Monster Jousting - Chapter 122 (Patreon)

Giant approached the water for his next meal. Noah’s heartbeat smashed against his chest. It’s going to work, Noah thought as the beast trudged into the ocean.

The fish were frozen once they entered that scarlet border. Giant’s enormous webbed hands swished through the water, grabbing a handful of thrashing fish. Noah recognised a few of them. They were the fish that had consumed his poisonous flakes. Eat it you bastard.

Thankfully, he did. He didn’t suspect a thing. He wasn’t as cautious as the Gillsnatch from before. Without giving his surroundings a second glance, he tipped his head back, then swallowed the fish whole. He didn’t chew. There was no need as they fell into his endless stomach.

Giant didn’t stop there. He was ravenous. And it just turned out that for some reason, there was a lot more fish entering his border than usual. The monster didn’t stop until he had consumed all the fish that dared to enter the border.

“Hey it’s working,” Pillow whispered as he peered through the thick jungle foliage.

“Yeah,” Noah said. “I’m not going to lie. I didn’t expect it to work so well.”

“Then how did you expect it to go?” Pillow turned to him, frowning.

“I don’t know,” Noah continued. “I just expected it to go a bit sideways, you know? When do plans usually go so well? Who knows, maybe I’m smarter than I give myself credit for?”

Giant coughed. It turned into a messy splutter. Fish pieces mixed with blood splattered into his hands. Then it dripped into the water. Drip. Drip. Drip. It didn’t stop. It gushed into the water, turning it from a clear blue to a dark red. Whatever the poison had done Giant, had caused far greater damage than Noah had expected.

“What poison did you use?” Pillow asked with curiosity. Maybe too curious as his little paws tightened around a branch.

“Well,” Noah told Pillow as he looked at what he had purchased.

5000 Grace coins - Putrid Bloodletting Poison: A poison that eats away at the stomach lining, and then begins attacking the bloodstream of the consumer. A devastating poison that is completely odourless and tasteless. Only Expert level alchemists can create such a vicious poison. Anyone capable of creating a poison like this is to be feared at all costs. An unseen enemy is the deadliest.

Pillow clicked his tongue. His voice rose. He couldn’t help it. “You spent five thousand points on a fucking poison?!” Pillow quickly realised he was being too loud. He looked at Noah in a new light. He continued, whispering, “That’s wasteful. What kind of person spends that much money on a lethal poison?”

“In life, sometimes you need to spend to earn.” Noah grinned as he looked at his prize. “For someone obsessed with currency, you should be well aware of the power of a successful investment.”

“Well, I didn’t go to school,” Pillow said.

“Neither did I,” Noah continued. “But I had good friends.”

“Friends…” Pillow mumbled. His voice trembled, but Noah couldn’t really hear it.

“What?” Noah asked.

“Nothing.” Pillow’s voice turned sharp. He turned to face the beach.

Giant screamed. His voice was deep and guttural, like the grumbling of a powerful diesel engine. Blood shot out of his mouth like a geyser. Noah half expected him to fall by this point. After all, that was a tonne of blood. It could fill up an entire bathtub, or a huge barrel.

He bent down. Noah wondered what the hell he was up to, but when he picked up a massive rock from underwater, Noah tilted his head. He was confused. What did he intend to do with that?

Noah’s eyes widened. Shit!

With bloodshot eyes, and red streaming down his mouth, painting the front of his body in viscous scarlet, he looked quite the sight. Unfortunately, those eyes marred with fury and desperation turned to Noah. He threw the rock. It hurtled right at them.

The rock approached at high velocity. Like a missile bound to crush their heads, it blurred toward them.

Noah used [Shadow Blink], reappearing to the side just as the boulder crashed through a tree. It didn’t stop there. It continued, ravaging whatever foliage was behind Noah, and his team. Boulders turned to dust. Iron trees split in an instant, and the earth tore.

So powerful, Noah thought. And now that power was directed at them. How Giant knew they were here, Noah didn’t know. But the fact remained; it knew they were here.

“Shit, what the fuck do we do?” Pillow shouted.

“Don’t panic,” Noah said.

His gaze met with Giant. Noah squinted his eyes. Time froze. Like a hunter for its prey, Noah didn’t shirk away from the radiating killing intent. Instead, he inspected the monster. He swayed. His legs trembled. Eyes twitched. Giant was weak.

