Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 166

The Red Lamia raised her massive tail, as thick as an ancient tree, and brought it down toward me with relentless force.

*Thud! Thud!*

The tail crashed down twice with enough strength to smash me to pieces, leaving deep craters on the stone floor of the cave. The sight of the sturdy ground caving under the weight revealed just how powerful that tail strike was.

Of course, by then, I had already used *Counter* to slip behind the Red Lamia. I immediately swung Astaroth with all my might toward her back.

My starlit sword sliced through the faint layer of protective dark magic enveloping the Lamia’s body and struck her human-like upper body. Oddly enough, unlike her lower body, her upper body bled red, not blue.

*Hisssss!*

The enraged Red Lamia coiled her body tightly, initiating a spinning pattern. I responded quickly by activating *Guard*.

*Clang, clang, clang!*

She spun three times, delivering a powerful impact even though I blocked each attack with *Guard*. The force jolted me backward slightly.

*Shiver...*

There was a knockback effect, which meant that unless I executed a *Perfect Guard* for each hit, I’d be pushed back.

This spinning pattern is trickier than it looks. The first spin can be fully blocked with a well-timed *Perfect Guard*, negating all damage, but the second and third spins come after that timing window ends.

Given her massive lower body, dodging isn’t easy either. True, I could attempt to evade by dodging backward or sidestepping twice in a row, but...

*Swish, swish, swish!*

“Tsk.”

As I focused on the Red Lamia, I noticed the Blue Lamia in the distance firing blue venomous magic darts at me.

These two had long-range attack patterns. Their attacks were coordinated so that one’s close-range attacks and the other’s ranged attacks pressured me without overlapping.

The giant Lamia’s long-range magic darts could be blocked, fortunately, but they came in rapid succession, not leaving me any room to release my guard. Whenever one of them launched a ranged attack, it was a relentless defensive struggle.

In that case...

*Hop!*

I used a backward dodge to put some distance between myself and both Lamias.

*Hum!*

The Red Lamia’s hands gathered red magic, and the Blue Lamia’s hands gathered blue magic, both focusing their power.

*Zap!*

Soon, a rapid series of deadly magic darts shot at me.

*Tat-tat-tat!*

I started running to the right, circling the Lamia nest as if taking a wide lap around them.

Once there’s a good amount of distance, it becomes more manageable. Without worrying about the close-range attacks, it’s easier to dodge them on sight.

*Swish!* I tilted my head to avoid a red magic dart that came dangerously close to my neck, then immediately lowered myself and held my sword in reverse. My blade gleamed with starlight.

*Swoosh!*

The Starlit Blade—a ranged skill of the swordsman class.

Given the current situation, with both Lamias close together and a suitable distance between us, it was perfect for dealing effective damage.

A flurry of starlight erupted from my sword, striking both Lamias, causing them to writhe in pain. They responded by launching a new barrage of faster magic darts.

The darts from both Lamias, now even faster than a black dragon’s spear, increased in number, leaving little room to dodge.

*Spin.*

I held my sword diagonally, raising it slowly while spinning.

What does this look like from the outside? Melissa’s sword dance was beautiful... I wonder if my clumsy moves also look like a dance. In reality, I was just swinging my sword swiftly while infusing it with sword energy.

*Clink, clink, clink!*

The magic darts deflected off the starlight that whirled around me, echoing like bees battering against a window.

[*Sword Shield: Activate*]

*Whoom!*

Though Astaroth was small to match my frame, its weight made a satisfying, deep sound.

*Slash!*

The starlight scattered around me, sweeping over both Lamias and the edge of their nest, where eggs had piled up.

*Crack, crackle!*

The eggs shattered before they could hatch, pieces of grotesque flesh flying in all directions. I dodged a chunk that flew close to me and chuckled to myself.

Disgusting. Definitely not like chicken eggs.

This was part of my plan.

These eggs would have been a nuisance later.

It was time to make the most of my newly acquired area-of-effect skill.

