The Healing Solaris Cleric
Chapter 85: Black Lizardman (2)

Chapter 85: Black Lizardman (2)

Kai closed his eyes, recalling the scene he had just witnessed.

In that brief moment when the ax flew, three actions were taken.

The moment he closed his eyes, the movements displayed by the creature replayed in his mind.

The creature had instantly drawn two scimitars from behind its back to block the ax. At the same time, it wrapped its tail around the opponent’s calf and pulled, then kicked its foot up to press down on the Barbarian Warrior's chest.

The movements were so natural that it seemed only natural for the Barbarian Warrior to fall backward!

“Wh-what on earth?” Neil asked in bewilderment from besides Kai.

Simultaneously, the hunters shouted.

“That speed is impossible!”

“Damn, Jeff got screwed over.”

“Lena and I will draw its attention, so rescue Jeff first!”

Even though their comrade had been hit, the hunters moved with synchronized precision, not allowing anger to cloud their actions.

Their sequential attacks were fierce enough to be called a relentless assault. However, no matter how powerful an attack was, it was meaningless if it didn't reach the enemy.

Crunch, crunch.

The Black Lizardman slowly walked forward, trampling on the Barbarian Warrior’s chest and head.

It looked at the incoming attacks until the end and twisted its body grotesquely. With minimal movement, it positioned itself to evade the attacks optimally.

Every time its body moved, the fierce attacks aimed at it became futile strikes.

“H-how does it move like that...?!”

“Lena, trap it first.”

“Got it. Earth Wall!”

Once again, a wall of earth rose up, shaking the ground!

But having experienced it once before, the Black Lizardman responded swiftly. Stepping in a zigzag pattern up the rising wall, the lizardman soared into the air before the earthen prison could close! The creature, now airborne, used the protruding branches to leap toward the female wizard.

“Oh no, Lena!”

“Don’t worry! Air Bomb!”

Boom!

The surrounding mana gathered like a vortex and exploded into an air bomb right in front of Lena.

Of course, the Black Lizardman, hit at close range, was...

“Unharmed?!”

With Lena’s piercing scream, the two scimitars crossed like a shield fell apart. What emerged behind them was the fierce gaze of the Black Lizardman.

Swish!

Like scissors, the scimitars flew from both sides aiming at Lena’s neck!

Clang, clang!

Two Warriors who quickly supported Lena deflected the scimitars and pulled her back.

But the moment its attack failed, the Black Lizardman spun its body! Its spiked tail did not allow their retreat.

Crunch!

“Gah...!”

“Argh!”

“Ahh!”

The hunters, struck by the thick tail, flew back with their bones and organs crushed.

Unable to watch any longer, Neil drew his weapon and looked back at Kai. “No matter how I think about it, this is a miscalculation! Who would have thought a lizardman would become this strong through the Essence of Darkness...! I’m gonna support them, so you should go back to Tardal immediately and ask for additional support...”

Kai, who had been standing still and listening, raised his hand to cut Neil off. “That creature doesn’t seem to have such intentions.”

“What? What do you mean...?”

Swish!

The next moment, an ax flew toward the two of them.

"Duck."

"Argh!"

Kai swiftly pressed Neil's head down, canceling the attack, and then looked at the lizardman.

The Black Lizardman, with greedy eyes glowing as if it wouldn’t let a single person escape, licked its lips in disappointment as the ax it picked up from the ground sliced through the air.

At the same time, the creature lightly trampled Lena's head with its massive foot.

Crunch!

“Aaah!”

It was as if it was telling them that they could run if they wanted to but then the others would surely die!

Provoked by the monster, Kai shrugged and looked back at Neil. "Oh, what should we do now? I really want to run away, but it won’t let us," he said in a completely emotionless voice, without a trace of soul!

Neil, still dripping cold sweat and rubbing his chilled neck, looked up at Kai.

But... how did Kai, a Cleric, dodge that attack just now?

Before Neil could even wonder if it was just a coincidence, Kai said, "It can't be helped. I'll handle it first, so take care of those guys over there. Solaris Blessing, Solaris Armor..."

"What? What do you mean? No matter how powerful adventurers are with resurrection abilities, it’s not usual for a member on their first mission to fight!"

"Then is it normal for those so-called sunbaes to be lying on the floor like that?"

“W-well, that’s...”

Neil, his face turning red, stuttered but couldn't let out a retort.

"Use this to heal them first."

Kai threw a few bottles of red potion to Neil and quickly started running down the hill.

He ran with the form of a track athlete, his eyes fixed solely on the Black Lizardman.

This creature, it's incredibly strong.

As if Kai wasn't the only one who felt this, the Black Lizardman also licked its lips in excitement for the incoming clash.

In the next moment, it wrapped its tail around Lena and flung her at Kai!

“Argh!” Kai caught her in midair and tossed her into the swamp.

“Ahh!”

It was a bold move only possible because the swamp would prevent any injuries!

“Krrrr.”

The Black Lizardman, watching as if entertained, whipped its tail fiercely as the distance between them closed.

Its tail attacks are strong but slow. That’s why it always uses its tail for deterrence.

Kai, who had been analyzing the creature during the battle, shifted his body just one step to the left.

Swish!

That slight movement perfectly avoided the attack, and the tail struck the swamp instead. Water droplets sprayed into the air as if a bomb had exploded in the swamp!

In the visibility-obscured situation, the Black Lizardman chose to swing its scimitars.

