Chapter 427
Sergeant Lincoln could be seen charging forward, heading towards the nineteen Two-Spined Abberants standing off in the distance.
A One-Spined Abberant was nothing to a Sergeant of his caliber, so he could leave those to the teens.
Even a Two-Spined Abberant was nothing to him.
He could defeat one...
...Whether easily or not, he had no idea.
The only issue was that there was a whole group of them standing a few metres away, displaying a level of coordination that was never seen before amongst the creatures.
They didn’t attack.
They simply observed their lesser kin battling the Aspirants and losing.
So far, out of the two hundred One-Spined Abberants, a hundred had lost their lives, and not a single Aspirant had been killed.
Mainly due to Ray’s help in locating their weaknesses on time while the other members of the cohort worked together to deal with them as efficiently as possible.
"Huh?"
One of the Abberants turned his gaze towards the human charging towards them.
His hands rested behind his back while the earth beneath his feet seemed to wait for the signal to erupt at a moment’s notice.
"Oi, check this out. Someone’s coming!" the Abberant alerted his comrade, pointing towards Lincoln with a smug smile on his face.
The Abberant lifted a brow before grinning.
"Nice. I was already getting bored. I call dibs!"
He shouted and, without warning, lunged forward.
Three steps.
That was all it took.
With every movement of his massive frame causing buildings to crumble beneath him, the Abberant closed the distance between himself and the charging Sergeant, that same smug grin still plastered across his face.
Unhesitatingly, the creature swung his leg forward like someone kicking a soccer ball.
Lincoln calmly darted to the side, his gaze remaining focused.
’They are smug creatures. They love a good fight and won’t gang up against me.’
A second foot hurtled towards Lincoln.
The Sergeant slid underneath it, hearing the massive foot crash into the ground behind him.
BOOM!
The earth quaked from the impact as a plume of dust shot into the air.
Due to the slide, Lincoln’s hands were planted firmly on the ground.
The earth received its signal.
It erupted.
A dozen spikes shot upward, racing towards the Abberant.
With stunning agility, the creature twirled around, avoiding the spikes by a wide margin.
The earth spikes crashed back into the ground, tearing deep grooves through the earth.
Lincoln didn’t pause.
He simply lunged forward again.
With every step he took, the ground trembled beneath his feet.
Then—
A pair of earth swords shot into his grasp.
Just in the nick of time.
The Sergeant leapt onto a half-toppled building before launching himself from it, shooting towards the Abberant like a meteor.
The creature grinned from ear to ear as it tensed its body, waiting.
It watched as the Sergeant drew closer.
Closer.
And when Lincoln finally entered its range, the creature swiped its claws through the air with astonishing speed.
However—
Lincoln kicked off the empty air and spun over the arm that housed the deadly claw.
His VMS boots sprayed gas, keeping him suspended in the air as the creature’s tail whipped towards him.
Quickly slamming the earth swords together in front of his face, the weapons instantly morphed into a massive tower shield.
BAM!
RIIIIIING!
Lincoln’s hands trembled from the force of the blow.
His teeth gritted as he felt the impact threatening to send his body flying through the air.
But before that could happen, part of the earth shield transformed into a long spear.
It plunged into the earth below, anchoring Lincoln’s body in place.
Then—
A massive foot rose into the air.
It descended like a pillar from the heavens with blazing speed.
Lincoln didn’t move.
He simply watched as the foot came crashing down, his expression grim.
BAM! BOOOOM!
The ground split apart, transforming into a massive crevice as a thick plume of dust erupted into the air.
The impact shattered the surrounding earth into countless pieces, while the dust shrouded the creature’s legs in thick waves.
"....."
"Did he get him?" one of the Abberants wondered aloud, staring at his comrade standing at the front.
The others simply shrugged.
They seemed completely disinterested in weaklings, choosing instead to continue watching the other One-Spined Abberants being taken care of by the teens.
Truth be told, they weren’t refusing to join the fight because they wanted to be fair to the humans.
They were standing still because they needed strong opponents.
Opponents capable of testing them.
Opponents capable of pushing them beyond their limits.
What humanity didn’t really know was that...
...Yes, the more injured they became, the stronger and faster they got.
And the stronger they became, the closer they were pushed towards reaching the next Spine.
If they could sustain enough injuries and survive long enough, they could finally attain the next Spine.
And for that, they required a tough opponent.
Someone who wouldn’t simply one-shot them, but would push them to their limits.
Someone capable of forcing their bodies to evolve.
That was why they were grateful for their strange biology.
With their hearts constantly located in different places, humanity couldn’t simply aim for their chests and kill them.
They had to injure them repeatedly, searching for the location of their hearts before they could finally deliver the killing blow.
Hence, they waited.
They needed a stronger opponent to come to them.
...
And the Spine Reaper could do the trick.
Whoooosh—!
Lincoln vaulted out of the dust like a bullet.
He hovered in the air for a moment, staring at the confused Abberant that was still looking at the spot where the Sergeant had been.
A static sound echoed through Lincoln’s ears.
"Sergeant, its heart is located in its throat."
"....."
"Ray? Ho—"
"Kill it already and quit questioning me!"
Lincoln’s expression tightened.
The earth beneath the Abberant erupted.
Rocks shot upward, wrapping around its legs and pinning it in place.
"Huh?"
"Just so you know," Lincoln uttered.
He kicked the air behind him and shot forward like a missile.
He cut through the air with incredible speed.
An earth greatsword erupted from the ground and shot into his grasp.
Though the Abberant was partially restrained, it still managed to swing its claws through the air.
Lincoln didn’t run.
He simply dove headfirst, slipping beneath the creature’s hands.
His greatsword swung upward.
SLASH!
The blade tore across part of the creature’s arm, sending chunks of its rocky scales crashing to the ground.
"...You will be punished for speaking to your superior that way."
BANG!
Lincoln vaulted off the Abberant’s thigh, his sword pointed forward.
Before the creature could react, the greatsword plunged into its throat.
SHUNK!
The blade tore through the neck and emerged from the other side, carrying the Sergeant forward with it.
A gaping hole appeared in the Abberant’s throat.
Blue blood splattered through the air.
Lincoln landed behind the creature with a skid, dragging his boots across the ground before coming to a swift halt.
"....."
The other Abberants turned their heads towards him.
For the first time, their expressions carried something different.
Confusion.
Shock.
Swinging his earth greatsword to the side, Lincoln sent the blood coating its blade flying onto the ground.
At the same time, the defeated Abberant’s massive body finally collapsed.
THUD!
Lincoln pointed the greatsword towards the remaining creatures.
His gaze remained calm.
"Who’s next?"
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