Chapter 493 (1/2)

When it leaped, the ground beneath it shuddered. By some strange technological advancement, Katie’s powersuit instantly expanded from her wrist to cover all of her, and she moved rapidly to intercept, using her powerful legs to launch herself with a similar level of force.

Hank rolled to the side, out of the line of fire, drawing his left pistol, the repeater. In a second, he fired all 12 Mana Reinforced bullets, aiming to just test the defenses of the thing. Simultaneously, he could hear Ezekiel shooting out his Pierce spell.

The projectiles hit the ram with small impacts, thin spurts of blood shooting out each time. But the wounds were shallow, and as Hank watched, they rapidly healed. Laurel backed off from the group, beginning to chat.

The ram smashed into Katie, and the powersuit was sent sprawling off to the side. It landed and turned with angry eyes towards Hank, who had hit its face with a bullet. But before it could move, Affina was there, here thin bamboo pole crystallized into a slim jade sword. Her strike streaked forward, aiming to slide into the back of the ram’s neck.

Its eyes flashed as it swung its head to the side with deceptive speed, knocking the sword aside. Then it leaped forward, aiming to run her over. Unfortunately for it, it had drastically underestimated Affina, as had Hank. The girl stepped to the side and drew a long gash along its side as it sailed past, the largest wound they had inflicted on it so far.

It bellowed powerfully, just in time for Hank to raise his repeater and shoot bullets into its open mouth. When the bullets arrived, it immediately began to gag, stumbling backward and shaking its head. Calmly, Hank took a stepped forward, reloading his repeater. Then he took another step and replaced it at his side.

Normal bullets wouldn’t do against this foe.

Katie had recovered and spear tackled into the ram’s side, sending it staggering even more. Noticing it was off balance, Katie began to rain blows down on its side. Hank couldn’t tell if she was doing serious damage, but it was definitely weakening it enough to give the rest of them a chance.

Ezekiel continued to use pierce, inflicting small wounds. Affina had somehow disappeared from Hank’s awareness, but he knew she would strike when she had an opening.

Hank breathed in, then breathed out. Then he drew his pistol in a smooth motion, aiming at the ram’s head. But at the last second, he hesitated, because through the sole’s of his feet he could feel the ground rumbling beneath him. Something was coming.

Just as Hank opened his mouth to warn his companions, it arrived, a ram double the size of the one they had found, its purple fur darkened to the deepest midnight. It landed between Hank and the younger ram, its burning red eyes regarding him hatefully. Hank had half a mind to shrug. They wouldn’t have fought with this critter if they could help it.

It snorted, and Hank’s eyes narrowed. He rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a blast of… something. There was a strange distortion in the air, but no heat or wind.

“Sound waves,” Affina said, materializing next to him. “If that hits, at the very least it will rupture your eardrums for a few hours. But I bet it also includes a debilitating headache.”

Hank raised his pistol and fired.

“Trick Shot.”

The bullet zipped forward, moving much faster than it had a right to. Even so, the ram reacted, blurring to the side and out of the way of the oncoming bullet.

Hank smiled. Not fast enough.

The bullet struck one of its metallic golden horns and ricocheted off. Hank’s smile faltered somewhat. It had… blocked that?

A boom of a sounding bell echoed throughout the field, much louder than Hank had expected, causing him to wince. It seemed that the horns were part of the fuel for its strange sonic attacks. A thin crack appeared in the horn, about 10 centimeters long.

Instantly, the whole demeanor of the ram changed. When it had arrived, it had been furious that these lesser beings had dared threaten its young. Although it was also just Level 59, those two 59’s were separated by years of experience that gave it the tools to fight against them.

‘Skill Levels,’ Hank thought to himself, considering the opponent before him, ‘I should have spent so much more time training up my Skill Levels.’

Hadn’t he done that?

It wasn’t enough, the thought returned.

The midnight ram snorted. A wave of sonic energy spread out, resonating with the golden horns. It hit Hank and sent him sprawling backward with a grunt. The attack was weaker than the directed snort, and Hank could also sense that there was a flaw in the attack; it seemed his strike on the golden horns had done more than he had expected.