The morning sun broke through the darkness.
Under the sunlight, Nergigante grew even more feral.
By now, the rescue team had quietly made landfall.
Provoked by Nergigante's presence, Zorah Magdaros actually quickened its pace.
This strained the already limited manpower to the breaking point. Besides evacuating the wounded, they had to destroy the magmacores, and the artillery teams at the Great Ravine had to maintain their bombardment.
Leon knew he wouldn't be receiving any backup for the time being.
He took a deep breath and kicked off the ground, darting out from under Nergigante's claws like a bolt from a crossbow.
Nergigante gave Leon no room to breathe, launching itself after its prey with powerful strides.
"Roar—"
Seeing this, Leon's heart tightened. He entered Demon Mode once more, moving across the ground like a streak of dark red lightning.
Nergigante pursued him relentlessly, pouncing again and again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Leon executed a series of slides, dodging left and right, but he couldn't find a single opening to strike.
In a moment of desperation, he dodged at a forty-five-degree angle and immediately spun around, hurling a Flash Pod directly at the beast's face.
Pop!
A flash of white light erupted.
Nergigante finally halted its pursuit.
Although both were Elder Dragons, the pressure Nergigante exerted was significantly higher than that of Vaal Hazak. It was like a god of war who had survived thousands of battles, never granting its enemies a moment's respite.
While Nergigante was disoriented and stomping in place, Leon signaled the Felynes coming to the rescue to speed up the evacuation of the wounded.
Several Felynes rushed to the front lines, quickly carrying Ramsey and several other hunters away.
But Nergigante recovered quickly.
"Roar!!" Nergigante snapped its black wings open, whipping up gale-force winds as sharp as blades that sent debris flying.
'I have to gamble...'
Leon watched the frenzied Nergigante, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he pulled a Shock Trap from his bag.
Taking advantage of the moment while Nergigante was still intimidating its surroundings and hadn't turned back yet, he quickly set the trap directly in front of him.
The mechanism clicked as the power activated, and metal probes drove deep into the rocky surface.
The Shock Trap was deployed.
"Come on!" Leon didn't have time to catch his breath. He stood before the trap, taunting the beast.
Sure enough, Nergigante came charging at him.
Boom!
Its massive frame shook the rock underfoot. It didn't slow down, closing in on Leon like a black hurricane.
Leon took only a slight half-step back.
A second later, Nergigante slammed its front paw down!
Click!!
The trap triggered.
Blinding arcs of electricity exploded. Metal spikes popped out from the ground and pierced Nergigante's paws, sending a high-voltage paralyzing current surging through its nervous system!
Zzzzt!!
But the trap didn't have the intended effect. As an Elder Dragon, Nergigante was entirely immune to traps.
Leon was sent flying by a brutal swipe, crashing heavily against one of the hard rock pillars on Zorah Magdaros's back. His entire body felt numb and broken.
"System... keep adding points!"
[STAT PANEL: STRENGTH 26, AGILITY 23, CONSTITUTION 21, PERCEPTION 15. (UNASSIGNED POINTS: 6)]
[STRENGTH +1, CURRENT 27]
[UNASSIGNED POINTS: 5]
Burning power erupted within him once more. His bones felt as if they were being reforged in a furnace, his muscles twisting like steel cables.
Leon gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand again.
But in the next instant—
Nergigante followed up. With a sweep of its black wings, the resulting gust blew Leon off his feet.
He was sent tumbling backward like a ragdoll against the rock wall. A metallic taste filled his throat as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Cough... Hack...!!"
The powerful impact had cracked his ribs, and his ears were ringing. He slumped to the ground, his vision blurring.
"Allocate points..."
[STAT PANEL: STRENGTH 27, AGILITY 23, CONSTITUTION 21, PERCEPTION 15. (UNASSIGNED POINTS: 5)]
[STRENGTH +1, CURRENT 28]
[UNASSIGNED POINTS: 4]
The unallocated points before his eyes felt like a cold reminder—this was his last chance.
Once they were gone, there would be no way back.
Leon struggled to his feet, staring at the dark silhouette that looked even more grotesque in the morning sun.
He knew clearly that neither his speed nor his strength could keep up with his opponent...
It was too strong...
Nergigante's golden pupils stared straight at Leon. It seemed to have noticed the human's unyielding spirit.
Slowly, Nergigante took its first step, then the second. Each heavy stomp shattered the rock beneath its iron-like claws.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
'Calm down. I need to calm down.' Leon forced himself to steady his breathing, but fear was fermenting in the depths of his heart.
This was the first time he realized so clearly that he might actually die here.
But at that moment, Leon's gaze inadvertently swept over the area nearby.
Several Felynes were desperately carrying the wounded hunters away, their small faces covered in coal soot and filled with tension.
A hunter on a stretcher forced himself to look up at Leon—
His gaze held no terror, only respect.
Leon's heart jolted.
He gritted his teeth, downed his essential hunting tonics, and raised his already chipped Matched Slicers.
To his surprise, Nergigante actually stopped, as if waiting for its prey to get ready.
Seeing this, a sense of absurdity washed over Leon.
'Is it waiting for me?'
But he had no choice. He quickly used a Whetstone to sharpen his blades.
Nergigante remained motionless, its pitch-black scales glinting coldly in the dawn light.
A split second later.
It lunged with all four limbs, leaping into the air and descending with a thunderous roar that tore through the atmosphere.
"Here it comes!" Leon used the terrain to roll away, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.
The ground where Nergigante landed collapsed into a massive crater, sending rock fragments flying.
Leon didn't stop. Taking advantage of the brief opening after Nergigante landed, he lunged forward again.
A dozen consecutive slashes fell like a torrential rain, his blade light weaving into a net that struck Nergigante's hind legs.
This time, Leon poured every ounce of his strength into the attack.
Even though his arms felt weak and his knuckles throbbed with agony—every blow threatening to jar the dual blades from his grip—he did not stop.
"Allocate points!"
[STAT PANEL: STRENGTH 28, AGILITY 23, CONSTITUTION 21, PERCEPTION 15. (UNASSIGNED POINTS: 4)]
[STRENGTH +1, CURRENT 29]
[UNASSIGNED POINTS: 3]
As the searing power surged through him once more, Leon felt every inch of his muscles burning.
However.
Even with the increased strength, it still wasn't enough damage.
Nergigante snorted hot air from its nostrils, then pivoted low to the ground, swinging its spiked wing membrane toward him.
Leon slid to dodge.
Little did he know, Nergigante's front paw was already raised and coming down!
Leon was swatted several meters away, crashing into a stone pillar. The pain was unbearable, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth again.
"Ha... Haa..."
He gasped for air, his vision darkening. His limbs felt like they didn't belong to him; he couldn't even stand up.
[STAT PANEL: STRENGTH 29, AGILITY 23, CONSTITUTION 21, PERCEPTION 15. (UNASSIGNED POINTS: 3)]
[STRENGTH +1, CURRENT 30]
[UNASSIGNED POINTS: 2]
The remaining points felt like a tolling death knell.
In less than five minutes of combat, the attribute points Leon had worked so hard to accumulate were nearly exhausted...
'Will I die?'
'Am I... going to die here?'
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