Chapters 158 - Fighting the Jaguars - 2
Roar!!!
Hiss!!!
Wooo!!!
In that section of forest, the peace that has been dwelling up to now was broken by the loud battle cries of the spirit beasts involved.
"Do not hesitate. Kill them as fast as possible. This is the result of their own actions."
Hei snapped forward, followed by Ye and Xing. His target was the black jaguar who led the pack of jaguars. Quickly, his spirit power came out, creating the protective layer that had become more resistant due to the increase of cultivation.
Peng!
The nearly three-meter black jaguar charged him with incredible power and ferocity. Its eyes were filled with the desire to tear apart the human who had dared to show so much irreverence and threaten him. Its legs that ended in a series of claws sharp as blades rose threateningly into the air and descended towards Hei. However, the latter was quick to maneuver his hair and interpose his spear horizontally to parry the attack. Even so, however, Hei had to support his spear with both hands so as not to be swept back by the momentum of his enemy.
'Spider Lance + Beast Claws, Penetrating Kick!'
As soon as he stopped being pushed back, Hei took advantage of pause after that violent charge to perform his counterattack. By concentrating spirit power on his left foot, Hei blew up the boot he had on his foot.
A series of green claws were present at the end of the toes. Raising his foot vertically upwards, Hei kicked at the throat of the creature that was attacking him. But, as expected by a second-level spirit beast, accustomed to fighting every day to survive, it wasn't easy to catch it off guard despite the anger in its eyes.
The black jaguar dodged with agility by jumping backward and returning to a distance of a few meters. From the way it opened its mouth, exposing the long string of sharp teeth, it seemed to be mocking Hei for his naivety in thinking that such an attack would work.
Indeed, Hei had developed this fighting tactic to surprise opponents. Against those who didn't know his moves, it was easy to catch them off guard since their attention would be concentrated on his hands. Nonetheless, his opponent wasn't a human but a spirit beast with more developed and sensitive senses. But despite failing in his attack, Hei didn't seem worried at all.
As soon as the jaguar dodged backward, Hei chased him and waved his hair to direct his spear against the black jaguar. The spirit beast responded by waving its strong legs and repulsed every spear blow.
'Stupid human! Do you think you can win against me against these tricks?' the black jaguar said in a tone that suggested it wasn't taking Hei seriously even though Hei was fighting against it.
Hei didn't reply and continued his assault. He had no intention of taking the bait launched by the black jaguar. And his decision proved correct because the black jaguar got even more angry, thus creating an imprecision in its hitherto perfect defense.
'Snake Fist!'
Like a snake waiting for his prey, Hei reached out his left hand to target one of the jaguar's eyes. Among the techniques available to him, Snake Fist was by far one of the fastest and had a short execution time, so much that it was almost instantaneous.
Scratch!
Hei's hand, which depicted the mouth of a snake, scratched part of the face of his prey, which at the end managed to avoid being hit in the eyes. The sturdy body of the black jaguar allowed it to come out with only a very slight hint of scratch, but the mere fact of being hit by someone whom it had been mocking a little while ago was a shame on the pride of the black jaguar.
Roar! Slash!
The black jaguar opened its mouth and attempted to respond by biting Hei in turn. But before it could even move its head to direct its attack, something sharp came toward it. The black jaguar was then hit at the base of the jaw and sent flying sideways.
'Spider Style, Spider Leg!'
Spider Leg. A technique created by Hei by imitating his little sister Xing's way of fighting. As expected by the son of the Nightmare Spider, Hei wasn't only able to modify the techniques of the spider and snake style given to him by Bao Bei; he also had the ability to create further techniques, increasing the danger of his styles.
Taking advantage of the elasticity of his muscles and bones combined with the sharpness of his claws, Hei could move his arms horizontally, vertically, and obliquely as if they were a sort of blade, consequently causing a cutting wound. Furthermore, what made this move even more dangerous was the fact that its execution speed was as fast as Snake Fist, making it difficult to avoid in close combat.
'Intent of the Spear, Spider Thrust!'
