Eddie controlled the yin-yang electric circle in his hands, furiously rotating and spiraling to cut across Tenser's face, causing him to scream in agony and bleed profusely.
Just as Tenser was struggling with the paralyzing pain, Eddie unleashed a new skill from the Blood Queen β a fiery whip that lashed Tenser, sending him stumbling.
"You think you can defeat me like this? Dream on!" Tenser, his face twisted in fury, roared as he violently repelled the attacking Blood Queen.
"Think you can turn the tables?" Eddie taunted with a cold laugh. He lashed out with his own flame whip towards Tenser's face, and as Tenser struggled to shatter the whip, Eddie's Ashen Demon Blade, enveloped in purple flames, slashed down.
Tenser was driven to madness, having never encountered a younger opponent so adept in combat. Never before had he been so suppressed and outmaneuvered.
Facing Eddie, who was significantly younger yet demonstrated despairingly sophisticated techniques, Tenser found himself almost defenseless, his powerful punches like thunderbolts but failing to hit Eddie.
Tenser tried to use his greatsword to cut down Eddie, but Eddie, like a shadow, gave him no space to maneuver, attacking relentlessly with fists, feet, elbows, and knees.
Tenser was infuriated, especially when Eddie skillfully tripped him every time he attempted a kick, sending him crashing heavily to the ground.
"Rockskin, come here!" Tenser saw his Rockskin Big Rice Beast locked in a stalemate with Eddie's female Bull Shadow, neither gaining the upper hand despite the two-level rank difference.
Tenser couldn't wait β he needed time, at least a moment to breathe. He ordered the Rockskin Big Rice Beast to abandon its opponent and join the attack on Eddie, hoping to gain space for a sure victory.
"Two Dragons Fight for the Pearl!" Eddie suddenly executed an eye-gouging move, typically considered useless by even ordinary mercenaries. Shouting out the move's name was akin to announcing his intention to gouge Tenser's eyes. Tenser inwardly sneered, thinking Eddie's earlier success with the yin-yang electric circle was only due to the Banshee Scream's effect.
"Thinking of hitting my face? In your dreams!" Tenser, the battle-hardened elder, effortlessly dodged Eddie's attempt to gouge his eyes. He sneered as he caught Eddie's fingers, trapping them tightly.
"Been waiting for you, fool!" Tenser gloated, thinking he had Eddie in a vulnerable position.
"You're the fool!" Eddie retorted with a smile. His fingers hissed, releasing two streams of innate invisible sword qi.
Tenser realized too late. Despite closing his eyes, the unmatched sword qi easily pierced through, blinding him.
Blood splattered as Tenser screamed in agony and reflexively punched, pushing Eddie back. Now fearful, Tenser rolled on the ground in pain, then sprang up, summoning his platinum tome despite his suffering.
Blood from his eyes dripped onto the tome. Tenser desperately used his remaining spiritual energy to summon his life guardian beast β a black iron-thread snake. Though only bronze-rank five, its addition offered limited enhancement but crucially replaced Tenser's eyesight with its thermal sensing ability.
"Innate sword qi! Only innate sword qi could harm me. Who are you? Who taught you this technique?" Tenser roared, realizing he had been outwitted.
Eddie had not only mastered a golden-rank king beast but had also learned innate combat techniques, capable of breaking through any defense. Tenser should have been more cautious after Eddie blinded the minotaur, but he was deceived by Eddie's youth and skillful concealment.
Half a year ago, the Great Xia Nation had witnessed the birth of seven innate warriors.
Eddie, skillfully controlling the yin-yang electric circle, carved it across Tenser's face, electrocuting and slicing him. Tenser screamed in agony, his face a bloody mess.
Eddie then ordered the Blood Queen to unleash a second Banshee Scream on the Rockskin Big Rice Beast, as he launched another innate sword qi attack, piercing the beast's forehead. Despite the wound, the Rockskin Beast, with its enormous head, seemed barely affected.
Blood and brain matter oozed out, but the beast continued its wild rampage. Little Thorny Wenli emerged, her frosty dual blades freezing the beast's legs, causing it to collapse. The Blood Queen furiously stabbed at the beast, but its thick skin minimized the damage.
Eddie, wielding a giant hammer acquired from a golden-armored puppet, joined forces with the Bull Shadow, relentlessly attacking the struggling beast.
A golden arrow, fired at the perfect moment, lodged into the beast's forehead wound.
This was part of Eddie's plan, knowing that his innate sword qi might not be enough to instantly kill the instinct-driven Rockskin Beast. He decided to petrify it. If the brain wasn't afraid of piercing, would it resist petrification? Once petrified, Eddie wondered if the beast could still move.
To his amazement, the beast's head turned to stone, but it slowly stood up again.
Little Thorny Wenli, with a hint of disdain, sliced off the petrified head, sending it flying meters away.
The Bull Shadow then split the stone head in two with a powerful blow.
Only due to the freezing effect of Little Thorny Wenli's blades did the headless body finally cease moving.
The headless, frost-encrusted Rockskin Big Rice Beast finally collapsed. Eddie, not taking any chances, further incapacitated it by breaking its limbs, ensuring it had no opportunity to revive.
"That was close!" Eddie patted his chest in relief, realizing his knowledge of beasts was still limited. Without Tenser's blindness, defeating the Rockskin Beast, which could function without a head, would have been nearly impossible.
"Golden Beetle... Haha, I never expected this to fall into my hands. There's always a way out," Tenser mused, unknowingly absorbing the pure energy from the White Jade Beetle Eddie dropped, healing his wounds rapidly, even his blinded eyes.
Eddie panicked, fearing the release of the sealed demon within the beetle, potentially more formidable than a Demon King.
"Damn it!" Eddie cursed as he saw the beetle's light shining brightly, healing Tenser. Above, a complex golden rune formation was spinning, slowly fading, revealing a terrifying dark golden demon shadow struggling to emerge. Each movement seemed laborious, the formation's light dissolving its form, while the white light purified its shadowy body.
The demon shadow, desperate to escape, abandoned its lower half trapped in the formation, managing to free its upper body.
If Tenser had seen the terrifying shadow emerging above him, he might have ceased his actions.
But blinded, he couldn't see anything and was too focused on healing his eyes to notice the impending danger.
Tenser, crazed and eager for a decisive battle with Eddie, was oblivious to the fact that his actions had opened the gates of hell, releasing an unimaginably powerful demon.
The beetle's light rapidly disintegrated the demon's body, and by the time its upper half escaped the formation, its lower half was completely destroyed.
Eddie initially planned to attack with his innate sword qi, but Little Thorny Wenli, serious and protective, held him back, signaling to wait for the outcome.
She positioned herself in front of Eddie, ready to protect her father.
Tenser finally sensed danger but couldn't pinpoint its source.
Trembling, he saw himself as a vulnerable insect before the dark golden demon shadow, kneeling in terror and discarding the White Jade Beetle. He spun around, swinging his greatsword wildly in fear.
"Is it you causing this? What's happening?" Tenser yelled, terrified. Above him, the dark golden demon shadow silently descended, preparing to seize his body...