LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 49
Chapter 49: Monster Wave (6)
Regardless of their type, both human innate abilities and monster traits are based on mana.
Therefore, the amount of mana behind any attack is crucial. It not only determines the power of the attack but also plays a key role in overcoming elemental or natural weaknesses.
‘That doesn’t mean weaknesses are entirely meaningless, though.’
Christian watched the King of the Basilisks with a confident expression.
It wasn’t mere bravado.
The flames of his Fire Dragon were the natural enemy of all poisons and curses.
Hadn’t he easily defeated the Venom Ogres on the 34th floor?
Of course, the King of the Basilisks was on a completely different level from the Venom Ogres, and Christian knew that his Fire Dragon alone wouldn’t be enough to win.
But that didn’t bother him.
He was sure he could at least turn the tide of the battle, which was currently unfavorable for his side.
‘Since I’m here, I might as well destroy the core.’
With that resolve, Christian swung his greatsword.
Fwoosh!
The Fire Dragon flapped its wings in sync with his movement, sending a wave of blue flames that carved a long trail through the air.
“Hissss!”
“Hisssss!”
The basilisks caught in the flames let out pitiful screams.
But Christian paid no attention to the lesser creatures. His focus was entirely on the King of the Basilisks.
The monster seemed to sense the danger posed by Christian’s Fire Dragon, as it immediately opened its mouth to release a poisonous breath.
“Not so fast!”
Christian pressed his greatsword against the Fire Dragon’s head, channeling his aura into the blade.
At the same time, the Fire Dragon opened its maw, unleashing blue flames that merged with the power of the aura blade, transforming into a searing beam of heat.
Boom!
The flames and the venom collided head-on, causing a massive explosion.
The temperature around them skyrocketed, and the air expanded with deafening shockwaves that swept through the surroundings.
But that was all.
Despite having the elemental advantage, the Fire Dragon’s heat beam couldn’t overpower the venomous breath.
At first, the two attacks seemed evenly matched, but over time, the beam began to falter and was gradually pushed back.
“You shouldn’t be focusing solely on me.”
Though dark red blood dripped from his nose and mouth, a sign of internal injury, Christian grinned as if it didn’t matter.
Boom!
No sooner had he spoken than a thunderous crash rang out.
Elder Oriana had swung her giant sword of rock at the King of the Basilisks, smashing into the creature with tremendous force.
While the sword wasn’t imbued with an aura blade due to its size, the sheer mass of the weapon, moving at near supersonic speed, caused the King’s massive body to stagger violently.
Oriana followed up by swinging the sword horizontally.
Boom!
The rock sword shattered upon impact, delivering a devastating blow to the King of the Basilisks, who barely managed to keep from collapsing by digging its feet into the ground.
‘Not that it mattered much.’
Lucas Hoffman, eyeing the King, enveloped his sword in an aura blade.
He then infused it with the full power of lightning, causing the blade to hover in midair.
“Go.”
With Lucas’ command, the sword shot forward, crackling with electricity and scattering sparks everywhere as it pierced the King’s side.
It didn’t just pierce—it tore a huge hole in its flank.
“Hissss!”
For the first time, the King of the Basilisks let out a scream of pain.
But the creature was as tough as they came.
Despite the agony, it immediately retaliated by firing a petrifying beam at Lucas, the red light slicing through the air.
Lucas, having exhausted all his strength in the previous attack, could only watch as the beam closed in, unable to move.
‘I didn’t expect it to counterattack in that state.’
Lucas gave a bitter smile.
As a 7th-circle warrior, he usually recovered quickly.
But the King of the Basilisks wasn’t giving him that chance, and now he was on the verge of losing his life.
Boom!
Explosions erupted on either side of Lucas, yet he remained unharmed.
It was thanks to Philip Alofs, who had intercepted the petrifying curse with his aura blade, cutting the beam in half.
“Thanks.”
“I just did my job.”
Lucas smiled in gratitude, but Philip’s face remained emotionless as he prepared to strike again.
He pointed his sword at the King of the Basilisks.
Tatata!
A barrage of energy bullets infused with the power of the aura blade erupted from the tip of his sword, too numerous to count.
The King of the Basilisks, unable to defend itself properly, was pummeled by the relentless assault.
Boom! Boom!
Every explosion tore through its scales and flesh, scattering green blood in all directions.
Yet the King remained standing, retaliating with breath attacks and petrifying curses.
“Just die already!”
With a shout, Christian leaped into the air.
The Fire Dragon’s enormous body rammed into the King of the Basilisks.
Boom!
With a thunderous impact, the Fire Dragon disappeared in a burst of embers, but its attack had done enough damage.
The King of the Basilisks, severely weakened, finally collapsed to the ground.
‘Now’s my chance!’
Mateus and Oliver moved simultaneously.
Not wanting to be outdone, Elder Oriana also launched herself toward the fallen beast.
Their target was clear—the core embedded in the King’s forehead.
It was then.
Fwoosh!
A curtain of blue flames appeared in front of the three.
Oriana’s eyes snapped open, her gaze sharp and deadly.
“Step aside, Christian Havertz! You have no ties to the Adalbert family!”
“How could you say that? I’m also the heir’s servant!”
“The heir has not yet become the family head, which means he cannot officially appoint vassals!”
“It doesn’t matter! The heir promised me land if I destroy the core!”
