Return of the Mythic Bloodline

The smoke curled from his mouth where the lightning charge had struck.

But behind the smoke, his face was completely unscathed. The veins on his head throbbed with rage, and his growl grew fiercer.

"Damn! He looks mad," I mumbled as he moved his massive arm towards us in a sweeping motion.

The sheer force of his swinging arm sent both me and Nymeria flying backward.

Nymeria immediately stabbed the ground with her sword, regaining her balance as she skidded a few feet back.

And me?

I just rolled onto the ground embarrassingly.

Without giving me a chance to balance myself, Jambavan smashed the ground with both his arms, splitting the surface apart.

The chunk of land beneath me hurtled upward into the air, and while I was still in the air, Jambavan dashed and delivered a bone-crushing blow to me.

I reflexively moved both of my hands forward, joining my forearms in a defensive position, but the blow was so overwhelming that the moment it touched me ,it shattered every bone in my arms, and sent me crashing into the ground.

"Ughh, it fucking hurts. If my pain tolerance wasn't maxed out, I would have already lost consciousness," I muttered, lying on the ground.

I tried to move, but "khhhk... khhhk..." I coughed repeatedly, bursting blood, splattering the ground.

However, Jambavan didn't wait for me to catch my breath.

He landed right on top of me, raised his hands upward, and with a terrifying howl, descended his arms like a death sentence.

As his judgment reached closer, I instinctively whispered, "Fuck."

However, the attack halted as Nymeria dropped onto his shoulders and began stabbing the leech on his chest.

She repeatedly thrusted her sword into him, but again, he remained unaffected.

"Why is this bastard's skin so thick?" she snapped, stabbing more aggressively.

Jambavan, barely ruffled, moved his arm upward, grabbed her by the neck, and pulled her in front of him.

"Cough... cough..." She gasped for air.

He began tightening his grip around her neck, and Nymeria's eyes began to roll up behind her fluttering lids, but she didn't give up.

She clenched her teeth and moved her sword into a horizontal position.

Snowflakes began to fall from her sword, and in the blink of an eye, she thrusted it forward.

This time, the attack went through, stabbing Jambavan's right eye.

The moment the sword stabbed, half of his face became covered in ice, spreading from the eye where the sword landed.

His grip loosened, and she fell to the ground as he howled in pain.

I didn't miss this chance and dragged my face toward him.

I opened my mouth and touched the skin of his leg with my teeth. Focusing all the Soulforce into my mouth, I exhaled lightning, spreading it all over his body.

"Cursed beast detected...

Activating All-Devouring Breathing Technique...

Error! Attempt failed

The gap between the Host and the target's strength is too immense."

"This isn't enough. I need to do more," I thought and tightened my jaw, releasing every bit of lightning I could muster. He roared intensely and jerked his leg forcefully, sending me flying upward in front of him.

He then hurled his arm at me, his claws ripping through my throat and bursting out the back of my neck.

Blood splattered from my throat like a bursting volcano, and splashed onto Nymeria's face, who was lying on the ground, barely conscious.

My hands and legs twitched and trembled as I struggled to breathe.

He then swung his arm, throwing me to the ground by Nymeria's side.

"I-I told you to run away, idiot. Why?Why won't you listen to me?"

Nymeria whispered in a cracking voice as a tear slowly fell from the corner of her eye and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Ding...

"Host is in critical condition...

Ruru's blessing activated."

The blue spirit emerged out of my body, and my injuries began to heal, but Jambavan wasn't just gonna wait for me to let my wounds be cured.

And even if I did recover, I wouldn't be able to fight due to the sheer exhaustion this blessing causes on the body.

As the holes in my throat began to fill up, Jambavan glared at me menacingly and stepped forward.

While moving, he took out the sword from his eye and threw it to the ground.

He reached closer to me, stared straight into my eyes, lifted his left foot, and drove it down towards my throat.

"Ha-haha, this bastard has no mercy," I muttered, looking at him.

I was overconfident about my abilities. After defeating thousands of deer alone, I thought I had become untouchable, and I unknowingly began making reckless choices.

I assumed I would be able to defeat Jambavan since I had already defeated a God before.

And now, these reckless choices didn't just endanger my life but the life of Nymeria as well.

Nymeria's face was already covered in blood when she first deflected Jambavan's attack—the one that sliced my mace. She must have been caught in the aftereffect of the shockwave caused by the rock. And still, she fought him head-on, and if that wasn't enough, she even used her ice ability with sealed Soulforce in a desperate attempt to protect me.

If only I hadn't thoughtlessly rushed here—if... if I had known my place—at least Nymeria wouldn't have had to waste her life saving some a useless idiot like me.

"I-I am sorry... sob... Nymeria," I whispered, tears brimming in my eyes as Jambavan's foot reached my throat.