Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 376: The Toad’s Fury

This fall certainly knocked the wind out of Ethan. His head buzzed, and only now did he realize what had happened. After the toad’s tongue had shot out at him, it hadn’t retracted. Instead, it had turned into a whip and lashed across his body. He shook himself, feeling a wave of soreness that made his muscles throb. That strike had been brutal—if he hadn’t reacted quickly, shifting into Bear Form and activating Iron Hide, anyone else would probably have been turned into pulp on the spot.

No, judging by the barbs lining that tongue, even if someone hadn’t been knocked away, they would’ve been skewered by thousands of sharp hooks. What the hell... and people claimed this creature’s attack methods were weak?

He watched the Fire-Eyed Toad croak and charge at him again, its bloated body rippling with strength. Ethan could only snort in disbelief, feeling skepticism bloom in his mind about the so-called Advanced Analysis that had downplayed its threat. He pushed off the rock behind him, ignoring the lingering ache in his ribs.

A fine iron spear appeared in his hand, drawn from the Priest’s leather pouch. At first, he’d considered summoning the Twilight War Spear, but then he’d thought better of it. Even with Force Resonance, that weapon was too heavy to wield lightly.

"Shred," he murmured, tightening his grip. This was a technique he’d developed recently—channeling skill abilities directly through a weapon. Not only did the skill’s effectiveness remain intact, but it was actually enhanced by the weapon’s own force.

Ethan lunged forward, his spear cutting a silver arc through the air. With a sharp screech, the sweeping edge of Cleaving Tempest struck the toad squarely across its back. The sound it made was like someone grinding metal on a whetstone, making his teeth clench.

To Ethan’s surprise, the impact only caused the Fire-Eyed Toad’s leaping body to thud back to the ground. The blow hadn’t even managed to slice through its slick, rubbery hide.

"This defense is too damn insane," he muttered, his pulse hammering. What shocked him even more was that there wasn’t so much as a scratch on the beast.

"Holy hell... not this trick again!"

The toad landed and immediately snapped its tongue toward him. Ethan tapped his foot against the ground, darting sideways just as the barbed tongue swept past in a blur. He finally understood what the Advanced Analysis had meant by "weak attack methods." It turned out this thing only had three moves: tongue flick, tongue whip, and, if he got close enough, a vicious bite.

After dodging the same sequence several times, irritation began to burn in Ethan’s chest. He snorted and planted his foot firmly. In a burst of motion, he leaped straight onto the creature’s massive back.

Slap... screech...

Just as he sailed overhead, the toad’s enormous tongue lashed across its own spine, barbs tearing into its slippery flesh.

"Hahaha..." Ethan burst out laughing as he landed behind it, watching strips of flesh peel off the beast’s back. "Using your own tongue to whip yourself? That must taste great, huh?"

"Croak..."

The big toad let out an enraged, guttural bellow. Its limbs stretched outward, and its swollen belly began to inflate like a balloon.

"Toad Style?" Ethan muttered, watching its posture shift. For a split second, he thought of toad combat techniques he’d seen in games. But the next moment, the creature launched itself skyward, blotting out the sun as it came crashing down like a falling boulder.

"Damn it... this isn’t Toad Style. This is a full-on mountain crush!"

Ethan rolled aside just as the enormous body slammed into the ground. Boom! The impact sent tremors racing under his feet, throwing sand and dust in every direction.

But before he could even steady himself, the beast bounced back into the air like a rubber ball. It came down again and again, relentlessly chasing him with each massive leap. Its speed was shocking—each time it landed, it immediately launched into the next strike. For a while, Ethan could only keep dodging, unable to find any opening to counterattack. The entire battlefield shook under the relentless pounding.

At last, he clenched his jaw. "Hmph... die... Dragon’s Might!"

He spun on his heel and hurled his spear with all his strength. The weapon rotated so fast it blurred into a spinning drill. Whizzzz... Sparks burst forth as the spear struck the toad’s swollen belly, but instead of piercing, it merely bounced away with a metallic clang.

Was this bastard’s belly made of iron?

