Chapter 43: Failed Sneak Attack
Nick wasn’t going to wait for the Lamboda Beast to notice his presence, and instead took the initiative himself.
His lips curled up in glee.
’Got you.’
Meanwhile, the Lamboda Beast’s form pulsed as it fed on the small Mundane beast, completely unaware of the trouble that was about to strike.
Now was Nick’s chance.
He lunged.
His spear flashed, with his tip aiming straight for the beast’s head.
Its appearance was akin to a dog-sized rat, only covered from head to tail in the hot, waxy substance that replaced its skin. Like most beasts, Nick knew that his best bet of killing the beast right from the beginning would be landing a good, clean strike to its brain, killing it in an instant.
His spear flashed as he launched it through the air, intending to end the fight just the same as he did with the Radiant Wind Mantis the previous day.
But at the last moment, as if sensing the incoming danger, the Lamboda Beast twisted. The spear hit its underbelly, shearing off a chunk of wax and some of the delicate and weaker muscle underneath, before hitting the ground behind it.
The Lamboda Beast screeched, contorting its body in rage.
Tsk.
’Fuck sake, things never go my way!’
Nick sucked his teeth in annoyance, while summoning his newly acquired Radiant Beast Armour he’d obtained after killing the Wind Mantis.
The green, chitinous armour quickly coated his body in less than half a second, before the Lamboda Beast reached him and launched a retaliatory strike.
Its whip like tail swung through the air, launching hot wax all over the place, as it aimed for his head.
Nick dodged, rolling to his feet while cursing.
’Guess its time to find out just how durable this new armour is!’ He thought, casting a glance at the dark green armour coating his body, curious at how strangely flexible it was, considering he remembered the Wind Mantis’ stiff and robotic movements, like it was restricted by the hardness of its own exoskeleton.
Noticing that it had missed, the Lamboda Beast lashed its molten wax tail again, carving a searing arc through the already humid air.
Nick barely twisted aside in time, but droplets of the scalding wax splattered across his armour’s forearm.
The armour’s surface sizzled for a moment, but it dissipated after a few moments.
No burn reached Nick’s skin.
The beast wasn’t going to slow down and let Nick test out his new armour though.
If anything, its movements grew even more erratic, more furious.
Wax bubbled along its flanks like a pot left to boil for too long.
Nick quickly unsummoned his spear to retrieve it, before summoning it again, finding it land back in his hands like it had never been thrown in the first place.
But even still, he was struggling to keep up with the Lamboda Beast’s movements.
With a thought, he activated his only remaining Beast Armament.
Instantly, the world sharpened for him, with the Lamboda Beast’s movements becoming much more manageable and noticeable for Nick.
Adrenaline pumped through his body as he raised his white, scaled spear to face the incoming attack of the Lamboda Beast.
It lashed in once again with its tail, but Nick deflected it with his spear. His spear stabbed down and hit nothing but air.
However, Nick hadn’t expected for the Lamboda Beast to use this momentary opportunity to switch up its tactics on him.
A downward slam meant to flatten him, to cover him with its hot, sizzling wax.
Nick wasn’t nearly as agile as the Lamboda beast, even with his Speed Augmentation active.
The Lamboda Beast landed on top of him, angrily thrashing at him with its four limbs and tail, which had just recovered.
An intense jolt of pain shot through Nick’s body as he felt the hot wax seep through the tiny gaps of his armour where the joints were located, and felt in real time as it started to sizzle and burn his skin underneath.
Desperate, he once again unsummoned his spear, which had become trapped under the weight of the Lamboda Beast’s surprisingly heavy body, and resummoned it back into his only free hand.
The Lamboda Beast jolted upwards in panic, clearly not expecting Nick to pull such a move, but it didn’t have any room to dodge as Nick had wrapped his legs around its torso, ignoring any pain from the wax that managed to seep through his armour, instead focusing on locking it against his body.
Nick raised his free arm and drove the spear straight through the throat of the Lamboda Beast.
He felt a sudden shock course through the beast’s body as it entered its throat.
But due to the urgency and desperation of his strike, Nick had missed its jugular by a narrow mark, instead striking its oesophagus, causing it to start gasping for air in order to breathe.
Its airway was blocked by the spear that was driven right through it though, stopping any air from getting in or out.
Despite missing his mark, Nick knew he had the upper hand in this situation.
He had no intention of dislodging his spear, as that would free the Lamboda Beast’s airways and allow it to start breathing again.
He inhaled a deep breath of his own, before beginning to pummel the beast’s skull with his fists.
His strength was subpar, especially when faced up against a Mutant Beast, which clearly outclassed him in nearly every aspect.
But it was sufficient enough to cause damage, even if it didn’t show on the surface.
Nick didn’t intend to kill it with his constant barrage of punches, as he knew that he didn’t have the strength to penetrate its thick skull.
Instead, he was taking advantage of the force that would be transferred from his fists, through its skull, and into its brain with every punch he landed.
Even if he couldn’t penetrate its brain directly, he could give the beast a severe headache!
His goal was to delay its efforts to try and free itself from the spear lodged in its throat, long enough that it suffocated to death naturally.
Just to throw some extra salt over the wound, he freed one of his hands from the punches and covered its eyes with it, leaving it to flail about helplessly.