Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

If they allowed it to charge towards them, it was almost certain that they would be defeated. Making his decision in that split moment, Blake spoke in a solemn voice.

"I'll be honest with you all, I'm already completely spent. It's a miracle that I am still standing. My arms and legs have feel heavy as if they are blocks of steel. I guess it's the same for you all. That said, if we allow it to charge at us, there would be no hope for victory. Somebody has to stand in between it and stop its charge"

A heavy silence fell amongst the adventurers. To stand in between its charge meant that they would have to take the full brunt of its impact.

In the state that they were in, this was practically a suicide mission. One of them would have to sacrifice themselves for the team. Although Blake did not say all that, the meaning was clear.

They would have to make the decision now, who would go up and die?

"I'll go, my bones are creaking for a while, I guess I need to exercise them more" Wyot stretched his arms stepping forward.

A few of the others also wanted to speak up but they were beaten to the punch by Wyot.

Blake gave a side glance to his friend before shaking his head "Actually, I was suggesting I should go up"…

"What?! No!!"

As soon as he said that, Frida came up to him and blocked his path "You can't go, you can barely stand straight. There is no way you can survive after taking its charge. Have you forgotten what happened the last time you did that?".

How could he forget that incident that tormented every aspect of his life and came as a nightmare to haunt him every night?

"This is precisely why I need to do that. Out of all of us, I have fought against that monster the most. What's more ever since the beginning of this battle all it did was pay attention to me. It hardly cared about the others. Even though it's a monster, it's a warrior through and through. I feel like it only pays attention to those it deems worthy. If I don't take this mission, it wouldn't charge towards them and everything would fail".

As Blake spoke till here everybody got silent. It was because what he said, made sense. They have all witnessed their opponent speak to Blake and recognise his strength which none of them managed to accomplish.

Even during the battles, it would wait for him to complete his strategy before taking action. If it was Blake, the warhorse would definitely charge at him.

"But why you? You barely managed to survive the last time, the wound in your shoulder is proof enough that you are not its match.." Frida spoke out in concern.

"It has to be me. I have taken its charge before, that is why I stand the most chance. Besides, our opponent is also severely weakened, its charge right now would be much more weak than its peak. Believe in me, this time I will definitely win"

Blake hugged his partner and stepped forward. He needed to do this, not only for others, but for himself too. To end the nightmare that plagued him every second of his life, he had to be the one to take its charge. That was the only way.

"if you have made your decision, then I won't stop you. However, at least take these skill crystals with you" Alvara extended her hand and took out a few skill crystals from her space ring.

"These are…"...

"These skill crystals contain powerful enchantments that Her Highness gave me in case I find myself in a situation where I am face to face with death. Since you are going against that thing, I think you need it more than me".

Items that came from Her Highness, Blake did not hesitate to take it.

"Yeah, it would be quite helpful. Tell her highness thanks on behalf of me"…

"You can say that yourself when you meet her"…

"Haha... will do"

And so leaving behind his teammates who were showing varying sorts of emotions on their faces, he turned to face the Bloothron Demonic Warhorse. Step by step, he walked forward until he made sure that his teammates were far away and couldn't get caught in the charge.

'Now then, shall we do this? Although I said that the opponent was equally depleted, the moment it reared its forelegs to assume the charge stane, I felt it through my bones and every cell of my body, the thick air of death. Had it charged like that, all of us would have died'

'Although I feel bad for lying to Frida and the others, I cannot allow them to die, especially her. Call it my selfishness or stupidity, but I feel like I need to be the one to settle this. How many times have I activated it today? Once again I need to rely on you partner'

Muttering to himself, Blake raised his shield and activated his skill [Solarguard Protector]. In a state where his body was severely injured and mana depleted, activating a skill as powerful and draining as that was peak foolishness.

Forget about being able to transform, his body might just even explode from the strain.

"Aaarrgghhh!!" Blake gave a suppressed scream as the veins all around his body started bulging and wriggling like snakes.

Blood sprayed out like a fountain from the numerous injuries he suffered and his his body expanded, turning bright yellow.

This was his ultimate skill [Solarguard Protector]. Whenever he activated this skill, his attacks and defence stats would increase drastically and he would become the very avatar of his class, the [Solarguard Protector].

Usually, when he activated the skill, he would become as huge as twelve meters; however, after activating the skill more than three times today and in his heavily wounded state, he couldn't even break past seven meters.

Crack… there was a cracking noise and the skill crystals he held in his hands were immediately crushed. A few bursts of light surrounded his body alleviating some of the strain and revitalising his strength.

Experiencing the effects of the enchantments in the skill crystals, Blake was somewhat amazed. He felt energy coursing through his body making him stronger and sturdier. With this, he should be able to do it.

'Where did Her Highness get items like these?" He couldn't help but wonder.

"Are you done with your preparations? Then get ready, here I charge. This will be my final attack. If even after this you survive, I will take it as my loss"

Across from him neighing loudly was Mars. He scrapped his legs which were like engines of a powerful machine and then charged.

Rumble... Rumble… [Hundred Mountains Charge] a skill filled with all of the devastating might of the Bloodthron Demonicc warhorse. When it charged the earth trembled beneath his hooves and when it crashed into its target it was like the might of a hundred mountains crashing at once.

There was no opponent that it had faced until now, that could take its charge and still stay standing. Even if the might of the skill had diminished due to its exhausted body, it still packed a devastating punch.

Facing the charge of the warhorse, Blake could almost feel his breathing stop. It was yet to crash against him yet he felt like his hands and legs getting soft. Just the pressure coming from the charge was already so intimidating, how powerful it would be when it crashed against him with all that momentum?

For a second there, Blake had the vision of the time when he took the charge head on for the first time inside that dungeon.

The pain and feeling of bones getting turned into fine powder was still vivid in his mind. The agony was so outlandish that he immediately lost consciousness after that impact.

And even after he came back to himself several weeks later, he was still bedridden for several months and needed the aid of a high ranking Holy magic user to completely heal him.

This time though, the odds were also stacked against him, making the situation almost despair inducing. Nevertheless, Blake did not lose hope and put all of his faith into this skill of his.

"Haaaaaarrghhh!!!"

Moments before the despair inducing charge of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse crashed against him, Blake gave a loud war cry to get his spirits up and smashed his shield against the opponent.

BANG… the ensuing clash caused a visible depression to form in the space. Shockwaves, like ripples of water spread through the air showcasing the tremendous might of that charge.

Crack… and then there was the noise of bones cracking, no being shattered. Blake who took the brunt of the charge of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse saw the illusion of a hundred mountains all crashing towards him at that split second.

The impact caused all the air in his lungs to get knocked away, and the hand that was holding the shield was destroyed to the point where it became completely unresponsive.

Every nerve and muscle in his body screamed at the damage that far surpassed his physical limits, causing his consciousness to immediately shut down. And thus, at that very instant of the clash, Blake lost consciousness.

Whoosh… the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse continued forward lifting him off the ground. Behind him, were his teammates and Frida, heavily wounded by the battle so far. If the warhorse continued to charge at them with momentum, they would no doubt…

At that very instant, he did something that his previous self was incapable of.