Ada, on the other hand, had already retreated to a safe distance with the Barrett.
Javier, unaware of Ada's strange thoughts, decisively pulled out the broken tip of Executioner Verdugo's tail blade and gripped it tightly in his hand, while his left hand clutched the Desert Eagle.
He took a deep breath, and the surface of his skin turned crimson as his blood boiled, entering the enhanced state of the Breathing Technique once again.
The previous side effects had almost subsided.
After the cooldown, he could continue to use it.
Upon entering this state, Javier completely unleashed his Gun Kata—not 'Gun Shaking Art,' but 'Gun Fighting Art.' The former is an absurd technique that makes bullets curve, while the latter integrates firearms into close-quarters combat.
"Bang bang bang—!!!"
Three shots from the Desert Eagle fired consecutively, all curving in various arcs towards Pesanta the Houndsman's head.
Having provided cover, Javier quickly charged forward, attempting to close the distance with Pesanta.
This sudden attack left Pesanta somewhat stunned, its crimson eyes filled with confusion as it watched Javier charge at it.
After all,
this was a weaker prey charging at it, an incredibly unbelievable sight.
A lion would find it difficult to comprehend how a young gazelle dared to turn around and not flee, but instead charged back to butt it.
This is the kind of self-doubt any apex predator would experience: could some weakness of mine have been discovered?
"Roar roar roar...!"
However,
besides self-doubt,
Pesanta the Houndsman was mostly enraged.
A young prey, a gazelle, dared to show resistance; how could it tolerate that?
After shaking its head and letting out a low growl, it charged fiercely towards Javier, unwilling to show weakness!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!"
The first attack was Pesanta's Big Tooth Worm's poisonous sting from its tail.
It opened its maw and sprayed them out, like a volley of arrows.
It seemed the previous incendiary bottle hadn't caused too much damage to the Big Tooth Worm, otherwise it wouldn't still be able to spit out poisonous stings.
"Boom—!!!"
However,
just as the poisonous stings were released,
Ada, from a distance, immediately raised her Barrett and aimed.
The high-power scope instantly locked onto Pesanta the Houndsman's head.
Feeling the time was right, Ada immediately pulled the trigger.
A colossal gunshot rang out, and the powerful recoil made Ada's female body slightly uncomfortable, but overall, it had no significant impact.
That shot had coincided with the instant Pesanta's poisonous stings were fired, perfectly seizing Pesanta's attack window.
This opportunity was very well-timed.
Meanwhile,
Pesanta, having just sprayed its poisonous stings, intended to immediately pursue, but the loud gunshot echoing in its ears made it stop short.
It quickly turned its head, ducking low to dodge.
It lay flat on the ground like a scorpion, almost parallel to the surface, its Big Tooth Worm tail raised high, completely transforming into a scorpion's stinger.
Now it seemed,
Pesanta the Houndsman was the one most fitting the characteristics of a scorpion monster.
Executioner Verdugo had merely possessed a dark, hard shell resembling scorpion armor; in terms of demeanor and essence, Pesanta was more fitting.
"Pffft pffft...!"
Ada's incendiary armor-piercing round missed.
This caused her to frown, biting her silver teeth into her red lips, and she clicked her tongue lightly, apparently very dissatisfied with the result.
Not only did Ada's shot miss, but Pesanta's poisonous stings were also entirely dodged by Javier, all embedding into the ground with crisp sounds.
After this initial exchange and probing,
neither side gained an advantage.
However, the now-aware Pesanta the Houndsman seemed to have noticed that the weapon that had previously threatened its life
had been transferred by Javier into the hands of that woman, Ada.
Thinking of this, Pesanta immediately redirected its attack, continuing to charge towards Ada!
Whichever person posed a threat to it, Pesanta would attack that person first.
Its intelligence, relatively speaking, was not very low; in fact, it was smarter than classic monsters like Lickers and Tyrants.
But—
Pesanta the Houndsman had forgotten that Javier was still carrying an RPG launcher on his back.
