Kor’gath didn’t roar. He didn’t brag or waste time with guttural threats. The moment the nine-foot titan spotted John stepping into the orange glare of the magma chamber, his six yellow eyes flared with cold, veteran killer instinct.
With a movement shockingly fast for his massive, obsidian-plated frame, the Orc Warlord swung the eight-foot executioner’s broadsword off his shoulder and kicked off the stone floor.
THUD-CRACK!
The granite beneath his steel-shod boots shattered into gravel as Kor’gath closed the forty-meter gap in less than a second, his massive blade whistling through the superheated air in a horizontal decapitation strike.
John’s maxed-out Combat Perception saved his life. To his perception, the world slowed to a crawl, tracking the glowing edge of the obsidian blade carving through the air.
He didn’t try to block. John ducked under the whistling steel, feeling the scorching vacuum shockwave tear across his tactical helmet, and drove his right boot into the stone to pivot backward.
WHAM!
The broadsword struck a massive stone pillar behind John, shearing through five feet of solid granite as if it were soft butter, collapsing half the upper archway in a shower of sparks and falling rock.
John didn’t hesitate. He brought his FN SCAR-H up to his eye, centered the red dot on Kor’gath’s exposed throat joint, and held the trigger down.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
A full magazine of 7.62x51mm AP rounds slammed into the Warlord at point-blank range.
SPARK-SPARK-SPARK!
Tungsten penetrators struck the dark bio-metal and obsidian plates covering Kor’gath’s chest and collar. Sparks rained across the platform, but the Level 52 boss barely flinched. The rounds left shallow, glowing impact craters on his armor, but failed to punch through to his vital organs.
"Thick-ass plate," John growled, dropping the empty SCAR-H to hang on its two-point sling as he sprinted sideways along the edge of a roaring river of molten iron. "Time to hit you with something heavier!"
John opened his system interface with a razor-sharp thought.
"System! Deploy SMAW Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon!"
FLASH!
The matte-black launcher materialized directly onto his right shoulder, pre-loaded with an 83mm High Explosive Dual-Purpose (HEDP) rocket.
Kor’gath spun, his broadsword raised high to crush John into paste, but John was already locked on.
"Eat shaped charge, asshole!"
FSHHHHH-BOOM!
The 83mm rocket ignited with a deafening backblast, traveling ninety meters per second across the short distance. It slammed squarely into Kor’gath’s chest plate.
KABOOOOOOOM!
A blinding flash erupted in the center of the arena. Overpressure slammed outward, throwing up a cloud of fire, molten copper, and pulverized iron.
Kor’gath let out a deep, guttural grunt as the kinetic force of the rocket explosion drove his nine-foot frame back twenty feet, his heavy iron boots carving two deep trenches into the stone floor. The HEDP round shattered his front breastplate into glowing shards, exposing a raw, bleeding patch of dark muscle beneath.
"Still standing?!" John yelled over the roaring magma. "Let’s see how much punishment you can take!"
John dumped the spent launcher, reached into his system menu, and summoned a pair of heavy weapons simultaneously.
"System! Deploy two Mk 19 Automatic Grenade Launchers on tripod mounts!"
FLASH! FLASH!
Two Mk 19 40mm grenade launchers materialized side-by-side on heavy steel tripods, their dual ammo boxes loaded with belts of M430A1 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose rounds.
John stepped between the two mounts, seizing the dual spade grips with both gloved hands. With his maxed-out Physical Conditioning, he held both heavy weapons steady, aligning their iron sights straight at the wounded Warlord.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!
Both Mk 19s barked in alternating, thunderous harmony, cycling six hundred 40mm HEDP rounds per minute.
A continuous barrage of high-explosive grenades streaked through the air, detonating in a relentless, blinding chain-explosion right across Kor’gath’s body.
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!
Fireballs washed over the Warlord. Overpressure hammered his armor, blowing away his shoulder guards, shattering his knee plates, and burning his flesh with thousands of degrees of shaped-charge heat. The sheer volume of fire pinned the massive boss in place, forcing him onto one knee as he raised his shattered broadsword to shield his face.
CLICK. CLICK.
Both belts ran dry.
Kor’gath let out a terrifying, bloody roar. His armor was ruined, his body covered in smoking blast wounds and black blood, but his six yellow eyes burned with insane, unyielding rage.
He thrust his hands forward, channeling raw, crimson mana from the surrounding magma. The river of molten iron behind him surged upward, forming three towering, serpents of liquid fire that lunged straight toward John’s position!
"Magma magic? Really?" John growled, his eyes narrowing behind his white-phosphor goggles. "Not on my watch."
John opened the system interface one final time, pulling out his ultimate heavy anti-structure ordnance.
"System! Deploy FGM-148 Javelin!"
FLASH!
The heavy Command Launch Unit (CLU) appeared in his grip. John dropped to one knee, locked the infrared crosshairs onto Kor’gath’s exposed, bleeding chest, and waited for the solid tone.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEEEEEP!
"Top-attack mode. Fire!"
FSHHHHH-BOOM!
The Javelin missile ejected from the tube, its primary rocket motor igniting with a roaring jet of fire. The missile shot straight toward the cavern ceiling, curving up and over the incoming magma serpents, before pitching down into a terrifying eighty-degree dive straight onto the Warlord’s head.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The tandem HEAT warhead detonated on contact. The precursor charge vaporized what remained of Kor’gath’s helm, while the main shaped-charge jet blasted thousands of degrees of molten copper straight down into his skull and torso.
An immense shockwave tore through the arena, blowing the magma serpents into harmless liquid droplets and shattering the stone floor beneath the boss’s feet.
When the smoke cleared, Kor’gath lay completely motionless in a crater of ruined stone and melted iron, his massive broadsword shattered in two beside him.
Silence fell over the magma chamber, broken only by the steady bubbling of molten iron.
[Target Eliminated: Iron-Claw Warlord - Kor’gath (Level 52 - Class-A Mini-Boss)]
[Calculating Experience...]
[Level Gap Bonus Applied!]
[Experience Awarded: 220,000 XP]
[LEVEL UP!]
[Level 41 -> Level 46]
[Cumulative XP: 685,000 / 800,000]
[System Points Awarded: +75,000 SP]
[Souls Received: 200]
[Floor 7 Guardian Defeated!]
[Floor Exit Unsealed: Ancient Altar Teleporter Active!]
The golden runes on the circular stone dais behind the carcass flared with brilliant, blinding light, humming to life as the teleporter activated.
John lowered his empty launcher, taking a deep, slow breath as his physical conditioning settled his heart rate. He reloaded a fresh magazine into his SCAR-H, wiped a drop of sweat off his brow, and stepped onto the glowing altar platform.
"Five floors left," John muttered as the golden light swallowed him whole. "Let’s see where this one takes me."