Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 83: The Dangerous Gambit

Leo could feel his mouth was dry as he stared up at the armored kobold. It was clearly a mutant of some kind as it was easily 7 feet tall, its long blade almost as big as he was.

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"How do you want to do this Boss?"

Horo asked as he crouched, dagger in hand as he too glanced over the monsters body, looking for any obvious weak point. Unfortunately he found none besides the eyes.

Leo swallowed hard, forcing his voice to steady.

"You circle from behind and try to hit when it's guard is down."

"But what are you going to do? Don't tell me you are going to duke it out toe to toe with that thing, right?!"

Horo sounded horrified as his eyes widened in shock at the unspoken details of Leo's plan.

The armored kobold let out a low growl, a sound more guttural than any beast Leo had faced so far. Its blade scraped against the floor as it raised it with a lazy confidence—like it didn't see them as a threat.

"Alright. I won't tell you. Now go!"

Leo forced a provocative smirk on his face before yelling at him to start.

"Shit! Alright Boss. Don't die!"

Horo grunted but relented as he ran towards the beast before suddenly sidestepping it as if he was planning to charge deeper into the cave. The Armored kobold turned it's body to chase after him but before it could, a small impact to it;s waist caused it to slightly stumble.

[-2]

Leo had struck with a quick jab from his gauntlet, the metal plating humming faintly with kinetic force. He'd aimed low, not to deal damage, but to break its balance—just enough to interrupt its momentum.

The creature snarled, spinning around with alarming speed. Leo's eyes widened as the massive blade came arcing down toward him.

Shit—

He dove to the side, the ground cracking as the weapon struck the stone floor where he'd been standing a second ago.

"Why is something that big so fast?!"

Leo grumbled in complaint as he quickly picked himself up off the ground, covered in dust as he prepared himself for the beast's next move with his adrenaline flowing

The armored kobold didn't give him time to breathe. It lunged, closing the gap with shocking speed, blade sweeping sideways in a wide arc that would cleave through rock—and definitely through Leo.

He ducked under the swing, just barely, feeling the wind shear past his hair. His gauntlet lashed out again, this time striking the kobold's wrist.

[-3]

It barely flinched.

"Okay, that did nothing,"

Leo muttered through gritted teeth, backpedaling as the kobold raised its sword overhead for a vertical strike.

Just as it brought the blade down, a flicker of movement darted in from the left.

Horo.

His dagger scraped across the kobold's shoulder joint, aiming for the gap between the plates. The blade didn't pierce all the way through, but it dug in just enough to stagger the creature again.

[-4]

"Well that did sweet dick all"

Horo griped as he shook his wrist lightly from the pain. The armor was extremely solid.

"This has got to be a high defence, Low HP boss right?"

Leo quickly used Analysis on the boss before glaring at Horo

Dungeon BOSS

Name: Tetsukiba

Race: Armored Kobold

Class: Armored Samurai

Level: 8

HP: 1191/1200

MP: 349/800

ATK: 200

DEF: 500

MDEF: 100

Dodge: 40

Skills: Summon Kin, Iai Slash, Iron Wall, Slash Resistance, Blunt Resistance.

Note: Tetsukiba is the eldest of 6 Kobold Siblings. While he may be the weakest, his physical defence is the strongest and his natural charisma allows him to summon an endless supply of subordinates as long as his mana permits. 

"Nope. It's a High Health, Defence and Attack Boss. It's weakness is magic!"

"So...What you're telling me is that the girls who are fighting the minions would have been the better choice?"

Horo glanced towards the girls of the party and felt a headache coming on. Lily was practically useless, only able to conjure some vines to trip the smaller kobolds while Sonata shrieked at the ones that had fallen.

Lily was drenched in Kobold blood, giggling like a madman as she cleaved through them with ehr axe as if they wre made of cardboard. Nyx was also using her staff to smash the kobolds while also using her hands and fists like she was some sort of action movie star.

Leo tgrit his teeth.

"Well unless you have any bright ideas, we don't have any magic attacks between the two of us"

Before Horo could respond, the armored kobold roared, the sound echoing off the cavern walls as it shook off Horo's hit like it was nothing more than an itch. Its blade came crashing down again, this time faster, angrier.

Leo braced, crossing both gauntlets just in time to block—but the force still sent him skidding back, boots scraping against stone.

[-11]

"Goddamn it,"

he cursed softly as he felt his arms aching

"It hits like a freight train."

Horo danced around the kobold's side again, tossing a quick disposable dagger toward its face but It bounced harmlessly off the helmet.

[-0]

"Why do I even carry these things?!"

he shouted, already pulling another one.

Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Luna was laughing like a maniac, spinning in a circle as she crushed another kobold underfoot. Her axe lodged itself into a third before she yanked it out in a spray of crimson.

"I love this game!" she cackled.

"Sonata, behind you!"

Nyx shouted.

"Eeep!"

Sonata yelped, ducking as a kobold swiped where her head had just been. She blindly kicked backward, connecting with its groin. It wheezed, crumpling.

Nyx didn't even pause, slamming her staff into another creature's skull, then spinning with a clean elbow strike to a second.

Leo's heart pounded in his chest as the armored kobold relentlessly swung its massive blade, the sound of steel against stone ringing in his ears. He had to admit, the creature's sheer speed and strength were far beyond anything he'd expected.

Horo dodged another slash, narrowly avoiding the tip of the blade.

"Boss, I think I've got an idea—but it's insane!"

Leo barely managed to parry another strike, his muscles screaming in protest.

"What? Tell me before I end up getting skewered!"

Horo's grin stretched wide, full of wild confidence.

"I'm going to melt its armor. With my blood."

Leo's mind reeled.

"What? You're—what?"

Horo raised a hand and flexed his fingers, as if preparing for something painful. "You know my blood's poison, right? It can melt through stuff. All I need is a small scratch to get it started, and I can make that armor break apart."

Leo's eyes widened, the crazy idea starting to take shape in his mind.

"Well if it works, I will treat you to lunch. Just don't die!"

He had no choice but to relent to Horo's crazy idea.

"We are only going to have one shot at this, please don't mess it up!"

Horo shouted as he charged at the beast once more.

It was now or never.