The dungeon has been parasitized

Chapter 23 Sword Lion

What should we do with this body?

Klein put down the carcass of the steel-tusked boar and, incidentally, recharged his spear and retracted it into the ground.

Bringing it back would only bring trouble; the flesh monster might come knocking on our door. Perhaps we should bring the demon sword instead?

But just as Klein was fretting, the roots underground suddenly began to tremble.

Something's coming this way!

Klein quickly hid behind the carcass of the steel-tusked boar—

puff!

Several reflective metal shards flew by, easily slicing through the skin of the steel-tusked wild boar; they were extremely sharp.

Klein quickly maneuvered the bone-stealing badger to the side.

"Waaah..."

A low, guttural roar echoed through the forest, and a powerful beast came into Klein's view.

That was... a lion?

Unlike ordinary lions, it is white, but this is not because of its fur.

Its neck is protected by a mane made of sharp swords, and its entire body is covered by armor made of rapiers, making it appear to be both offensive and defensive.

However, although it is called a sword, it is actually just the tip of a short sword or a rapier.

Klein was stunned.

So cool...!

Activate skill: Detect

Success rate: 45%

Launch successful.

Name: None

【Type: Demon Lion】

[Race: Saber Lion]

[Level: 13]

Age: 3

[Health Volume: 1401/1407]

【Spirit: 27】

[Magic Power: 321/341]

【Strength: 51】

[Agility: 25]

【Intelligence: 20】

Individual Abilities:

Flying Sword: Launches the sword from your body. [Exclusive Magic].

Sword Regeneration: Rapidly regenerates the swords on your body. [Exclusive Magic]

[Weak point: Abdomen, a soft area not covered by a sword.]

A lion completely armed with swords?! And it can even launch swords from its body?!

So cool, I want it!

Although Klein was eager to parasitize it and make it his own, it was clearly a tough opponent, not only good at both offense and defense, but also much larger than the Bone-Stealing Badger.

Ping, ping, ping...

The sword lion lowered its head and growled, its gaze fixed on Klein, the bone-stealing badger. With each step Klein took back, the sword lion pressed forward, creating the clashing sound of swords clashing.

When the sword lion reached the carcass of the steel-tusked boar, it stretched out one of its front paws and pressed its entire body down on it, as if to say – this is mine.

It seems it was attracted by the screams of the steel-toothed boar, but didn't want to fight Klein. It only wanted to get food by intimidation, since getting food without fighting was the most cost-effective.

"roar!"

Seeing that Klein had not left, the Sword Lion frowned and let out a loud roar that seemed to vibrate the air.

Just like a hedgehog, its weak point is its abdomen...

Activate skill: Remote control

While keeping an eye on its movements, Klein quietly moved the spikes under the steel-tusked boar, because the boar was pressing down on it and it couldn't pierce the sword lion.

"Awooo!"

But just as Klein moved the spear vines, the sword lion pressed down on its hind legs, then suddenly leaped into the air, its mane gleaming slightly as it swung its head toward the ground.

puff!

Countless sword bristles shot out, spinning and slashing into the ground.

Several thorny vines have lost contact...it seems they've been cut off. Its swords are really sharp; they could be used to arm the vines.

This looks so tempting!

"roar……"

The sword lion landed on the ground to the side and growled at the ground beneath the steel-tusked boar carcass, keeping a watchful eye on Klein's vines.

Damn it, it's so sensitive to what's happening in its abdomen. I was trying to trick it. If Yanami were here, it would be much easier. Mind Blast is so useful.

What should we do? Should we retreat? The sword lion doesn't seem to have any intention of fighting; it only wants food.

But I feel like killing it would give a lot of experience points...

Swish.

The sword lion moved again, swishing its tail towards the ground, sending countless thin swords flying out and piercing into the earth.

That's quite cautious. Since it's so sensitive to its abdomen, perhaps we can take advantage of that. Klein definitely wouldn't be able to beat it in a head-on fight.

Taking advantage of the Lion's distraction, Bone-Stealing Badger Klein activated his invisibility spell.

"Awooo..."

As soon as Klein disappeared, Sword Lion reacted and growled at the spot where Klein had vanished.

Then, it swung its sword at Klein.

puff.

It only hit the ground; Klein was no longer there.

Sword Lion knew there were enemies nearby. Although the footsteps were very light, they could still be heard, but he couldn't pinpoint their exact location.

It lowered its body, bringing its belly close to the ground, while keeping watch for anything underground.

"Woohoo!"

That loud shout was as if it were saying—come out!

Left side? Or right side?

do not care!

As the sword lion gripped the ground with its forelimbs, it exerted force with its hind limbs, spinning violently around its forelimbs as a pivot point, unleashing a barrage of countless slender swords from left to right, striking from every angle without any blind spots.

Surely we've hit it by now?

There was no smell of fresh blood, only the smell of old blood, and no screams. Sword Lion felt that the invisible guy might have already escaped.

But when it looked to its right, it was surprised to find that some of the slender swords were blocked by a row of branches that had grown out of nowhere, and they were very close to it!

The sword-lion horse used both its hind and forelegs to propel itself backward.

Landing.

Hey.

A tiny sound of something landing came from the ground beneath its belly; the saber-toothed lion saw what appeared to be a seed. Upon hearing this sound, the saber-toothed lion strained its limbs once more.

puff--!

Suddenly, countless branches burst forth from a tiny seed, poised to pierce the sword lion!

The sword lion had already leaped into the air. Looking down at the ground from above, the spot where the sword lion had just stood had turned into countless sharp vines. Jumping immediately was a fortunate choice.

Once it lands, it will go and find the invisible creature—

Ping!

Before it even heard that sound, the sword lion's eyes had already been pierced by countless needle-like flashes of light, which darted around in its eyes, and the excruciating pain in its eyeballs pierced its brain.

In its panic, the sword lion lost its balance, and what should have been a smooth landing turned into a tumble.

The sword lion felt its head spinning, and the hard barbs on its back dug into the ground, preventing it from turning over immediately.

It came to its senses and knew it had to immediately tuck in its soft belly, but—

shhhhhh...

The sword lion's eyes were now just white, and the noisy sounds were rapidly approaching. By the time it tried to get up, the sounds were already right next to it.

Puff puff puff puff...

Countless cold, sharp branches pierced its abdomen. It tried to struggle and twist its body, but it died immediately.

call……

Klein breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the glitter stone from his paw onto the ground.

Finally got it sorted out. Luckily, it's too cautious and likes to jump, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to handle such a three-dimensional defense.

Klein was startled when he saw it wagging its tail, but luckily he had placed a seed in the belly of the bone-stealing badger, which generated a wall of branches in time when it attacked from all angles.

If I hadn't been positioned to its side, causing it to circle around before shooting at me, I would have been truly caught off guard.

Klein took advantage of its caution, throwing seeds under its feet to force it to jump, and then using a flash to throw it off balance in mid-air, exposing its belly.

The seed used to coerce was a weapon laid out together. The moment the sword lion lost its balance, Klein used accelerated growth to make it stab the sword lion.

If you use the Flash Stone on the ground, Klein won't be able to do anything to it once it goes blind and lies down on the ground.

Fortunately, the Bone-Stealing Badger has been producing new glitter stones these days, otherwise Klein would have already made his escape.

However, even if he fails, Klein can escape using invisibility, so this is a safe gamble.