Seeing Pesanta the Houndsman stomp towards Ada without looking back,
Javier decisively unslung the RPG from his back, immediately loaded an Africa Banana shell, unfolded the crosshairs, aimed, and prepared to pull the trigger and fire.
He would let Pesanta the Houndsman taste a big one, letting it know of a 'big sniper' even more powerful than the Barrett.
After all, they were both single-shot, large-caliber weapons; an RPG was also a sniper...
Unprepared, Pesanta this time completely failed to notice Javier behind it, who had already locked onto it with the RPG.
"Ho ho ho..."
Instead, it continued to roar and charge towards Ada in the distance.
The Big Tooth Worm at its tail suddenly burrowed into the ground, preparing to erupt from below and ambush Ada as it had last time.
At the same time, its three-pronged claws also transformed into long whips, attacking simultaneously, blocking from above and below, giving Ada no chance to escape!
However,
when Ada saw Javier slowly shouldering the RPG in the distance, a faint smile curved her red lips.
This monster was indeed not as smart as she had imagined; she no longer needed to run.
"Boom—!!!"
Raising the Barrett again, Ada stood still, intending to engage Pesanta the Houndsman in a direct confrontation with her gun.
The moment the trigger was pulled, another incendiary armor-piercing round burst forth!
Pesanta's reaction speed was also incredibly fast.
It knew that if a bullet from the Barrett hit its head, it would be a guaranteed fatal situation.
Therefore, the moment the gunshot rang out, it immediately dropped to the ground to dodge, its body once again flattened like a scorpion.
Seeing this, Ada shook her head.
This monster had fallen for the trick again.
She had no intention of hitting the monster's head; she merely wanted it to lie down and be temporarily unable to move.
"..."
"Goodbye, baby—!"
After a faint final whisper,
Ada quickly pulled out her grapple gun and fired, retreating.
The rope firmly secured itself to the wall behind her, forcefully pulling Ada dozens of meters away, once again creating the safest possible distance.
And at this very moment,
"Bang... Whoosh...!"
"Boom boom boom—!!!"
A sharp whistling sound suddenly erupted.
Pesanta the Houndsman, sensing something was terribly wrong, turned its head to look.
On its back, it clearly saw a shell, spewing scorching flames and rolling white gas, rapidly approaching it.
For the first time, its crimson eyes flickered with a look of terror.
Although it didn't know what that thing was, Pesanta the Houndsman had seen the cannons set up on the walls of Salazar Castle, and their power should be similar.
"Crack—!"
Less than five meters after launch,
the RPG shell's tail fins quickly spread open, forming a cross shape to accelerate its propulsion even faster, making it even harder for the target to react.
By the time Pesanta the Houndsman prepared to flee, it realized that the red impact warhead had already made full contact with its skin...
Chapter 75: Artillery Fire and Spring Scenery Are Not Mutually Exclusive
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion quickly erupted, and a terrifying flash of fire rapidly expanded, burning and soaring into the sky.
The instant the warhead touched Pesanta the Houndsman's back, its seemingly tough flesh was immediately torn open, creating a bloody hole, completely ripped apart.
Indeed...
In the face of absolute speed and power,
there is no such thing as the'strongest shield.' The opposing theory of spear and shield has always placed the defensive shield at a disadvantage, because it has always been easier to create destruction.
The destructive arrow needs no consideration of variables to be created, while establishing a defense is comparatively more difficult.
Caliber and range are the greatest truths—
And the moment the warhead tore through Pesanta the Houndsman's flesh, the terrifying gunpowder explosion contained within instantly spread out.
Scorching high temperatures and powerful shockwaves swept everything in their vicinity.
Violent tremors erupted, accompanied by thick black smoke, and a deep crater was immediately blasted into the ground where Pesanta had been.
"Rustle..."
"Hiss hiss hiss...!"
Suddenly—
Countless shattered stones flew, and the strong airflow caused Javier's and Ada's hair to dance, stinging their cheeks and making them squint.
The turbulent air also caused Ada's vibrant red patterned cheongsam to flutter, revealing a glimpse of her spring scenery for an instant, but it was quickly covered by her composed, slender hands.
