After the phase transition, the Goblin Veteran General became much more of a 'mad dog'. Isagi was mentally prepared for this, given the precedent of the Two-Headed Lizard, but he still couldn't help but want to retort.
Dungeon, you bastard, you never learn the good stuff, only the bad stuff, right?!
The originally golden lightning spears turned deep purple and were thrown about indiscriminately. Although they lost precision, they greatly restricted the area of movement for Isagi and the girls.
Especially after sticking into the ground or walls, they would wait a few seconds before exploding a second or third time.
Completely irregular, making them impossible to guard against effectively.
Not only that.
That deep purple lightning seemed to carry a special 'suction' attribute. If one got close, their body would involuntarily move towards the center; breaking free required spending much more stamina than before.
Including from time to time.
The Goblin Veteran General riding the lizard would raise his iron hammer high, suddenly emitting a streak of deep purple current, sucking everything around towards him.
For Isagi, who was always in melee range, this was even more troublesome.
The huge inertia suddenly generated by the suction would cause his original attacks or defenses to miss their mark. He had to concentrate the moment the boss raised its hand, preparing to resist the suction while adjusting his position to avoid accidents.
Aside from that, there weren't really any new moves.
But because of its 'mad dog' behavior, this guy would often charge forward, then directly pull a U-turn and crash towards Lefiya's group.
This was somewhat frustrating, as Isagi couldn't catch up to its speed.
How could two legs outrun four?! And that lizard looked to be a higher level than him!!
The already scarce output windows became even fewer.
Fortunately!
Isagi had anticipated this situation.
Back when this guy was still in phase one, he actually sensed it. Although the battle was proceeding smoothly, if it started charging, unless the Spirit Essence skill was off cooldown, he could only dodge and watch.
And if it ran far away, he would have to chase it, which seemed even more troublesome.
So he switched his train of thought.
Before, he primarily relied on stalling for time, relying on the Spirit Essence skill and building up energy points for charged heavy attacks to deal damage.
But now, relying on the opportunity to switch character cards after reviving outside earlier, Isagi had already swapped the previous 'Retracing the Journey to the West' for the 'Land of Reeds'.
Thus.
Facing the Goblin Veteran General who was charging toward the two elven girls and running far away again.
After it stopped, Isagi didn't foolishly chase after it shouldering his Greatsword, but directly used the Shinobi Prosthetic's Grappling Hook!
The small iron claw connected to a rope sank into the big lizard's flesh, then pulled Isagi, flying speedily, arriving in front of the BOSS in the blink of an eye!!
This speed was so fast that the Goblin Veteran General didn't even react.
Or perhaps Isagi's sudden change in fighting style caught it off guard.
Thus.
A silver Full Moon flashed past, splashing blood flowers.
The katana's damage was definitely inferior to the Greatsword, but it was fast. And now Isagi had total initiative, raining down attacks on the Goblin Veteran General.
The Shinobi Prosthetic on his left hand made the 'click-clack' sound of mechanical transformation again.
Retracting the Grappling Hook, immediately a string of Firecrackers was scattered into the air, exploding beside the big lizard's head.
The crackling noise worked again, putting the lizard into a brief 'Startled' state.
Although it didn't last long, maybe just a second or two?
But the mount suddenly stalling.
Gave Isagi space to output again. So, [Glimmer Echo] then [Full Moon Slash] two-hit combo!!
Secret Art.
[Twin Moons] spam!!
Silver streaming light was like pouring threads, accompanied by spilling blood, instantly inflicting heavy damage on the Goblin Veteran General, whose face was already half charred and emitting red sparks, clearly heavily injured.
And when the mount lizard recovered from the scare, Isagi didn't get greedy. He switched his Shinobi Prosthetic again and fired the Grappling Hook at a nearby stone pillar.
So when the opponent prepared to counterattack.
He had already quickly left the attack range, leaving the guy raging incompetently on the spot for quite a while.
The Goblin Veteran General's ranged means were only lightning spear throws and charges. This was quite threatening to his previous self, but with the Grappling Hook, he could zip back and forth between several large pillars to escape.
Thus, the situation instantly reversed!
It turned into him walking the BOSS like a dog!!
And whenever it rested—the veteran's mount must be an old lizard too, lacking a bit in stamina, especially after fighting for so long—Isagi had already noticed.
The big lizard would inevitably stop to pant after running for a while.
Good chance!
This is the so-called 'stiffness' recovery! You can't be a mad dog forever, right?!
So, repeating the old trick, he used the Grappling Hook to fly speedily to its front, followed by a flurry of slashes.
The scene turned into Isagi suppressing the Goblin Veteran General to death, leaving Filvis and Lefiya in the distance dumbfounded!
But this is the importance of 'Combat Strategy'!!
Different BOSSes have different guides. Through learning, summarizing, finding their weaknesses, and fully utilizing one's own strengths, the momentum of offense and defense naturally changes.
When playing games, you must play with your brain!
