Since I don't know much about Brutal Lion, I had to be careful when dealing with them. They could attack me when I least expect them to.
Using Ice Embodiment to bolster my defense is the best choice when fighting with a large amount of enemies.
I had to take out as many Brutal Lions as I could when they were unguarded.
The Brutal Lions who were resting peacefully sensed a huge amount of mana from their surroundings.
The Brutal Lion who was guarding was the first to notice the attack and immediately alerted the other Brutal Lions.
Although I think it is already too late by that point.
The place froze quickly along with the Brutal Lions who were on the way.
However, one or two Brutal Lions who reacted quickly deployed their shields and were able to withstand the attack.
( "I guess they are really Rank-D + Elite monsters." )
They were able to defend themselves against the skill that even Rank-C - humans could not. Although it was not my full strength, however, back then I was just a Rank-E+.
The ones who had successfully defended against the skill glared in my direction and growled angrily.
( What? Angry that I did what you all are best at. )
Brutal Lions were monsters who were adept at sneak attacks, so I might have hurt their feelings by using their specialty against them.
I didn't stand there putting in more mana since the whole area has been frozen. I immediately dashed towards the two Brutal Lions who were able to escape from Ground Freeze.
I had some time before other Brutal Lions could free themselves from the Ice. It would be better to reduce the numbers while I can.
Changing my Ice armor which surrounds my arm into a sharp similar to a spear, I launched myself in front of two Brutal Lions.
The Brutal Lions showed their fangs and jumped at me. They had no intention of letting go of the intruder easily.
The Brutal Lions were aggressive monsters who would rather attack than defend. They used their fangs to attack.
I could use my armor as a shield and defend against their sharp teeth. Though small cracks started to appear shortly.
I immediately avoided their attacks when seeing the cracks. Luckily for me, right now the ground is frozen and Brutal Lions can't show their true speed. Or else with their speed, it might have been difficult for me to dodge their ferocious attacks.
I had the environmental advantage as the ground is turned into Ice right now but their combined attack has indeed surpassed what I had expected.
While one attacks, the other Brutal Lions remain cautious and ready to defend the other Brutal Lion. This made it increasingly difficult for Zero to counterattack, which he is proficient at.
Zero tried to attack the Brutal Lion when he saw an opportunity, only to have it blocked by the other Brutal Lion.
Despite being unable to carelessly counterattack, I could still dodge their attacks well. Their missed attack hit the Ice ground and the ice would be shattered into pieces showcasing how strong those attacks were.
It seems that the Brutal Lion was not happy to have their attack miss. Added to the fact that it was only one intruder that they had to deal with.
Their attacks became fierce but their teamwork lacked that smooth flow that they had earlier. Zero waited for his moment.
As an aggressive monster, they had a tough time keeping their cool and became more agiated as their attack failed.
As soon as he saw his chance to attack, Zero used his spear-like arm to thrust into the Brutal Lion who had just missed his attack.
The Brutal Lion spat out a pained cry as it get away from Zero as far as possible. Since the attack did not hit his vital organs, the Brutal Lion did not die, but it was enough for Zero to render one of the Brutal Lion unable to fight.
It was the perfect moment to kill the Brutal Lions since they had lost their only advantage against Zero. Zero moved forward and attacked the Brutal Lion which was near to him.
The Brutal Lion roared angrily and had his claw in the air ready to strike at Zero.
However, the only thing that hit his claws was the Ice on Zero's body. Zero deliberately used his icearmor to block his attack, since the counter attack becomes easier.
The Brutal Lion could not dodge the attack of Zero at point-blank range
The Brutal Lion spat out his final roar before completely stopping his breathing.
As for the other Brutal Lion that had been injured earlier, Zero didn't even need to try hard to kill him.
The two Brutal Lions who had escaped his Ground Freeze lay dead on the ground.
However, the joy of victory was short-lived as it took him a long time to kill those two. The other Brutal Lions were starting to regain their freedom as they slowly shattered the ice which had been trapping them.
Before Zero could take out the Brutal Lions who were still trapped in the Ice, two Brutal Lions who had just escaped from the Ice jumped to face Zero.
And they were not happy to be sealed in ice. They glared angrily at Zero and at the dead body next to Zero. As monsters with slightly high intelligence, they know that the human they are facing right now is not like many they have killed before.
They were cautious even though they were aggressive monsters.
( Dammit! And here I thought it would be easy. )
Although he had killed the two Brutal Lions without much difficulty, it had led to the other Brutal Lion getting the time to get out of the ice. In sense, it was Zero's loss.
Zero knew that killing them all would be much more challenging after other Brutal Lions escaped from their ice. Not only would they have the advantage of large numbers, but their teamwork was impeccable.
However, I had no intention of relying on my trump card. If I am required to show my trump card while fighting with Brutal Lion, it means that I am not capable of fighting with their leader.
Taking in a deep breath, I dashed towards the first two Brutal Lions at full speed.
The two Brutal Lions were surprised by Zero suddenly launching himself towards them.
The two Brutal Lions showed their fierceness with their roars as they prepared for battle.
Since Zero had stopped using his sword, it looked like a beast fighting with another beast. Using only their bodies, both parties fought fiercely.
However, due to them being frozen in the ice, the two Brutal Lions were much slower than the two Brutal Lions that Zero fought previously.
Zero could easily take advantage of that fact and overwhelm them with his speed.
In comparison with other Brutal Lions, they might have been quicker at breaking the ice, but since they had already spent much of their energy breaking it, and because they were still coated in ice, they were unable to exhibit their full strength.
Zero dominated both of them like they were low-rank monsters. Zero pounced on them without mercy and finally calmed down after having those two bodies on the ground.
Sadly for Zero, other Brutal Lions were also freed from the Ground Freeze.
A wonderful smile bloomed on Zero faces as he stared at the Brutal Lions who were bare their fangs at him.
"Let the party begin!!"