Chapter 67: A Reason To Live

Aiden remained hidden within the shadows, silently observing.

He didn’t reveal himself. He knew that someone like Silas, someone who had crawled through hell and built layers of psychological defenses around his heart, would not be won over by a few simple acts of kindness.

Kindness alone wouldn’t be enough. If Aiden wanted to completely break through those barriers, he needed to reach out his hand at the precise moment when Silas was at his greatest point of despair and need.

He needed to become the person who gave Silas a reason to keep moving forward when he had nothing left to hold onto.

The battle continued. Relying on his formidable strength, powerful physique, and excellent defensive equipment, Silas gradually ground the two Rock-Back Lizards down.

With one final thunderous strike, his warhammer smashed into one lizard’s skull.

BOOM!

The massive creature collapsed and the second followed shortly after.

Silas had won. But he didn’t celebrate. He simply leaned against his warhammer, breathing heavily as sweat mixed with blood trickled down from his temples.

He didn’t even bother collecting the loot. He just stood there. Motionless.

His head slowly tilted upward as he stared at the gray sky above the canyon. His eyes were hollow, completely empty.

Then, A sudden change occurred.

"SCREEEECH...!!!"

A shriek erupted from one of the caves along the canyon wall.

It was far sharper, and infinitely more violent, than the cries of the ordinary Rock-Back Lizards.

Silas’s head snapped toward the sound. Before he could react.

BOOM!

A massive shadow burst from the mouth of the cave. The ground trembled beneath its weight.

It was a behemoth far larger than any ordinary Rock-Back Lizard.

Its back armor was a dark, metallic gold, covered in rows of vicious bone spurs. Its limbs were thick as pillars, while its enormous tail resembled an iron whip lined with razor-sharp barbs.

A pair of vertical pupils flickered with a cruel, dark-red light. They locked onto Silas.

The exhausted man who had just finished a brutal battle and was still struggling to catch his breath.

Aiden’s eyes narrowed. At the same time, an information panel appeared before him.

[Rock-Back Lizard Lord (Elite)]

[Level: 8]

[Traits: Heavy Armor, Seismic Wave, Violent Bite, Tail Hammer Sweep]

A Level 8 Elite. And not just any Elite. A defensive Lord-class monster.

Silas’s expression instantly turned grim. For the first time, even his fierce eyes showed a trace of despair.

He had just endured a brutal battle. His stamina was severely depleted and his body was covered in injuries.

And now, he was facing a Level 8 Elite Lord in its prime.

The difference in level alone was already troublesome. Combined with his current condition, Silas’s chances of winning were slim.

...

But he did not retreat. Or rather, he had nowhere left to retreat.

"Come on! You beast!" Silas let out a roar like a wounded animal, raised his tower shield, and defiantly charged toward the rushing Lizard Lord!

"Boom!" The Lizard Lord’s charge slammed fiercely into the tower shield, producing a deafening crash!

Silas groaned, his feet plowing two deep furrows into the gravel ground. The massive impact made his blood roil, and his HP dropped visibly by a chunk!

The Lord monster’s attacks were like a storm! Seismic Wave made Silas unsteady, Tail Hammer Sweep carried a shriek that tore through the air, forcing him to block with all his might, and Violent Bite could even crush his shield in an instant!

Silas pushed the defense of his Resolute Tower Shield and his own Unyielding Battle Body to the limit, standing firm like a reef in a raging sea.

But his HP continued to drop, and his movements began to slow due to exhaustion and his injuries.

Under the continuous heavy blows, the durability of the tower shield was rapidly consumed, and fine cracks had already appeared.

After blocking a Tail Hammer Sweep, Silas experienced an extremely brief moment of stiffness due to exhaustion!

The Lizard Lord seized this fleeting opportunity, its massive head lunging forward. Its giant, fanged maw opened, bringing a foul-smelling gust as it bit viciously toward the side of Silas’s neck, which was exposed from his block!

[Violent Bite]!

If this bite connected, with Silas’s current state, he would surely die!

A trace of peaceful relief flashed in Silas’s eyes, as if he had long anticipated this moment. He closed his eyes, abandoning all futile struggles.

At this critical moment. "Hum!"

Several thorns, thicker than before, shimmering with a dark green luster and covered in sharp, poisonous barbs, burst out from the ground beneath the Lizard Lord’s feet like an earth dragon turning over!

Not only did they instantly entangle its thick hind limbs, but the sharp poisonous barbs also pierced deeply into its relatively soft abdominal skin!

[Root Entanglement · Thorn soul trait Mutation]! (Enhanced using [Thorn Poison] materials)

-55! -58! (Poison damage)

The Lizard Lord let out a shriek of mixed pain and fury as its Violent Bite action was forcibly interrupted, and its body lost balance because its hind limbs were bound!

At the same time, a figure emerged like a ghost, rushing out from the shadows on the flank at a speed far exceeding that of an ordinary person!

A bright blue mana light of Kinetic smash flared on the Power Gauntlets, having already also activated Charged Strike!

It was Aiden! He had finally made his move!

He did not choose to attack the Lizard Lord’s thick back armor, but instead locked his target onto its relatively vulnerable throat, which was exposed when it lunged to bite!

"Die!" The cold shout was accompanied by a punch that tore through the air!

Boom...!!!

The heavy punch, condensing all of Aiden’s strength and the charge bonus, struck the Lizard Lord’s throat like a cannonball!

-213!! (Critical Hit! Weak Point Attack!)

A terrifying damage number floated up! The Lizard Lord’s throat instantly caved in, its scales shattered, and blood gushed out like a fountain!

It let out half a shrill, agonizing wail before its massive body collapsed to the ground, twitching violently as its life force faded rapidly.