Chapter 94: Guts

“Retreat!”

Noah’s shout echoed through the carnage of the battle that was taking place.

Clank!

One of the scorpion’s claws clashed against Noah’s sword.

The impact sent him sliding backwards.

Screech.

Digging his sword into the sand below, Noah stopped his momentum, looking at the monster before him.

Since the test had begun, Noah had decided to take it upon himself to rank his team in first place.

He had left his team to deal with the bronze-ranked centipedes, while he himself engaged in battles with the silver cores.

His team had suggested letting them assist him, but Noah denied the request.

For him, fighting alone and winning was a way to reaffirm his confidence in his abilities.

But as Noah glanced at the rankings, he was still confused by the scores.

Kael’s team was in third place, but despite killing the first monster, Kael’s score hadn’t increased from his original two points.

Why wasn’t he fighting?

Did he think that these tests were below him?

No, that couldn’t be possible. After all, individual rankings were important to maintain overall rank in the academy.

Was this Kael’s way of looking down on them?!

Swoosh!

Noah was brought out of his thoughts as wind blew at his sides. Turning his sword on instinct, it was met with the sharp claws of the dark black scorpion.

It was a Silver 2 monster, the same rank as Noah.

Normally, he should have been able to defeat such a creature with relative ease, but the terrain was advantageous for the monster.

The scorpion kept using the sand to hide its body from attacks that were truly threatening to its survival.

As for the remaining attacks, they were deflected by those massive claws that seemed to have a life of their own.

No matter which direction he attacked from, the claws would appear out of thin air and defend the scorpion’s body.

Even if by some chance Noah managed to bypass their defence, his momentum would be reduced, resulting in the force behind the sword being negated by the hard outer shell of the scorpion’s main body.

But Noah wasn’t one to despair.

Taking small breaths at equal intervals, he managed to calm the adrenaline in his body.

The scorpion, after having its attack blocked, had retreated a few meters back, silently observing its enemy.

Even though these monsters couldn’t speak, they had sufficient intelligence to analyse the surroundings around them.

Noah gripped his sword and charged again.

One.

Two.

Right.

Left.

One after the other, Noah’s sword swung at angles that seemed inhumane but were easily managed by him.

But the monster was equally fast.

Its legs, or what appeared to be its legs, moved in quick succession, dodging one attack after the other.

And the scorpion’s claws weren’t for show either.

For every attack the monster dodged, one of its claws would return the favour with equal momentum.

But Noah was just as fast as the monster, if not more.

He not only used his eyes but also predicted the monster’s movements through its footwork.

Yes!

If it had been anyone else, they would have been shocked to see an individual deciphering the footwork of a monster.

Noah was observing the minute details, including the angle at which the scorpion twisted its weight before going for an attack.

Then, using that understanding, he predicted its next attack and thereby analysed its entire movement pattern.

It might have looked simple, but it was way too difficult.

Though monsters had intelligence, it wasn’t up to the mark to scheme against their enemies.

So their general attack pattern was based on the instincts that had been honed by their bodies across the span of their lives.

Using the same instincts, they randomly attacked their enemy. And due to their monster physique, running out of stamina was something that monsters barely suffered from.

But this time it was facing an equally monstrous enemy whose stamina never seemed to end.

Noah was swinging a heavy broadsword like it was any other toy in the market.

The sword changed its trajectory mid-swing and was a huge shield for Noah to defend against the claws.

But his problems never seemed to end.

The scorpion had also started taking Noah seriously, as its huge tail kept launching strikes in a heartbeat.

One moment the monster might have been dodging an attack, the next moment a claw struck Noah, and immediately the attack would be followed by the impending strike of the tail.

As Noah jumped upon the monster’s shell to strike its skull, the tail positioned itself high up in the air, and—

Tssss!

A dark purple liquid was directed from its tail straight at Noah’s face.

Noah’s eyes widened as he felt the liquid approaching him in slow motion, but coming back to his senses, Noah ducked down, avoiding it completely.

The liquid landed on the monster’s body, corroding its own shell.

Though Noah’s skills were top notch, the recent save was more luck than actual skill.

Noah had been caught off guard by the attack.

The scorpion’s body jerked in violent protest as the stinging pain registered in its brain.

It began to rapidly move its body at unnatural angles, making Noah fall from its surface.

Utilizing the stroke of luck, Noah charged towards its tail.

This time the scorpion went all out, attacking with every part of its body.

Be it its tail, claws, or those needle-like legs, Noah was bombarded by a continuous assault.

But Noah moved through the chaos with relative ease… his eyes focused on the tail.

Noah jumped high up in the air, just before the tip of its tail.

Gripping the sword, every muscle in his body being filled with mana, increased his strength.

With a single brutal swing, Noah slashed open the tip of the tail, splitting the part in two.

The venom inside the tip sprayed across the air.

With equal speed, Noah pushed his leg against the remaining part of the tail that was still high up in the air and threw himself in the opposite direction of the monster.

The venom landed on the scorpion’s body, corroding more of its armour.

The strategy was simple, but its implementation required guts that only someone like Noah had!

As the shell corroded upon impact with the acid, Noah resumed his attacks.

The scorpion didn’t have much time left to live.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep