Hollow Knight: Hallownest

Facing Mo Rong's sudden attack, there was not even a trace of ripple in Isma's eyes, as if she had already expected this scene.

Realizing that the enemy was using their power to get closer to their king, the two black thorns quickly turned around and chased after Mo Rong like scorpion tail needles.

Although it was very fast, it was still one step slower than the latter. The attack range of the bone nails was enough to cover the king's entire body.

Mo Rong did not hesitate at all. The moment before he approached Isma, he realized that his extra arm could be used to replace the amulet at any time, and he did not have to worry about not being able to defend against sudden changes.

The power of the ghost hero's will instantly flowed into his limbs and bones, like a blood-red glow gradually climbing up and down the bone nails. As the nail blades scraped past, a curtain of blood was created. The two bone nails crisscrossed and slashed towards Isma's chest. The death fork was instantly imprinted on the latter's thorn armor.

This was originally a test attack, but Mo Rong knew that even if it was just a test, he had to try his best in a battle of this intensity and not miss any opportunity that was exposed before him.

There was a sound like the friction of dry wood cracking, and the armor made of black thorns, along with Isma's body, was split into four pieces by two bone nails. Mo Rong saw this scene and it was unbelievable for him.

Is this...successful?

Things seemed to be going smoothly, which surprised him a little. However, when this thought just came to his mind, it was slapped away by the villain in his mind.

Are you kidding me? That's Isma, one of the Five Knights!

If she could be easily killed with a single blow from me, she should have been placed at the first level of the Pantheon. How could she be ranked behind the three Bone Nail Brothers?

The flying broken thorns fell into the thorn bush below. Without the support of her torso, Isma should have fallen down by the waist, but her head connected to her neck was strangely supported by the sharp point that was cut off from the first half of her body, just like a portrait sculpture placed in the shadows in an art studio.

Those eyes without any emotion seemed even more real, and the moment they fell on Mo Rong, he felt a chill all over his body.

He was very sure that Isma's condition was definitely better than he had imagined, and it was much better!

Suddenly, several branches emerged from the smooth cross-section where the arms had fallen off, swaying and connecting with the branches that were also extending from below, frantically repairing the broken parts of Isma. In just a breath, it returned to its original state before Mo Rong approached, and there was no sign of the fatal injury that had been suffered before.

“This…how is this possible?!”

Mo Rong's eyes widened. He had never expected that his full-strength attack, coupled with Gui Xiongzhi's determination, was easily avoided. At the same time, several thorns had climbed up the shield under his body and stabbed into his body, as if they were going to pierce through him.

At this moment, his heart had fallen to the bottom. Not only did the attack fail to work, but he also put himself in such a dangerous situation. It was really wrong.

With his free hand, he quickly took out the amulet from his body to avoid being killed by the thorns directly. At the same time, the shadow cloak was activated and he sprinted to avoid the thorns that were about to pierce through him.

The moment his body condensed again, Mo Rong hurriedly chopped down to maintain his balance, but the crisis was not resolved.

It seemed that because of the distance, when he got closer to Isma, the latter could use more thorns to attack him, unlike before when he could only control two thorns. Correspondingly, the time left for him to react was also reduced exponentially. As soon as the bone nail fell, the thorns caught up and wrapped around his legs like a flexible poisonous snake. The spikes moved upward along the skin, leaving shocking scars.

The long-lasting pain caused by the continuous scratches almost made Mo Rong feel suffocated, and he couldn't help but pause in his movements. However, the thorns showed no intention of giving up. At this moment, they had already wrapped around his waist, as if they wanted to swallow him up little by little into the embrace of the thorn bush.

"Uh-"

Mo Rong gritted his teeth, endured the pain and swung down the two bone nails, one to keep himself away from the thorn bush below, and the other to chop into the empty space in the middle and back end of the thorn bush. Fortunately, due to the pulling, the stems of the thorn bush were not flexible and could be cut in half with just one blow.

The moment he got rid of the thorns, he flew away. The pain just now almost destroyed his ability to think. If it continued, he would probably lose his first life here without a clear answer.

The moment he regained the ability to think, the scene of the slashing flooded into Mo Rong's mind. Looking at the figure standing quietly in the thorn bushes in the distance like a sculpture, he felt his scalp tingling.

"How is it possible... How is it possible to have such a strong recovery ability?"

Almost as soon as the attack with his front foot was completed, the wound on his back foot healed as before. The speed was so fast that it left him dumbfounded.

That was a fatal injury. Looking back now, it was no different from just a scrape of skin. It's outrageous!

Not to mention that Isma in front of him was the first boss he had encountered so far who could actively recover. Even so, an attack of that magnitude would never be able to recover to its original state in such a short time.

"No, this is not the power that Isma should have. When she fought against Marcos, she almost used up all her strength just to keep the greenhouse running, and she hasn't revealed her ability to recover. Even after being enhanced by the void, she shouldn't be able to create something out of nothing and achieve such a terrifying recovery speed..."

Mo Rong felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put it into words. He could only stare at Isma in the distance and look her up and down carefully, trying to find some clues from her.

Two thorns attacked again, and Mo Rong had no intention of fighting. He used the two bone nails and the flexibility of Hei Chong to move around the battlefield continuously, while constantly capturing the strange spots of light that flashed by in his mind.

However, observation from a distance yielded little results, and he was completely unable to detect anything wrong, so he had to take the risk of getting closer, trying to get a closer look and see more clearly.

Of course, the price of doing so was that the thorns would double in number, making his movement even more difficult. Unfortunately, such efforts did not bring him any rewards, so Mo Rong hardened his heart and rushed towards Isma again.

"Use one nail to attack, and use the other one as a backup..."

Close combat should have been a disadvantage that Isma, a summoner like him, should avoid, but with his extremely strong recovery ability, Mo Rong was constantly wounded, but he did not stop.

"Where is it... Where is this strange place..."

Mo Rong continued to attack despite the pain. He was already on the verge of death, but he still refused to give up.

And at the final moment when the thorns once again entangled his body and he was powerless to resist, the light finally appeared clearly in front of his eyes!

"Sure enough, the advantages are too obvious, so it is very easy to cover up the disadvantages..."

Mo Rong finally figured out what he had felt strange about before. Why could the thorns calmly deal with his attacks from any direction or in any sudden disguise? It was as if Isma's eyes were not on her, but in this thorn bush...

That’s right, right here in this thorn bush!