As the Goblin Veteran General was gradually suppressed by Isagi, Filvis also began to fully assist Lefiya in defending against the lightning spears thrown from time to time, as well as the charges still coming toward them.
As for Isagi's side.
Filvis determined that going over there now would actually be doing the boy a disservice.
Because although her speed was also fast.
She completely couldn't utilize the environment like the boy did, using the Grappling Hook to rapidly change his location.
In that case, the two couldn't coordinate. It was better to concentrate on helping Lefiya successfully release her magic.
After the 'Fantasy Comes True' just now.
The elf girl had already raised her staff again, ready to give this Goblin Veteran General another 'Fusillade Firebolt One-Two-Three-Four-Five-Six-Seven-Eight' barrage.
And as Lefiya successfully released her magic again and again, the scales of victory tipped completely toward their side—
—
'Pfft'!
A long blade descended from the sky, plunging into the neck and piercing through the opponent's hunched chest.
At this moment, the blood-soaked Goblin Veteran General's body had been forcibly turned into a 'remnant' in the truest sense by magic and swords.
The head of the large lizard beneath it was also chopped off, with almost no intact scales left on its surface.
'Please.'
[Veteran General Gmorrs] spoke its final words, faint as clouds, so that Isagi, who had jumped onto its back, almost didn't hear them.
Immediately following, its body and weapon fell to the ground together.
The battle was over.
Isagi used the long blade in his hand to dig out the Magic Stone from inside its chest. The Monster's body subsequently began to turn into flying ash and dissipate, leaving behind several massive lizard scales and a beautiful sky-blue moonstone.
[Scale of the Mutated Lizard: A scale shining with abnormal luster, extremely tough, and possessing magic reflection capabilities. Goblins found that Dungeon Lizards, also born in darkness, lacked wisdom but possessed infinite possibilities.
Occasionally, special 'Variants' would appear among them. In the dark era before the Pale King arrived, some Goblins would regard them as guardian deities and offer sacrifices.
And Goblins capable of riding Variant lizards into battle were indisputably true powerhouses.]
[Symbol of the Veteran: A type of exquisite gemstone with extremely scarce production in the kingdom. It is said that the pale blue glimmer it emits is a 'light' truly distinct from pallor and darkness. Aside from being beautiful, it has no other value itself; only Goblins recognized by the King are qualified to wear it.]
It didn't drop this guy's weapon, that hammer that could summon lightning.
Pity.
Isagi thought so, but if he wanted it, he could just have Cecil forge one when he got back. After all, that thing looked like it was just a Third-Class Armament, right?
And that girl is someone who can craft First-Class Armaments—Goddess Astrea said so herself.
So, actually, for him, dropping weapon and armor crafting materials was better than dropping equipment directly, because with Cecil, he could act as the client and customize.
Whatever shape he wanted, whatever function, he could request it all from her!
Isn't that delightful.
Thinking of this, Isagi felt relieved, only causing a certain girl still in her dreams to inexplicably sneeze!
After a short rest.
Lefiya and Filvis were both okay, though both had fallen into that peculiar 'babbling daze' state characteristic of mental exhaustion.
Especially the former.
Continuously releasing wide-area annihilation magic that already had a high mental cost, and needing to use mental power to control it afterwards.
This was obviously a challenge of quite high intensity for Lefiya.
Although the girl hadn't directly fainted unconscious yet, her whole person was listless and sickly, standing blankly on the spot, making even walking become difficult.
Filvis was better off.
Although she also used quite a lot of defensive magic, she was Level 3 after all. After dazing for a while and replenishing some mental power with potions, her thoughts focused back.
She even started helping Isagi clean up the battlefield together.
Although many Goblin corpses were blown to ash by the BOSS, there were still quite a few Monster corpses piled up in the courtyard, including the corridor outside the door.
These are all Magic Stones!
Before the Dungeon could recycle them all, Isagi and Filvis dug out quite a few, counting as a bountiful harvest.
Thus.
As the surrounding scene returned to 'normal' again, everything disappeared, leaving only that sloping corridor leading to the 5th Floor.
Filvis indeed felt a rather unreal sensation rising up.
It was as if she had really dreamt a fantasy. Was the battle just now real?
But looking at Isagi's appearance beside her—the boy who faced the BOSS directly had his armor and clothes mostly ruined, all covered in scorched marks.
However, the half-body bone armor covering his chest and shoulders still existed. Aside from the fur originally covering it disappearing entirely, the surface of the gray-white bone armor was also full of scorch marks, but it should still be usable after going back for repairs.
Including that large shield used to defend against lightning strikes, it was the same. Filvis didn't know what happened at all, and she didn't want to know.
This was for the best; treating it as a dream was fine too.
On the other side.
Isagi just skillfully carried Lefiya on his back, while signaling Filvis to prepare to return to the surface.
With the elf girl's state, she definitely couldn't fight anymore. Although he really wanted to see what the [Goblin Kingdom] on the 5th Floor looked like, it would have to be next time.
No need to wait long either.
Go back to sleep, rest a bit, find the Goddess to update his status, and then they could set off again...
...
___
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