Being able to land an attack didn't lead to the victory of the fight. It wasn't a friendly competition, but a struggle for survival. Therefore, until the black jaguar stopped breathing, Hei wouldn't stop attacking.
So, Hei threw forward his spear supported by his hair. The weapon stuck on the stomach of the black jaguar that had been sent flying, nailing the creature to the ground. However, the tip of the spear was still stuck on the outer layer of the spirit beast's fur and couldn't go any further. After all, the bodies of spirit beasts weren't so easy to scratch with just a couple of hits.
'YOU! BASTARD HUMAN! I'LL KILL YOU!'
From its position nailed to the ground, the black jaguar roared against Hei. It was trying desperately to free itself, but the pressure exerted by Hei's hair that was manipulating the spear was such as to prevent it from getting up. Unlike before, the black jaguar hadn't loaded any momentum and could only use its body strength to try to deflect the weapon that was keeping it immobilized.
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'Snake Style, Snake Tail Blow!'
Hei joined the fingers of his hands and carried them behind his head as he jumped up so he could descend right where his opponent was. Snake Tail Blow was another technique he had devised using his little sister Ye as a base this time. As the name suggested, it went to recreate the movements of a snake's tail.
Bringing his arms forward, Hei aimed straight at the black jaguar's skull. The spirit beast attempted to bite Hei while he was going down, but strands of hair rose from the head of the young human martial artist. These strands of hair separated themselves from those that were holding the spear and tied around the black jaguar's mouth to close it. The black jaguar tried to resist, but the obstruction of those strands of hair made it lose vital seconds that could have reversed the situation.
Peng!
Attacking with all the power he could emit, Hei put his hands down against the skull of the black jaguar. The second level spirit beast had to suffer the full impact of that devastating move. Snake Tail Blow had a long execution time, as for Spider Lance. But, since it required a long loading time, the power emitted was incredibly high. Furthermore, the damage caused wasn't a piercing damage like the one for Spider Lance, but it belonged to the blunt type. As a result, Snake Tail Strike was ideal for smashing the enemy's bones to pieces, especially for those with a sturdy body.
Watching their boss being hit that way, the other jaguars began to worry while their concentration started to drop. It should be known that Xing and Ye had respectively taken the female albino jaguar and the second male in command in the herd as their opponents, thus leaving the other jaguars without an effective guide.
Nevertheless, the other jaguars had long since learned how to attack in packs. Therefore they hadn't paid much attention to the fact that their commanders had been separated from the rest of them. Instead, they concentrated on attacking Lian and the others who were, in turn, separated from Hei, Ye, and Xing.
Hei's group possessed four supporting martial artists. Consequently, since the jaguar was a fierce species that preferred to attack, it was reasonable for the pack of spirit beasts to be prevailing in the group fight. However, even though they were in a favorable situation, the jaguars weren't still able to end the battle. And the reason was precisely the four supporting martial artists who theoretically had to be a hindrance during a frontal confrontation.
With Lian in the center protecting all of them with her two long silk ribbons, Leon, He Fen, and Lang with Fenrir had arranged themselves in a triangle formation, and each of them was facing three jaguars each. The pressure on the three fighters should, therefore, have been immense. Yet it wasn't the case for them. Or rather, this pressure was being erased from the support of the four supporting martial artists.
With his voice, Mareo was assisting Leon, He Fen, and Lang, increasing their flow of spirit power. At the moment, the number of people he could power up in unison was three. Fortunately, Lian had a more defensive fighting style and was, therefore, merely shielding all of them without directly engaging the enemies. Hei instead had left the group, but given his skills, Mareo was confident that he wouldn't need his help.
Haruno had instead pulled out buns stuffed with a particular type of pasta-based dish, the yakisoba. These yakisoba buns were easy to eat in a fight and brought an explosive increase in spirit power to the detriment of extreme muscle strain. It was a type of food typically consumed by those who preferred a fighting style based on using the Elemental Laws from a distance rather than close barehanded combat or fighting with weapons.
