[In the past, it was one of the Beast Kings that ruled the forests and grasslands, but it was also a Traitor to the forest. It tore up its pact and plunged into the Hundred-Womb Ganges, allowing the Evil God’s Blood to erode its entire body in a bid to incarnate as a new Evil God.
The Ancient Races of the forest swore to make the Traitor pay, but they lacked the strength. They had to do their utmost to fight against the Hundred-Womb Ganges’ poisoning of the forest.
Therefore, fearless Foreigners, defeat this Traitor before it succeeds, and reclaim the stars that belong to the forest.]
[Emergency Quest: Subjugate the Nemean Lion King/Embryo]
[Nemean Lion King/Embryo Level 30]
[The fallen Beast King hides its massive body underground, enjoying the offerings of the lionesses while continuously absorbing the forest’s Life.]
[Skills: Chimera A / Stealth A / Curse of the Evil God (Power) A / Highly Poisonous B / High-Pressure Water Spear C / Muscle Enhancement A / Thick Fur A / Corrosive Saliva B / Intimidation A / Life Absorption B / Lion King’s Roar C / Monster B / Armor E / Constellation Power F]
This was the advantage of the Hunter Profession choosing the [Forest Blessing] Skill. Although it wasn’t written in black and white, the actual Effect was a higher probability of triggering emergency quests and hidden enemies in the forest. But sometimes it could also become a disadvantage, as the difficulty of the triggered emergency quests was completely random.
Blaze grew tense. Although he had a slight advantage in level, the Monster had a natural, overwhelming advantage in its base Attributes.
The Nemean Lion King didn’t look over. It lazily shook its body a few times, its mane stained with viscous blood making a terrifying RUSTLING noise. Only upon closer inspection would one realize that it wasn’t hair at all, but rather strands of scarlet Poisonous Snakes.
Blaze figured the Foreigners must be terrified out of their wits by now.
"A h-h-h-hidden—"
Just listen to them. Their voices were already trembling.
"—hidden Monster!"
That scream was no less than the Greed Demon King seeing endless treasure, the Envy Demon King monopolizing Glory in satisfaction, or the Gluttonous Demon King rubbing its hands in anticipation of a grand feast.
The Spear Knight and the Precept Monk completely shed the fear and unease they had when facing the pride of lionesses, their eyes bloodshot as they panted heavily. The Nun, on the other hand, seemed out of the loop as she blushed and escaped from under Blaze’s arm.
Blaze paused. He had almost forgotten that Foreigners were never afraid of death. Since the Foreigners didn’t plan to Escape, he would also go all out. At least there was only one enemy now; winning shouldn’t be...
[Skill Level has increased]
[Danger Perception F-C]
Blaze turned his body almost subconsciously as a sharp purple gleam brushed past his neck and struck the lawn behind him. The brown soil instantly turned ashen, the Highly Poisonous substance carving out a one-meter-diameter circle of death.
He thought, "Did this guy just launch a ranged attack without any wind-up!?" Cold sweat broke out on Blaze’s back.
The Nemean Lion King half-squinted its eyes, seemingly not quite awake yet, but the mane around its neck that symbolized its kingly status stood on end, hissing and intimidating. Those were cobra-type parasitic Monsters, maintaining a bizarre symbiotic state with the Nemean Lion King. One of those Poisonous Snakes from the group had just launched the venom-spitting attack.
If these Poisonous Snakes all launched their venom-spitting attacks at the same time, the scene would probably be a Hell Painting.
"Damn it!" the Spear Knight cursed in a low voice. Seeing such a powerful venom attack instantly cooled much of his fanaticism over encountering a hidden enemy.
"Take off your Heavy Armor and drop your Defenses. This venom will absolutely ruin our gear. We might as well sacrifice our Defense Power in Exchange for better speed and Agility.
"We can’t afford a single mistake."
The Nun entered her singing state once more, but this time she didn’t stand in place; instead, she started running.
[Singer] was a Profession that immediately weeded out tone-deaf individuals. It was extremely difficult to obtain, and it could buff almost all Skills that required chanting. Within it, the [Super Lung Capacity] Skill allowed the user to chant or sing steadily while running.
The Poisonous Snakes abruptly turned their heads to look at the running Nun, as if sensing something. They all opened their mouths, their terrifying fangs emitting a fearsome purple glow. From a distance, the Nemean Lion King looked like a lit-up colored lantern.
"Can they really all fire at once?!"