That was the conclusion Noah arrived at. Because of that,

“We fight,” Noah said.

“No. Hell no!” Pillow crept back. “If you want to die, then don’t drag me with you. You’re on your own.”

“Meet you back at the house then, Pillow,” Noah said as he leapt up onto Gluttony’s back.

Giant was so tall he was practically a tower wading through the water. Then when he reached the golden sand, he walked into a full on sprint. He was fast. But Pillow was faster.

Not wasting a single second, the little black panda retreated into the jungle.

Noah didn’t hesitate either. He activated all of his Skills, then threw an empowered lance at the Giants leg. Streaking through the air, the phantom lance pierced Giant’s flesh, making him wobble. The poison was displaying its might.

Just after his attack, Noah ordered Krall to dig. In an instant, his mole companion dug his way into the sandy jungle floor. He disappeared, but Noah could detect him. He was under the sand. His adept burrowing made it so that the sand didn’t fall. He lay in wait.

Giant thundered over. He kicked up sand on his way. Noah fired another phantom lance, hitting its injured leg with accuracy once more. It stumbled. But it wasn’t enough to stop him.

Noah knew he couldn’t get another attack off. He ran out of time. Using [Shadowed Presence], Naoh disappeared a few steps to the side as Giant crashed through the thick trees. Wherever he went, he left a path of carnage in his wake.

Giant didn’t know where Noah had retreated to. From the darkness, Noah activated his [Thrust] and [Monster] shard, and [Beastly Pike] Skill. Noah heard the roar of Gluttony. Both of their minds turning to one, Noah’s lance transformed into a pitch black spike. Like Gluttony’s teeth surging forward, the tooth bore into the already wounded leg of Giant.

The beast fell to one knee.

Giant, surrounded on all sides by iron trees, placed one hand on the floor. He was about to clamber back onto its feet to attack once more. He wanted to rip Noah into shreds. But that didn’t happen.

The earth below Giant collapsed. Giant fell once more. This time however, the earth swallowed him whole. Just like he had done with the fish before. He fell far enough that only his head remained visible. It was Noah’s target.

Roaring, Noah expended all of his energy to attack. Multiple phantom lances tore into Giant’s face, causing blood to pour down from every wound. One struck his eye, causing massive damage. While one tore into his through, and another through his cheek.

Then there was Gluttony. He used the raw mana in his body to conjure up blades. The same blades his mother was known for. They slashed against the Giant, but no damage was done. He wasn’t strong enough. Not yet.

Giant broke free from the hole that he was in. His massive strength filled his tree-trunk like arms, but it was too late. The poison, along with the relentless onslaught from Noah proved to be too great.

Just like that, the terrifying monster that had created the red border was dead.

You defeated a - Level 117 Sea Tyrant.

You have Levelled up!
| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 77 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 81

Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 77 -> Krall level 82

Gluttony has Levelled up.
| Gluttony level 70 -> Gluttony level 77

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Noah poked Giant with his lance. Although the System notified him of his victory, for some reason he couldn’t quite believe it. He had defeated this monstrous foe?

It was a difficult pill to swallow. It wasn’t until the adrenaline coursing through his veins washed away did he realise what he had done. And it was easy.

However, Noah couldn’t allow the victory to cloud his mind. He had only managed to defeat the monster through proper planning. The poison was also the main reason as to why he won. And it wasn’t cheap. His words before rang true, though. It was an investment.

What he lost in terms of Grace Coins would hamper his progress with his house. It would even stop him from tunnelling to the mainland. But he would gain other rewards. The fishing mission, for example. And more than that, he would hopefully gain information on the castle.

And then he would storm it. Taking all the treasure for himself. It was a gamble, but he was already doing that since the day he had arrived here. No. He had gambled with his life on the line even before coming.

Right on cue, the red border that acted as an impenetrable barrier for the fish, washed away with the tide. The fish swam to the other side.

Noah grinned. It was a success. He blinked.

The air above the Sea Tyrant crackled and distorted. A smattering of lights, like a firework show, lit up the beach. Green, Blue… Purple.

Noah feasted his eyes on the rewards of his battle.