Ethan sucked in a sharp breath. ’Even if your hide’s as hard as steel,’ he thought, ’you still can’t escape the fate of having a single point shattered.’ But before he could retrieve the weapon, the toad landed again, emitting a pained croak.

Something shifted.

Its enormous eyes glowed red, and in the next instant, flames erupted from both sockets.

Whoosh...

Twin jets of fire shot toward Ethan. His heart lurched—the flames moved faster than he could have imagined. He barely had time to shout.

"Bear Form... Battle Embodiment... activate!"

"Iron Hide... Iron Hide... Iron Hide..."

Silver scales shimmered over his body in layer after layer. As the illusion of scales grew more vivid, the toad’s fire struck him head-on.

The impact itself wasn’t so forceful, but the heat was beyond anything he’d ever endured. Rage Points surged as his Bear Form absorbed the damage, but even Iron Hide wasn’t enough to keep the searing agony at bay. It felt like standing inside a furnace. Ethan’s hair curled and singed. Smoke rose from his clothes, threatening to ignite.

"Panther Form... Battle Embodiment... activate!"

His outline blurred, and in a heartbeat, he darted sideways, leaping free of the fire’s focus. But the toad wasn’t done. It swung its burning gaze after him, sweeping the twin flames in a wide arc.

He gritted his teeth. There was no point in trying to fight this head-on. This was its trump card—the Fire-Eyed Toad’s signature attack.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the trail of destruction left behind. The sand had melted into pools of glowing red liquid. Once they cooled, he realized, they’d probably form beautiful glass. The thought struck him as almost absurd.

Yet amid the shock, a fierce satisfaction stirred. Iron Hide had actually withstood that level of attack. Without it, he’d have been incinerated like those four women he’d burned before. What goes around comes around, he thought grimly. Now it was his turn to be hunted by fire.

"No more games... I’m going to kill you."

He raised his arm. "Spear... come..." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Whoosh...

A white beam shot from the space between his brows. The Twilight War Spear emerged, gleaming as it expanded in midair and dropped into his waiting hand. Its weight settled over him, and the ground seemed to tilt under its presence.

Ethan swung it back, the tip carving a furrow in the earth.

"Dragon’s Might..."

A deep, resonant dragon’s roar echoed through the clearing. The toad froze, its eyes wide as the flames sputtered and vanished.

"Heavy Strike... Lacerate..."

Power flooded the spear, making it vibrate in his grasp. It felt almost alive—like it was exulting in anticipation.

"Leap."

Ethan bent his knees and launched himself skyward.

"Double Jump."

His body shot higher, carrying him up to the level of the toad’s face.

The creature’s paralysis broke. It croaked in fury, its tongue flashing out like a crimson spear.

Ethan’s lips curved into a cold smile.

"Let me show you what spearplay looks like..."

"Cleave... the... Mountain..."

He spoke each word slowly, letting them ring in the air. As he reached the last syllable, he raised the Twilight War Spear over his head with both hands.

With a roar, he brought it crashing down onto the outstretched tongue.

Screech... Boom...

The blade sheared clean through the scarlet flesh, splitting the tongue into two grotesque halves. Then the spear slammed into the toad’s forehead. Even though meters of tongue had absorbed much of the blow, the impact still struck with tremendous force.

The hide didn’t break—but Ethan wasn’t aiming for the surface. He’d finally grasped the essence of Cleave the Mountain. Outwardly, there was no wound. Inwardly, the tremor shattered its skull like brittle glass.

A few seconds passed.

Ethan landed atop the creature’s massive head, his breathing ragged. He withdrew the spear in a single motion and stood in silence as the Fire-Eyed Toad’s body slowly slumped to the ground.

He willed the Twilight War Spear away. Looking down, he saw his hands trembling uncontrollably. The skin between his thumb and forefinger had split open, bleeding from the strain.

The weapon’s weight was still almost too much to bear. Each technique drained his energy in enormous gulps. Force Resonance only amplified that burden.

That last strike, he knew, was probably the strongest attack he’d ever unleashed. And now, all he could do was wait—and hope he’d recover enough stamina to fight again if he had to.