If this attack succeeded, it would undoubtedly result in a total wipeout.
[Throw... Chop off...]
The blurry voice echoed in Blaze’s ear once again. Without overthinking, he immediately picked up the Twisted Giant Sword and threw it toward the Nemean Lion King—or, more accurately, toward the Poisonous Snakes disguised as a mane.
A cold flash gleamed, and toxic blood splattered everywhere. The severed snake heads that hit the ground writhed and hissed, followed closely by a deafening, furious roar.
The Nemean Lion King, which had been in a hazy state of consciousness due to its embryonic form, awakened. A large chunk of its mane, the symbol of its dignity, was gone, and its incompletely metamorphosed body was once again eroded and poisoned by the Evil God’s Blood. The Beast King was furious.
"The only thing invulnerable under the Skill’s protection is the Lion’s Fur. Those parasitic Poisonous Snake Manes aren’t protected by the [Curse of the Evil God]."
Blaze softly reminded the three, completely forgetting that his words would be distorted into a Wild Beast’s roar by his helmet. Yet, the trio tacitly understood him, even feeling a sense of reassurance in that low growl.
Being the strongest, Blaze bore the brunt of the Nemean Lion King’s aggro. The Great Sword continuously sparked against the Nemean Lion King’s fur. It still didn’t deal a single point of damage, but it successfully drew all of the proud Beast King’s attention.
The Spear Knight and the Precept Monk waited on the sidelines for a chance to strike, occasionally interrupting the Nemean Lion King’s attack patterns and chopping off Poisonous Snake Manes.
After a bout of exchanging blows, Blaze had gathered quite a bit of intel.
Most likely due to the lore setting where the Nemean Lion King betrayed the forest, its level had been drastically slashed, and it had lost more than half of its Skills. As a result, its attacks had become unusually simple and crude.
Pouncing, scratching, biting, tail swiping, and rolling—it was simple and crude. The deadliest aspect, ironically, was the parasitic Poisonous Snake Mane, which fired venom attacks of astonishing Destructive power, though it wouldn’t attack simultaneously with the Nemean Lion King’s main body. It seemed because the Nemean Lion King was still an undeveloped embryo, its newly grown organs couldn’t coordinate with each other.
Although the Poisonous Snake Mane’s attacks were highly dangerous, they had an obvious wind-up. The Nemean Lion King’s body would visibly pause, emitting painful, low growls. It was as if the Poisonous Snake Mane was shooting out not just venom, but the Nemean Lion King’s own blood.
As long as they continuously baited the Nemean Lion King’s Poisonous Snake Mane into firing venom, the Nemean Lion King would inflict damage on itself.
When the Poisonous Snake Mane only assumed a venom-spitting posture but merely dry-coughed, Blaze knew the opportunity had come.
Closing in at high speed, he used [Butterfly Dance] to slip past the Nemean Lion King’s claw swipe, and landed a [Bee Sting Fist] squarely on its nose. The Lion’s Fur could invalidate Slash or Piercing Attacks, and direct Boxing damage wasn’t high, but striking a fragile and sensitive area like the nose could deal effective damage.
The Nemean Lion King staggered and flinched back a step. Blaze took the chance to lunge forward, tightly strangling its neck. The dense cluster of Poisonous Snake Manes popped one by one, crushed between his dark Armor and the Lion Skin.
The Spear Knight jammed his spear in, and the Precept Monk struck out with both fists, pinning down the Nemean Lion King’s two front paws respectively. Meanwhile, the Nun adjusted all of her buffs entirely into Strength Value Enhancements.
"ROAR—"
"AAAAAH—"
Both the Nemean Lion King and Blaze roared at the same time, locked in a contest of strength. Blaze forcefully stepped forward, forcibly lifting the Nemean Lion King’s upper body. Through his Armor, Blaze could hear the pulsing of the blood vessels beneath the Nemean Lion King’s skin, as well as its gradually weakening struggles.
[Unlocked Skill: Strangulation]
Blaze jerked his arms tight. His hands, covered in Heavy Armor, twisted down like a vise. Following a crisp CRACK of bone, the Nemean Lion King’s head went limp.
[Emergency Quest: Subjugate the Nemean Lion King/Embryo completed]
[Level 31 (0) — Level 32 (2)]
[Hunter Level 1 — Level 2]
[Intimacy with Nature State has transformed into Natural Guidance State]
[Drops: Nemean Lion Hide 12/12, Poisonous Snake Mane 20, Nemean Lion Fang 2]