Chapter 640: Sand King Scorpion [Bonus]
[Sand King Scorpion] [Level: 37]
Sylas found his footing was off in the moving sand and he couldn't immediately regain his bearings. He spread out his visualization as he rolled to try and compensate for his disorientation, but it was hard to see anything with large pillars of sand surging up into the
air.
The dust filled the skies and visibility hit near zero.
The ground beneath Sylas rumbled and for a moment he thought he had fallen into quicksand, only to realize that the scorpion had been lodged underground the entire time and was only not making its presence known.
A foul stench made Sylas' nose twist with disgust. It smelled of rotting flesh and sulfur, making the delicate hairs of his nostrils feel as though they were being burnt away.
'Poison... again...'
Sylas knew that he couldn't hesitate. If his entire party was wiped out because of this scorpion, there wouldn't be any time to regret it. Although he could help them clear the poison, he couldn't revive the dead. He would have to be fast.
He immediately triggered Fusion and an overwhelming sense of power flooded through him. His body accommodated the extra stats with far greater ease than he ever expected, and in the moment, Sylas realized that this wasn't just due to the increase to his stats.
It should also be thanks to the fact he had upgraded his Fusion time. So long as he kept upgraded Were-For-The-Invincible, even if the gap between him and his Contracts continued to grow, he would likely be in a better position to deal with it all.
Sylas' eyes became golden slits and a black tail extended from his back.
He flipped over one last time, ending in a crouch as his claw dragged across the sand.
Aether bloomed beneath his feet as he shifted into a different mode. Running across sand would be far easier than it was to run across water.
BANG!
Sylas shot forward, icicles collapsing beneath his feet as he surged toward the tail of the scorpion. Most of its body was still trying to unearth itself, waterfalls of sand falling in all directions.
But Sylas bet that since his visibility was so low, so too would the visibility of the scorpion creature.
He pushed his Aether to the limit as a path of ice appeared beneath his feet. He soared upward, forming a curling path around the scorpion's tail.
CRACK. BANG!
The scorpion shattered the path completely by accident, but Sylas had already expected this to happen. His paths of ice were only meant for his movement; their defensive abilities weren't great.
But what they could do was slow the tail just enough that Sylas could get a beat on it. Sylas appeared high in the air just above the tip of the scorpion's tail, his gaze flashing. He knew he had no good method of executing what he wanted to do. However...
Raising up a palm, Sylas slashed out with the most straight he could muster, a controlled chopping motion erupting against the thick, hairy tail.
BANG!
A great deal of pressure erupted and the scorpion howled in pain, its pincer nearly being severed.
Sylas could seem to feel the weaknesses of the scorpion before it manifested itself, an intuition that came from studying the Warlord armor bearing its own fangs.
But he didn't have the time to think about it for long as the injured tail swiped at him on instinct.
Sylas was far too close and the tail was far too large for him to dodge.
It felt like a wall slammed into him, but to Sylas' surprise...
It didn't hurt at all.
How could it when his combined Constitution even without his Aether skin was over 1600? With his Aether skin stacked on top of that, he was at over 2600 combined Constitution?
A light of confidence bloomed within Sylas' heart and the disappointment of the last day's failures seemed just the slightest bit paler.
He landed heavily on the rocking dunes of sand just as the scorpion king finally unleashed itself fully.
Members of their caravan scattered in all directions, a mess of a situation unfolding before his eyes. But Sylas was entirely focused on the creature ahead.
It must have been at least 20 meters long to account for just its main body alone. If its tail was included, that count would definitely increase another 50%.
It had a sickly sort of red and purple color to it that reminded one more of a bruise than the natural color of a creature, and along with its pincer that had been heavily injured by Sylas, one of its claws looked to have been infected after a previous injury as well.
Suddenly, Sylas understood that the foul smell wasn't from just the poison alone, but this foul infection.
He didn't have the time to care about what had injured this creature. Right now, there was only one goal.
Kill.
Sylas shot forward again.
By this point, the scorpion was entirely focused on him and its stinger pierced forward in retaliation.
Sylas dug his foot into the ground and a solid mass of ice bloomed around his feet as he dug in. If one looked underground, it would be possible to see a pillar of ice that was still only extending itself deeper and deeper.
Opening his arms, Sylas twisted slightly to the side and roared, catching the thrust pincer.
SKKKREEEEEE!
Sylas' arms bulged under the infuriated screech of the scorpion before he unleashed a roar of his own.
There was the sickening sound of ripping flesh and a spurt of foul blood before the tip of the scorpion's tail was torn away by Sylas.
The scorpion reeled as the ice beneath Sylas' feet shattered. He took a heavy step forward and then launched himself upward with <Chilled Rise>.
He controlled his intent perfectly, so much so that it wasn't until the final moment, just as the scorpion's own pincer thrust through its head, that the Scorned Wraps finally reacted.
PUCHI!