Tristan saw the monster's giant paw coming toward him with the clear intent of tearing his head off. The enemy's claws were less than an arm's length from reaching him.
The world seemed to slow down for him, and he could hear the sound of his heart pounding hard, spreading adrenaline throughout his body. Using all the strength in his muscles, he bent his back.
He saw the sharp claws of the beast pass through the strands of his fringe. A drop of crimson blood trickled from his forehead to his right cheek.
In that moment, after the immediate threat to his life had passed, his survival instinct told him to eliminate the enemy in front of him. That was the only way to guarantee his safety.
[Dark Blade]
A black mist emanated from his body, forming a short blade around his left hand. He made a spinning motion with his blade toward the monster's furry arm. He could see the creature's flesh being cut, and the thing's blood sprayed into the air.
But it seemed the creature had reflexes just as good as his. The beast pushed off the ground with force, leaping to the side at an impressive speed before Tristan could sever its arm.
The creature looked at its right arm, which was gushing large amounts of blood, and let out a growl. Tristan thought it resembled the sound cats made, though much louder and fiercer.
The senior apprentice of the sect stared at the scene in shock, surprised by the sudden appearance of the monster. But as an experienced monster hunter, she quickly regained her composure.
She drew her liuyedao, a single-edged saber with a slightly curved blade, about 1 meter (39 in) in length.
"How dare a filthy creature like you attack a junior apprentice of my sect?"
[Steps of the Celestial Wind]
Yellow energy particles emanated from her body, and the air around her began to move quickly, turning into a strong wind that propelled her toward the monster.
Tristan watched this and was impressed to see the improved version of the technique Steps of the Celestial Breeze. He hadn't had many chances to see the more advanced techniques of his sect, as they were usually used by members of the Third Flying Dao.
'Hmm, she's barely touching the ground. It's like she's gliding while being carried by the wind. But will that be enough?'
His mind considered the current situation in that brief moment.
'It's better to step back and see how the creature reacts. Based on its performance, this thing is definitely a magical beast. What kind of core does it have? It doesn't seem like its core is red.'
The monster's large, pointed ears reacted to the changes in the atmosphere. Its eyes shifted away from Tristan and focused on the approaching apprentice.
She closed the distance between them in just a few steps, spinning her saber toward the monster's belly.
[Winged Wind Slash]
Illusory yellow feathers began to grow from her weapon's blade, completely covering it. Each feather made the sound of a whipslicing through the air.
The fur on the creature's body stood on end, and it contracted the muscles in its legs, leaping to the left. The apprentice's blade missed the creature's body, but the illusory feathers didn't, tearing through the beast's belly.
Tristan frowned when he saw that even if she had missed her target, the senior apprentice had still managed to wound the monster. But what happened next caught his attention even more. He noticed that the woman was taking longer to stop her movement, while the monster didn't have that problem.
As soon as it dodged, the creature was already adjusting its body to counterattack.
A black mist covered the monster's front paws like a glove.
'This creature uses Darkness magic.' He wasn't too surprised; he had already suspected that was the case due to the incredible stealth abilities that the evidence he found earlier had indicated the monster possessed. 'This isn't good. Even though the senior is much faster, her eyes are still those of a normal person.'
The creature took advantage of the woman's slight mistake, and its claws almost struck her back.
But she managed to block it with her sword at the last second. However, her eyes widened when she saw the monster's claws almost breaking her blade.
She grated her teeth hard, her arms trembling. She had to use all the strength that vital energy could provide her to avoid being flung far away by the beast. The creature was very strong.
[Feet Light as Feathers]
Two pairs of feathers appeared on her feet. She quickly jumped back with impressive agility, distancing herself from the creature.
She landed gracefully on the ground, looked at her blade, and clicked her tongue.
"Damn, do you know how much this cost?"
She adjusted her stance once more. Gathering the essence in her core and guiding it to her legs, she ran toward the monster, this time more cautiously.
She spun her saber again, trying to slice the monster in two once more.
[Winged Wind Slash]
Repeating exactly the same movements as before, her blade approached the creature once again.
The monster's fur darkened, and its figure seemed to blend with the night environment. To the senior apprentice's eyes, it was as if the monster's body had expanded slightly.
When her blade reached the creature's black fur, she thought it would cut its flesh again, but this time her sword cut only air. She adjusted her body and tried again, but the result was the same.
'She can't see the creature's real body,' Tristan thought.
Even he was having trouble seeing the monster since it had used a powerful ability, and Tristan was only using the passive enhancements from the Darkness cultivation.
As he watched this, he remembered his fight against Xiao Mei and the other apprentices of the sect.
'It seems like it's using the same tactic I used. But instead of using light magic, it has a much wider arsenal of abilities than I do. If its senses are sharp enough, it might be able to handle the senior's speed.'
He analyzed the current battle and tried to predict how it would end.
'Can she handle this without exploiting the greatest weakness of Darkness users?'