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The Apocalypse Grinder - Chapter 49
🕑 Added 2025-06-18 10:58:16 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 48 | Index | Chapter 50 >>
Ronan felt his body surging with power. The moment he’d decided that the hobgoblin champion was his enemy, he’d felt lionheart activating. When fighting the horde it had given him a decent buff to his stats, but this was the most potent it had been so far.
Everything aligned into this moment. This was the most powerful blow he could deal after all his efforts.
Lionheart. Vital surge. Breaking charge. Mana strike. Double strike. All of his skills came together to perform this symphony of destruction.
Ronan flashed, his body blurring as he disappeared from where he’d been standing. Magriz’al was halfway through punching towards Terry when Ronan’s spear struck.
He had aimed for the monster’s neck at the top of its spine, but its reactions were absurdly fast. Even in the half second it took for breaking charge to activate it managed to shift its body.
Ronan’s stomach dropped as he realised he was going to miss by a hair’s width. All of his effort would be for nothing. No!
Using every scrap of strength and willpower he had, he attempted to drag the arc of the spear downwards, but it was futile. One couldn’t change the trajectory of an arrow in flight.
At the last moment, something incredible occurred. Ronan had forgotten something important, mainly because he hadn’t noticed its effects until now.
He was inevitable.
In an act that defied physics, the barbed tip of his spear shifted through space and struck the hobgoblin square on the shoulder. One moment it was going to miss. The next it pierced through tough green skin as if it were tofu.
As Ronan felt the connection jolting his arms, he roared to the skies. His fury, frustration, and desire for vengeance erupted outwards.
Two overlapping images of Ronan Steele drove their spears into the hobgoblin’s flesh, empowered by half a dozen skills and overwhelming strength. The ugly smirk was wiped off the boss’ face instantly.
Its eyes widened as it felt an unfamiliar feeling gripping it for the first time. Fear.
In that instant, Ronan’s spear erupted out the front of its torso. Blood and chunks of flesh sprayed through the air, showering Terry and Dana as the monster’s shoulder exploded.
A gaping wound had been torn from its collar down to just above its armpit. Ronan gasped. He was drained.
A third of his mana, over half of his stamina, and every scrap of focus he possessed had been poured into that single strike. He hadn’t struck his intended target, but perhaps this was better.
I apologise to my trait for ever believing it was useless, he inwardly noted. If not for the personal trait of his, this life might have ended in a pointless death just like the previous ones.
Before the boss recovered, Ronan snapped his arms downwards as he whipped his spear backwards. The final sinews of muscle were sawn apart. The hobgoblin champion had been hobbled.
A thick green arm thudded against the ground. It stared at Ronan with fear and rage in its eyes. After a moment of hesitation it unleashed an ear piercing screech that made the room quake. Rage won out.
It lunged at Ronan, its remaining fist flashing towards his head. However, he had nothing but a wild grin on his face.
Not so smug now are you, you big bastard? he screamed in his mind. Damn that felt great!
“All of you! Wake up! Kill this ugly fucker,” he yelled at the frozen members of his party.
At once they snapped to action. Ronan was in a precarious position. He was forced to activate double strike and magic strike once more to block the boss’ punch.
Even then his arms were smashed overhead and he was sent flying. His spine ached from the impact. The wind was blown from his lungs.
You have been hit by [Magriz’al the Crazed Lv.40]!
Critical hit! You are stunned for 1.6 seconds
-84 Health [Smashing]
-22 Health [Smashing]
You are [Bleeding] x2!
-11 Health / second
-2 Health / second
You are [Concussed]!
-13% Agility
However, Magriz’al couldn’t follow up to finish him. His party members had erupted into action, pelting the hobgoblin champion with mana bolts, sword slashes, and cracks of the whip.
Ronan shook the stars from his eyes as the stun wore off. The agility nerf was annoying, but not crippling.
Even as his health bled away, Ronan only had joy and excitement pumping through his entire being. Watching his party fighting the boss on equal footing was thrilling.
Seeing its blood pouring out in rivers and streams gave him an unmatched feeling of satisfaction. With another battle cry he rushed forward to rejoin the fray.
Unfortunately, even while wounded the hobgoblin champion was a force to be reckoned with. Having one of its arms sawn off by Ronan’s jagged spear only served to fuel its fury.
Magriz’al unleashed a lightning fast barrage of punches that smashed the stone to dust every time they struck. Even though it was fast, having only one arm to punch with left gaps for his party to dodge the blows.
However, even the shockwaves caused by the damage were dangerous. The hobgoblin’s fist missed Keith’s face by an inch, but the tremors of the exploding tiles knocked him off his feet.
It took less than two seconds for the goblin to rear its fist back for the killing blow. The crack of a whip rang out. Dana’s signature weapon was wrapped around its wrist, holding it tight.
A mana bolt screamed through the air, exploding against the champion’s face. For an instant, it was blinded.
Terry used that instant to strike. His double bladed staff swung with the force of a hammer towards the incoming fist.
It cut deep, drawing blood across the goblin’s dark green knuckles. However, even the power of the giant man wasn’t enough to completely absorb Magriz’al’s blow.
The shaft of his weapon snapped in two as he was flung backwards. A sound reminiscent of crackling firewood made it clear that more than one bone had been broken on impact with the wall.
Ronan had already been on the move before the punch landed. The goblin screeched in frustration. Allowing such weak ants to drive it to this state infuriated it.
He hefted the razorspear in both hands and planted his foot in the stone. He could have gone for a simple strike, but he didn’t want to take chances.
The feeling of another chunk of his stamina vanishing in an instant was almost nauseous. However, he was unwavering as he activated all of his skills except breaking charge.
There was no need when he was already right in front of his target. The barbed point of the spear struck twice, burying itself in the soft flesh behind the goblin’s kneecap.
Unlike a human, even the weakest points on the champion’s body were a gnarled armour of calluses and warts. The jagged edge of his spear was perfect for carving it apart.
Blood sprayed outwards, coating his face and neck. Ronan relished the heat as it splashed against him. Even when his spear bit deep, he didn’t stop pushing.
With an added kick to the back of its shin, Magriz’al finally fell. He tore the spear out, a crimson fountain spurting in its wake.
The goblin screeched and turned to face him. Fury burned in its eyes, though one was clouded after Jackson’s mana bolt.
Even as it gazed at him with the weight of death, another bolt exploded against its ear. Ronan chuckled. “Nice one, kid!” he shouted as he bent his knees.
Ronan knew he only had one real strike left in him. Either his greatest enemy died to his spear or he would wake up at the beginning of the tutorial once more.
He heard a yelp from Dana. The hobgoblin had grabbed her whip as she lashed out and yanked her towards it without even looking her way.
Ronan couldn’t spare her any attention without giving the monster an opening. He had to hope that its death would save her.
He roared, his throat burning with guttural rage and defiance as he unleashed the same combination of skills once more. He almost collapsed as the dregs of his stamina flooded out from his body. Only sheer grit and tenacity kept him moving.
Ronan drove the razorspear into Magriz’al’s eye. Two strikes overlapped as an explosive wave of mana erupted outwards from the spear’s tip. However, the hobgoblin wasn’t willing to go down without a fight.
Its remaining arm was punching down on a helpless Dana. One leg was crippled by a wounded knee, while the other was giving its all to keep the monster standing. The only weapon it had left was its savage, rotting teeth.
Ronan saw its jaw unhinging as he shoved everything in him through the shaft of the spear. He had no strength left in his body.
All he could do was watch as the monster’s mouth snapped shut around his torso. He could only hope that his spear strike killed it before it could bite him in half.
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