Chương 25: Juggernaut.

"Vincent, take out your dagger."

Anna had been traveling with Vincent for around 4 months now. They had been living off the land and had avoided big cities during their journey.

They passed by some villages and settlements, but they didn't stick around for long. They traded for some supplies, asked around for some information and directions, and moved along. After every visit, they went back to the forest to make sure that no one followed them.

"Are we being followed?"

Vincent whispered slowly.

"No. My barrier just picked something up. I figured that it might be a good training partner for you."

He smiled.

"What kind of monster?"

Anna looked at him and said,

"Juggernaut."

As a mutated race of Kobolds, Juggernauts were an uncommon species. An average Juggernaut was a C-Class monster, while the strongest of them could be as strong as the peak of B-Class.

Slowly, the ground started to shake. Vincent placed his hand on the ground and used his mana to find the source of the vibrations.

"It is close."

"Do you remember its weak point?"

"The core on its forehead. But to get to that, I would have to break its helmet first."

He and Anna quietly made their way around the monster. He had to take it by surprise.

Slowly, he found himself in an ideal position. He could see the Juggernaut clearly.

3 meters(9 feet) in height, wielding a hammer made out of stone. It was probably here to hunt a monster and take it back to its cave. Its helmet was actually a part of its body, and it covered his face.

<<Pursuit>>

A dark type spell. It allows the user to hide his presence while increasing his speed.

He leaped out of the clearing and prepared to land on its shoulder.

<<Freeze>>

Vincent was aiming to freeze its neck.

'Clink!'

Vincent was unable to hit the mark. The Juggernaut had used its hammer to block the attack.

A layer of ice appeared on the stone hammer, and it froze the hammer along with its arm. The Juggernaut pushed Vincent away in panic.

Vincent planted his feet firmly on the ground and maintained his balance. The monster used its other hand and smashed the ice off its fists. It gathered around some mana and began healing the frostbitten hand.

Vincent moved forward and transferred more of his mana inside the Dagger. He was aiming to freeze the injured arm.

The monster picked up its hammer and prepared to attack him.

<<Ignition>>

He created a fireball with his hand and sent it towards its helmet. The Juggernaut had to halt its attack and raise its hammer to defend against the fireball. Some of the ice on the hammer melted.

Vincent stabbed the dagger in its injured arm. The Ice started to form inside its skin, and it roared in pain.

Soon, the ice enveloped its arm from the inside and on the outside. It had been crippled.

Vincent took out his dagger and stepped back. Even in this state, the monster used its other arm to strike with its hammer. He evaded the attack and countered it with a strike towards his neck. It was too slow to evade the attack, so the strike made its mark.

Its neck froze. It could no longer move its head, and the frost spread through his lower body. It couldn't use mana to keep the ice out, and everything below the base of its head was covered in ice.

Vincent started to hack away at his helmet. It was thick, but with around 10 strikes, Vincent was able to make an opening. The Juggernaut's face was visible, and it resembled the face structure of a lizard. It had a small crystal embedded on its forehead, which was most likely its core.

<<Freeze>>

The lizard was trying to move its head, but the ice was too strong. It made a shrill voice through its throat, trying to threaten Vincent. But it couldn't open its mouth, so the sound was muffled.

He used his dagger to slice off the core along with some skin.

The eyes turned motionless. It stopped breathing.

The Juggernaut had been killed.

He climbed down from its corpse and picked up the core that had fallen on the ground.

Anna stepped out of the clearing. Vincent approached her and handed her the core.

She inspected it and said,

"Not bad. But you used too much mana."

He had relied on one spell too much.

"He had a hammer that was as big as me."

Both of them walked towards the corpse and inspected it closely.

Anna took out her sword.

<<Blaze>>

A blue flame covered her sword, and she sliced the ice sculpture. Its meat could be used for dinner. The sword melted the ice in an instant. She picked the corpse up and put it inside the bag.

----------------------------------------------

"It's bitter."

Vincent and Anna were sitting in front of a bonfire, eating the freshly cooked Juggernaut meat.

"That's the neutralized poison."

The Juggernaut's last defense was its poison. If someone managed to break through its helmet, it could use its poison to counterattack. The poison is strong enough to kill a human within seconds.

When it dies, the poison neutralizes. It only works when Mana is present, so if the Juggernaut is dead, the poison becomes a slob rich in nutrients.

"Anna, when are we going to leave this kingdom?"

She had been alluding to it over the past few months. This place was dangerous, and the further they were, the better.

"I don't know."

Vincent didn't know that Anna had made contact with Melida right after they left the duchy. She had asked her to remain inside the Kingdom for a while and leave only when the situation calmed down. 4 months had passed since then, and Melida had returned to the Kindred family. She had to take care of a few things before officially taking Vincent back to her family.

They were really close to the borders of the kingdom. She had been mulling over this question herself.

Vincent went back to the meat in his hands.

Anna kept thinking for a while and said,

"We will go back to the city tomorrow. I will ask around for some information and decide whether we should leave or not."