However, except for He Fen, Leon and Lang were martial artists specialized in close combat. He Fen commanded from a distance his Wheels of Wind and Fire powered by the Laws of Fire and Wind. As the owner of a bloodline, the Bloodline of the Bifang Bird, he had two Elemental Laws. Lang preferred to fight alongside Fenrir side by side. Her sword flashed with extreme speed as the temperature around her dropped due to her Ice Law. The jaguars that were fighting against her were suffering from that sudden change in temperature while Fenrir was immune to it thanks to his thick fur. Finally, Leon, rather than using attacks based on Elemental Laws, was spinning his big sword with impressive speed and precision despite the length of the weapon. And thanks to his weapon Leon was able to keep up with He Fen and Lang even if he hadn't yet shown his Elemental Laws.
As for Lilian and Mia, the two young women were using their medical techniques to treat the harmful effects of Haruno's yakisoba buns. In this way, the three fighters in their group could fight without reservations. Furthermore, as soon as any of the three fighters suffered an injury, Lilian and Mia were ready to heal them. It could be said that unless one between Leon, He Fen, and Lang was killed before the two medical martial artists could cure them, the three attacking martial artists could fight while maintaining their optimal condition for a long time.
Thus, the clash became a battle of attrition in which the jaguars were destined to lose. And the fact that their leader was about to be defeated contributed even more to the sense of unease in the jaguars. These spirit beasts couldn't understand how they could be losing.
Panicked, some jaguars started looking for a way to escape while others wanted to go and help their boss. But as soon as these jaguars attempted to make their move, Lian immediately stopped them using her Law of Wood.
"Root Binding!"
By manipulating the vegetation already present in that territory, Lian brought out small tree roots that went to tie around the legs of the jaguars who wanted to escape or help their leader. The spirit beasts were taken aback and stumbled on the ground. Instinctively, they attempted to break the root that was holding them tied with their claws or teeth. But that moment of distraction cost them dearly.
"Intent of the Greatsword, Dividing Sky Slash!"
"Intent of the Wheels of Wind and Fire, Bifang Bird Bloodline, Flame Rotating Discs!"
"Intent of the Sword, Frost Transmission!"
'Death Claws of the Wolf!'
Leon, He Fen, Lang, and Fenrir launched their attacks on four of the trapped jaguars. Their blows, which until now had been reduced in power in order to reduce their spirit power's consumption, this time unleashed all their power. The poor four jaguars were killed in the impact, causing to tip the balance in favor of Hei's group, which now had gained the upper hand.
The remaining jaguars were frightened at the death of four of their companions, but they tried to repress their fear with anger. Thirsty for revenge, they slung over the group of martial artists who remained uncovered at the center. They realized that as long as they killed the humans who supported the three fighters, they could reverse the outcome of the battle.
"Cascade Wall!"
Lian spun her two ribbons while a wall of water was generated at the same time. In addition to the Law of Wood derived from the Lotus of Love Bloodline, Lian also possessed the Law of Water, that had strong defensive capabilities. Her water and silk barrier covered herself and the four supporting martial artists next to her, locking them in an impenetrable fortress for the jaguars which could only beat their teeth and claws in vain.
Leon, He Fen, Lang, and Fenrir arrived quickly and put an end to four other jaguars. Now there was only one left alive of the group of nine jaguars that had attacked Lian and the others. That number didn't count the three strongest specimens that were fighting against Hei, Ye, and Xing. But now, even on that front, the fight could be considered ended.
Even without using their Elemental Laws or their Bloodlines, Ye and Xing managed to kill their enemy. However, since they were limited in their attack methods and forced into close combat, they ended up suffering multiple injuries. In any case, they weren't so severely injured, and the two divine beasts weren't worried at all.
As for Hei, after inflicting his Snake Tail Blow, the fight could be called over. The black jaguar tried to react after suffering the impact of Hei's move, but by now, his movements weren't as fast and powerful as before. Hei, therefore, waited for the black jaguar to make another distraction error to finish him off with another Snake Tail Blow. The poor spirit beast had no escape this time and fell on the ground with his skull destroyed.