Gray smoke completely covered the area around Tristan and the boars. There seemed to be some kind of aura in that thing, exuding a sense of dominance.
Tristan held his breath. He had spent a long time watching the black stag from a distance, which allowed him to discover some of its abilities. This was precisely why he had the confidence to create a plan.
His natural vision was completely blocked; it was as if he were in a world of smoke.
Looking at the agitated boars, he noticed they seemed confused by the change in environment, moving in a disordered manner.
The magical smoke irritated Tristan's eyes, making them water; the burning sensation was so intense it felt as if someone had thrown pepper into his eyes. But he endured it without much trouble—compared to all the pain he had felt in all his previous lives, this was nothing.
The biggest problem was that the smoke was toxic. A martial artist like Tristan could hold his breath longer than ordinary people, and the fact that he cultivated the element of Light was very effective in such situations. But he was still only a mortal and had his limits.
He couldn't let this fight drag on too long.
Tristan drew his sword from the sheath at his waist.
The stag furiously charged toward those who dared to invade its territory, its hooves pounding hard against the ground, leaving holes where it passed.
Tristan put his entire body on high alert. He knew that being hit by that beast would be no different from being struck by a high-speed car.
Moving first, Tristan managed to avoid the creature’s rush, while the boars, on the other hand, struggled to adapt their senses.
The stag lowered its large, twisted antlers, hitting a boar and sending it flying toward a tree. When it collided, the boar’s body exploded from the impact, with flesh, bones, and blood flying through the air. Smelling the blood, the other boars went into a frenzy. Two of them approached their fallen companion's remains and began to devour them greedily.
In seconds, every piece of their former ally was inside their stomachs, leaving the ground completely clean.
Tristan knew what would come next.
This was one of the reasons boars were so feared in this forest. The fur of the two boars bristled, their eyes gleamed with a savage light, and the muscles in their bodies expanded. With a loud grunt, they charged in fury toward the stag.
The other boars also didn’t seem as dazed as before; it seemed they had gotten used to the effects of the smoke. Two of them ran toward Tristan.
'Finally, the first part of my plan worked. Boars are one of the few beast species that can keep up with the speed of a stag. And their sense of smell is so sharp that even with this toxic smoke, they can navigate. They’re the perfect allies for this fight.’
Seeing the two boars lowering their heads, Tristan thought, ‘Now, I just need to avoid being killed by them.’
He ran toward the stag, using the creature’s body to block the stones. ‘I need to stay on the opposite side of the boars so we can attack the stag from both sides; that’s our only chance of victory.’ The attack struck the stag’s body, but it showed no discomfort. The stone sank into the creature’s body, then ricocheted off.
However, when one of the strengthened boars leaped and struck its back, the stag took a step to the side.
The stag stomped its hooves on the ground in anger, releasing an even darker smoke from every pore of its body.
The boars around it staggered.
But before the stag could attack them again, Tristan acted. He moved his sword, making a cross-slash toward the right side of the beast. That creature was so large that hitting it wasn’t too difficult if one could keep up with its speed.
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With its incredible agility, the creature dodged Tristan’s sword. But then he spun, delivering a horizontal kick, and a black blade appeared on his leg, slicing part of the stag's belly.
Before he could continue his attack, Tristan noticed that one of the strengthened boars was targeting him, charging in his direction. To dodge, Tristan jumped backward, twisting his body in the air.
Having missed Tristan, the speeding boar had to adjust to change direction.
However, the black stag didn’t waste this opportunity. It raised the upper part of its body and came down with its hooves on the boar, crushing it like an insect.
More stones flew through the air, hitting the stag’s head this time.
The stag turned in the boar's direction and rushed toward it, as fast as the wind. When the two collided, the boar was thrown far, landing with its four legs broken.
Seizing the stag's distraction, Tristan stealthily approached using his concealment skill.
[Shadow Aura]
With a piercing attack, he plunged his sword into the stag’s thigh.
