CHAPTER 78: GIANT LIZARD

Hearing Shaan’s command, Robin Hood swiftly released his arrow. It flew swiftly and struck the tree where the dark creature was hiding.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion echoed, blasting apart several thick branches of the massive tree. Along with the falling wood, a shadowy figure tumbled to the ground. Perfect. It looked like Robin Hood’s attack had hit the target and brought the enemy down.

"That was an incredible shot, Robin Hood."

[Haha, of course. No dark creature can escape my shot.] Robin Hood smiled and puffed out his chest. [I’m sure that thing’s dead after taking a hit like that.]

"... I believe what Robin Hood says is true." Nalira nodded. "That creature should be dead now, and we should meet with..."

A loud explosion suddenly burst from up ahead, cutting Nalira off and startling both of them. Their eyes snapped toward the source, right where the branches had fallen.

"What... What is that?"

From the smoke and shattered wood, a figure slowly emerged. Its silhouette, strangely humanlike, stood tall and strong. The posture was upright, and its height was roughly two meters. In its right hand, they saw the outline of a bow, undoubtedly used to attack them.

"Wait.... This can’t be."

Shaan’s face tensed up when he finally saw the creature, which resembled a giant lizard with blackish-red skin. Thick scales covered its entire body, and no ordinary attack would break through them.

"This is bad. If it’s like this, I have to—"

"Shaan, watch out!"

The giant lizard suddenly darted toward Shaan at high speed and launched an attack. Nalira noticed it just in time and moved quickly, blocking the strike right before it hit Shaan.

Cling!

’ It’s so fast. I... I can’t even see this creature moving at all.’

"Shaan, be careful," said Nalira, trying to hold back the giant lizard’s attack. "This creature cannot be easily..."

Suddenly, the same creature appeared and swiftly darted toward Nalira. The creature struck Nalira, sending her flying and crashing into one of the trees nearby. Damn it, another giant lizard had appeared and instantly separated the two of them.

"Nalira!".

Shaan rushed to help Nalira, who was severely injured, but unfortunately, the giant lizard in front of him didn’t give Shaan a chance. The creature immediately launched a brutal attack on Shaan.

"Cling! Cling!"

"Damn, I have to defeat this damn lizard," Shaan gritted his teeth as he parried the giant lizard’s attack. ’However, this creature’s attacks are quite powerful, and its movements are very fast. I have to think of a way to launch a counterattack.’

"Robin Hood, use the Explosive Quiver again to defeat this giant lizard."

[Shaan, you’re too close to this giant lizard, and the explosion from the Explosive Quiver will likely injure you,] said Robin Hood. [Are you sure about this idea?]

"We don’t have a choice, Robin Hood." Shaan’s hands started to tremble as he struggled to hold off the lizard’s relentless strikes. "Do it now, before this thing breaks through my guard!"

[Alright, I understand.]

Robin Hood’s arrow immediately shot swiftly toward the scaled creature, and this time managed to hit it. Within seconds, another loud explosion occurred, filling the area with thick smoke.

[Oh no, Shaan!] Robin Hood shouted in panic. [Goodness, this can’t be... My attack has killed-] "Ugh, damn it." Shaan slowly stood up from within the smoke. "I almost died from that explosion."

[Shaan?] Robin Hood’s expression looked confused. [B-but how can you still be alive after being hit with my Explosive Quiver?]

Shaan smiled, and a golden yellow glow appeared around his feet. "When the arrow hit the giant lizard’s body, I quickly used my dash skill to avoid the explosion as fast as possible."

[Oh, clever move.] Robin Hood nodded, listening to Shaan’s brief explanation. [Lucky for me, at least I won’t be labeled as a Daemon killer and receive punishment.]

"Punishment? I know nothing about that, Robin Hood."

[Of course, you Daemonists don’t know about it because the punishment only applies to Daemons,] Robin Hood explained. [There are several prohibitions that Daemons must not violate, and one of them is killing Daemonists who have summoned us.]

"And what kind of punishment will a Daemon receive if they violate it?"

[Shaan, this isn’t the right time to discuss it.]Robin Hood quickly shifted the topic. [What’s important now is we’ve defeated that damn lizard, and we need to help Nalira before....]

Robin Hood went silent when he saw that the giant lizard was still standing after taking such a powerful blast. Although the giant lizard’s face was partially destroyed by the explosion, it refused to die.

[N-no way, this... this can’t be. But how is this thing still alive?]

"Calm down, he won’t be alive much longer." Shaan gripped his dual short swords tightly with a serious expression. "I’ll make sure this damn creature dies this time."

With full confidence, Shaan activated his dash skill again and shot straight toward the giant lizard. He spun mid-air and unleashed a clean strike right at the lizard’s body, finishing it in an instant.

[You successfully killed 1x Lizardman.]

[You obtained dark crystal x9]

[Your bond increased by +5]

[Unlocked skill: Swift Quiver]

[Swift Quiver: A skill that allows you to fire multiple arrows simultaneously, which can be combined with other skills in a matter of seconds. The number of arrows produced increases as the bond strengthens. (Number of arrows that can be fired simultaneously: 5 arrows)]

’Amazing, this is the skill I need. With this, Robin Hood will find it much easier to defeat the dark creatures.’ Shaan smiled confidently. "Alright. Robin Hood, we should help Nalira now; she still seems to need assistance."

[It seems unnecessary, Shaan.] Robin Hood pointed his finger forward. [She has defeated the creature.]

"Wait, what?"

Shaan froze when he saw that Robin Hood was right. Nalira came closer with a flat expression, gripping her sword tightly. Thick black liquid dripped from the blade with each step she took, clear proof that she had finished off the giant lizard as well.

"...Shaan, are you okay?"

"Yes, I’m fine." Shaan nodded his head. "Now, we have to go back and meet up with Chelsie and the courier to get out of —"

[Oh, no... Shaan, look at that. We have to get out of here quickly. Right now.]