Ignoring the three, Christian dashed toward the King of the Basilisks.
He was closest to the creature now and believed he could seize the core.
But Mateus and Oliver weren’t about to let Christian have his way.
Voom.
In an instant, they used Spatial Movement to reach the King of the Basilisks.
“Damn spatial movement!”
Christian cursed under his breath.
He couldn’t help but think how unfair that ability was.
Determined not to lose, Christian gathered his strength again.
‘I have to get that core…’
Flash!
But his thoughts were abruptly cut off.
A golden cube had formed around the King of the Basilisks.
And it wasn’t just the monster trapped inside—the 7th-circle powerhouses fighting it were also caught in the cube.
Martin had activated his Spatial Sword.
Having experienced the power of the technique once before, Christian grumbled internally.
‘Even though he’s my lord, he’s really dirty and underhanded.’
For a brief moment, Christian wondered if he should just quit being a vassal.
But the thought was quickly banished from his mind, fearing the consequences.
“Huff… Huff…”
Martin was gasping for breath.
His right arm, which held Kaizen, was shaking uncontrollably as if struck by an earthquake.
His body felt drained, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness.
This was the price of using Spatial Sword four times in a row, a technique that was hard to use even once.
Squeeze.
Still, Martin gripped Kaizen’s hilt with both hands, refusing to give up.
‘I’ll admit it. You’re the strongest opponent I’ve faced since returning.’
Inside the Spatial Sword, the King of the Basilisks was countering the attacks from the aura blades with its poisonous breath and petrifying curse.
Martin added the precision of spatial slashes to the attack, but the monster’s immense mana suppressed the strikes.
As a result, for the first time, Martin’s Spatial Sword was being blocked.
And it wasn’t by a human but by a monster.
Acknowledging the King’s strength, Martin pushed himself even harder, despite being at his limit.
‘You’re exhausted too.’
The relentless attacks from the other powerhouses had taken their toll.
The once-invincible King of the Basilisks was now staggering.
“Be careful, everyone. The Spatial Sword has no blind spots.”
Martin forced himself to sound calm as he warned the 7th-circle warriors.
Flash!
Golden aura blades filled the interior of the cube, crisscrossing and slashing in every direction.
“Really, heir? You’re not helping!”
Elder Oriana and the other warriors fighting the King scrambled to dodge the onslaught of strikes.
Despite Martin’s weakened state, the Spatial Sword was still a deadly technique.
Even they would struggle to survive if caught in the attack.
Not even Oliver, with his Phantom Body, could afford to take the risk.
If Martin added a spatial slash to the attack?
‘He’d tear me apart, even with Phantom Body.’
Retreating was the smarter choice.
“Hissss!”
The King of the Basilisks, having barely recovered, attempted to stand.
“It’s too late.”
Martin swung Kaizen with all his might.
The movement was like the fall of a guillotine blade, and the aura blade slashed down on the King of the Basilisks.
—
Thud!
At long last, the mighty King of the Basilisks slumped to the ground, defeated.
Its body, already mangled by the repeated attacks from the powerhouses, was now completely wrecked.
“Is it still alive after all that? What a stubborn creature.”
Standing before the fallen monster, Martin looked at its forehead.
Even
Now, the black core embedded there continued to emit mana.
It was clearly the only thing keeping the creature alive.
In fact, although slow, the King’s wounds were still healing.
‘Though I’m more worried about the others than this thing.’
Martin could feel the weight of everyone’s gazes on him.
But no one dared to move hastily.
The Spatial Sword was still active, after all.
Lucas, Philip, and Christian all openly watched him, wary.
Satisfied with their wariness, Martin raised Kaizen.
Even though he could barely move a finger, he pushed through with sheer willpower.
“Hoo.”
After steadying his breath, Martin forced a golden aura blade to form.
With one final strike, he drove Kaizen into the center of the core.
A moment later, something incredible happened.
All the remaining basilisks turned into smoke and vanished.
“It’s the magic stones! We hit the jackpot!”
“Does that mean the ones on the upper floors are dead too? Let’s hurry up there!”
“Boss, we’re heading up first!”
The adventurers rushed back to the 34th floor, leaving Christian behind.
Martin didn’t spare them a glance.
His eyes were fixed on the core, now split in two.
Voom.
A light shimmered from the core fragments and was absorbed into his sword.
But that was all.
‘Huh?’
Martin was genuinely surprised.
He had expected the sword to transform, but nothing seemed to be happening.
‘Did it fail to absorb the core?’
Kaizen’s form as a divine sword was completely different from its current state.
He had anticipated that it would evolve once it absorbed the core.
Just to be sure, Martin injected mana into the sword, and finally, he relaxed.
He could feel immense power residing within the blade. The moment it accepted his mana, it amplified it.
Not only that.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the blue runes on the blade had changed.
‘With this, I can definitely call it a holy sword.’
He had successfully destroyed the core with his own hands, and Kaizen had grown closer to its true form.
With this, Martin had achieved all he had hoped to in this Monster Wave crisis.
‘But there’s still more to do.’
During the process of resolving the Monster Wave, he had caused quite a stir.
As a result, it was inevitable that he would attract attention from across the empire.
Martin could sense it.
It wouldn’t be long before he was summoned to Raize City, the imperial capital and the largest dungeon city in the empire.
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