章節 20: Pyro Foxes
In front of Arias was the sight of trees that had toppled over and scattered all over the place, and of a woman in a long, light blue robe that had slightly been torn from the fight. There were big claw marks on her arm which, from the way it looked, seemed to be a fresh wound. Blood was slowly trickling down from the wound nonstop. The woman seemed worn out, but even then, it could do nothing to hide the beauty on her face, a face that was as lovely as the bright, shining moon. Her eyes, though full of fatigue, still maintained traces of their beauty. Her pink lips were finely matched with her face, and her sharp straight nose was well-shaped like a sculptural masterpiece. Overall, she was as beautiful as a goddess of forests, lost, and ran into vile creatures. Arias could not help but feel stunned by her beauty. Since he had woken up in this body, this woman must be the most beautiful person he had ever seen.
In front of the woman, three pyro foxes were crowding in on her. One of them still had her blood staining its paw. Pyro foxes had physical appearances that were similar to ordinary foxes, only that their furs were red like the color of flame. If you touched them, you would be able to feel the heat caused by the Fire elements inside their bodies. Normal pyro foxes were classified as low-level beasts which, in comparison to this woman who was a sixth-level acolyte, should not be able to do her any harm. Unfortunately, among the three pyro foxes, there was one that seemed to be the pack leader. It was the same one that left the wound on the woman’s arm, and it was already a mid-level beast.
Dealing with a mid-level beast was already difficult enough, adding two more foxes on top of that could only turn this into a complicated situation.
“Why are there so many mid-level beasts wandering around like this? All those silver-fanged wolves and iron-horned bull that I saw just now, and then there are these pyro foxes. I wouldn’t be surprised now if two or three more of them appeared.”
Seemed like Bernier City’s forest was inhabited by quite a lot of beasts. There were already quite a lot of mid-level beasts at the forest’s border. If he dwelled deeper, he would definitely find some high-level beasts.
Arias still did not interfere with the fight. Though she got herself injured, it was not too serious.
At that moment, the pyro foxes did not let the opportunity go to waste as they immediately charged at her. The woman cast a spell; a shield-like mass of water appeared in front of her. The pyro foxes that charged at her were thrown backward, some of them getting injured. Only the mid-level fox was able to withstand, but it ended up receiving a direct blow from the woman’s sword. Its cry echoed throughout the area.
“That one was a female…not the pack leader.”
Arias gazed down intently. Although the situation seemed to be on the woman’s side, Arias felt that there was something odd. Every breed of foxes had a common trait which was their intelligence and slyness. But their fight just now seemed to be so straightforward that it made Arias feel that there must be something hidden. Most importantly, the alpha was missing.
“Hydro Ball!”
The woman used a skill. Water swirled on her left hand before condensing into a circular mass of water about the size of a head. The Hydro Ball was quickly launched toward the pack of the wolf, intending to slay the mid-level pyro fox.
But it seemed like the fox was being cautious, the woman’s attack could only graze it slightly. Water-Wielders were not known for their attacks but for their defense, which was both sturdy and flexible. Thus, this woman’s attack was not powerful enough to finish it off.
The woman was now exhausted. Her face was pale and colorless like she was about to run out of strength. The arm that had been wounded by the fox’s claws still had not stopped bleeding. Having lost a large amount of blood had left her in this state. Her light blue attire was now partially covered by blood.
The pyro foxes gathered and charged at her once again. At that moment, Arias noticed something odd in the bush behind the woman. He saw a pair of eyes watching the back of the woman, unblinking and full of bloodlust. Suddenly, the bush parted as another pyro fox leaped out from it. It intended to ambush the woman. It leaped forward with its fangs bared and ready to kill her. Its mouth was full of teeth that looked like a carefully sharpened blade.
“Watch your back!”
Arias shouted in a voice loud enough to make both the woman and the three foxes turn to look at the source of the voice. But when the woman turned to look back, she was met with something that stunned her even more. The form of a pyro fox that was double the size of a normal pyro fox was leaping at her with bloodthirsty eyes. Its fangs could kill her if she were to get bitten.
Dealing with four beasts at the same time was not an easy task for someone who was just an acolyte. The woman’s heart was filled with dread. She would not be able to fight two battles at the same time. It had been difficult enough dealing with three pyro foxes.
