[Spiritual essence +1]
[Spiritual essence +1]
....
"Each one provides a full 1 point of spiritual essence!"
Accompanied by notifications in his mind, the number of Flame Beetles in the lava cave rapidly decreased...
When they were reduced to a third,
No more Flame Beetles could break through the three Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards' defensive line to reach Carlos.
Carlos simply had Numbers 1 and 2 join the battle as well.
Instantly, the speed of eliminating Flame Beetles increased considerably...
...
After an unknown amount of time, the lava cave returned to silence.
"It's over!"
[Mental: 3 (Spiritual essence: 2067/3000)]
The progress bar reached two-thirds.
"Finally, time for the final boss battle!"
Carlos walked into the lava cave, his eyes burning with anticipation as he looked at the still-quiet fiery red cave entrance in the depths.
"No rush. These scythes are good stuff."
Inside the lava cave, the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards were cutting off the Flame Beetles' scythes one by one.
Certain parts of monster bodies had value for crafting equipment.
For example, with Flame Beetles, their greatest value was that pair of scythes. Don't think they're junk just because the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards easily dealt with them, even breaking many scythes in the process.
That's because they were facing greatswords with light gold quality sharpness!
Although these scythes could only be used to craft the most ordinary equipment, they were still much better than iron blades and could sell for decent money.
Excluding the damaged ones, there were nearly 600 intact scythes.
After collecting them, Carlos ordered everyone to rest in place and make final preparations for the boss battle...
...
"Let's go!"
Carlos changed into a set of white equipment with slightly better defense. Using the same formation, they entered the fiery red cave entrance.
The moment Number 1 Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard entered, a massive black shadow a full 10 feet tall directly pounced on it.
"Watch out!"
Number 1 had been alert for enemies and reacted before the shadow reached it, raising its greatsword with both hands and forcefully blocking the attack.
Then its two thick arm bones exerted force.
"Boom!"
The black shadow was sent flying back even faster, crashing to the ground.
All this happened in a flash. After Number 1 entered, Numbers 2 and 3 immediately followed, forming a triangle to guard the entrance.
For safety, Number 4, Carlos, and Number 5 remained at the entrance without entering.
Number 4's glow stone illuminated the area, letting Carlos clearly see a massive Infernal Beetle crouched on the ground.
It was a full 10 feet tall, with a pair of enormous scythes and eight pairs of razor-sharp leg scythes.
The compound eyes on its front shell were filled with rage, bloodlust, cruelty, along with wariness and cunning.
The flame patterns on its shell were obviously several times more complex than those of Flame Beetles, and its back had two full rows of thick flame cannon barrels that were crackling with firelight as the Infernal Beetle raged.
Infernal Beetle: Mental 15, Strength 8, Constitution 20.
Its Strength was only slightly lower than the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards, but its Constitution was a full 20 points!
Constitution affected health, stamina, and defense.
To reliably kill this Infernal Beetle, Carlos had to prepare for a prolonged battle.
And he had to ensure the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards' health remained good.
If even one died, Carlos would take a huge loss even if they killed the boss.
"Get into melee quickly! Don't let it fire its 'Flame Cannons'!"
The Infernal Beetle's most threatening skill was the flame cannons on its back. Not only did they deal high damage, but there were eight of them.
If all eight fired simultaneously, the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards would have trouble dodging and probably couldn't handle taking several shots.
"Thud!"
The three Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards pushed off with their leg bones, shooting out like arrows and rapidly closing in.
If the Infernal Beetle continued charging its cannons, it would definitely take a full-force strike from the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards.
Sensing the intense danger approaching, it was forced to stop charging.
Its twin scythes danced while three pairs of leg scythes struck simultaneously, trying to block the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards' greatswords.
"Clang!"
The sounds of metal collision and greatswords cutting through shell and flesh alternated. The Infernal Beetle might be able to block a Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard's attacks in a 1-on-1 situation.
But under the pincer attack of three equally skilled, even slightly stronger Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards, how could it resist!
After just ten-plus seconds of combat, the Infernal Beetle's body was covered with dozens of bloody sword wounds, scalding insect blood dripping with a sizzling sound.
"Worthy of being a node boss—it can last this long under the Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards."
20 points of Constitution gave the Infernal Beetle powerful damage reduction and health.
"Rustle!"
The constantly increasing pain made the Infernal Beetle increasingly furious. It suddenly roared, and the flame patterns on its surface blazed to life.
Carlos was constantly watching the Infernal Beetle's changes.
"Spread out!"
The three Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards stopped their siege and retreated.
Just as they'd retreated over ten steps, the Infernal Beetle's surface flame patterns fully activated, and a surging flame ring suddenly erupted from beneath its feet!
"Boom!"
The violent flame energy destroyed everything around the Infernal Beetle, stirring up waves of heat. Many rocks shattered, showing the terrifying power of this attack.
Fortunately, Carlos's warning was timely. The three Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guards retreated to the edge of the flame ring explosion and didn't take much damage.
"Blazing Fire Ring—a powerful skill the Infernal Beetle actively triggers when its health drops to half. Its power is enough to instantly kill any life form with Constitution below 4 points!"
Carlos felt a chill of fear. Absolutely couldn't give it a chance to catch its breath!
"Keep attacking!
It can't use a second one anytime soon!"
The Infernal Beetle's terrifying skill didn't scare Carlos off but made him even more eager to kill it.
"Slash!"
"Creak!"
"Clang!"
...
Dense metallic collision sounds rang out again in this quiet cave. Scalding insect blood splattered, landing on stone walls with sizzling sounds.
The Infernal Beetle roared continuously, its massive body charging left and right, trying to escape the siege.
But this exposed weaknesses!
Carlos smiled. He knew the Infernal Beetle was at the end of its rope.
"Cut off its leg scythes first!"
Number 1 Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard's soul fire flickered eerily. Its greatsword gleamed with dark undead energy, cutting through the air with a piercing whoosh.
"Slash!" came the sound.
"Hiss!"
One of the Infernal Beetle's leg scythes was severed at the joint by the incredibly sharp greatsword, insect blood splattering!