Feeling the intense, oppressive sword wind, Caiman tightened his grip on the Forgotten Hero.
This was the Cinderguard!
What a powerful presence and overwhelming pressure!
However, as a peak third-rank swordsman, he could win this!
Moreover, the Cinderguard before him didn't seem to be actively burning with Forbidden Fire.
When he had faced the Desert Sword Attendant, what Caiman had feared wasn't the attendant's strength, but the residual embers of the Forbidden Fire on its body.
Nevertheless, even with pure physical strength alone, the Cinderguard before him was far stronger than a typical tenth-floor boss of an ordinary dungeon.
By this point in his exploration of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment, Caiman was no longer surprised.
The strength of every monster in the Well of Eternal Imprisonment was far superior to those in ordinary small or even medium-scale dungeons.
It was perfectly understandable that the Well of Eternal Imprisonment, which held the Forbidden Fire, would possess power exceeding that of a normal dungeon.
As the scorching sword wind, thick with smoke, slowly subsided, Caiman lowered his stance and watched.
The massive Cinderguard hunched its body like a beast. Its head, covered in a hard exoskeleton, was crowned with horns that looked like solidified lava, and it raised a giant blade that was nearly as long as its entire body.
Molten lava dripped from the massive edge. The extreme heat was so intense that simply looking at it gave Caiman a stinging pain, as if his eyeballs were being scorched dry.
Swish!
The great blade cut through the air, splattering lava and belching thick smoke as it slashed toward Caiman!
The wind pressure from the swing alone kicked up a thick cloud of ash from the scorched rocks on the ground.
Facing the lunging, mountain-like Cinderguard, Caiman looked as tiny as an ant in comparison while holding the Forgotten Hero.
He let out a low growl alongside the Cinderguard, meeting the attack with his blade wrapped in Sword Qi.
Sharp Sword Qi clashed with the scorching blade.
Scattered flames and splattering lava erupted in all directions.
Feeling the heat, the battle intent in Caiman's heart boiled even fiercer.
The Sword Qi barrier, enhanced by the special effect of the Forgotten Hero, blocked all the splattering molten lava.
The sheer force made Caiman feel as if a small mountain were pressing down on him.
‘I can't withstand this pure strength head-on!’
Sensing the pressure transmitted through the hilt, Caiman made a split-second judgment.
“Hah!”
Griping the sword with both hands, Sword Qi erupted from his entire body like a geyser.
A massive burst of Sword Qi slammed into the Cinderguard's great blade.
The heavy blade was actually knocked aside by this sudden explosion of Sword Qi.
Caiman seized the opportunity, utilizing his speed as a swordsman to dash to the side.
Seeing this, the Cinderguard's massive body leaped backward. The moment it landed, the entire earth seemed to tremble under the immense pressure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Shouldering its great blade, the Cinderguard unhinged its jaws and unleashed a barrage of scorching fireballs concentrated with lava power, blasting them toward Caiman.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fireballs exploded in succession, shattering the afterimages Caiman left behind.
Caiman's gaze remained locked on the Cinderguard's head, quickly capturing the rhythm of its fireballs based on his experience.
Catching a gap between the fireballs, he slammed a foot into the ground, using his incredible mobility and muscle strength to abruptly stop his high-speed movement.
Slash!
Sharp Sword Qi erupted instantly without a moment of wind-up, carving several crescent moon Sword Qi arcs through the air as they flew toward the Cinderguard.
The sharp arcs were so fast that only streaks of light could be seen in mid-air.
The Cinderguard crouched, using the great blade on its shoulder to block the attack.
A crisp metallic clang echoed alongside a spray of sparks. The sharp Sword Qi grazed the hard exoskeleton on the Cinderguard's head, leaving behind a faint sword mark.
The attack hit!
Seeing this, Caiman unhesitatingly activated the special ability of the Forgotten Hero, causing the Cinderguard to lose one of its abilities to Oblivion.
‘What ability did it lose?!’
Caiman gripped his sword defensively, observing the Cinderguard's movements.
However, he saw no sign of impairment. The monster charged like a wild beast and leaped into the air, wreathed in thick smoke, crashing down like a falling meteor!
It seemed it hadn't forgotten any critical ability!
Caiman quickly leaped to the side to dodge, relying on his Sword Qi barrier to block the scorching sword wind kicked up by the Cinderguard's impact.
Before the Cinderguard could even push itself up from the ground, its great blade tore through the air, slashing down with the force of a howling tornado!
Even before the edge landed, scorching Sword Qi bit toward him like a ravenous beast.
The drawback of not having a party for this raid was becoming apparent.
As a swordsman, Caiman had no heavy warrior to serve as a frontline, leaving him with almost no room to safely deal damage.
He could only dodge pathetically.
The Cinderguard's great blade missed its mark and slammed into the ground, sending lava and stone fragments flying.
Caiman, thinking he had successfully evaded the strike, suddenly felt his body grow heavy.
He quickly looked down, only to find that at some point, a charred fire vine covered in scorch marks had reached out and ensnared his leg!
“A plant ability? How is that possible?!”
To Caiman's shock, the Cinderguard was already attacking again.
Instead of pulling the blade stuck in the ground, it seized the fleeting opportunity and swung a heavy, flame-wreathed fist directly at his face.
Forgotten Hero!
The special ability activated, and an enhanced defensive Sword Qi barrier expanded instantly.
The flaming hammer-blow slammed heavily into the Sword Qi barrier.
The resilient Sword Qi quickly distorted and buckled, and the massive force sent Caiman flying backward.
Caiman gripped his sword and slashed out Sword Qi, using the recoil to quickly stabilize himself.
Despite that, his body, unable to stop its backward momentum from the giant strength, slammed heavily into the solidified lava wall.
The massive impact surged through his entire body, and the stone wall behind him cracked under the force.
Ignoring the pain, he kicked off the wall and transformed into a high-speed afterimage again, dodging the fireballs that were shot at him in rapid succession.
Looking at the fireballs that exploded against the wall, Caiman finally noticed something.
The fireballs in this attack weren't accompanied by that thick, toxic smoke.
Was the ability it had forgotten its poison?
The Cinderguard attacked again. Facing the descending great blade, Caiman quickly tracked its movement and prepared to parry.
To his surprise, the blade didn't fall quickly. Instead, it hovered in the air, condensing flames to charge its power.
Caiman cursed under his breath and dodged at high speed.
The charged flaming strike shattered the earth, splattering lava that clung to the blade's edge.
Caiman seized the moment to close in, his sharp blade wrapped in Sword Qi as he sliced through the Cinderguard's hard scales.
However, without giving him a chance to follow up, the Cinderguard quickly retreated. Before the scorching sword wind from its previous swing could even reach him, the great blade slashed down again without any wind-up.
The fully charged strike followed immediately by a rapid one forced Caiman into another desperate dodge.
The lava clinging to the blade splattered toward Caiman during this strike, viscous and heavy.
Looking somewhat disheveled, Caiman swung the Forgotten Hero to cut through the lava.
The Cinderguard lunged forward unreasonably, like a predator stalking its prey, and its great blade swung upward violently.
Caiman hurriedly moved to defend, only to find that the Cinderguard had switched back to its heavy blade style and began charging in mid-air.
Rate on N.U.
