The topography of the third floor was different from the picturesque scenery of the first and second floor. It was simply a large, black plain. Over in the far distance, an imposing figure sat on an elevated rock, sharpening his sword.
It was a four meter hulking giant of Lionman, that was covered in black armor all over its body with the exception of its lion head. It had a flowing black mane and from the moment the party arrived, it turned its head to look at them menacingly.
The aura that this Catacomb Lord emitted was unlike any other Lionman that they met and it was palpable. One could tell from its robust muscular body that in possessed incredible power.
However, party did not show any fear. This was what they came here for - to kill the Catacomb Lord and clear the dungeon. The rewards and loot that they could obtain from defeating it was going to be immense. If they were going to become stronger and wealthier, then they needed to kill this creature before them.
Adele gave a signal and the party immediately made their move. This time, Adele, Bear Paw and Oaken Shield were the first to charge out. They would serve as the main attackers while Willow Steps would be the flanker and look to use sneak attacks to deplete the Catacomb Lord's strength. As for Autumn Leaf, she quickly found cover and remained behind to offer support with her healing skill.
As for Astartes, Adele gave him freedom to act in any way that would be most beneficial. In another sense, she also did not want him to get in harm's way by getting too close to the Catacomb Lord.
The battle began in full force. Adele was the first to reach the Lionman General. She brandished her black broadsword and thrusted it at the Lionman General but she was immediately forced back by an aggressive sword swing counter from the Lionman General. Despite sustaining no injuries after being forced back, Adele's was inwardly shocked at the power of the Lionman General! She felt her finger grow a little numb from the attack.
Despite being a Class F Catacomb Lord, its power and abilities were all top tier, making it comparable to many Class E rankers!
With the Lionman General's focus directed to Adele, Bear Paw and Oaken Shield arrived to the sides of the Lionman General and unleased their respective skills.
"Brute Strength!"
"Shield Charge!"
Bear Paw's punch generated incredible power, with his activated skill multiplying his strength his strength twofold making it the strongest attack he could muster. On the other hand, Oaken Shield's [Shield Charge] amplified his strength and gave his shield the needed force to break through any obstacle.
But despite the power of their skills, the Lionman General's power was greater! It did not hesitate to unleash its skills as well!
Blade Hurricane!
It swung its blade in an indiscriminate swing, generating a sharp cutting force, the Lionman General blasted the attacks of the two men in an instant, sending them flying!
Bear Paw had one of his gauntlets destroyed and his hand suffered severe deep cuts, while Oaken Shield was much better but his shield was severely damaged and was unlikely not withstand more hits!
Behind the Lionman General, Willow Steps appeared and with her twin short knives and unleashed her skin as well.
Piercing Splitter!
Her short knives unleashed a blade light that struck the Lionman General's neck wounding it. The Lionman General roared in pain and turned towards her to unleash heavy sword strike towards her. However, Willow Steps was prepared for this and quickly retreated.
But to her dismay, the Lionman General's agility was in no way inferior to hers and caught up with her instantly. It swung its large sword down at Willow Steps' head, its force and speed too much for her to handle.
But just when it appeared that Willow Steps was about to be killed, several icicles arrived at this moment, striking the Lionman General's eyes!
BOOM!
Although the Lionman General was able to shut its eyes in time to prevent the icicles from hurting him, his sword attack missed Willow Steps' head narrowly and struck empty sand, allowing Willow Steps to literally escape by a hair's breadth.
By this time, Adele had arrived at the Lionman General's blindside and unleashed all her strength into her Class E skill.
"Reaper Sword Strike!"
He sword turned into a black bolt of light and slashed the body of the Lionman General, destroying half of its stomach in a single blow!
The Lionman General released a guttural roar of pain that shook the ground and fell to its knees in weakness. When Adele charged in once more to deliver a final attack, It forcefully received the sword strike with its body but also bit the shoulder of Adele with its vicious fangs before crashing the hilt of its sword into Adele's chest in a final retaliation, sending the latter tumbling to the ground and coughing a mouthful of blood.
