Chapter 355 341
The so-called beast dungeon turns out to be a dinosaur paradise. Before Cain can summon his forces, he is beset by a horde of tiny carnivorous lizards. They\'re bipedal and less than knee-high, so Cain calls [Acid Rain] to blanket the area, burning and melting their skin.
Only those closest to the edge of the spell manage to flee, but the screams of those who don\'t make it out in time draw an increasing number of reptilian attackers to the dungeon entrance.
Since he\'s already merged with Inquisitors, Cain transforms into Ancient Seraphim form and uses [Ancient Resistance] to triple the numbers of the Seraphim army he calls to counter the giant lizards.
Spears of holy light immediately slam down on the attackers from above as the Seraphim go on the offensive, pushing the dinosaur-looking reptiles back enough to make room for their hosts.
"If you see raptors, lure some to me. I want to test Neffie\'s theory that they can be trained as mounts." Cain instructs the Seraphim who are happy to oblige.
If they\'re intelligent but not fully sentient, he will have to find more of them. Carnivorous Cavalry has such a smooth ring to it.
The first waves of attackers were small, but the vibration of the ground tells him that something much heavier and more dangerous was coming toward him in a hurry.
The giant creatures smash through the trees, and Cain decides that he has won every little boy\'s dream lottery. Alright, it\'s probably not the dream of kids in this world, where they\'re an actual threat, but Cain is beyond excited for the chance to meet Tyrannosaurus Rex.
They\'re far more durable than Cain had expected, kicking the human forces away while taking barely a scratch from their swords. Even the epic quality Seraphim Warriors are having a hard time getting through that hide, and the Tyrannosaurus are shrugging off holy light attacks as if they were spotlights.
That pulls Cain into action, and he lazily flaps the six white wings of his current body, smoothly propelling himself into the air. He can guess that the brain is in the skull and the heart somewhere in the chest, but as to exactly where the vital points of a Tyrannosaurus are, he has no clue.
That\'s a skill that would come in incredibly useful, so he makes a mental note to look for a Summon with the skill to locate vital points on unfamiliar creatures when he has time to experiment and see if it\'s something that he can inscribe and learn himself.
Looking at his class details, the usable categories of skill books are no longer listed, so Cain might have to improvise. He managed to use Shaman-type skill books already, but he hasn\'t actually tried any others since his class changed, has had been relying on his merged summons for skills instead.
With [Greater Merger], he can have quite a few additional skills whenever he wants, so actually knowing them is a secondary concern.
Circling to the nearest creature\'s defenseless back Cain finds that he can go wild with nearly any attack combination he wants. Their neck isn\'t flexible enough to bite him, the front limbs are useless except for holding food in front of the Tyrannosaurus\' face, and the tail is easy to dodge when you can fly.
That changes quickly when the others come to the unfortunate beast\'s rescue. Dodging multiple sets of jaws is much more complex, and Cain realizes that these are not the solitary hunters he had taken them for.
Fortunately, with the area damage of his attacks, plus the benefit of [Might of Many], Cain is free to change targets.
The area damage isn\'t 100 percent like it would be with an Oath Breaker merged, but it\'s still a lot of damage, and the combined efforts of Cain and his summons burn through the giants\' health in under a minute.
[Boss, we found Raptors. What do you want us to do with them?] One of the Seraphim asks.
[Herd them to me. Let me know how intelligent they are.] Cain replies, returning his attention to an armor-backed group with large bone maces at the end of their tails.
There is no doubt in Cain\'s mind that these things descended from Dragons. The level of damage reduction is insane. Not just physical, they\'re resistant to almost everything.
The raptors burst into the clearing, and Cain drops on to the back of one to see what happens, using the mind-reading of [Superior Mental Domination] to better judge its reaction.
There are no words or language to the thoughts, implying it is simply an intelligent beast and not truly sentient, but the look on the raptor\'s face when Cain lands on him is immensely insulted.
The ferocity of the attacks it sends at Cain, in a desperate attempt to dislodge him, gives an impression of wounded pride, much like Laura the first time he wanted to ride her. That further solidifies his belief that they come from the prideful dragon clans.
It\'s the most fun he\'s had in a long time, though. In this target-rich environment, with the dinosaur\'s durability and damage output, he doesn\'t even need to go a crazy amount over his level to find a challenge.
The Heavenly Host is not enjoying this as much as Cain is, though. Everything they see is deadly, often chewing heads off of holy soldiers with a single crushing bite.
The field near the dungeon entrance is now red and muddy with spilled blood, and dozens of giant trees have been downed. They\'re about to finish the nearby attackers and get a much needed break when a bellowing roar fills the air.
An enormous reptile is charging at the Seraphim, lightning arcing from its mouth as it advances. This one has large and well developed front arms with razor-sharp claws that easily tear through armor.
It looks more like an iguana than anything, but the lightning breath says this is no ordinary overgrown animal. Cain charges back at it, blocking the mighty swing of its claws with the point of his spear as holy light rains down on their battle.
Pure momentum pushes him backward, but the claw is brought to a stop, and the flying Seraphim swarm the boss.
Lightning crackles from its entire body forcing the attackers back, but the creature can\'t maintain it, and seconds later, they\'re on it again, smashing and slicing at the heavily armored scales.
A faster than expected snap swallowed an Ancient Quality Seraphim in one bite, a misjudged bite that proved to be the boss monster\'s undoing. From the inside, the monster isn\'t nearly as durable, and the combination of holy light and swords quickly began to tear apart the giant lizard\'s innards.
The decreases in the Boss\'s health went from mere slivers to heavy chunks every few seconds, and the creature roared and scratched at its chest, trying to dislodge the comparatively tiny Seraphim who was causing it so much pain.
The boss falls with an anguished moan, and a final notification draws Cain\'s attention.
[Legendary Item Received]
[Carnivorous Armor] Increases bite and claw type damage by 300 percent.
Now that\'s an impressive piece of armor for an unarmed combatant with claws. Cain isn\'t sure who would be best suited to it yet, but if he equipped it and Summoned dinosaurs or other equivalent types of creatures, they would positively tear through enemies.