The Lurker was absolutely relentless in its attacks. As it launched more and more volleys of its dreadful poison. The seemed to fill up the space before me. It was only thanks to [Charged mind] that I was able to last this long. With my thinking speed increased I was able to calculate the trajectory of the poison balls and therefore I could evade them.
I didn't need to be fast. I just needed to react at the right time. And that I did.
Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!
HISSSSS!
With some well timed dodges and sidesteps the poison blobs landed on the ground behind me. I could hear the ground melting with every impact and cold sweat couldn't help but coat my back. Who knows what would have happened had those cursed things landed on me.
As I continued to rush forward, the lurker came in striking distance.
I swung my sword and swung down with all my might. There was no need to hold back. It was all or nothing.
The Lurker responded in kind and raised its single remaining front leg to meet my blade.
Clang!
The shock of the impact was so strong that I almost felt my wrist shatter. My arm trembled as I struggled to keep my grip.
'Dammit just how tough is its shell! Its like hitting an iron wall!' I cursed.
Then there was no more time to think.
The Lurker was already swinging its leg again once again. Aiming to rip open my chest. This time I didn't clash with it carelessly, instead I blocked letting the blow slid down the length of my blade while simultaneaously side stepping.
The movement alone felt as though I was trying to push off a car before the apocalypse.
"Arghh!" a groan escaped my lips as I rolled beneath the beast and shot palm upwards a torrent of flames shooting forward as though it were coming from a flamethrower.
Boom!
Screech!
The Lurker screamed in pain as flames burnt the soft flesh beneath its body.
In retaliation though another leg knocked me from behind sending to the ground a distance away. I only had a split second to react before instinctively activating [Aura Skin] but even then my internal organs trembled in agitation. A mouthful of blood spilling from my lips.
I rose to a single knee, using my sword to support me. My right wrist was swollen, taking another strike like the one before would surely break it and it would all be over. Still it was a risk I had no choice but to take.
Cough!
Another mouthful of blood fell as I rose to my feet. I wiped it off with the back of my sleeve.
The Lurker stood before me landing its hateful gaze on me. At a glance one could see the smoke rising from beneath its large body that was accompanied by the smell of burnt flesh. The Lurker was clearly hurting as well.
"So you can feel pain too huh" I shifted my grip using my left hand to hold the hilt just below the cross-guard while the other hand with the broken wrist balanced the sword at the pommel.
I took a solid stance, lifting the sword slightly over my shoulder with the blade pointed forward.
Everything stilled for a moment before we both shot forward leaving nothing but craters in our former position.
The clash was explosive. Sending shockwaves and pockets of air in all directions that parted the clouds of poison.
Every clash made the ground tremble. Every swing of the sword made my arms ache and every time the Lurker released a ball of poison I had to desperately dodge out of the way. We weren't stationary. We bounced across the battlefield leaving craters in our wake. Metallic chimes became a constant and periodically I launched my palm forward, releasing flames just as the Lurker launched another poison ball at me.
I didn't know how much time had passed and quite franky I didn't care. Every muscles in my body screamed. My fingers bleed along the grip of my sword and my lungs screamed for air. Somewhere along the way I had to use my mana to actively keep my bones from breaking. We had clashed and fought with the aim of taking each other's lives.
And for a moment we were at a stalemate. But it wouldn't last long.
The moment my feet touched the ground I moved, dodged out the way as the Lurker's heavy body crashed into the area as though it were a boulder. Sweat fell down my brows as I attacked once more this time aiming for another eye.
I strcuk out in a downward stroke. Shadows shooting from the edge of my blade and into the direction of the Lurker's eye. Before the attack could land though the large abdomen to the Lurker's back moved, shooting forward a wall of webbing that met the shadow strike.
"Tch" I clicked my tongue in frustration but I was already moving. Aiming to go around the beast however halfway through my cycle...
From above a blob of poison fell as frightening speed. I had no choice but to slide on the hard floor. The poison blob whistled above my head by a few inches.
I was about to rise to my feet when a shadow suddenly loomed. Before I could fully register the Lurker bit down aiming to tear my arm off.
'Shit!'
I could only do my best to roll away however one of the Lurker's fangs grazed my skin dosing me with a drop of its poison.
Ba-dum!
It felt as though my arm was burning from the inside out, the veins in my arms darkened and a green sickly color took root on my arm. From my finger tips it began to spread up to my wrist before it slowed.
[Poison resistance failed to resist the poison]
[Poison resistance failed resist the poison]
[Poison resistance failed to resist the poison]
[Poison resistance partially resists poison. Spread of poison has been greatly reduced.]
When was the last time I had been affected by poison? It was probably on the first day of the apocalypse when I fought the Mutated Black Wasp. However since then this was the second time I had been affected by such a thing and the feeling was as unpleasant as ever.
Slowly I rose.
The lurker in its haste to bite me hit its head in the ground leaving it stunned for a moment.
Taking the opportunity I launched myself into the air. I raised my sword above my head and shifted my grip into a stabbing motion. I landed roughly on the Lurker's back and plunged the sword through the gap between its adbomen and thorax. The sword sunk all the way to the hilt.
IA feeling of dark satisfaction washed through me when I saw the beast bleed.
ROAR!
A dark grin spread on my face. I yanked the blade out spraying green blood in the area, before I pierced down once again.
The Lurker roared agonizing roar broke through the air. It shook its body fiercely throwing me to the ground.
Pain jolted through my entire body as I felt my strength waning. Still hearing the Lurker writh in pain was a fine reward for my efforts