Chapter 213

From Xia Nan's perspective, he naturally didn't know the ins and outs of the matter.

His entire understanding of Bo He was nothing more than a somewhat suspicious spellcaster teammate.

Before this, he didn't even know she was a Beast-kin.

In this situation, he knew absolutely nothing about the girl's past, her mental journey after being infected with beastification syndrome, her encounter with the priest Laini, or her grievances with Kashi and Weiruisi...

He knew nothing at all.

Based on the scene presented before him, the conclusion Xia Nan could draw was—

Bo He was the culprit behind the beast unrest in the forest and also the target of the Association's Beast-kin investigation mission.

Perhaps harboring some unknown purpose, she had infiltrated the Sea-Spine Squad with her excellent disguise ability as a spellcaster and had been continuously causing trouble for them along the way.

Thinking back now, the pack of Temple Night-Walking Wolves they encountered earlier, as well as that Owl Bear just now, were most likely brought by her.

And after faking her death to escape, she used some kind of substitute ability to lure the other three members of the squad deeper, and finally, through the earring on her body—suspected to be a magic item—made Kashi and Weiruisi launch a backstab on him.

Oh, looking at it this way, the target Kashi and the other spoke of must be this magic accessory.

Now, only after Kashi and Weiruisi were both dead did she reveal her true form.

Xia Nan couldn't understand the detailed meaning behind her vague words, and the information he currently had couldn't determine Bo He's specific purpose.

But it didn't matter.

He only needed to know that Bo He had launched an attack on him, and that was enough.

"Want to kill me? Then I'll kill you first."

Hum—

The iron-grey sword light reflected the silver moon overhead, drawing a sharp, perfect arc in the air.

【Spinning Slash】!

Sap splattered!

The sturdy metal sharp weapon, under the blessing of strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person and exquisite technique, erupted with astonishing lethality in an instant.

The vines and thorns that surged toward Xia Nan like a tide from the soil, carrying mud, were instantly slashed apart.

The stench unique to plant sap, mixed with the smell of blood in the air, surged into his nasal cavity with every breath.

His legs suddenly exerted force, taking advantage of the split second of space he had carved out... 【Tooth Hunt】!

Roar—

A high, long wolf howl seemed to drown out the roars of the other beasts on the field, and a phantom wolf head composed of grass clippings, mist, and broken thorns suddenly emerged.

Carrying Xia Nan's body, it easily passed through the encirclement of thorns and beasts, charging straight toward the figure in the middle of the field that was gradually expanding and twisting.

Xia Nan might not be good at deduction.

But his excellent combat talent and keen perception still helped him analyze the situation on the field and make the most correct judgment with terrifying efficiency.

First, retreat... for the current situation, it wasn't a good choice.

Just as Bo He said earlier, the Mist Forest at night was filled with mist and had extremely low visibility, making the dense forest, which was already an obstacle, even more troublesome.

Trying to move quickly through it for a long time relying on 【Tooth Hunt】 was a very difficult thing to do.

Not to mention having to deal with the pursuit of beast herds and thorns.

Exposing his back to the enemy was potentially even more dangerous than staying on the field.

Therefore, he had to cast aside any intention of retreating and face the battle head-on.

And once he determined that battle was unavoidable, he naturally and instinctively began to think about the key to breaking the deadlock.

Good news: this clearing ahead was barely spacious enough for 【Tooth Hunt】 to be used at will, so his high-mobility combat style wouldn't be restricted.

Bad news: the enemies he had to face weren't just Bo He herself; he had to deal with those annoying thorns sprouting from the ground and the crazed, fierce beasts surrounding him.

Fortunately, that Owl Bear wasn't on the field; otherwise, no matter how dangerous it was, he would have had to turn and try to run.

Group combat, or rather, one against many—Xia Nan had very rich experience.

The countless cleared Goblin lairs on the outskirts of the forest, with their corpses of Bugbears, Hobgoblins, and many other Goblins, made him quite familiar with this combat mode.

Unless there were special circumstances, wanting to clear out the minions first and then fight the strongest Elite Monster one-on-one head-on

was extremely dangerous and impractical.

After all, the opponent was a free creature with independent will and strong malice toward you; it wouldn't just stand by and watch while you cleared out the small fry.

It would only join in and launch a siege on you together with all the enemies on the field.

Therefore, capture the bandits by capturing their leader first.

