Chapter 198 - 186: A Mortal Battle of Inches

Roland’s heart sank. A chill shot through his entire body.

The creature’s speed and methods far exceeded his expectations.

But he didn’t hesitate for a second.

While still in mid-air, he forcibly twisted his torso. His left hand, infused with Fighting Spirit, shot out like lightning and barely managed to grab Teresa’s falling wrist.

However, this rescue maneuver also broke his upward momentum, pulling him down.

"Galvis! Catch her!"

Roland let out a low roar.

He then put all his strength into his left arm, pushing the unconscious Teresa’s entire body toward the ship’s railing, which was just within reach.

It wasn’t a wild throw, but a precise and powerful shove, like pushing a heavy object across ice.

On deck, Galvis was on his knees, clutching a head that felt like it was about to explode from the splitting pain. But his bloodshot eyes were fixed on the scene below.

When he saw Teresa being pushed toward the ship’s edge, he used his last ounce of consciousness and strength to lunge for the railing.

His arms shot out, perilously catching Teresa by the shoulders and armor, and dragged her onto the deck.

The very instant Roland pushed Teresa, the reactive force from that precise, powerful shove sent him falling back to the ground.

As he quickly adjusted his posture, preparing to get up and sprint for a leap toward the accelerating ship, the situation took a sudden turn.

The purple Nightmare moved.

It didn’t charge forward, but "slid" a short distance like a phantom, instantly closing the gap with Roland.

The two pulsing violet lights on its smooth head suddenly locked onto Roland.

One of its dangling, slimy tentacles shot out like a striking viper, moving faster than the eye could follow.

Silently, with a nauseating whisper of displaced air, it stabbed toward the back of Roland’s head like a bolt of lightning.

Its goal was clear: to pierce his skull and suck out his brain!

The cold breath of death felt like a physical Ice Cone piercing his spine.

The barrier of his Will of Steel blocked the mental temptations and Fear, but it couldn’t completely negate the mortal threat of a purely physical attack.

It was a critical moment.

Roland didn’t even have time to turn around completely.

His absolute intuition for danger and the combat instincts honed through countless life-and-death battles saved him.

Acting almost on muscle memory, he channeled the Fighting Spirit he had just gathered for the jump into his legs and core. His body twisted and rolled to the side at a nearly impossible angle.

Then, as his Spiritual Power circulated rapidly, a nearly transparent film instantly enveloped his body.

BUZZ!

Accompanied by a piercing hum, the slimy tentacle with a sharp sucker at its tip, which cut through the air with a shriek, was successfully deflected by his Shield Skill.

It grazed past the tips of his hair, which had been kicked up by his roll.

SCHRRIP!

The tip of the tentacle viciously stabbed into a half-man-high reef rock just behind where he had been.

The hard rock was pierced as easily as tofu, leaving behind a smooth hole.

The appearance of the Shield Skill seemed to surprise the nameless monster, but the rolling Roland didn’t pause for a moment.

The instant the tentacle missed, before he had even fully stabilized his body, the Secret Silver Longsword in his right hand had already become a cold arc of light.

With a shriek that tore through the air, he swung it upward from his rolling position in a fierce counter-slash, aiming straight for the base of the monster’s attacking tentacle, which it had not yet fully retracted.

The strike was fast, accurate, and vicious.

The monster’s cold violet lights seemed to flicker slightly. It clearly hadn’t expected its prey to counter-attack so swiftly after dodging a fatal blow.

Its tentacle snapped back, and at the same time, its tall body floated backward with an unnatural lightness that defied the laws of physics.

CLANG!

A harsh clang of metal on metal rang out, sending sparks flying.

Roland’s backhanded slash didn’t sever the tentacle.

The edge of his Longsword seemed to strike some kind of incredibly tough carapace or an invisible Force Field, leaving only a shallow white mark and a shower of sparks.

But the impact of the ferocious Fighting Spirit and the pure physical kinetic energy it carried was clearly beyond the nameless monster’s expectations.

At the moment the blade and tentacle collided, Roland keenly picked up on a key piece of information.

Although the creature’s backward float was strange and swift, with an inhuman lightness, when dealing with a purely physical, ferocious slash, it revealed a subtle "stiffness" and "clumsiness" that didn’t match its powerful Spiritual Suppression.

