Chapter 39: Manticore│Read translated stories and daily updates at: Awebstories.com

Sounds from outside can be heard if you listen carefully through the Barrier.

Screams from afar, sounds of magical destruction.

The earth was shaken by heavy footsteps.

They gradually get louder and closer.

“Isn’t this terrible? What should we do?”

“Let’s get out of here as soon as possible—they’re probably distracted right now by the monsters—we don’t want to end up in the middle of a fight.”

“Yes.”

When they went outside after the barrier was released, they discovered the ruined town to be a complete battlefield.

Black smoke rose from every direction, and giant monsters walked among them.

【Appraisal】Cyclopes. A man-eating monocular giant extremely strong and powerful

The gang dashed through crumbling roofs until they reached a clear path.

Ahead are bounty hunters fighting black dog monsters.

【Appraisal】Garm. The best dog is a huge, fierce dog.”

“Lysette, let’s go.”

Leonhardt grabs Lysette’s hand and begins running.

The monsters ignore Lysette and the others and head straight for the bounty hunters. The bounty hunters were also distracted by the monsters and did not attack Lysette.

“How come the monsters aren’t coming this way?”

“Monsters are more likely to be drawn to those who have more people—It’s not surprising given their sheer numbers.”

“But if they all die, won’t they come to us next?”

“The bounty hunters have progressed this far—they will not be defeated anytime soon…”

Meanwhile, balls of light can be seen here and there.

The lights indicate either the death or escape of the bounty hunters.

“I think they’re losing badly!”

“There’s no coordination at all.”

Leonhardt, perhaps not expecting this, mutters in dismay in a low voice.

“They must have gotten this far by relying on their individual strengths. They can’t handle a situation with so many enemies.”

A group of people who do not have a leader.

They were not friends, as Leonhardt stated.

“Then let’s take them out quickly.”

Lysette made a quick decision and stopped running.

“Come on, we can’t afford to be concerned about other people!”

“Now that they’re dispersed, it’s easier to fight them—everything is fine. I’m bursting with energy right now!”

Lysette turns her heel and looks at the pack of Garm.

The bounty hunters in the area have been decimated, and they are closing in on her.

【Preemptive-Action】【Fire-magic(Advanced)】【Magical-Coordinate-Correction】

She acquired the skill to increase the magic hit rate.

“Lava Flame!”

The magic activation words are meaningless. They only serve to reinforce the notion of magic.

Lysette imagines burning lava spreading across the area, and with her magical power, she makes it happen.

The ground melts, and molten red lava envelops, swallows, and wipes out the Garms.

However, there are more monsters.

Next comes a huge, muscular, humanoid monster, the Cyclops, a green-skinned, one-eyed giant.

He is much taller than the houses around him, and when he walks, the ground shakes.

From a great height, the dark eyes look down on Lysette.

【Preemptive-Action】【Manipulation-Magic】【Water-Magic(Advanced)】

“Ice Wall!”

Lysette creates a massive ice block between the passageways, impeding the Cyclopes’ progress.

The ice wall extends just below the Cyclopes’ head, but he overcomes it by putting both hands on the ice.

【Manipulation-Magic】【Fire-magic(Advanced)】【Magical-Coordinate-Correction】

“Flame Burst!”

The magic attack erupts at the head’s prominent eye.

A massive explosion of compressed force.

“Flame-Burst!”

An additional explosion in one’s head.

“Flame-Burst!”

Finally, the cyclops’ head is completely destroyed after the third explosion.

The cyclopes collapse and are rendered completely silent.

Shortly after, another cyclops approaches and is similarly destroyed. The body’s lower half is encased in ice, and the head is destroyed by a flame burst.

Her magical power never runs out, no matter how much she uses it.

—I don’t feel like losing!

Suddenly, a black-clad Lilliput falls from the sky.

“Are you serious? These two are formidable!”

The Lilliput has already died.

His neck is bent at an unnatural angle.

Soon after, his body glows and then vanishes. Like so many escape lights.

“Over there!”

Leonhardt’s voice spurs Lysette to look up at the rooftop.

Up there was a golden-haired lion with a human head.

“This is a Manticore!”

【Appraisal】Manticore. with a human head and the body of a lion. with a scorpion’s tail. Its skin is impervious to magic. It is a monster that is extremely intelligent and fluent in human languages.

Leonhardt draws his sword quickly.

The Manticore’s scorpion tail shakes and lifts up.

“Devil’s puppeteer…”

“Did he just say something?!”

The vindictive voice that seems to echo from the depths of the earth startles Lysette from the bottom of her heart.

She had no idea it was possible to communicate with a monster.

“Go get lost!””

Despite the fact that the path to mutual understanding appears to be difficult.

The Manticore leaps from the roof.

A lion’s flexible leap!

No human, let alone a monster, could ever defeat a lion.

However, adventurers are not ordinary people.

The Manticore’s claws are blocked by Leonhardt’s physical body and shield, rather than by a magical barrier.

The Manticore’s claws would normally blow him away due to the disparity in strength.

Leonhardt has the same strength as Manticore but a different build in terms of size and weight.

He is unfazed when a claw digs into his armor because he quickly heals it.

He is armed with the Adamant sword.

The sword slashes through Manticore’s torso skin.

The skin has been ripped open, and red blood is seeping through the golden fur. However, the wound is only superficial.

Lysette decides to pursue it.

“Freeze Arrow!”

The ice arrow enters the Manticore’s body through the wound, and Lysette uses it as a starting point to pour as much magic as she can into the wound.

The skin may be impervious to magic, but the inside is…

“Flame Burst!

Finally, the Manticore was shattered by a massive explosion from within.

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