As long as he could solve Bo He first, the thorns and beast herds on the field would lose their source of power and influence, and naturally, they would be nothing to fear.

High-speed movement.

The air became viscous and sluggish due to resistance, and the airflow that stung his cheeks squeezed past his body, his pitch-black messy hair swaying violently.

Clutching the decapitation longsword, Xia Nan stared at the dark, gloomy shadow ahead, approaching rapidly amidst the wolf howls.

Woo—

That was a low, terrifying growl, as if it were enduring something.

Bo He stood in place.

Her original petite and frail body as a spellcaster could no longer be seen.

The sturdy, knotted muscles of a bear beast tore her plain-colored robe, which now looked like a tattered napkin wrapped around her neck; with a light tug of her sharp claws, it turned into rags and fell to the ground.

Viscous saliva dripped from her open, long, narrow beast snout, a pair of semi-circular beast ears poked out from behind her head, and no whites could be seen in her eye sockets—only a deep, unfathomable, lightless dead black that made one fearful to look upon.

Unlike Ba Ke, who had been infected with beastification syndrome and became a complete beast after it took hold,

Bo He still maintained a bipedal standing state.

The end of her revenge, the rage, and the thorns seemed to have allowed her to complete some kind of ritual derived from the origin of her bloodline.

Invisible power surged through her gradually hulking body.

She was like a hideous monster mixed from a human and a bear.

Those muscles, hard and solid like bedrock, and the dense, pitch-black mane didn't make her look clumsy or bloated at all.

On the contrary, set against those two elongated limbs and her upright torso, she gave off a sense of vigor filled with explosive power.

If not for the water-drop-shaped pendant under her short left earlobe, who would connect this hideous, terrifying humanoid bear beast, even more hulking than the strongest Barbarian in the tavern, to that frail and petite girl?

"ROAR!!!"

The ear-shattering roar seemed to announce the loss of her humanity and the beastliness taking full control of her body.

A beast's instinctive sense of danger, combined with extremely fast reaction speed and the bonus to physical attributes, allowed her to react in an instant.

Just as the phantom wolf head had pounced close and the iron-grey fangs hadn't yet had time to fall, those two long limbs instantly erupted with a powerful force that left deep indentations in the ground, carrying Bo He's body backward.

She dodged the arc-shaped sword light that was slashing horizontally toward her vital neck.

"Reacted that fast?"

Xia Nan was slightly surprised, but his movements didn't stop for a second. The moment he realized 【Spinning Slash】 had missed, the phantom wolf head around his body, which had slightly dissipated from the swing, immediately solidified again.

【Tooth Hunt】 was activated again, and his body disappeared from the spot along with the wolf howl.

The next second.

Sshhh-hum—

A sharp claw that had reached out from the side suddenly swept through the air where he had been standing just before.

The exaggerated power contained within it meant that one could only see a phantom image as it swung, and the gust of wind it kicked up sent the fallen leaves and grass seeds on the ground flying into mid-air.

With his legs nearly off the ground, Xia Nan retreated at high speed.

At the same time, he already had two fire oil bombs in his hand.

Without the slightest hesitation, he threw them fiercely toward the pitch-black figure ahead.

Grease and dust exploded in the firelight, turning into a surging flame that swallowed Bo He's body.

Unlike the immediate effects of the past,

these flames were completely unable to cause any damage to the opponent; there wasn't even a cry of pain, and they were soon extinguished by the suppression of the thick mist permeating the air.

The only proof that they had ever existed was the mane on the surface of Bo He's body, which showed some scorch marks.

"Tsk."

Xia Nan stood his ground, keeping his distance from the opponent, and couldn't help but click his tongue.

In the rush, one round had already passed.

Neither side in the battle had made any real progress.

Those dead-black, lightless eyes made it difficult for Xia Nan to guess what Bo He was thinking at the moment, and he didn't know if she had any plans.

But after the hasty exchange just now, he had a rough guess about the combat power of the bear-man before him.

It wasn't as exaggerated as the Owl Bear, but it was far superior to Ba Ke after his complete beast transformation; at the same time, her body speed and agility were far beyond that of an ordinary Beast-kin because of her body, which looked subtly vigorous and slender.

It was a bit like an all-around enhanced version of a Bugbear.

It even carried some spell-like abilities.

Using 【Tooth Hunt】 to reposition again, he dodged the pounce of two beasts and tore apart several thorns that had poked out from the soil.

