Drayan had covered a distance of 100 meters from where Darkening, Canino, and Tone were.
Drayan noticed that the momentum of the Mantis was gradually decreasing, as if it was losing strength. Drayan took advantage of this opportunity to place his feet on the ground and stop the attack.
He placed his feet on the ground, which dragged over the dirt terrain.
Drayan was sliding on the ground, but gradually he was managing to slow down the attack. His feet were sweeping the ground, raising dust. Two long footprints were being left where he passed, like tire marks on asphalt.
Drayan used the Crushing Wind Fist technique, causing his face to be covered in red veins, and his body structure increased, gaining more mass. His strength was on another level now, due to the amount of blood he sent to his legs and arms.
Drayan then, suddenly, stopped the attack.
The Mantis, irritated, used its forelegs, like a pirate's hooks, to cut Drayan's head.
Drayan had a keen instinct and jumped back, narrowly escaping having his throat cut.
Damn it! Do I really have to face this thing? Is my current level enough?
Drayan had a temporarily mutant-level body due to the nutrients from the sawshark flowing in his organism and cells, and his Crushing Wind Fist technique increased his physical strength. However, the creature Drayan was facing was a young, low-level mutant creature.
I can feel... he is stronger than the sawshark.
Drayan was a bit desperate, but he had to find a way to stay calm.
This was a fight he would have to win alone, but at the same time, there was no way Drayan could win. The creature was faster and stronger. Only a miracle could help him.
Drayan was already using 20% of the sawshark's nutrients, and he couldn't go beyond that since he had no more nutrients.
But 20% wasn't enough to compete with the Mantis. The Mantis was evolving its low-level mutant cells by 50%. It needed another 50% to become a mid-level mutant creature.
The difference in strength between Drayan and the Mantis was 30%. Drayan's experience and techniques could find a way to bridge that percentage and get closer to the Mantis's strength. It was the only way.
The green Mantis, 180 centimeters tall, opened its wings and flew towards Drayan at a devastating speed.
The insect's speed was so great that all Drayan could do was twist his waist to the side and use his dagger to change the trajectory of the Mantis's strike.
Drayan pushed the Mantis's foreleg, preventing any vital organs in his body from being hit, and the Mantis passed by Drayan's body without hitting him.
However, even so, a 3-centimeter deep cut had been made on his shoulder.
What? But he didn't hit me!
Actually, he did. The Mantis was fast enough that Drayan couldn't see its real hand movements.
It might not seem like it, but the Mantis having 30% more strength gave it a big advantage in terms of physical attributes.
But still, the Mantis was toying with Drayan. If the Mantis were taking the confrontation seriously, Drayan would have lost his head before he even noticed.
The Mantis's speed was no joke. In fact, agility was its specialty.
Once again, the Mantis launched itself at Drayan. In a quick strategic thought, Drayan hid among the trees. But to his surprise, the Mantis split the tree in half.
Drayan didn't give up and kept moving among the trees, looking for an escape. However, all the trees were being cut down in a few seconds.
Why does this damn thing want to kill me so much?!
The Mantis, understanding Drayan's plan, decided to quickly cut down all the surrounding trees before Drayan could even move.
In no time, there were no more trees around, which made Drayan freeze his entire body.
You're kidding me, right? How can this creature be so fast? I'm screwed!
Then the Mantis began its torture against Drayan.
For two minutes, for two whole minutes, Drayan had to twist his body hundreds of times and use his dagger to change the trajectory of any strike that threatened his life. He had to do this using only one hand, which made everything even more difficult.
Every time the Mantis attacked Drayan, he felt like he could die. If Drayan hesitated for a second to dodge, he would be cut in two and say goodbye to this world.
Drayan already had more than 50 cuts on his body, in various places.
Arm, leg, shoulder, rib, back, cheeks, forehead.
The only places that hadn't been cut were his belly, chest, and eyes. Drayan avoided being hit in these places as much as possible.
Bastard! Damn it! He's mocking me!
Drayan realized this after seeing that the Mantis had given him several quick and fierce strikes, but no strike so far had been as strong as the first attack that led him to distance himself from Darkening and Canino.
If the Mantis were taking the fight seriously, each strike should have had the power of that first one, but the Mantis's strikes were only fast and had little force.
Drayan used his vines that came out of his fingers to trap the Mantis. The vines that moved like snakes were cut before they could even wrap around the Mantis.
Drayan considered the idea of using the body paralysis technique, but that technique was more useful against humans.
It's useless! Everything I do is useless! I have nothing to kill him?!
Should I use Cent? — Genuinely, Drayan had this idea. Cent would be his hope.
The Mantis was toying with Drayan, but at some point, the Mantis would get tired and fight for real, and Drayan would die.
However, even feeling that he might die... Drayan clenched his fists.
No! This fight is mine! — Drayan refused to use Cent.
He had already thought about using Cent in the fight against the snake while he was at the lake, and he used Cent in the fight against the modified carnivorous plant. Deep down, Drayan felt that he was always running away when the obstacle was too big.
I am not a coward! I am not afraid of death! This doesn't scare me!
Drayan was aware that he might regret this decision later. But he would have to take responsibility for his decision, and for his death.
Drayan shut off all his feelings and expectations for his future, and then he remembered the bitter taste of his past, all the humiliation, all the despair, all the anger, anguish, suffering, all his emotional pain filled his mind, and all his physical pain coursed through his body. All the bad memories stored in his brain. He thought about how crappy life was.
In a short time, his eyes became empty, and all that remained in his soul was a feeling of pure hatred.
The flame in his heart became small.
Drayan called this type of attitude "Preparation for death."
Drayan then began to see what he could do in this situation while still being attacked by the Mantis.
Drayan really wanted to use his mutant wolf aura mode, but Drayan didn't have Darkening's cells, as he had used the cells and the microorganisms within them to form the wolf's body and perform the summoning.
To undo the summoning, Drayan needed to physically touch the wolf's body and transform it into pure cell slime, to pull the slime into his body and exchange cells between his and the wolf's to activate the wolf aura mode.
In short, if Darkening wasn't inside his body, Drayan couldn't use the aura mode.
If Drayan couldn't use the wolf aura to rival the Mantis, then he would have to think strategically.
Brute force wouldn't be enough to defeat the Mantis since Drayan didn't have the necessary strength, and speed was out of the question.
Maybe a surprise attack?
A surprise attack could work, especially since the Mantis wasn't taking the fight against Drayan seriously, which made the Mantis lower its guard.
Drayan could take advantage of this weakness of the Mantis, but the problem was... How would Drayan execute the surprise attack?
He already had something in mind. And he began to put it into practice.