Ada's face was slightly flushed with embarrassment.
Biting her red lips, she shot a fierce glare at the culprit, but Javier was striking a 'real man never looks at explosions' pose, so he completely missed that fleeting glimpse of spring scenery.
"..."
As the scorching flames in the explosion crater died down and the rolling black smoke dissipated into the air, Javier and Ada slowly looked back towards Pesanta.
At this moment, Pesanta's corpse lay rotting in the center of the crater.
All around were scattered debris and dust.
Dense cracks spread outwards, and large clumps of charred, blackened flesh lay in pieces within.
One could vaguely distinguish Pesanta the Houndsman's head and arms, all mutilated limbs; it was a scene of utter devastation, truly disgusting.
However, one also had to admire the monster's physical durability.
Despite being hit directly in the body by an RPG, its massive body did not explode into mere chunks of meat; instead, there were still recognizable, albeit incomplete, limbs remaining, indicating that Pesanta the Houndsman's muscles were very solid.
"Hiss..."
A burnt smell permeated the air.
In Javier's and Ada's eyes, Pesanta the Houndsman was undoubtedly dead beyond dead.
But in reality, if their eyes had observed a little more closely, they might have discerned a slight clue.
Because within that terrifying explosion crater, a very important Big Tooth Worm tail was missing, and a sunken, collapsed small hole had appeared out of nowhere in the crater.
If they weren't mistaken... it should be that Pesanta the Houndsman, at the most critical moment of danger, had detached its tail.
Just like a gecko or lizard,
when encountering danger, it will self-amputate its tail to preserve its life, using the tail's flesh to lure predators, akin to a rich man encountering a bandit and leaving behind his 'toll money' to quickly escape.
However,
Pesanta's method was the reverse of a lizard or gecko...
After all, others self-amputate their tails to preserve their main body, while Pesanta left its main body to preserve its tail, an extremely peculiar and counterproductive action.
However—
This should not have been Pesanta the Houndsman's voluntary act, but rather the action executed by the Plaga parasite within its body.
After all, the Plaga parasite of Pesanta the Houndsman was its Big Tooth Worm tail, not its human-like main body with the crimson long tongue, which was the original butler's consciousness.
When encountering fatal danger,
the Plaga parasite, in order to survive, will desperately flee at all costs, including abandoning its host, which is a minor matter.
After all, in the eyes of the parasite, the host is merely a shell, and shells can be found again countless times, but its life is singular.
Therefore, the instant the RPG shell hit Pesanta the Houndsman, the Big Tooth Worm at its tail self-amputated and burrowed into the ground.
It was a skilled digger, and naturally, it could avoid the RPG explosion by digging a hole...
"Is it over?"
Seeing that Pesanta the Houndsman in the crater was truly motionless, Ada slowly put away her Barrett.
She hadn't quite had her fill with this gun, as neither of her two shots had hit Pesanta's body, which left Ada a little disappointed.
At the same time, while Ada understood the power of the RPG, the troublesome nature of bio-monsters was also deeply ingrained in her mind.
So, even though she saw Pesanta reduced to charred, scattered chunks of flesh, Ada still maintained a deep sense of vigilance.
"Not yet..."
"There's still a bigger one over there.
Once we deal with that dwarf goblin castle lord, then it'll truly be over."
Hearing Ada's murmur,
Javier slowly walked over from a distance, carrying the RPG, and spoke calmly.
It had already been reloaded with a new Africa Banana shell.
The RPG shells given to them by the Merchant were purely high-explosive, primarily focused on the destructive power of high-temperature flames after explosion, not anti-tank or anti-armor shells.
Therefore, their power was much more astonishing, very suitable for dealing with monsters mutated by the Plaga parasite.
"Why didn't you use this earlier?
If those monsters could be defeated so easily, using these heavy weapons earlier would have saved us so much trouble."
Ada was still sulking about Javier's previous rocket launch almost flipping up her cheongsam, so the moment Javier approached, her slender hand slowly reached for Javier's waist and twisted hard.
The sudden pain made Javier's face contort.