Chapter 164 - Poison Kiss
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 naked 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 succumbing, 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!"
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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.
"Complete your mission! Don't think about me!"
As if it was reading her thoughts, a voice reached Lian's ears. The blue-haired young woman gasped with emotion when she heard who the voice belonged to. Living every day next to him, how could she be wrong?!
"HEI!"
Yes, the one who spoke was Hei. At the moment, he was kneeling on the ground while trying to focus on the enemy in front of him. The top of his robe was gone, and there were gruesome burn wounds on his back and arms. But other than that, they didn't look like they were life-threatening.
'Fortunately, I was able to use Snake Coiling to curl my body. Furthermore, Snake Hair has cushioned part of the power of the explosion. But apparently, my defense wasn't enough to completely isolate the heat of the explosion.'
Hei had managed to reduce the damage thanks to his promptness and the speed of execution of his techniques. Quickly, he had twisted his limbs as if he were a sphere while his hair suffered the impact of the explosion. However, despite his hair being intact, they hadn't been able to prevent the heat and power of that move from being transmitted to Hei's body. Hence the burn wounds on his back and arms.
"You're still alive?? How is it possible?" Emilia murmured as she looked at him in horror as if she had a monster before her.
Hei looked up and replied to the young woman in black, "It's because you want to hurt my little sisters. Of course, I can't let you kill me. I have to keep protecting them."
"Why do you persist? Don't you understand that it's useless? Even if you protect them now, nothing will change. They are spirit beasts. Humans and spirit beasts cannot live together. The only reason they weren't exterminated is just because the divine beasts went extinct. So, the big shots think they can tame them and use them for their purposes. But the day when the divine beasts were to return, it will also be the day that humanity will finally get rid of the spirit beasts. They won't run the risk of having another Snake of Darkness threatening the world."
"Then that day, I will fight alongside them until the end. And if I fail, it will only be with my death. It is the promise I made myself a long time ago. I have no intention of breaking it for any reason. I fully understand the suffering you feel in your heart, but I cannot let you hurt them or any other innocent spirit beast."
After his speech, Hei lay down on the ground with all four limbs ready to snap. The back injuries hurt and prevented him from fighting when he was up. Even the burns in the arms made their weight be felt, but they were less painful. Therefore, it was still possible for Hei to fight using Spider Run, Four Legged Mode.
Seeing Hei's relentless fighting spirit, Emilia's hatred vanished for a moment, replaced by admiration. Although she hated to admit it, she hadn't met anyone so willing to risk his life to protect the spirit beasts. But that didn't change anything in the end. She would kill that young brown-skinned man. No, precisely because of his sympathies towards the spirit beasts, she had to kill him at all costs.
Releasing the last flashes of spirit power, consumed almost entirely due to the use of that particular talisman, Emilia held her kusarigama with both arms. Slowly, she started to spin it while her eyes were fixed on Hei. She was building momentum to maximize the damage.
Hei was also doing the same. He was concentrating his spirit power to use the technique he thought most could lead him to victory. If his choice was the right one, it would be revealed in a few moments.
One shot. It was the fraction of time they both had to win. The first who failed to kill the enemy would be the person who lost.
Whoosh!
Hei jumped forward with all the force his body could generate. The burns in his arms and back were painful, but he suppressed the pain with pure willpower. A moment's hesitation would have decreed its end. Emilia also sprinted forward using a footwork technique to increase her speed. Her kusarigama threateningly circled as she approached Hei.
Stab!
It all happens in a matter of seconds. Hei easily avoided the metallic weight at the end of the chain with a lateral movement. But this lateral movement had stopped Hei's advance for a moment. Emilia took the opportunity to target the throat of her enemy with the blade of the kusarigama's sickle.
However, in the same way, Emilia was ready, Hei was prepared as well. Quickly, he reached out his left hand, which grabbed the blade of the sickle. On his hand, there was a layer of the exoskeleton, which was just enough to block the sickle blade for a few seconds. But that fraction of time was all Hei needed.
Using all his strength, he rose to his feet as an excruciating pain pervaded his back and resounded all over his body. Seeing him in pain, Emilia used the part of the chain tied under the end of the sickle to immobilize Hei's free right hand. In fact, she had noticed this detail and knew that Hei had in mind to attack her using that arm. Or at least that was what she had thought.
Hei had no intention of using his right hand. Indeed, he had planned to use it as a bait to trick his enemy into thinking it was. With one last movement, he pushed his body forward as his face moved closer to Emilia's.
Smack!
Hei's lips landed on Emilia's. The young woman dressed in black was taken aback as her mind stopped working. Total amazement. It was what she was feeling. But unfortunately for her, this wasn't a simple kiss.
"Poison Kiss!"
A few moments earlier, while Hei was on all fours concentrating his spirit power, the image of a gray-haired woman appeared in his mind. Suddenly he remembered how the Pirate Queen Ho Ri-Na used a kissing technique to boil the organs of her enemies from the inside. Hei didn't know why this had occurred to him at the time, but he trusted his instincts.
Although he didn't know exactly how this technique works, he managed to create a variant based on his techniques. As he was preparing for the last confrontation, he started generating saliva and making it poisonous. So as soon as his lips touched Emilia's, Hei poured his poisonous saliva into the woman's mouth. Such saliva began to flow inward as it descended down Emilia's throat and expanded throughout the body.
Emilia soon noticed the danger and tried to free herself. However, Hei prevented it. Hei's tongue, snapping as if it were alive, twisted around Emilia's and didn't let go. At the same time, his long pitch-black hair had tied the two in a tight grip. There was no way for Emilia to free herself with the brute force of her body.
'LET ME GO!' Unable to speak in that position, Emilia sent a spirit message to Hei, but he obviously didn't listen to the request of his enemy and continued to pour out the poison.
Emilia desperately tried one last solution and commanded her kusarigama with her mind. The sickle was still blocked by Hei's hand, so the only free end was the one with the metallic weight. Hei's hair was busy tying the two of them together in that tight grip, and therefore it couldn't stop her attack.
'DIE!'
In a voice that bordered on madness mixed with desperation, Emilia attempted her last attack. The metallic weight moved as fast as a dart fired from a bow and aimed at Hei's head. A blow behind the back of the neck, or a potentially fatal blow, especially now that most of Hei's spirit power was concentrated on attacking.
Peng!
Unfortunately for Emilia, Hei still had an ace up his sleeve. Something he had hidden with his actions for this latest attack - his spear.
The spear given to him by his mother hissed through the air, and the tip of the weapon collided with the metallic weight. The metallic noise that followed from the contact between the two weapons marked the end of the clash and the defeat of the young woman full of hatred for the spirit beasts.