Chapter 164 - Poison Kiss (1/2)

After making Emilia fly with his fist, Hei wasted no time contemplating the success of his attack. Instead, he ran to where the woman had landed and prepared to continue attacking.

Give no respite to the prey unless it was necessary to induce it into a false sense of security.

One of the many teachings of Bao Bei when Hei was young. Of course, even after all these years, Hei continued to keep his mother's words in his heart. He would do so until the rest of his life.

'Snake Tail Blow!'

Loading his spirit power on both arms, Hei prepared his attack. He then jumped into the air to dive on Emilia, who was still gasping on the ground due to Hei's punch. But the woman was by no means a beginner in combat. After all, despite being part of an ordinary family, she had been admitted to the Southern Royal War Academy.

”Law of Darkness, Shadow Blade!”

Suddenly, a black blade appeared in her right hand. It was half a meter long and about ten centimeters wide. Although it didn't look threatening or majestic, its power was not to be underestimated. However, Hei chose to continue his attack, regardless of his opponent's move.

'Spider Carapace is still active. If I hold this blow, I can then launch another attack. If I avoid it because I'm afraid of being hurt, I will miss this attack opportunity.'

Sizzle! Crash!

The dark blade collided against the exoskeleton on Hei's arms. Since they had previously been weakened, this time, the protections created with his spirit power didn't come out intact. Signs of rupture were evident with the n.a.k.e.d eye, and there was no doubt that another attack would definitively break his exoskeleton. In any case, the exoskeleton in his arms had allowed Hei to break the dark blade generated by the black-dressed woman's Law of Darkness.

”Embrace of Death!” Emilia shouted with all her might as she felt the backlash from the breakdown of her technique.

The kusarigama that was in her free hand quickly twisted around Hei's position. Both the metallic weight and the sickle attacked in unison as the chain wound around Hei so as not to let him escape.

”I won't let you beat me! Not by one who protects the spirit beasts!”

Despite the injuries received, Emilia wasn't in a severe condition. Her layer of spirit power had cushioned much of the damage. However, it was true at the same time that much of her spirit power had been consumed. But it didn't matter; the important thing was to take out the enemy in front of her.

But Hei had foreseen this as well. As an experienced hunter, he knew that he shouldn't underestimate his prey, especially during the moment it appeared the weakest. After all, the danger of death brought out all the potential, and even the smallest creatures were capable of unexpected things.

”Cocoon Hair!”

Unable to rely on Spider Carapace that was on the verge of collapse, Hei left the defense of his body to his hair, which was able to harden until it became hard as metal. That unusual protective barrier repelled the sickle blade, the metallic weight, and the kusarigama chain.

Emilia frowned in frustration seeing her attack fail, but although she wanted to continue the attack, she was forced to do the opposite. In fact, at the same time that he commanded his hair to protect his body, Hei commanded his spear to dive down on the spot where Emilia lay.

Stab!

Emilia was quick to avoid the blow, but in doing so, she lost her opportunity to continue her attack. In that moment of Emilia's distraction, Hei concentrated his spirit power in his hair and forcefully broke the binding of the kusarigama chain that was sent to fly. So he picked up his spear with his mind, and with it, he pounced towards Emilia, who was currently unarmed.

”Shit!” the woman in black swore. Even if she attempted to recall her kusarigama, the weapon wouldn't have had time to reach it. Left with no other alternatives, Emilia unleashed the ace up her sleeve. An ace that, in theory, she shouldn't have to possess.

A small rectangular sheet of paper appeared in her delicate little hand. The sheet had a reddish color while multiple geometric symbols that were engraved on it. Quickly, the young woman infused her spirit power into the piece of paper and threw it at Hei, who had now almost reached her position.

Boom!

Unexpectedly, a deafening boom resounded from that small piece of paper, while furious flames and smoke were generated by the explosion resulting from the contact with Hei's body.

When that boom was heard in that section of forest, all the fighters turned their gaze to where Hei and Emilia were fighting. In everyone's eyes, there was enormous amazement since they didn't expect such a twist.

”HEI”

A female cry broke that silence of amazement. The one who had shouted was Lian. Even from where she was fighting, she could sense the power behind that explosion. Since Lei was the only one, along with Ye and Xing, who knew Hei's real power, she also knew what his current limits were at the same time. And that explosion wasn't something Hei could get out of it unscathed. In the worst case, it could have even been fatal.

'Big Brother!' (Ye)

'Please answer!' (Xing)

Ye and Xing also felt a sense of horror when they realized the gravity of the situation. With an incredibly strong murderous intent, their eyes narrowed to become two very thin slits. The two divine beasts then began to attack more savagely than before, regardless of being injured. The two humans fighting against them were on the verge of succ.u.mbing, but they were doing everything they could to buy time for their boss so that she could finish her enemy.

”Boss, is that?” Asked guard number 1, Dae-Won, who was also the chief among the four subordinates of the Imperial Prince.

The gaze of the Imperial Prince Long Tian had become serious, and he answered in a grim voice to his subordinate. ”It is an elemental talisman. There are no doubts. It is something that we in the first year shouldn't be able to get our hands on, especially for those who come from an ordinary family. Yet the reality before our eyes is completely different. If so, it is possible that...” At that point, Long Tian paused before commanding aloud to the rest of the fighters. ”Kill them now! Don't let them use the talismans!”

The shout of the Imperial Prince echoed on the battlefield. Hei's companions, who had been shocked by this unexpected event, returned with their minds to the fight. The Imperial Prince had communicated to them that others might also possess such items. And this corresponded to reality.

The men dressed in black were, in fact, each endowed with such a talisman. But since they only owned one for each of them, Emilia had ordered them not to use them unless she had ordered otherwise. And now that Emilia herself had used her talisman, there was no reason why they couldn't use them. Thus, the remaining nineteen men began rummaging in their space ring to retrieve that object with a mighty power.

Lian, still worried by Hei's condition, was currently in desperation. She wanted to go and see what Hei's conditions were, but the danger of these talismans was a real threat. As the pivot of the defense of their team, she couldn't leave her teammates at the mercy of such a danger. Especially not with four supporting martial artists who wouldn't have resisted such an attack at all.