Chapter 432 Den (Part 2)



When Kaizen stepped on the empty skull of the Pantheon Serpent lying on the ground and heard the sound echoing through every corner of the cave, he almost froze for a moment, realizing that he had just made a crucial mistake.

For its part, the creature abruptly turned in the direction of the sound. Suddenly, its turtle beak-not a bird's beak, as Kaizen had first imagined-was pointed at Kaizen, and the creature dropped the carcass of the animal it had been eating. Its bright red eyes focused on Kaizen's eyes, which were now completely exposed. Immediately, the creature let out a deafening roar and began to move toward him, its jaws open and ready to attack.

Preparing for the worst, Kaizen raised his sword. Concentrating on his fighting stance, he waited for the creature to attack.

The creature advanced with surprising speed, attempting to bite Kaizen with its jaws, but he managed to dodge and strike a <Deep Cut> with his sword to the creature's side. Despite the skill, the cut was shallow and did not do much damage to the creature, which continued to advance.

[You dealt 89 damage to Harpiasaurus].

At that moment, Kaizen knew that he was at a disadvantage, as the creature was stronger and tougher than he had imagined. And since the beak of this Harpiasaurus seemed to be enough to crush a Pantheon Serpent, Kaizen definitely did not want to experience the feeling of being bitten. So he tried to keep some distance and attack with his sword, but the creature was quick and elusive.

When Kaizen was proactive enough to try to attack, charging at the creature using his <Giant Lungs> to increase his strength, the creature reacted quickly, dodging the attack with ease and delivering a blow with its long tail, causing Kaizen to hit a wall with his back, producing a deafening thud. The pain throbbed throughout his body, but Kaizen was resilient and quickly got to his feet.

The creature had no intention of giving the Psyker time to breathe, however, and advanced again, but this time Kaizen was prepared. He used his agility to dodge the attempted headbutt, and with a quick series of movements, he managed to deliver a sharp blow to the creature's head, ripping out one of its eyes.

The Harpiasaur let out a roar of pain and fury as blood dripped from its injured eye. It tried to attack Kaizen again with its tail, but he easily dodged it. Now Kaizen had another chance to strike. He stepped forward with his sword at his side and tried to deal the creature a fatal blow, aiming for its neck. But the Harpiasaurus was even faster than he had imagined and managed to dodge the blow. As soon as it dodged, it tried to bite Kaizen again, but Kaizen used his dodging skills, leaping backwards and landing another blow to its head, causing it to retreat a few steps.

The creature was clearly angry now that it had been injured, and began to attack with more ferocity, as if not thinking clearly.

Kaizen managed to dodge some of its attacks, but since the cave wasn't that big, although it wasn't cramped either, he ended up being cornered and hit by one of the creature's claws. He felt the sharp pain as the claw tore through his skin, but he was not shaken. He continued to fight despite the intense pain and the blood pouring from his body.

The battle continued, with Kaizen and the Harpiasaurus moving in a frenzy of attacks and evasions, for another two or three minutes. Finally, Kaizen managed to land a sharp blow to the creature's throat, causing it to choke on the iron taste of his sword blade.

The Harpiasaurus let out a high-pitched scream and then fell to the ground, dead.

[You have killed a Harpiasaurus and gained +27950 XP.]

[You have obtained 'Harpiasaurus Eye' (1x).]

[You have obtained 'Harpiasaurus Claw' (6x).]

[You have obtained "Harpiasaurus Flesh" (3x).]

Kaizen removed his sword from the creature's body and looked around the cave to make sure there were no other threats. He was covered in blood and a little wounded, but he felt victorious that he had managed to win the battle without too much trouble. After searching the entire place, he put his sword away and left the cave, breathing in the fresh air outside where it was drizzling.

"Really, the weather has completely changed in just a few minutes. This will make hunting a bit difficult, because the monsters will probably take shelter from the rain..." Kaizen thought aloud.

That being the case, Kaizen decided that he needed to take a break as well, so he lit a fire and started roasting the Harpiasaurus meat, which looked quite juicy, though the monster was not so much.

While waiting for the meat to roast, Kaizen examined the Harpiasaurus Eye and Harpiasaurus Claws.

The Eye of Harpiasaurus was a small reddish ball that emitted a faint light. Kaizen knew that these eyes were probably highly prized by alchemists and mystics, as they were believed to have magical properties and could be used in powerful potions and spells. He decided to keep an eye on his inventory and sell it when he had the opportunity, even though his main buyer of monster drops, Klank, seemed a bit upset with him since he had been eliminated from the tournament finals last week.

The Harpiasaurus claws were sharp and curved, like eagle claws, but much larger and tougher. As a blacksmith, Kaizen knew that these claws were highly sought after by craftsmen and blacksmiths, who used them to create certain parts of weapons and armor. He decided to keep the claws in his inventory as well, knowing that they might come in handy in the future.

When the meat was finally ready, Kaizen took a hearty bite. And contrary to his expectations, the meat was rubbery and tasteless, which was to be expected since he hadn't even used any spices.

As he ate his disappointed roast, Kaizen thought about what he would do once the rain stopped. He had gained a lot of experience fighting the Harpiasaurus and the other monsters he had encountered along the way, but he still felt the need to explore the area more and see if he could find more creatures to fight. Kaizen also found it strange that he hadn't found any structures yet, since completely wild areas were rare.