Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Preparation to Escape
Watching as the ice spikes were about to strike, in a critical moment, driven by instinctive danger, The demon swiftly leaped aside, narrowly avoiding the ice spikes.
The ice spikes pierced into the ground, making a few "puff puff" sounds.
Instead of attacking Hatsune immediately, the demon crouched down, sniffed the blood-stained soil in its hand, and a pleased expression appeared on its face.
Unable to resist the craving for human blood, The demon quickly stuffed the soil into its mouth, chewed a few times, but realizing the taste was off, promptly spat it out.
After nibbling a few more bites of the soil, still unsatisfied, it finally cleared its mouth of the dirt, lifted its head, and gave Hatsune a cold gaze, seeming to realize that this delightful taste came from its prey before it.
Hatsune originally intended to divert the demon's attention with his own blood, creating an opportunity to strike, but his plan backfired, further arousing the demon's craving for blood.
The demon stared intently at Hatsune, slowly approaching him.
Hatsune glanced up the mountain road, wondering why the cultivator hadn't intervened yet.
How long did he want to test himself?
Did he have to wait until his life was on the line before he would act?
During this brief distraction for Hatsune, the demon suddenly kicked the ground with both feet, leaping once again. Stimulated by the smell of blood, its speed and strength were even more fierce than before, leaving a hole in the ground where it landed.
Hatsune had no choice but to continue dealing with it. His chest was slightly painful from the demon's kick, affecting his breathing.
He had been hoping that the cultivator would intervene in time, so he wouldn't have to exhaust himself like this. But even now, the person hadn't shown up, leaving him confused about the situation.
Was his performance not satisfactory?
Since the cultivator refused to help, he had to reconsider the current situation.
Originally, there were two options: escape or fight.
After some analysis, he chose the second option.
Of course, fighting also had two scenarios: avoiding combat.
By evading, passively counterattacking, delaying time, with the aim of waiting for the cultivator to act.
The other situation was actively engaging in battle.
Considering his physical condition, Hatsune chose the first scenario, using evasion to buy time.
But even now, with the cultivator not intervening, he began to worry if the demon's appearance wasn't a test after all?
After all, no one had told him there were demons in these mountains; it was all just his guess.
What if this demon had really appeared by chance? He still intended to use evasion to buy time, waiting for the cultivator's rescue. However, there was a high possibility that the cultivator wouldn't come in time, leaving him physically exhausted and becoming the demon's prey.
Therefore, from now on, he had to abandon all illusions and prepare for the worst.
No tests, no cultivator training, and no expectation of rescue from anyone else. Besides fighting for his life, there was no other way.
The demon darted into the nearby bushes, swiftly moving under the cover of the weeds. Occasionally, faint rustling sounds came from the clumps of grass, disappearing in a flash.
Hatsune gripped the wooden stick tightly, nervously staring at the surrounding bushes, turning his head at any movement.
Suddenly, the demon sprang out from the bushes behind Hatsune, pouncing straight at his back.
Hatsune turned around, unable to dodge in time, and was tackled to the ground by the demon.
The demon roared, opening its jaws wide, attempting to bite his throat.
Hatsune held the wooden stick horizontally in front of his chest, blocking the demon's hands and mouth desperately to prevent it from getting closer. Then he kicked it hard in the stomach.
Taking advantage of its pain and howling, Hatsune used both hands to flip it over and crawled up from the ground.
"Swift Ice Pierce."
Hatsune swung the stick and launched several ice spikes at the demon.
The demon hurriedly dodged to the side, avoiding the ice spikes, then swiftly maneuvered left and right, closing the distance with Hatsune.
While Hatsune swung the stick and retreated, the cold air around him gradually weakened with his decreasing stamina.
The demon seemed to sense this as well, accelerating its attack speed, continuously wearing down Hatsune's spirit and stamina, occasionally launching sneak attacks when he wasn't paying attention.
After a fierce clash, both sides were injured, but compared to the demon, Hatsune appeared much more battered.
Covered in mud from rolling on the ground, his chest was a mass of blood and flesh, bandages torn by the demon's claws, blood mixing with mud, all visible.
Already physically weak, he now looked pale, sweating profusely, and his chest hurt with every breath, his lungs burning.
Apart from several obvious scratches, there were countless other minor injuries.
The demon wasn't in much better shape; frozen wounds covered its body, with a large hole pierced by a stick in its waist, also covered in ice, looking disturbing.
Although both sides were in dire straits, Hatsune had one disadvantage The demon didn't: exhaustion. The demon had unlimited stamina; as long as the battle continued, victory would certainly be its.
Both sides obviously realized this reality, so the demon gave up its active attack and resorted to harassment, constantly draining Hatsune's strength.
Suddenly, Hatsune accidentally stepped on a pebble, slipped, and fell backward.
How could the demon let go of such a rare opportunity? With a few leaps, it appeared directly above Hatsune, opened its mouth wide, and aimed at his throat.
Hatsune turned his head back, staring straight at the demon, a cold smile forming at the corner of his mouth. He took a deep breath and shouted, "Swift Ice Pierce."
With his right hand gripping a broken stick, the stick was enveloped in cold air, like a sharp spear, directly thrusting into the demon's throat.
"Swift Ice Pierce" was a move Hatsune improvised on the spot. During his duel with Aoi in the Butterfly Mansion, he had paid attention when she used a move called "Droplet Ripple Strike."
This move wasn't difficult to learn; the essence lay in using waist strength to concentrate the entire body's force on the tip of the blade for a rapid thrust.
His slip just now was an intentional flaw he sold to the demon, aiming to provoke it into attacking actively.
He believed that even demons couldn't move their bodies flexibly in mid-air.
Sure enough, this guy fell for it.
The stick plunged fiercely into the demon's throat, piercing through it.
The demon let out a piercing scream, starting to thrash wildly.
Hatsune's back heavily slammed into the ground, using all his strength to swing the stick, attempting to throw the demon off it.
But as he pierced it, the stick and the demon's neck froze together, so when the demon was thrown, the stick flew out of his hand.
The demon crashed into a large tree and fell into the bushes.
Not long after, there were rustling sounds from the bushes, and the demon stumbled out, hands clutching the stick in its neck, desperately pulling it out, strange "gurgling" sounds coming from its mouth, like bubbling water.
Hatsune struggled to get up from the ground, dry heaving a few times. The impact just now had left his stomach in a mess, and his head felt like it was being stabbed by needles.
He knew now wasn't the time to rest; his current stamina was only enough for one more attack.
So, before the demon pulled out the stick, he had to launch one last attack, at least temporarily disabling it, giving himself time to escape.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone