NOVEL NEXT Chapter 69: Mutated Zane
The battle between the monsterborn and the humans grew even more intense by the second. Currently, moving at an outstanding speed, Noah drew closer to the paralyzed monsterborn. His eyes shone with a chilly blue glint.
The distance was closed in a short time. Once he arrived, he leaped and stabbed down at the exposed neck region. The sound of a blade piercing through flesh was heard, accompanied by a struggling cry. Noah lifted his sword and stabbed the same spot several times until the monsterborn's cry halted and it gave up the ghost.
The death of the monsterborn brought the battlefield to another level of intensity. The other monsterborn let out low growls, indicating their rage at the death of their comrade.
"How?" Zane was confused. "He killed one of the best monsterborn in less than one minute?"
Zane jumped down from the back of the monsterborn he was sitting on. He gave the other two monsterborn the order to attack. Adhering without hesitation, they flapped their wings, levitated, and prepared to strike.
Zane stood on the ground and glared at Noah. The Static Strike on Zane's blade had already been deactivated. The blade reflected the dim crimson light at the moment.
As Zane stared at him, a frown quickly appeared on his face as he failed to spot Ragnar. "Where is the other one?"
But it was too late.
"Corpse Animation." Ragnar's voice echoed through the dark night.
'A necromancy spell!?' Zane's eyes widened as he could already tell the danger those words indicated. 'No! If he uses that spell on this corpse, the advantage would be against us!'
Zane turned in the direction the voice came from. Ragnar, standing only a few inches away from the monsterborn corpse, grinned as his skill began to take effect.
The gigantic corpse glowed with a faint crimson light. Its dead body sprang back to life as its eyes fluttered open magically.
"Attack," Ragnar commanded.
The undead monsterborn flapped its wings, levitating slowly off the ground. Its movement was stiff and unnatural, a puppet controlled by an unseen force.
The next second, it dashed toward its former comrades.
The two living monsterborn shrieked, a sound of both rage and confusion. They were now faced with an undead version of their own kind, an abomination brought back to life by a human.
The undead monsterborn moved with a ferocity it never had while alive, its glowing red eyes locked on the other two.
It screeched, a sound more gravelly and distorted than before, and rammed into one of them.
The two monsterborn were forced to fight back, their initial rage turning to survival instinct.
They were now a trio locked in a gruesome battle in the air, their powerful bodies colliding, creating loud booms that shook the very ground of the Hamlet.
Below, the three humans were in a tense standoff. Ragnar watched his animated corpse fight with a cold smirk on his face. His head tilted down softly to meet the expression of his foe, and also his buddy standing on the other side, behind his foe.
Noah wasn't aware of Ragnar's ability to use necromancy, hence he was surprised as he watched the monsterborn he had just slain fighting with its previous colleagues.
On the other hand, Zane was filled with rage. He gave Ragnar a chilly look filled with hatred and anger. He was even shivering from so much anger.
"You... how did you obtain that spell?" Zane asked. "How in the hell does someone from a rundown Hamlet know about the existence of necromancy, let alone own a necromancy spell himself!"
"You are crazy if you really expect me to answer that question," Ragnar scoffed. "I already asked you a question and you still haven't answered. What are you doing in my territory? What is the purpose of your unwanted visit?"
Zane got even more pissed as he heard the question. How could he allow someone like Ragnar to talk to him in such a manner? Does this bastard know what gang he belongs to and how supreme his rank is?
Zane decided he had to teach him a lesson to get him to speak, and he did just that.
"I guess I'll have to beat the answer out of you," he said.
Ragnar smirked. "I think I should be the one saying that."
Zane gritted his teeth. He brought out three strange-looking, crystal-like objects from his pocket and poured them into his mouth. Swallowing them with one gulp.
Ragnar watched with a frown. What was the bastard aiming at? And that question would soon be answered.
Once Zane swallowed those crystals, his body suddenly began to transform under the pale moonlight. First, his body hair grew into black fur as dark as the night.
His eyeballs shrunk and were replaced with a faint glowing red hue. His hands elongated, and sharp claws appeared in place of his fingertips. His feet had the same transformation but with stronger claws.
Zane, who was originally around 6ft tall and had a slim physique, grew three feet taller. His current physique could be compared to the steroid-abusing bodybuilders on earth.
"HEHEHE!"
A loud and terrifying laughter that sounded nothing human escaped from the mutated Zane's mouth. His fierce red eyes darted to Ragnar, revealing intense hatred, rage, and bloodlust.
"I... Will... Break your... limbs one... after the... other till you start SPEAKING!" Zane's speech pattern also changed. They became less human-like and more beast-like; if an ordinary person heard them, they would crap their pants.
===
Mutated human — Level 27 Physique: 25
Agility: 27.5
Spirit: 33
===
After Ragnar viewed his new stats, his expression crumbled. 'His level shot up from seventeen to twenty-seven. Ten whole fucking levels in less than one minute!'
What were those crystal-like objects he swallowed? Ragnar wondered.
Unfortunately, time wasn't on his side to wonder—he had to prepare for a tough fight. With the strongest opponent he had met so far.
At the same time, the fight between the monsterborns raged on. The undead monsterborn was slowly overpowering the other two, thanks to its inability to feel pain.
Beneath the aerial battle, Noah, seeing the transformation, began preparing himself for combat.
"Static Strike." Noah once again activated his new skill as his sword buzzed with electricity and glowed. He began moving towards his opponent.
"Decay Dust." Ragnar also sprung into action, using his new skill for the first time.
Following his verbal activation, dark fumes formed out of thin air around him. The dark fumes then began spreading at an alarming pace until they covered a big, spherical distance around him.
|| [Defense Reduction], [Weaken], and [Minor blindness] has taken effect. ||
"Let's do this. Blazing Blade." Flame engulfed his sword, the fiery glow reflecting in his eyes that were now fixed on mutated Zane.
Currently, Ragnar and Noah charged towards their opponent from different angles, their speed outstanding and inhuman.
Zane, who was now covered with the dark fumes from [Decay Dust], felt the weakening effect of the spell. Except for his vision which was used to darkness, his other stats were weakened. But a 20% decrease in defense and attack power wasn't enough to completely weaken him.
"Come... At me!" He howled.
Ragnar and Noah had just arrived closer and were about to attack him, when he suddenly leaped more than ten feet above the ground.
He then landed behind Noah.
"Behind you..." Ragnar warned as he sprinted.
Noah heard Ragnar's warning and attempted to slash his blade behind him. But it was already over—his overall agility and strength were two times weaker than Zane's.
"Fucking bastard," mutated Zane let out and punched with terrifying speed. His fist collided with Noah's back. One could hear the faint sound of bone cracking, and the next moment, Noah was sent flying like a ragdoll towards a nearby hut.
BOOM!
Noah clashed with the hut. The sheer force he had been punched with shattered the structure of the mud hut, collapsing it. The debris fell on the semi-conscious Noah.
Ragnar gritted his teeth and charged towards his opponent with rage. He swung his fiery blade at him, but he easily evaded it with no difficulty.
But Ragnar could not let it go. He sprinted towards his new position and swung his blade once more.
But Zane still evaded, and with a cold grin, Zane swept his sharp claws at Ragnar's exposed stomach.
Ragnar's eyes widened. He saw the attack coming. His body moved instinctively to evade them. But he found himself moving slow—the difference between their stats became visible at that moment.
Zane's sharp claws swept past him.