One of the regular boars began feeding on the corpse of the mutant boar, while the other two went toward the one with broken legs, still alive and screaming.
For a moment, its screams grew much louder until they faded away.
Now, the three remaining boars were strengthened. One of them ran at full speed, striking the stag’s left hind leg, almost causing it to fall. Meanwhile, the other two leaped onto the stag’s right and left sides, crushing it.
However, their condition didn’t look good. Their legs trembled, and they could barely stay on their feet.
‘Well, that’s it; it seems their end has arrived.’
The stag approached one of the boars and pinned its body with its hoof.
‘Even injured and outnumbered, the stag is on a higher evolutionary level. Such a difference doesn’t disappear easily.’
Then it swiftly turned and ran toward the other two.
The boars still tried to fight; from the outside, their bodies were full of strength, but inside, it was a different story.
With its enormous antlers, the stag impaled both boars at once, lifting its head with the two carcasses of its enemies still stuck on its antlers, then turned to Tristan.
Until now, everything was going according to Tristan’s plans. Although the characteristics of the boars allowed them to last a long time in a confrontation with the leader of this territory, as far as he knew, they had no way to deal with the toxic effects of the smoke, so their defeat was only a matter of time.
What would determine the success of his plan was how they would be defeated, and to his surprise, the boars exceeded his expectations.
Tristan felt his chest burning; he was nearing his limit. Storing his sword, he extended his right arm, and a black blade appeared in his hand.
[Dark Blade]
It was no time to save vital energy; he needed to end this now.
Tristan faced the creature, almost four times his size, without feeling intimidated.
He ran toward the beast.
Although limping, the stag approached almost as fast as he did, swinging its head at Tristan and throwing the two carcasses in his direction.
Circulating essence throughout his body, Tristan dodged the carcasses with agility. He leaped toward the stag’s head, gathering a large amount of essence for his blade.
The creature aimed its antlers at Tristan's abdomen; taking advantage of the fact that the beast was slower, he grabbed the antlers with his left hand and used them to push himself even higher.
With a spin, he plunged his black blade into the creature’s spine, making it fall to the ground.
Without wasting time, Tristan moved to the stag’s neck and slashed it in one motion.
The head of the now-former leader of that territory fell to the ground.
The smoke dispersed.
He took a deep breath, his heart filled with relief.
Tristan saw that cursed forest again.
With the fight over, it was time to collect his rewards.
[You acquired 2 Red Fragments]
…
[You acquired 2 Red Fragments]
[You acquired 1 Orange Fragment]
Tristan activated his runes.
Name: Tristan
Species: Human
Age: 11
Realm: Mortal
Core: Mist Orange
Talents:
Abilities: [Tyrannical Eye II ] [Dark Blade II ] [Fallen Grace I] [Shadow Aura II]
Artifacts: [Fragment of the Book The Tales of the Creation of Heaven and Earth]
Red Fragments: 20
Orange Fragments: 2
‘Not bad,’ the lack of more artifacts made him sad, but if he accumulated enough wealth, he could solve this one day.
After collecting the cores, Tristan cut some parts of the stag’s body and stored its meat. Leaving that place before any mishaps occurred, he began to return to his camp. As he walked, he passed by the tree that had been partially destroyed by one of the boars.
He hadn’t noticed before due to the situation he was in, but now something seemed unusual. Approaching, he noticed an opening in the trunk—a hollow cavity. Intrigued, he reached his hand into the darkness, and soon his fingers touched a pile of strange objects.
Silver coins, an ancient compass, rings of various sizes, a rusty dagger… and seeds. Many seeds.
‘Someone’s secret stash?’ Tristan thought.
Looking at the coins, he concluded, ‘Whoever it was probably doesn’t need this money anymore,’ so he took the coins and ignored the rest since it had no use for him.
Satisfied with an unexpected reward, Tristan left calmly.