into a fight with this insectoid beast hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
In hindsight, he should have leveled up a few dozen times before challenging such a strong foe. But what was done was done. Despite the difficulty of dealing with the elite monster, he wasn’t about to back down now.
Jake gripped the stinger lodged in his chest plate and yanked with every ounce of his might. Chitin screeched against armor as it tore free. He flung it aside, dropping low just in time to dodge the Mantiscor’s enraged lunge. The sharpened point sliced through the air where his head had been a heartbeat earlier.
Hissing, the insectoid beast pivoted and struck again. Jake tried to evade, but the insidious effects of [Medium Paralysis] dragged at his limbs, slowing his movements by 30%. The Mantiscor, however, still riding an 80% boost to its speed, moved like a blur, and its deadly stinger streaked toward him once more.
As a result, he failed to dodge the blow, and the Mantiscor’s stinger plunged into his shoulder, piercing deep through his armor and throwing him off balance, causing him to collapse onto his back. With a predatory hiss, the insectoid monster forced the stinger in deeper, anchoring Jake to the ground with brutal strength.
The monster leaned in, bringing its insectoid face closer to him. Its bulbous, multifaceted eyes stared at him without emotion while its massive mandibles spread apart, revealing the dark maw beyond. The beast was poised to either spew a torrent of burning acid or sink its teeth into his face. Either way, Jake knew he was screwed.