Suddenly, the Cloud Stride technique was used at its full power. Arias accelerated his speed for a second and showed up behind the beautiful woman. His appearance startled both her and the pyro foxes. The woman’s heart was filled with the hope of survival that vanished within a second upon finding out that her savior was just a neophyte. If even she–an acolyte–could not handle this, then what could a neophyte do?
“Get out of here. Do you have a death wish?”
She shouted as a warning. Although she felt grateful, she knew that a neophyte getting involved in this situation would not make anything better. The best he could do was probably stall that fox standing behind her. She did not want anyone to be her human shield. Though she did not know who this guy was and where he came from, she did not wish for him to die along with her.
“You still have time to worry about others? Deal with those three foxes in front of you before you start worrying about me.”
Arias replied without retreating.
“If you want to die that much then suit yourself.”
Seeing that he would not listen to her warning, she paid no more attention to him and shifted her focus to the three foxes in front of her again.
“Hydro Shield!”
She summoned her Hydro Shield once again, and water that looked like a protective shield then appeared in front of her. However, it looked like this shield was weaker than the previous one. After taking damages for a while, it started to crack. One of the pyro foxes struck at her torso with its claws and tore her clothes. Fortunately, she was able to dodge in time and only got some scratches. Seeing an opportunity, the woman used the sword in her hand to kill the low-level fox by striking at its neck.
But suddenly, she heard a painful scream coming from behind her. It was the cry of the same beast that had ambushed her earlier.
She turned back and was met with a sight that she could not believe. The pyro fox had blood running from one of its eyes which was now completely blind. There was a wound that stretched from its forehead to the area below its eye. As for the boy behind her, he only had some scratches on him. ‘How could this be? How could a fifth-level neophyte be able to fight a mid-level beast as an equal? That’s not it…this person is even more powerful than that pyro fox.’
Red blood was still dripping down the sword in the young man’s hand. The woman could only stare in astonishment. Her heart was starting to glimmer with the light of hope once again. Perhaps this boy would be able to help her out of this crisis. She turned her attention back to the pyro foxes in front of her once more.
On the other side, Arias was staring at the pyro fox as he gripped the Shadow Demon Sword and prepared to make an attack anytime. Fighting with a mid-level beast was quite an arduous task. Its level was a lot different from Han and Nell whom Arias had just killed.
GRRRRR!
The pyro fox growled furiously. It had stopped paying attention to the woman and turned to glare at Arias in anger. Rabidly, the fox darted at Arias again before it swung its foreleg only to find nothing. Arias’ figure appeared behind it, the Shadow Demon Sword raised high and struck down, leaving a precise cut at the neck of the pyro fox. Flashes of furious lightning danced around the sword. This was the most powerful attack Arias could use at the moment.
Schunk!
It was the sound of the blade that slashed the neck of the pyro fox. Blood splattered from the wound. Unfortunately for Arias, the pyro beast was not that weak. Though it was gravely injured, it did not perish immediately. It struck at Arias again rabidly. A shallow wound appeared on Arias’ face, the hood he had been wearing was partially torn, revealing Arias’ eyes which were now glaring at the pyro fox in anger. His eyes were now full of terrifying murderous intent.
Arias and the pyro fox charged at each other once again. The woman turned back to look behind her once in a while and could not believe her eyes, seeing that a neophyte could be this powerful. The sound of the sword clashing with the claws and fangs of the pyro fox could be heard over and over. After several moves and clashes, at last, the pyro fox cried out in anguish. The Shadow Demon Sword was shoved through its old wound with preciseness, finally ridding the beast of its life. This was an outcome that the woman never expected.
“Don’t get distracted!”
As the woman turned her attention back to what was in front of her, a pyro fox immediately used this opportunity to attack.
Arias darted out to receive the attack. The Shadow Demon Sword was raised up to block the pyro fox’s fangs. The fangs broke, and the fox was left with a big wound that stretched from its mouth to its neck. It could only cry out before finally succumbing to death.
Only one pyro mid-level pyro fox was left now. It glanced around in fear before starting to retreat into the forest. The woman was about to follow after it but was pulled back by Arias. When he touched her arm, he could feel the softness of her delicate skin. The touch felt pleasant.
“Let it go. Why would you run after death?”
Arias’ voice seemed to bring the woman back to her senses. After looking at her own body which was covered with wounds from the fight, she realized that death would be the only thing waiting for her if she were to go after that fox.
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