Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit
Chapter 179: Monster Queen Elimination(Part 5)

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Monster Queen Elimination(Part 5)

"Ugh, you look like you’re going to be a real pain to fight. Why couldn’t I have been assigned to a High Level Monster Queen instead? I’m sure Ravella, Colt or Lexia, not to mention the Vice-Commander, could’ve handled it just fine," Sighed Tacitus, as he eyed the Monster Queen he was facing.

It was a Scythe Mantis, one of the most dangerous High Level Monster species. Fortunately, the Queen hadn’t yet given birth to too many offspring, so the number of Scythe Mantises in the area was relatively low, at least in comparison to most of the other Monster Queens’ offspring.

Despite that, the Knights who had accompanied Tacitus had struggled against the swarm. Scythe Mantises were among the fastest Monsters in existence, and they possessed immensely durable exoskeletons.

With the other Knights struggling, Tacitus had no choice but to enter the fray himself to help them handle it, his powerful, crushing blows proving quite effective against their exoskeletons.

There were still a few left, but their numbers were now manageable to the other Knights, so Tacitus had left it to them while he approached the Queen.

The scythe on the Monster Queen’s right arm was longer and more curved than the other Scythe Mantises, and the one on the Queen’s left arm was straight and narrow, more like a sword than a scythe.

The Queen also had a pair of long, hooked arms extending out of its upper back, resembling the arms of normal praying mantises.

It let out a threatening chitter as Tacitus approached it, before it shot towards him with immense speed, driving its left arm forward as it closed in on him in the blink of an eye.

Tacitus swiftly raised the face of his large sword up defensively, the Monster’s razor sharp arm colliding against it with a sharp clang, before the arms on its back plunged down towards Tacitus’s head.

He quickly sprang back and swung his sword across, deflecting the arms away before he leapt forward and unleashed a powerful thrust of his sword, which slammed against the Monster’s chest with immense force.

But its exoskeleton absorbed most of the impact, a small crack appearing across the middle of its chest as its feet skidded back across the dirt a few inches, before it let out a sharp, chittering screech and sprang at Tacitus.

It whipped its right arm across at his head, before driving its left arm towards his throat as he ducked under the slash, a small cut appearing across the side of Tacitus’s neck as he tilted his head across to the left just in time, before he knocked it off balance by whipping his blade across at its legs, striking the side of its left leg and sending it stumbling across to its right.

He then swiftly sprang back up and unleashed a powerful, crushing swing of his sword towards the Monster Queen, his blade slamming against the side of its left arm and sending it skidding away a few meters to its right, cracks spreading out across its exoskeleton over its arm.

"Come on, that’s a needlessly tough shell you’ve got there. What a pain," Tacitus sighed in exasperation, before he shot towards the Monster again.

It swung its left arm at his chest as he closed in on it, narrowly missing as he swiftly sidestepped across, before whipping his blade up with a sharp flick of his wrist.

The edge of the blade slammed against the Monster’s elbow, in one of the gaps in its exoskeleton, before slicing through and severing its right forearm, the scythe-like appendage falling off and hitting the ground with a thud as the Monster screeched in pain, a gloopy green liquid spraying out of the stump of its arm, before it quickly sprang back as Tacitus drove his blade towards its neck.

Tacitus halted and leapt back as the arms on the Monster Queen’s back zipped down towards him, narrowly evading before getting some distance, the Monster doing the same.

It eyed him warily, before racing forward with immense speed, swinging its right arm across as it closed in on him, sending a splatter of the green liquid towards his eyes.

He swiftly ducked under the liquid, which whizzed past the top of his head, before he swiftly reached out and grabbed its left elbow as it began to swing its left arm in towards him, halting the swing of its arm.

He then leapt up and slammed his feet onto the Monster’s stomach, knocking it off balance before tightening his grip on his sword with his left hand and swinging it powerfully towards the Monster’s left elbow.

It frantically tried to pry its arm free of his grasp while simultaneously driving the arms on its back down towards him, before it screeched in pain as Tacitus sliced through its left elbow and severed its left forearm, twisting his body across as the pincers of the arms on the Monster Queen’s back closed in on him.

He grimaced in pain as one of the pincers grazed his left bicep, the other one plunging into his right shoulder, before he gritted his teeth and let go of his sword, which hit the ground with a thud as he then reached out and grabbed the Monster Queen’s second pair of arms before it could pull them back.

