Chapter 677: Bone Jaws
Northern stepped back outside, his gaze calm and calculating. Along with his steps were tender but vicious steps of more Bone Jaws.
But these ones were different. Their crimson skin rippled with muscles so defined, it appeared almost sculpted to perfection.
Their eyes burned with an even fiercer light, a predatory glow that promised unrelenting aggression. Their jaws, though bone-white, glistened with a reflective sheen, adding a sinister edge to their menacing appearance.
Unlike the earlier ones Northern had encountered in the tunnels-comparable in size to mundane wolves—these monsters were far more imposing, towering as large as bears and radiating a terrifying presence.
[Monster Profile]
Name: [Bone Jaw]
True Name: [Tides of the Crimson Flood]
Rank: [Beast]
Danger Level: [Devil]
Attributes: [Blood Hunter]
Abilities: [Crimson Blockade], [Primal Formation]
Noting the differences both in the physical structure and on the panel, Northern gripped the handle of the sledgehammer tightly.
More Bone Jaws poured out from the surrounding tunnels, their numbers multiplying with each passing moment.
Each was just as massive and ferocious as the last, their crimson forms moving with a terrifying, almost intelligent deliberation.
The first charged straight at Northern, its body low and powerful. It didn't leap but instead accelerated with fast, deliberate strides.
As it surged forward, several others followed suit, their coordinated ferocity matching the lead creature's frightening pace.
Northern's blue eyes gleamed with a momentary, malicious light. His grip around the sledgehammer tightened, and he lifted it with an even greater surge of strength.
The first strike landed with thunderous force, but Northern's eyes widened in surprise.
The creature's skin glowed at the moment of impact, and the sledgehammer was violently repelled, dragging Northern backward with it.
Gritting his teeth, he planted one foot firmly behind him, halting the hammer's recoil with sheer strength.
Without hesitation, he channeled the redirected force, swinging the hammer back with relentless momentum.
This time, the hammer struck. The monster, mid-leap, was flung like a crumpled piece of paper, hurtling upward until it collided with the jagged spikes of the cavern roof, its body impaled.
Its massive body crashed to the ground, motionless for a brief moment. But then, with an unsettling twist of fate, the creature began to rise.
The deep lacerations across its body sealed shut, the blood clotting unnaturally fast, forming grotesque patches of scar tissue. Its shattered bones snapped back into place with a chilling, echoing crack, each sound sending a shiver through the air.
Northern gulped, a pale smile leaving his face.
Along with the very powerful weakness that the monsters will not go down unless their bone jaws are struck now comes a terrifying ability of the monsters to emit crimson glow and deflect attacks.
And despite how much harder the monsters suddenly became to deal with, Northern could feel a mountain of excitement rising in his chest.
This was the Artificial Dungeon that Rughsbourgh created?
'Not bad...'
But Northern knew-because he could very well ascertain how strong more monsters proceeding forward will be- he knew Rughsbourgh will undoubtedly be insanely strong when he comes out of wherever he is.
So Northern decided in that instance.
'I need to become a Paragon in the next one year.'
With resolve surging through his veins, Northern lunged forward, propelling himself into the air with a powerful leap. The sledgehammer arched high over his head, the harbinger of devastation crackling with sparks under the soft radiance of the air.
As he brought it crashing down, the ground erupted in response to the cataclysmic impact.
The earth fractured, splintering into jagged shards that shot into the air, the sheer force reverberating through the cavern like a primal roar.
The entire ground quaked violently, throwing the monsters off balance for a fleeting moment.
Northern seized that 'moment', surging forward like an unstoppable wave crashing ashore. Sparks of lightning danced across his body, crackling as he flowed effortlessly between the staggering creatures.
With terrifying precision, the massive sledgehammer became an extension of his hands, moving in a deadly rhythm. Each crushing swing met its mark, the Bone Jaws' heads obliterated with every sharp, corner-cutting twist Northern executed.
With each one that lifelessly dropped to the ground with a mangled head, came another one with equally matched relentless lust for his gore as the last.
Several more launched from behind as he smashed the sledgehammer again on the massive head of the Bone Jaw in front of him.
However, in the nick of the moment, one of Northern's Polycoria Eyes unnoticeably shifted to the corner of his eyes.
And black tendrils like jagged spikes as wings plunged out of his back, piercing the creatures
midair.
Northern leaped away from the monster he had just crushed and more that were running towards him, carrying three impaled Bone Jaws on his jagged wings.
Then he landed and made a swift turn, throwing all of them away. As they flew through the air, Northern vanished, meeting them in the middle of their involuntary flight.
The air trembled as the sledgehammer came down on one with a tremendous force, such that a torrent of wind exploded from beneath it, cratering the ground with a frightening intensity before the monster further crashed into the same ground.
In the same motion, Northern twisted and slammed the hammer on the other creature's jaw, shattering it upon impact and sending it flying imperceptibly into the jagged roof of the cave. Northern landed in a crouch, his eyes burning with a wicked light as he straightened. He walked towards the one that had crashed, buried into the ground, knowing fully well, with how destructive that attack was, it would survive.
Just as he neared the gaping hole in the ground, the creature climbed out, all refurbished with
its earlier vigor.
More Bone Jaws were running towards Northern from the other side of the wide area. But he focused on this one for now, raising the hammer up before bringing it down with a terrifying
light tracing his eyes.
Lightning exploded out of the hammer, spreading forward like a circular shockwave.
Simultaneously, the monsters' bodies glowed with a soft crimson radiance, as the shockwave
of lightning hit all of them, it instantly flew back, converging back to the single point it started from while the monsters continued their relentless run. Northern twitched a corner of his lips as the lightning returned.
"Holy... crap"