Around this time, Autumn Leaf had been working overtime to heal everyone's injuries or at least preventing them from becoming too serious. But with her insufficient spirt, she could not use the [Lesser Heal] on everyone at all times. Hence she shifted her priority towards healing Adele, who gripped her shoulder in intense pain. She had been clearly wounded by the Lionman General.
On the brighter side, both sides had exchanged injuries but the Lionman General's injuries appeared graver and was likely to die soon due to blood loss. Or at least that was what they thought.
To their dismay, the wounds of the Lionman General were healing at an incredible speed! Its gaze was bloodshot and murderous as it had unleashed another Class E skill.
[Great Vitality]
A skill which increased his vitality two fold, allowing him to recover from all injuries for a duration of one minute!
Regaining a bit of its combat strength, the Lionman General's first target was Adele, the one that had injured him. It charged towards her intending on finishing her with one heavy strike.
Adele was helpless as well. She was injured severely by the Lionman General and although she was being healed by Autumn Leaf, it would take time for her to move. With the rampaging charge at her by the Lionman General, she was a sitting duck waiting to be killed.
However, it was at this moment that several icicles once again appeared in within the Lionman General's sight and shot towards his eyes again! It grunted and used its sword to block the icicle but one icicle evaded the path of the sword and arced above it, going on to pierce on its eyes, causing blood to flow down its face!
The Lionman General roared in fury after getting blinded in one eye and turned to look at the assailant.
It was a human youth in blue robes that stood away in the distance staring back calmly.
"Your opponent is me," Astartes said.
He once again shot five [Icicle Blast] towards the Lionman General. The icicles moved through the air in a tricky trajectory making it difficult for the Lionman General to predict where it would land. Even after blocking a few with its sword, the remaining icicles once again targeted his other eye.
This time it was able to prevent its eye from getting damaged. However, Astartes was also calm seeing this as he expected this result which was why he only thought of his first move as a distraction.
While being focused on protecting its eyes from getting damaged, the Lionman General was not prepared for the five icicles that moved within its blind spot and struck its already injured belly exploding it into flesh and blood!
ROOAAR!!!
The Lionman General fell to the ground in pain! Its intestines were destroyed by the icicles and its guts spilled to the floor. Despite the outrageous efficacy of its Great Vitality skill, it was unable to heal the Lionman General injuries in time before it was barraged with another wave of Icicle Blasts.
Then another!
And another!
It forcefully endured a barrage of icicles and threw its sword Astartes' head. Astartes did not panic, and the sword was intercepted by numerous icicles that blast it until it froze and dropped to the ground before him.
Before the Lionman General could move again, another row of Icicle Blasts continued to hit its weakest point, followed by more Icicle Blasts that blinded it completely.
Such a powerful Catacomb Lord was simply and forcefully killed by a single Class F [Icicle Blast] skill! It was casted as many times as Astartes desired and landed as many as it took to kill the Lionman General!
Finally, the head of the Lionman General was blown to bit with Astartes' final attack and its life was ended for good!
The Catacomb Lord had perished and the Catacomb had been cleared!
The rest of the party could not believe what they witnessed! Despite playing several small roles in dealing with the Lionman General, it was without a doubt that it was Astartes that played the most crucial role in felling the Lionman General!
This was a Catacomb Lord, one that was several times powerful than its rank and could fight those of a higher rank than! But it was just killed by a newbie ranker!
The body of the Lionman General dispersed leaving only several F-ranked attribute cores and a skill book. Astartes went on to help Adele up. The woman looked at Astartes with a grateful expression. "You saved my life."
"You saved mine first," he replied. The party members gathered around him and thanked him as well. He remained neither too humble nor too proud, after everybody was able to move, they collected all the loot and left the Catacomb immediately.