Despite the extraordinary skills of the two fighters, the battle continued to be long and drawn out. It had lasted for several minutes, and Hassan, along with his soldiers, was visibly fatigued. Their movements had become slower.
In the earlier stages of the fight, when the soldiers faced direct hits from the monster, it took them just seconds for the dark essence within them to mend the struck areas, seamlessly integrating them with the rest of their bodies. This, combined with their ability to phase in and out of fluidity, made them formidable opponents for the raging monstrosity.
As time passed, the soldiers' reactions slowed, and suddenly, the monster's attacks began to land on them before they could phase into fluidity. It then took them several seconds to repair the damaged parts of their bodies.
The most troubling aspect of it all was that the monster continued to assault Hassan and his soldiers with the same intensity as it did at the outset. It almost appeared as if the creature had become even faster and more aggressive.
Sky had long stopped the healing process when I told her I no longer felt pain in the area. When she lifted her hand from the area I put my winter hat back on.
We watched the battle helplessly from our vantage point behind the tree, as none of us possessed any combat skills beyond basic human-to-human fighting, which proved to be utterly inadequate against the monstrosity.
Hassan skillfully slipped between the creature's forelimbs and rolled to the side, narrowly escaping being crushed under the creature's torso as it slammed into the ground in an attempt to subdue him.
After rolling to safety, Hassan quickly got to his feet and charged toward the side of the monster to plunge his dagger into the creature's torso.
As the creature sensed Hassan closing in, it swiftly twisted its torso and unleashed one of its forelimbs, sending its claws flying through the air, aiming to tear through him.
If Hassan had been even a second slower in evading the attack, it would have been disastrous.
Hassan executed a rapid backflip and landed on his stomach with his upper limbs extended to the ground. It was clear that he was utterly drained and exhausted.
Summoning the last reserves of strength he could muster, Hassan managed to stand just in time to roll out of harm's way as another set of claws was hurled in his direction.
The onslaught continued with one attack following another from the deranged monster.
It became a blur of motion as the creature relentlessly assaulted Hassan, who did everything in his power to evade each strike.
If the battle continued at this relentless pace, Hassan's life was in grave danger. I stood there, trembling, and desperately pondered if there was any way I could contribute to the fight and help shift the tide in our favor.
As he charged toward the creature, the dark essence emanating from his entire body, coupled with his incredible speed, rendered him a dark blur in motion.
He then launched himself forward, deftly slipping between the creature's forelimbs. Instead of evading like he had been doing earlier, he dove straight into the space between the creature's hind limbs.
Hassan had been targeting various points on the creature's limbs, and he had managed to damage one artery, causing it to bleed. However, this alone wasn't sufficient to permanently halt the creature's relentless rampage.
As he darted between the creature's hind limbs, the creature abruptly reared up onto its hind legs and bent forward, thrusting the claws of one of its forelimbs in between the hind limbs to strike at Hassan.
However, one of Hassan's soldiers rushed in to intercept the blow, allowing Hassan the opportunity to escape unharmed.
This marked the second time Hassan caused a significant gush of blood to erupt from the creature. And it seemed that that wasn't the only thing that happened.
The creature instantly lost the use of one of its hind limbs. It became apparent that Hassan's dagger had severed its tendons completely.
Observing the impact of his actions, a smile crossed Hassan's face, and that familiar, grim battle grin appeared on his lips.
It was the first time during the battle against the mad king of the ice bears that he wore his signature expression of confidence.
It appeared that whenever he wore that grin, he carried an aura of confidence and certainty in his victory.
While the king remained as ferocious as ever, its movements had slightly slowed. Hassan astutely seized this opportunity and used it to his advantage.
Hassan sprinted toward the rear of the creature, effectively diverting its attention with his soldiers, as they engaged the creature in combat.
The three soldiers swiftly closed in on the mad king, their claws extended and sent hurtling through the air to rend the massive monstrosity.
However, they were ostensibly outmatched by the colossal monstrosity. Due to sheer size, the mad king's claws were about three times longer and larger than the BLIZZARDKIN's claws, so the three creature's claws could only clash against the claws of one of the mad king's forelimbs.
So the claws of the other forelimb were free enough to send the creatures flying far into the forest of trees.
Nonetheless, this distraction created the opportunity Hassan needed to land another significant blow. He pinpointed the same area where he had previously inflicted a motion-hindering injury on the first hind limb and drove his dagger deep into the creature's other hind limb, ensuring that it severed as many tendons as possible upon contact.
This made the creature scream in pain as it lost control of both hind limbs.
But that wasn't the end of Hassan's deadly comeback. He ascended over the hind limbs that had gone limp on the ground, advancing toward the creature's back. He firmly gripped the back of the creature and embedded his dagger, using it like a grappling hook to secure his position as he climbed up the creature's back.
At that moment, I watched with a sense of curiosity, the worry having subsided. I was eager to see what the next development in the battle would be, as it was gradually taking a more favorable turn for us.
When I turned to glance at Sky, I noticed she wore a similar expression—a blend of curiosity mingled with the lingering worry that hadn't quite faded from her features.
"Please don't die," she whispered repeatedly, her gaze locked onto the battle with an intensity that mirrored her fear.
As Hassan ascended the creature's back, the monstrosity contorted its torso, making an effort to reach its own back and dislodge the small figure piercing through its skin at multiple points.
Even though it had lost every bit of principles it had followed as an animalistic creature and ran completely mad it still felt pain so it had to get rid of the little being as fast as it could before the little being dealt more damage to it.
However, as the creature reached out with its forelimbs toward its back, it was met by the three of Hassan's soldiers that it had sent flying earlier. Simultaneously, additional soldiers from Hassan's ranks materialized out of thin air to contend with one set of claws. (There were approximately five of them, belonging to the leader's class of the BLIZZARDKIN.)
The initial three soldiers expertly managed the second set of claws, providing Hassan with the necessary time and space to reach the mad king's neck without any hindrances.
Upon reaching the creature's neck, Hassan released his dagger, and just before he could descend to the ground, he thrust upward and landed on the creature's shoulder.
During that instant, the creature's shoulder was incredibly unstable, prompting Hassan to swiftly execute his attack before it could toss him to the ground.
If he were hurled to the ground from that considerable height, there was a significant likelihood that his head or another part of his body would be gruesomely split in two upon impact.
Hassan plunged his dagger into the monster's neck, repeatedly thrusting it in and out. In response, the creature attempted to retrieve its forelimbs from behind its torso, but they were pinned in place by the seven creatures, rendering it helpless.
Hassan continued his relentless assault, severing several of the creature's arteries. A gush of blood sprayed onto his face, but he showed no signs of stopping. It seemed as if he believed that this alone might not be enough to bring an end to the creature's rampage.
That single mistake proved to be Hassan's undoing. The creature managed to wrest one of its forelimbs free from the grip of the weaker soldier and swiftly swung it at Hassan's neck as if attempting to swat a fly perched on its neck.
Hassan received the hit and was hurled downward at great speed. Just as he descended, his soldiers vanished from behind the mad king of the ice bears and reappeared beneath him, preventing him from crashing to the ground.
Hastily, Hassan's soldiers rushed toward our position where we had been observing the battle. They positioned Hassan behind us before swiftly disappearing back to wherever they usually stayed.
At that very moment, a resounding thud echoed through the area. When I directed my gaze toward the clearing where the battle had unfolded, I saw the creature lying motionless on the ground. Simultaneously, a notification appeared before me.