The only thing to be thankful for was that the opponent had no weapons and no equipment assistance, and could only fight with her bare hands, relying purely on her claws and teeth and her physical body.

How to win?

His brain whirred rapidly as Xia Nan pondered.

His advantage lay in his extreme mobility, bolstered by 【Tooth Hunt】.

Their reaction abilities were roughly on par; under the effect of perception, he could accurately and carefully detect every move she made, and the bear-man's physical attributes were enough to bridge the gap.

He had a slight edge in speed, but as for defensive ability... it was hard to say whether his armor or her thick, tough fur was superior.

During his month and a half with the Sea-Spine Squad, he hadn't exposed too much.

Even though they had long since seen 【Tooth Hunt】 and 【Spinning Slash】, 【Gravity Control】 and 【Gravity Etching】 were things he had never revealed in front of anyone.

They should be able to become the key factors that tipped the scales of victory.

However, what he had to be careful of was that although 【Gravity Control】 had exaggerated potential and could reach an unimaginable, terrifying upper limit in the future, it wasn't a super-high-level combat technique that someone at his current level of strength could master.

But after all, his proficiency was limited, and it was still only lv1.

It was very effective against small creatures or those of his own size, but if the enemy's weight and size were larger, it would seem a bit strenuous.

When using it, he needed to combine it with the actual situation, like the clever thinking he used against Kashi earlier, to achieve some good results.

He could no longer crudely regulate gravity to exert influence on enemies as he did against Goblins.

【Gravity Etching】 had excellent lethality, and the characteristic of force field damage ignoring defense allowed it to easily cause massive damage to enemies.

But he had to be careful of its usage limit of "3" times, and the six-hour recharge time meant the earliest he could wait was until the early morning.

It could only be counted as a minor injury.

It even made the violent beastly nature in its bird eyes more restless because of the pain coming from the wound.

Its right arm swung lightly, tearing through the air, and the jet-black hooked claws, which would break armor if they touched or grazed, forced Xia Nan to use 【Tooth Hunt】 to retreat quickly again.

At the same time, its left claw smashed down violently, the wind roaring, bringing up countless fallen branches and leaves, forcing Kashi, who had taken the opportunity to approach, to retreat.

Once again ignoring the stabbing attack from Weiruisi on the side.

The Owl Bear shrieked and rushed straight toward Bo He at the back.

Nearly three meters long, with hard muscles attached to its thick bone frame, wrapped in thick fat and downy feathers, it was like a moving mountain of flesh.

Hardening itself against attacks from both sides, with astonishing explosive power and exaggerated short-distance speed, it closed the distance to Bo He.

Xia Nan, who had been forced back again, was the furthest away, and 【Tooth Hunt】 was not a teleportation ability that could achieve spatial travel, so he couldn't get close at all.

And Kashi and Weiruisi could only stay in place, watching as the Owl Bear approached Bo He rapidly.

Those thorny vines, under such power, were no different from the branches and bushes beside them, crushed and flattened as soon as they emerged.

Realizing that her spells couldn't stop the enemy, and that her teammates couldn't provide support for a while.

Bo He retreated, wanting to pull away as much as possible.

But after taking only a few steps back, she didn't even have time to turn her body back.

The unsettling, burly shadow had already shrouded her body amidst the horrifying owl cries.

Xia Nan was far away, and his vision was limited by the Owl Bear's massive body.

All he could see was the Owl Bear's back as it rushed forward, the arm swinging from bottom to top, and the girl's body being thrown up like a broken rag doll.

The crisp sound of bone fracture was blurred in the howling wind, her chest was unnaturally sunken, and the blood sprayed from her mouth was particularly conspicuous against her pale cheeks.

The plain robe, dyed blood-red, fluttered in the air, and the slender, petite figure disappeared into the dense forest.

"Damn it!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 207 =====

Even though this eerie, hallucination-like experience was fleeting, she immediately adjusted her center of gravity again by relying on her body's solid core strength.

But it was precisely because of this short moment of delay that she could no longer dodge the sharp slash coming from in front of her.

She only had time to raise her left hand to block in front of her chest.

The next moment, accompanied by a sharp whistle, the blade, with red light condensing on its surface like flowing runes, landed on Bo He's body.

Blood gushed, and her severed arm flew high into the air.

"Hum!"

The blinding red light suddenly exploded like a small firework, ignoring defense, as the ochre-red force field energy swallowed the bear-man's severed arm and chest.

(End of Chapter)