He swiftly planted his feet on its chest and pulled with all his strength, before violently twisting and ripping the Monster’s second pair of arms right off its back, the green liquid spraying out as the Monster let out a deafening, agonized screech, shakily stumbling back in pain.

Tacitus quickly grabbed and lifted his sword off the ground before he shot forward, driving the blade towards the Monster Queen’s neck while it was still disoriented from its injuries, its eyes widening in alarm as it began to spring back, before Tacitus swiftly ran his Mana through the weapon, the blade rapidly expanding and plunging into the Monster’s neck.

He then raced forward at full speed, slamming the Monster Queen against a nearby tree as he pushed on the handle of his blade, driving it further into the Monster’s throat as it frantically struggled, before suddenly going limp as a loud crunch rang out, its body slumping against the tree.

Tacitus pushed and twisted his blade, tearing through the mutated Monster’s neck and hacking its head off, its decapitated body collapsing onto the ground with a thud, a puddle of green liquid forming around the stump left around its neck.

"Finally. That took way too much work. I definitely need a few days off after this," He muttered, as he swung his blade across to shake the green liquid off of it.

Meanwhile...

"Take...THIS!!!" Exclaimed Celia, slamming her fist onto the stomach of the Monster Queen she was fighting, a deafening howl of pain ringing out as a fierce explosion erupted upon impact, magnified by her gauntlet, the Monster shakily stumbling back as blood poured out of its mouth.

She was up against a Cereberus Monster Queen, a Critical Level species. It had a large number of regular Cereberuses guarding it, Celia had killed and severely injured several of them using a barrage of powerful explosions, after which the team of Knights accompanying her moved in to keep them occupied, while she headed for the Queen.

The Queen was much smaller than the other Cereberuses, two of its three heads were conjoined and it stood on its hind legs with a slightly hunched back.

While it was faster and stronger than the regular Cereberuses, its smaller size made for a better match up in Celia’s favor, her close-range, explosive strikes proving highly effective.

The Monster Queen then snarled and unleashed a scorching wave of flames at Celia from all three of its mouths, she narrowed her eyes slightly before she shot straight towards the flames, blowing them away with a powerful explosive projectile before swiftly ducking as she closed in and the Monster swiped its claws at her.

She then unleashed a vicious uppercut, her fist slamming against the neck of the two conjoined heads and exploding devastatingly upon impact, crushing its throat as blood gushed out of both mouths, the third head letting out a snarl before snapping its jaws at her.

She quickly tilted her body across, a couple of shallow gashes appearing across her left forearm as its fangs grazed her skin, before she struck the side of its jaws with her right fist, several teeth flying out as her strike exploded upon impact, blood streaming down the left side of the Monster Queen’s jaws, before she swiftly sprang back as it began to charge up a swirling mass of flames.

The other two heads had slumped down, effectively brain dead since they were no longer able to breathe with their shared, crushed throat.

Celia then unleashed a rapid explosive projectile as the third head fired out a scorching, swirling fireball, which got blow away as it collided against her explosion, before she whipped her right arm across to fire off a rapid, slashing wave of explosive energy.

The Monster began to step across to its left in alarm, but its movements were a lot slower and more clumsy with two of its three heads out of commission, a roar of pain ringing out as the explosive slash struck the middle of its right bicep and erupted with immense force, blasting its right arm off.

A spray of blood burst out and splattered across the ground, before Celia shot forward while charging explosive energy into her right fist, getting low as she closed in before whipping her right foot up rapidly, her heel slamming against the Monster’s lower jaw and dazing it.

It stumbled back as she sprang back up and leapt forward, slamming her charged up fist against the middle of its chest, triggering an immense explosion that sent the Monster hurtling back through the air, its back slamming against a large boulder before it slumped down, trembling in pain.

"I’ll put you out of your misery now," She remarked quietly, approaching the Monster as an ominous purple glow shone out across her entire body, before chanting, "[Explosion Zone]."

A massive, devastating explosion erupted around her, covering a radius of twenty meters as she held back on its full force to keep it from affecting the other Knights, the blast carving out a deep crater across the ground as the Monster got vaporized in the explosion, hardly a trace of it left as the explosion began to peter out.

The entire area rumbled as deep cracks spread out across the ground around the crater, a cloud of dust rising up around Celia, before she turned around and walked away, a slight grimace on her face...