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Vlad sent his Super Blazing Doppelganger lookalike toward the King of the Neburians, successfully luring him elsewhere due to its striking resemblance to him!
"So you've finally shown your face, you bastard… I'll make sure you pay for what you did to me!"
With a furious roar, several magic circles opened, and giant boulders were fired at the Super Doppelganger, who flew around rapidly, dodging them one by one. The King chased him while riding his gigantic mount made of stone—a monstrous beast containing the souls of his generals within, which felt like a second boss just as threatening as he was.
RUMBLE!
The ground trembled as the King and his Mountain Dragon Golem moved elsewhere, stomping over the terrain and flattening the land while the Super Doppelganger lured them farther away.
"You can't run away from me! I'll catch you, coward! Come and fight me!"
Ezekiel was completely consumed by rage and wrath, roaring angrily while chasing someone who wasn't even Vlad himself.
This was also part of the plan—not only to buy time by making him fight a fake but also to lure the boss elsewhere, specifically near the eternally dark rainforest filled with dark spirits they had visited earlier.
That was the route the other enemy groups would use to assault Elderbridge… although they were still a long way off.
"It worked! He's buying it!"
"ROOOAARRRR!"
"Ugh?!"
As Vlad celebrated once he saw the Neburian King rushing after his Super Doppelganger, a massive lion-shaped golem, over twenty meters tall, roared, its giant claws rushing down toward him. The Vampire Prince grabbed his sword desperately, preparing to retaliate.
And yet!
"HYAA!"
With a mighty war cry, a blazing majin stepped forward. Wearing black and red nun clothes from the Moon Goddesses' Church, her giant fist surged forward as her aura exploded into an inferno of flames, encompassing her foe with each blow. Shockwaves of immense power were released as she smashed the golem's claws.
BOOOM!
With that single blow, the entire golem's arm was blown apart, flames spreading through the rest of its body, creating numerous cracks and causing it to crumble slowly. She delivered another blow, punching its head and then a leg, and the entire golem exploded into pieces, its core shattering due to the internal damage caused by the shockwaves of that woman's attacks.
CRASH!
"Oh? Am I stronger than before? I really thought I was rusty!"
Mother Scarlet was a far greater asset and investment than the prince had envisioned. As he glanced at her incredible performance, he realized he was truly lucky to have found her in such a random place, making him consider how he needed to keep searching and recruiting more people for his city later.
Nonetheless, Mother Scarlet didn't stop there. She moved forward, pulverizing the incoming golems—lion-shaped, wolf-shaped, and even the larger gorilla-shaped ones. Her small fists, insignificant compared to these behemoths, meant nothing as each blow sent blazing shockwaves, demolishing them one after another.
"I have to remind myself with each fist that I am not fighting for myself anymore. I am fighting for the dear children I've sworn to protect!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
She kept punching and fighting these giants, even as her hands began bleeding from the damage her knuckles sustained while smashing through the hard magical stone of these monsters.
And yet…
FLASH!
Healing light enveloped her hands—no, her entire body—as she felt revitalized and restored. From a distance, Alitheus had pointed his hand at her, conjuring healing magic to ensure her safety.
"Don't overdo it, Mother Scarlet! You're tough, but I don't think letting your fists bleed is a good idea…"
"Fufu, you may be right, Alitheus, dear… but this is what I must do! I will encompass my very fists with my Aura and materialize it!"
"RAAAARRRR!"
As she spoke and Alitheus was too busy to check on her again, Mother Scarlet found herself surrounded by four more golems, roaring like the beasts they embodied.
And there was also a fifth among them, resembling a chimera of various animal and monster-like statues, like the rest.
It possessed a stronger, fused, and mutated soul, as if it were the result of combining multiple golems into one.
CRAAASH!
As their claws reached her, Mother Scarlet swiftly dodged the massive attacks, kicking the air and soaring upward, her blazing body resembling a star.
"It looks like we've found an Elite, huh?"
As she glanced at the gigantic beast using her Magic Senses, a system notification appeared before her.
Ding!
[The {Raid Boss: 1/5}: [Three-Headed Lion Chimera Golem King: Leonius I (Tier 7: Rank 5)] has stepped forward, aiming for your life after witnessing you slaying many of his Golem soldiers.]
[His imposing presence alone raises the Defenses of all nearby Neburian Golems by 100%!]
[If you can defeat the Raid Boss, you will be granted Bonus Raid Points and a Special Reward as a Vassal of the Nation.]
"Oh? Now this is interesting… You're an important one, aren't you, cute little kitty?" Mother Scarlet asked with a gentle smile. "I bet Lord Vlad will be pleased if I take you down… Shall we get serious, then?"
As Mother Scarlet cracked her knuckles, Leonius I stepped forward, roaring and opening all three of his stony jaws, unleashing three beams of darkness against her.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Mother Scarlet dodged the explosions, leaping from one place to another, even as she sensed Leonius I's lackeys—the four other Lion Golems—chasing and surrounding her, trying to cut off her escape routes.
"It said you have a hundred percent more defense. Shall we test that?"
Mother Scarlet's aura glowed a bright crimson in that moment, her very soul blazing with immense infernal power.
Her Aura transformed into a muscular demon giantess, which then merged with her body, overlapping with her form.
"{Blazing Infernal Martial Arts}: {Nine Demonic Hells}"
Her fists moved even faster and with greater precision than ever before, piercing the golems' bodies—all four of them—as her aura erupted into giant blazing palms, pulverizing her foes without even directly touching them, through the sheer physical prowess she possessed.
BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!
BOOOMMM!!!
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