It seemed more like it had been forcibly pushed back by immense power rather than dodging or parrying with refined close-combat techniques.

The tough tentacle acted more like a natural shield or tool than a combat weapon. Its method of blocking was simple and direct, utterly lacking in skill.

This discovery flashed through Roland’s mind like lightning.

’This terrifying being’s strength lies in its bizarre, unpredictable, and incredibly potent Spiritual Power, not in close-quarters physical combat.’

And it was based on this weakness that his all-out strike forced the floating monster to a noticeable halt, creating some distance between them.

’Now’s my chance!’

Using the recoil to spin to his feet, a sharp glint flashed in Roland’s eyes.

His left hand shot behind his back like lightning, instantly pulling three Short Spears from a custom-made leather sheath.

The spears were pitch-black, their surfaces inscribed with exceptionally active Magic Power Runes. They were disposable Enchanted Weapons he had forged himself.

There was no time to aim; he acted purely on instinct.

In the instant the nameless monster faltered, the muscles in Roland’s arm bulged as he infused it with Fighting Spirit and his remaining Spiritual Power.

The three Short Spears transformed into three black streaks of light that tore through the gloom. They flew in a triangular formation, letting out a piercing shriek as they shot toward the purple figure.

The moment the spears left his hand, the Runes on their shafts lit up with an unstable, blinding red light.

The Magic Elements forcibly channeled inside them clashed madly, compressing within the overloaded material and nearing their breaking point.

The purple light in the monster’s eyes flared. The invisible Force Field rippled once more, attempting to block or deflect these rapidly approaching "trinkets."

However, just as the Short Spears were about to touch the invisible Force Field...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three masses of searing, violent Flame mixed with chaotic shockwaves of Magic Power suddenly exploded less than a meter in front of the nameless monster.

The shoddy materials couldn’t withstand the violent Energy of the Magic Elements surging within them and detonated prematurely, before impact.

Flames shot into the sky and rock fragments flew. A scorching blast wave, carrying metal shards and a turbulent flow of chaotic Magic Power, instantly engulfed the nameless monster’s position.

The roar of the explosions drowned out the moaning of the waves, shaking the entire coastline.

Smoke and fire filled the air, temporarily obscuring his vision.

But Roland didn’t lower his guard in the slightest.

He knew full well that these three low-quality, disposable Enchanted Weapons could never finish off that terrifying being.

The shockwave from the explosion hadn’t even fully subsided when the twisted purple figure reappeared like a ghost in the smoke, but it had lost its earlier composure.

Its invisible Spiritual Shield fluctuated violently, and was finally torn open by the chaotic torrent of Magic Power.

The metal fragments and scorching impact from the explosion slammed into its smooth torso.

Its tough carapace was pierced in several places, leaving behind blackened scorch marks.

A dark purple slime slowly oozed out, dripping to the ground with a faint SIZZLE.

The pulsing violet light on its smooth head suddenly faltered, and for the first time, its entire body gave a brief, imperceptible shudder.

It was the pain and shock of underestimating its enemy.

But this strange emotion didn’t affect its actions.

Roland’s pupils contracted. The barrier of his Will of Steel instantly reinforced itself, bearing the brunt of the Spiritual Shock that followed—a blow like an invisible sledgehammer.

Amidst a slight, stinging dizziness, the deadly tentacle stabbed out again with a whisper of displaced air.

"Hmph!"

A fierce light erupted in Roland’s eyes.

The previous two exchanges, especially the recoil from his last sword strike and the creature’s stiffness as it floated back, had branded a clear impression in his mind.

’This terrifying creature’s strength relies almost entirely on its bizarre and unpredictable Spiritual Power, and these lightning-fast tentacle thrusts.’

’Once I close the distance and enter the domain of pure physical combat...’

’Its options are extremely limited!’

’Its reactions are almost clumsy!’

This thought instantly cut through the fog of Fear, igniting a resolute will to fight.

’Escape?’

’With its bizarre speed and the ever-present threat of a Spiritual Shock, that’s just wishful thinking.’

’The only path to survival lies here, in this seemingly most perilous, close-quarters fight!’