Slash! Slash!

The two scimitars certainly tore through something. But because it wasn't the human flesh it expected, the Black Lizardman’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Krrr?!”

What the scimitars had cut was not Kai's body but his fluttering cleric robe!

As it hastily retreated and lifted its head, Kai’s palm gently touched the lizardman's face.

"Holy Explosion!"

Boom!

No matter how monstrous the creature's reaction speed was, there was no way to avoid an attack at point-blank range.

The creature, having taken a tremendous impact, was crushed like a box in a pressure machine and fell into the swamp.

With this much, at least the initial intimidation should be... perhaps not enough.

Like a wounded beast, the creature's eyes clearly showed its anger without any restraint! Then, from its mouth came a loud roar that echoed through the swamp.

"Kraaagh!"

[Black Lizardman’s Roar intimidates you.]

[Your Dignity stat halves Roar’s effect.]

[Your high Magic Resistance further halves Roar’s effects.]

[You resisted the Black Lizardman’s Roar intimidation.]

"Oh?"

Kai was thoroughly experiencing the power of his recently increased magic resistance!

The Black Lizardman, seeing that Kai was not intimidated, revealed its teeth and growled.

I might have been slightly scared seeing that in the past...

But now, even though no one had told a joke, Kai burst into a light laugh.

He hadn't been scared even during the battle with Hakhas a few days ago. So now, there was no reason to be afraid of a level 110 lizardman lying in a swamp.

"Open inventory, change to Armor of the Undead set."

As Kai's entire body became covered in pitch-black armor, the lizardman emerged from the swamp.

"Kyaaaagh!”

Once again, it roared to assert its presence!

The creature snatched the scimitars from the ground and charged at Kai. While lizardmen usually walked on two legs like humans, they moved on all fours like a lizard when it needed to run the fastest. And that was exactly what it did now.

In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance, leaping from the ground and slashing upward with its scimitars.

Clang! Clang!

The distance between them closed so rapidly that they could feel each other's breath.

Clang!

Then they quickly separated again.

Kai glanced at his still-tingling hand.

It's not just fast. The attacks are precise and powerful.

From a distance, he thought it was quite fast, but clashing swords with it directly was on a whole different level. It felt as if the perceived speed had more than doubled!

Even a moment of carelessness would result in a fatal injury from this extremely dangerous opponent.

In terms of safety, the battle with Hakhas was safer.

Back then, thanks to the Undying Will skill, he was at least assured he wouldn't die. However, with a cooldown of thirty days, that skill was unfortunately inactive now.

"Ugh, I thought things would get easier these days..."

Muttering in disappointment, Kai watched as the Black Lizardman began circling him rapidly.

The creature crawled around the ground like a lizard, drawing a circle around Kai! Its movement speed, almost impossible for Kai’s eyes to fully follow, suddenly vanished.

“Wh-what the...?”

Kai, startled, hastily looked around.

It’s gone?

He checked the front, back, left, right, and even the tops of the trees, just in case!

With the creature nowhere in sight, he tilted his head in confusion.

Then suddenly, a scimitar shot up from the ground.

Slash!

“Argh!”

Kai, reacting a second too late, allowed the first attack come through!

Meanwhile, the Black Lizardman flattened itself to the ground again and disappeared.

Is that... a stealth skill?

It was a strange skill that made it disappear right in front of him!

As Kai, confused, kept wary of his surroundings, Neil shouted from behind, “Don’t rely on your eyes!”

“...What?”

“It’s Camouflage used by some lizardmen!”

“Camo... Camouflage? This is Camouflage?”

Camouflage was French for disguise or trickery. In other words, the Black Lizardman was synchronizing its skin color with the surroundings like a chameleon!

Realizing this, Kai shouted, “Damn it! Change its name right now! It’s not a Black Lizardman then!”

“W-well, as I mentioned, it’s not an official name yet...”

Leaving the mumbling Neil behind, Kai looked around again. No matter how wide he opened his eyes and searched, it was nearly impossible to distinguish the creature, which had blended with the leaves, trees, and rocks.

Damn, who would have thought it would be this hard to replace a creature with scimitars.

The Camouflage skill made it almost impossible to detect without tracking or enemy detection skills!

I won’t be able to replace it with my eyes.

Realizing this, Kai relaxed his body. His neck and shoulders, which had been stiffly upright, drooped like a high school senior leaving the study room at two in the morning.

Even the Black Lizardman, lying flat on the ground waiting for an opportunity, was baffled by his actions!

Kai’s actions were incomprehensible not only to the lizardman but also to his fellow humans.

“K-Kai, what are you doing? It’s dangerous!”

“Did he decide he can’t win and give up the fight...? This is why adventurers are...!”

“Wait, that guy is just standing there drinking a potion!”

Ignoring the NPCs’ worried and complaining remarks, Kai recalled a few days ago.

Aquaria. I went fishing there to catch the steel tortoise.

No one jumped into the water because they couldn’t see the fish well when fishing. One had to wait patiently in one spot, no matter how long it took.

And usually, the winner in fishing is...

Rustle.

With the sound of damp leaves being stepped on, the lizardman lunged at Kai from behind.

Simultaneously, Kai turned around as if he had been waiting and muttered, “...The one who waits the longest.”

Clang!

Kai threw the red potion bottle he was holding!

The bottle that crashed with the Black Lizardman shattered and left red stains on its skin.

“Or, the one who’s a bit cleverer.”