*Hissss!*

*Screeeech!*

The Lamias seemed angrier than when I’d interrupted their moment together. With twisted, demonic faces, they began gathering magic in their hands again.

“Not happening.”

*Swish.*

I slid forward smoothly.

Just as the third volley of magic darts came, I maneuvered right between the Red and Blue Lamia.

*Flash.*

The moment I was in their close-range attack zone, both Lamias raised their tails in unison.

*Thud! Thud!*

*Hop.* I jumped, stepping on the two Lamia tails as I sliced downward in a flash.

*Slash!*

As expected, my critical sword skill carved a visible wound into the thick scales of the Lamia’s sturdy torsos, slicing through their magical protection. But even with that cut, their massive bodies—each the size of a whale—barely seemed affected. Their sheer HP seemed proportionate to their size.

*Hisss!*

Both the Blue Lamia and the Red Lamia coiled and started spinning simultaneously.

*Whoosh!*

Using their gigantic snake tails, they launched a sweeping spin attack that covered more than half the battle area. Though a challenging pattern to counter...

What if I overlapped both patterns?

“With one backward dodge, I can evade them both.”

*Hop.*

I shifted out of their reach, dodging their fierce spins as I immediately raised my sword and tore into both Lamias’ bodies again, striking mercilessly.

*Slash! Slash!*

Bits of Lamia flesh flew around me, and I smiled brightly.

What? This is easier than I thought!

Usually, multiple bosses with different attack patterns were an absolute nightmare to deal with. Facing two didn’t just mean doubling the difficulty—it was much more complicated than that.

The tricky part was when each had different attack patterns. Even with something as simple as a sword swing, if the timing was off, I’d have to block twice. Like the spear and shield soldiers in the “Frozen Palace,” each with different timing, range, and attack methods. Facing them alone took my full concentration.

But if the patterns are identical, like with these Lamias?

I just needed to lure out one ranged pattern and overlap the close-range patterns.

*Hisss!*

As both Lamias lunged at me, tails poised to crush me, I climbed up one of them with a smirk and started slashing them with glee.

“Hehe, hehe!”

The Lamias’ faces contorted with resentment as they endured my relentless attacks.

They actually had quite expressive faces for monsters with human features. Why so resentful? Weren’t they planning to eat me anyway?

Then again, I did interrupt their little rendezvous and destroy their unborn. From their perspective, I must be the devil. So who’s the real monster here?

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Still, inappropriate behavior isn’t allowed! That’s a capital offense!

---

**[Hidden Named]**

- **Level 55 Red Lamia**

- **HP: 42,149,655 / 70,000,000 (60%)**

**[Hidden Named]**

- **Level 55 Blue Lamia**

- **HP: 41,998,124 / 70,000,000 (60%)**

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*Hisss!*

“Huh?”

As I dodged their overlapping attacks and capitalized on every opening, I noticed something odd.

I heard an eerie, slithering sound as the Lamias began to slide across the rocks.

Suddenly, both Lamias turned away from me and moved to another part of the cave.

This... is definitely a special pattern.

I confirmed on the interface that both Lamias’ HP had dropped to 60%. I raised my sword, keeping a close eye on their next moves.

Only the remnants of broken eggs and the faint red and blue mana lingered in the area where the eggs had been.

The Lamias entered the mana-laden area.

*Whoom!*

A red and blue barrier appeared around each of them.

A shield gimmick?

Looks like a damage-reduction shield often seen on elite dungeon bosses. There must be a way to deactivate it, though.

First, I’ll test how much it reduces damage by striking it with my starlight-imbued blade.

*Swish!*

The starlit blade struck the Red Lamia.

*Hum!*

It absorbed the attack with a strange sound. Then—

*Swish!*

—the energy shot back toward me.

“Whoa!”

I immediately ducked and rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging my own reflected attack. I looked at the two Lamias approaching again, stunned.

This barrier... It’s not just a damage-reduction shield.

The fact that my attack bounced back at me...

“A reflection shield?”