Chapter 34: Golden-Eyed Demon Goat |
"Keep pulling it back!"
Xia Chuan and the six others dragged the Frost Beast away, allowing Xia Hong to free himself from the cave wall. But instead of fleeing, he ordered them to keep pulling while he wielded the second hand axe he'd just grabbed. Bending at the waist, he swung upward in a vicious diagonal slash.
This Frost Beast's head had six massive, rock-hard horns that were impossible to chop through. Its body was covered in half-meter-long white mane that practically encased its entire form. During their brief earlier contact, Xia Hong had already felt how tough those bristles were.
Undoubtedly, this Frost Beast's defenses surpassed even the Snow Mane's. Normal methods would never penetrate its hide.
The jaw was the only vulnerable spot Xia Hong could think of.
"My strength has reached nine thousand seven hundred jin. With the Great Combat Fist technique and this weapon, I can unleash over ten thousand jin of force. I refuse to believe your bones are that hard!"
The axe whistled through the air as Xia Hong's upward slash generated fierce winds that frictionized with the cave's icy air, even producing faint sparks. The power behind this strike was unimaginable.
Perhaps sensing the threat, the goat-shaped Frost Beast thrashed wildly, causing the seven rope-pullers to stagger violently. Xu Ning, the last among them to break through, was already dragged to the ground but still gritted his teeth and held on, bracing his legs against a protruding rock until they bled profusely.
BANG...
Yet Xia Hong's expression twisted in shock after delivering the blow. Not only had the axe failed to penetrate, but the beast's jawbone had shattered it completely - just like the previous axe that struck its horns. This damned creature's jaw was as hard as its horns.
ROAR...
Though it destroyed the axe, the Frost Beast clearly felt excruciating pain from the strike. Throwing its head back with an enraged bellow, it unleashed strength far beyond before, instantly snapping all the ropes and sending the seven humans tumbling.
But that wasn't all. After breaking free, the beast's first target wasn't Xia Hong who had just struck it, but Xu Ning on the opposite side. Among the seven pullers, Xu Ning had been at the head position when the ropes snapped, leaving him closest to the beast's flank.
"Xu Ning, move!"
Xia Hong rushed between the Frost Beast and Xu Ning. This time, a direct confrontation was unavoidable.
Gritting his teeth, Xia Hong planted his feet and timed it perfectly to catch the Frost Beast's charging horns. His intention was to block the charge long enough to save Xu Ning, even if it meant being forced back or injured.
But he'd underestimated the situation. The enraged beast's impact was on an entirely different level.
BAM!
The collision sent Xia Hong flying straight into the cave ceiling before dropping him back down, nearly severing all ten fingers in the process.
"Don't touch its horns - they'll cut you!" Xia Hong warned as he fell, glancing at his lacerated hands. With no time to tend the bleeding, he simply wiped them and shouted the warning.
But he was too late. After sending him flying, the Frost Beast immediately charged the group. Perhaps remembering Xu Ning's aggressive rope-pulling, it targeted him again.
Xu Ning tried scrambling behind the beast, but was too slow. Within two steps, the Frost Beast's horns were already at his waist. A direct hit would be fatal.
Xia Hong had already gotten up and was rushing over, but the distance was too great. The other six also tried intercepting but were too weak, getting knocked aside before getting close. Xu Ning's fate seemed sealed.
Feeling death at his waist, Xu Ning broke out in cold sweat. Spotting the half-meter-long mane, he made a desperate decision - pivoting sideways, he grabbed the bristles and vaulted onto the beast's back.
SCHLICK!
It wasn't clean. Though he avoided the waist strike, the horn still impaled his shoulder. Only by violently wrenching free did he prevent the beast from bisecting him with a simple shake.
The shoulder wound seemed to awaken something feral in Xu Ning. Mounted on the Frost Beast's back, he raised his stone axe and hacked wildly at its spine.
As Xia Hong predicted, this beast's defenses dwarfed the Snow Mane's. Over a dozen strikes only severed some mane hairs without breaching the skin beneath.
Yet Xu Ning kept swinging, half his body now drenched in blood from the shoulder wound, driven by sheer desperation - knowing stopping meant certain death.
ROOOAR!
Suddenly, the Frost Beast let out an earsplitting shriek.
Xu Ning froze mid-swing. After so many ineffective strikes, why this sudden reaction?
Reacting quickly, he stopped and examined where he'd been striking. Though much mane had been chopped away, the remaining coverage was still substantial. Pushing aside the bristles with his axe, Xu Ning's eyes widened.
Beneath the fur was a palm-sized eye with a pure golden pupil staring emotionlessly back at him.
"A weak point!"
Xu Ning didn't study it further. Noticing axe marks near the eye, he immediately recognized this as the beast's vulnerability.
"There's a golden eye on its back - must be the weak spot!" he shouted before raising his axe for a decisive strike at the golden pupil.
"Xu Ning, don't!" Xia Hong yelled while grappling with the beast, but too late.
The Snow Mane's weakness was its long tongue, yet that same tongue was its deadliest weapon. The Frost Wolf's small size made it vulnerable, yet that same trait granted terrifying speed. No creature evolves weaknesses without reason - they often conceal greater dangers.
Xu Ning's pupils dilated as his axe descended toward the fist-sized golden eye. Victory seemed certain.
But then, the golden pupil suddenly erupted with blinding light. Xu Ning's wide eyes instantly winced shut from the glare.
Still, he refused to abandon this chance. Closing his left eye and squinting with the right, he continued the axe's deadly arc toward the pupil.
THUNK...
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