Marlon channelled energy into his leg and sent himself bursting forward toward the his opponent, rising to a height almost as tall as a two-storey building.

With his fist flexed and light wrapped around it, he launched his first strike.

Counterattacking, the great serpigon lifted its scaly arms to block. Marlon's fist slammed into them, producing a booming sound and a rippling shockwave.

Its defense is strong, Marlon noted inwardly, seeing that his attack only managed to chip away a little health, barely two percent of the great serpigon's current HP.

Agitated, the boss monster delivered its own attack almost immediately. Its fist, coated with venom, struck Marlon.

Still midair, he was sent flying and crashed into a nearby structure.

Luckily, it was only a small roadside food store made of weak materials, so he didn't sustain any wounds — just the mild dizziness that came from taking such a punch and being thrown through the air.

With [Stone Body] and [Toxic Resistance] dulling the pain and damage received, he had only lost around 50% of his health.

Nonetheless, considering he was still only an F-rank hunter battling a boss with C+ rank powers, losing just that much was a feat to be proud of, as even E-rank and D-rank hunters would suffer critically from a simple attack like that.

Standing up and wiping the food stain off his face, he turned to face the gigantic monster that was still moving toward him with bloodlust.

A grin quickly appeared on his face.

Using the little time left before they clashed once more, he opened his inventory and consumed a healing potion, which instantly restored his health to 95%.

Feeling a bit invigorated, he tossed away the empty vial and blasted quickly at the great serpigon.

This time he moved more swiftly than earlier, but the great serpigon was not slow either.

It halted in its step and then began creating and shooting balls of venomous energy at him.

Different from the venomous saliva of ordinary serpigons, these ones did not only deal physical damage but also toxic damage.

Their force alone could send an average D-rank hunter flying and inflict devastating damage on anyone lower.

Even with [Venom Adaptation], trying to get hit with such an attack would be very foolish. Marlon had to go full defense.

Rolling, sidestepping, and dodging, he did everything possible to ensure none of them came in contact with him.

It was the best decision he could make at a time like this.

Each attack he missed flashed on the ground, leaving deep, charred dents in the spots they struck.

It was at this moment that Crimson appeared.

Marlon spotted her the moment she appeared, floating above them and observing the battlefield.

She watched from above, hesitation flickering in her eyes as Marlon struggled to evade the venom blasts, which seemed to multiply in both strength and launch speed with each passing second.

Seeing the danger increasing, she finally made her decision.

She descended gradually into their midst as blood-red energy emitted from her body, quickly solidifying into a tough blood armor that wrapped around her body, glimmering.

Simultaneously, a spear forged out of the same energy appeared.

The energy spewing around her spread across the area, drawing the boss's attention to her as it shuddered slightly.

Her eyes glinted as she got ready to take down the boss monster with one single strike.

"No!" Marlon's voice reached her ears before she could let go.

She turned her gaze to see him wearing a desperate expression, his breathing rough but still full of energy.

"Don't interfere… I can take care of it myself," Marlon said firmly.

Crimson parted her lips to speak, but she stopped herself, choosing instead to silently respect his decision.

She scanned the area with her special vision and spotted Logan and dozens of civilians whose vitals were currently dwindling at an alarming rate due to the AoE attack from the great serpigon earlier before she arrived.

She turned to Marlon.

"Do not get hurt," she let out in a soft tone before blasting away to go help the others.

"Thank you…" Marlon muttered lowly at her departing figure before turning his focus back to the great serpigon.

Seeing that the powerful newcomer wasn't planning to act, the giant boss resumed its onslaught immediately, shooting even more venom-filled energy balls at Marlon in an attempt to end the fight before Crimson returned and ended its life herself.

At this point, its only motivation was Marlon's death. The great serpigon was ready to pour everything it had into the battle, desperate to finish him off before Crimson could interfere.

BOOM! BOOM!

The explosions echoed across the place, accompanied by the furious cries of the giant abnormality.

Marlon continued evading.

Many might wonder why he hadn't attacked yet.

But it was simple — The serpigon was currently using Venom Rage, and according to the description of the skill, the effect would only last for ten minutes.

About two minutes had gone already, leaving eight remaining.

"I can survive that long," he thought, continuing his nimble evasive movements, which only seemed to agitate the giant further.

While the two of them were busy exchanging attacks, Crimson landed beside Logan, whose condition had gotten worse. Lying on the ground in a small pool of blood, he looked half-conscious.

Crimson recognized Logan as one of Marlon's party members, but that was not the focus at the moment.

She brought out a healing potion and poured it into his mouth. His condition only improved slightly, enough to keep him alive for another half hour.

While she flew into a building crowded with hiding civilians who were also affected, she could not help but turn her attention back to the battlefield.

She was still paranoid about how Marlon would manage to take down that huge monster on his own

Aside from her brother, Marlon was the only person she truly cared about.

Though they weren't exactly close, her visions of him over the years had formed a bond she could not explain.

She had only decided against helping earlier because she observed his vital and he was still in a good condition. If there were any sign of hurt, she would've definitely ignored his words and kill the monster herself.

===

Meanwhile time went by quickly and eight minutes elapser and just as Marlon predicted, the great serpigon returned to its previous size and the energy around it grew weaker.

"It is my turn now."

Not hesitating, he activated the skill he has been dying to try out.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.