Jian felt his heartbeat quicken, and his hair stood on end as if the air around him had suddenly turned colder. This would be his first time facing a true magical beast. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and turned to the weaker members of the group, saying:
"Go as high as you can, Dusk, and I will try to deal with this thing."
The faces of Lan, Yue, and Feiyan were fixed on the giant ant, fear clearly visible in their eyes. Hearing Jian's words, Feiyan briefly glanced at him before climbing the sloped ground. Before they left, Lan and Yue observed Tristan. His face, as always, showed no emotion, but after spending so much time with him, they could detect a faint glimmer of anger in his eyes, directed at the approaching monster.
In his mind, Tristan felt a bit sorry for the creature. They were invading its territory, and it was only trying to eliminate the threats to its colony.
"Unfortunately, I have to reach the east at any cost, and you're in my way."
A small black blade appeared in Tristan's hand, and he ran toward the monster's left side while Jian moved to the right. A giant ant, larger than an adult human, with its body covered in large, sharp blue crystals, charged toward them at a terrifying speed. Jian and Tristan knew they could be crushed just by the impact of being hit by something so heavy.
They had already discussed the best way to fight creatures like this, so there was no need to waste time talking.
Trying to implement their usual strategy against such creatures, Tristan attempted to cut the monster's legs. Unsurprisingly, the creature was too fast, and Tristan couldn't land a hit.
"I guess we'll need to tire it out first," Tristan muttered, clicking his tongue.
[Black Lotus's stealthy charge]
Jian used one of his movement techniques, barely touching the ground with his toes as he moved so quickly that his body spent more time in the air than on the ground.
[Black Lotus fluid cuts]
Using the flexibility and agility that Darkness cultivation provided, Jian managed to land several strikes with his short sword on the creature. To ordinary humans, it would appear as though these strikes hit the enemy simultaneously.
But his sword harmlessly struck the creature's crystals, causing only a few tiny fragments to fall from the ant's powerful armor.
The ant turned its body, aiming the rear part of its body at Jian. Suddenly, a large amount of blue liquid shot from the ant, heading toward Jian. Fortunately, Tristan had warned him about this, so he was prepared.
[Quickly dodge Black Lotus]
Jian's body seemed to blur for a moment as he bent his body at an angle that should have been impossible for a human.
Taking advantage of the ant's distraction, Tristan leaped toward its head, spinning his entire body to increase the speed of his strike. Tristan's blade severed one of the ant's antennae. Unexpectedly, the ant was not as disoriented as it should have been; its powerful jaws lunged toward Tristan's leg.
Tristan twisted his body in the air to avoid having his leg bitten off, but the ant's powerful jaws snapped shut, creating a loud noise that echoed through the tunnel. Blood spattered through the air as Tristan saw that part of his right thigh had been cut.
"Damn," he thought.
Tristan placed his arm on the ground to cushion his fall.
[Black Lotus Phantom Blade]
Jian's sword struck one of the ant's hind leg joints. He planned to sever the creature's leg with one blow, but it didn't go as expected. He had to use all the essence he could gather at that moment. When the ant's leg finally separated from its body, the creature turned toward him in anger and fury.
The creature collided with Jian's body, sending him flying through the air. Now, he was exhausted, and his vital essence was nearly depleted.
"Damn, our situation is dire. At this rate, this creature will kill us and charge toward the others. I can't let that happen!"
With difficulty, Tristan stood up. He hobbled toward the ant and jumped onto it once more, this time landing on its back. Gritting his teeth to endure the pain in his leg, he drove his blade into the area between the creature's thorax and abdomen. The beast tried to jump and run to shake off the irritating child, but Tristan held onto the smooth crystals covering the monster as best he could.
Tristan kept stabbing his enemy repeatedly. But the more he tried to stay on the ant, the more he felt horrible pain. The monster's sharp crystals cut into his skin and tore through his muscles, making his entire body bleed.
Tristan lost so much blood that it stained the blue crystals red. Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer, slipping off due to his blood as the ant moved once again.
The ant turned toward the fallen child on the ground and then aimed the rear part of its abdomen at Tristan.
A jet of blue acid shot toward Tristan. With his injured right leg, he gathered his essence in his left leg, leaping to the side as small droplets of acid landed on his cheek, burning his skin like fire.
"Ahhh!" Tristan rolled on the ground, screaming in agony.
The ant, not missing this opportunity, charged with its powerful jaws, trying to split him in two. Tristan used all his willpower to fight against the pain of his burning face, getting up as quickly as possible and trying to dodge those jaws that would end his life.
"No!"
"Damn it, I need to be faster!"
But he wasn't fast enough; the ant was just seconds away from ending his life.
The fear of death gripped his young body, causing Tristan to close his eyes, even though his mind remained clear.
"Not again!" He clenched his teeth, expecting the terrible sensation of having his existence consumed by death.
After a few seconds, he felt his body collide with the ground, but the familiar sensation of dying never came.
"What?"
He opened his eyes in confusion, not understanding what had happened. Then he heard a loud human scream nearby, echoing through the tunnel.
He looked to the side and saw Jian's severed arm fall near him.