Slash!
The Drax didn't even have time to react when it was swiftly slain by Lanse's blade. Its companion noticed the commotion and tried to find the threat, but, Lanse had vanished into the bushes again. It was quite a strange thing for a human to be using the camouflage strategy against beasts literally born for camouflage.
The Drax was dumbstruck for a moment, staring at its companion. They were sharing their daily life stories just now, but now, its companion was a lifeless husk, decapitated by an invader. The Drax quickly snapped out of it and tried to issue a warning call, but before it could even exhale, its head went flying. The Drax had died.
But, Lanse didn't rest and immediately started running toward another patrol group. Although the scales of the Draxes worth a lot, it was not his objective right now. Besides, he had no storage nor proper equipment to extract the goods. All he could loot was the sharpest and largest tooth of the first large Drax that he had slain.
When the last patrol Draxes came into his view, the dark red blood on his onyx blade had already disappeared. This was not because of the wind making it evaporate faster. It was in fact the reason why Lanse was rushing to kill all the Draxes before retreating. Every time he slain an enemy, he would be refunded some of his stamina back as long as the serpent's sin absorbed their blood.
Although the usage of blade enhancement form required less stamina than the venom, it still used some at one go during the initiation stage. Therefore, if Lanse decided to just end the enhancement and retreat, he would have less stamina for his way back.
Arguably speaking, with his strength and wits, he didn't need much stamina to return to the mansion safely. But, for some reason, Lanse decided to finish the hunt. Perhaps it was to relieve his dark thoughts or perhaps it was simply on impulse. But, what's correct was that Lanse felt pity for the new blade he just got to be destroyed without proper use.
When he arrived at the blind spot of the two Draxes on patrol, Lanse performed the same scene as before and quickly got rid of the first Drax. But, unlike the earlier patrol pair, the second Drax didn't spend a single second mourning for its dead companion, and screeched, warning any Draxes nearby.
However, this was within Lanse's expectations. After all, what kind of patrol would be so stupid to watch blankly at its dead comrade and not warn the rest of the colony. The earlier encounter could be called a lucky chance.
This time, instead of immediately going back into hiding, he just faced the remaining Drax head on. The Drax also unleashed its bloodline ability, turning into a jade fortress. Despite seeing this, Lanse didn't slow down one bit and continued charging toward the wary beast. The drax's serrated tail flew past Lanse as he dodged sideway, still maintaining his momentum.
Unlike all his past actions on slaying the Draxes, Lane did not slash with his onyx blade. Instead, he took a piercing stance and accurately stabbed the Drax through its left eye.
Kyakk!
Experiencing horrible pain from having its eye gouged, the Drax thrashed around helplessly. Its rigid armor hindered such movements, only allowing it to shake left and right slightly. Alas, its fate was already sealed when the onyx blade penetrated its head. Dark venom quickly corroded the insides and carved a way through the Drax's tough skull.
Exerting more force into the blade, Lanse broke through the skull and pierced the brain, instantly melting it into a swampy goop. After that, the Drax stopped thrashing around and fell to the ground, dark goo mixed with its blood flowed out of the Drax's missing eye socket.
Finally done dealing with the patrolling Draxes, Lanse could get a breather. But, he did not. The previous warning screeches and dying screams of the Drax definitely must have alerted the other Draxes and even the hunting squad if Lanse's luck was bad. So, he had no time to waste. In a similar fashion, Lanse rushed toward the remaining Draxes of the brood. Moving through the thick rainforest as if it was his birthplace, Lanse arrived at the nest he first saw.
Unlike before, the five Draxes in the nest had stopped sleeping gleefully and were completely alert against the hidden intruder. Two adult Draxes stood at the front of the nest, placing the three younglings behind them. The giant tree they relied on acted as a natural barrier, reducing the enemy's choices of position while also guarding their blind spots. However, in this case, the natural barrier acted against them, forming a kill zone for Lanse, restricting their escape routes.
One of the adult Drax had already unleashed their bloodline ability, turning into a living barrier for the younglings, and the other one took on an attack stance, ready to strike down the intruder. Now, one might wonder why these draxes did not run away while they had the chance and instead stood still waiting to be slaughtered. Well, with the younglings to protect and lack of info about the intruder's capabilities, there was a chance that the intruder could catch up and slay them all before they could get away.
Besides, Lanse carefully planned out an attack route despite being pressured by the time limit, making sure to strike the Patrol team that was located in the direction of the way the hunting team went last. Thus, cutting off the remaining Draxes' option to escape toward the hunting team and seeking refuge.
Since the draxes were not near any bushes, Lanse could not use the camouflage strategy and instead slowly appeared before the wary Draxes. As soon as they saw the intruder, the Draxes screeched out in an attempt to get reinforcements and also trying to scare off the human. Sadly, this had no effect on the human as he continued to approach them, with his ominous blade threatening to end their lives. The Draxes were made aware that this human was a serious threat, from the stench of their kin's blood on the blade of the intruder.
When the human was aound twenty steps away from them, he suddenly accelerated, rushing like a torpedo toward them. The Draxes were surprised by the sudden change in the intruder's movement, but they swiftly recovered their composure. After all, the stupid human was falling right into their trap. The Draxes prepared their sharp teeth and claws, ready to tear apart the hateful intruder. But, the human suddenly changed direction and moved right past them, aiming to kill the younglings.
However, Lanse's plan was not to kill the younglings but to create a moment of distraction. And he had achieved it. The armored Drax couldn't move quickly to follow him, but, the other Drax fell right into his trap, turning backward to slash at the intruder with its deadly claws. Unfortunately for the Drax, what awaited it was not the defenseless back of the human. Instead, it was met with the hospitality of the onyx blade.
The blade effortlessly cut through the Drax's neck, decapitating it instantly. Its lifeless head flew off from the momentum and dropped right near the younglings, instilling a terrible fright in their young minds. They helplessly yelped with their bodies uncontrollably shaking from fear. Still, they stood their ground, transforming into a premature armored form, whipping their serrated tails at the air.
Although he was mercilessly hunting the Draxes, Lanse had to commend them for their courage and loyalty. It reminded him of his late comrades. Scattering these thoughts, Lanse focused on the remaining Drax. It had caught up to the scene and positioned itself where its tail could reach Lanse before he could harm the younglings.
This had no impact to Lanse's attack plan since he had never tried to target the younglings in the first place. Not until the adult Draxes had been dealt with at least. After all, one must also cut the roots when cutting a harmful plant to get rid of it completely.
Not paying much attention to the frightened younglings, Lanse charged toward the last adult Drax. He held his blade near his chest, pointing it forward, trying to reenact the previous scene where he stabbed the Drax through its eye and piercing the brain.
He dodged the tail aattack, and got closer to the Drax, but before he could land the killing blow, Lanse suddenly felt killing intent from behind. Turning his head to the side slightly, he glanced at the origin of the killing intent. All he could discern was a lone Drax lunging at him, its eyes filled to the brim with burning fury.