Alator's grip tightened on the hilt of the dagger as he turned it upside down. He moved his left hand, which was holding the staff, behind his back and grabbed a handful of dust. It seemed like he was going for a tricky move this time.
"Grrrhhhrrrr… RRAAAUUGHH!"
The panther growled as it got back on its feet and charged toward Alator again.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Alator dashed forward as well; he wasn't going to run away from it anymore.
Just as Alator was about to clash head-on with the beast, he suddenly threw the dust in front of the panther and quickly ducked to the side. The beast was momentarily blinded by the dust and the dirt that flew into its eyes. Its claws, which were just about to tear him apart, missed, but still managed to graze him, drawing out blood and leaving a deep wound across his chest. But, Alator didn't miss his chance either. At the same time, he slashed his dagger through the side of the beast's belly.
"Swish!"
The blade tore through its flesh, leaving a deep, long gash across the skin. Blood spilled out in a rush and sprayed all over the place.
"Awoooo!"
The panther cried out in anguish. It suddenly kicked off the ground and shot forward again. With dirt still in its eyes, the beast's vision was no longer clear. Right now, it was moving purely on instinct.
Alator smirked and switched the weapon in his hand, now gripping the staff tightly with his right hand. He tossed it up and caught it firmly in his palm, his eyes locked on the beast charging towards him. Without wasting time, Alator bolted forward as well and threw the staff with all his might toward the incoming panther.
"Die!!"
The staff shot out from his hand, and he crashed onto the ground from the force.
"Whoosh!"
The staff tore through the air and struck the panther. Its sharp end pierced straight through the beast's neck, emerging from the other side.
"Awoooo!... Awooo!"
The beast let out a miserable cry, tumbling and rolling on the ground. It continued to struggle for a while. Alator, still lying where he had fallen, just stared at it. Within a few seconds, the panther finally stopped moving.
Alator slowly got up and walked toward it, then pulled out his staff. More blood pumped out from the hole in the neck of the beast like water from a tap. Alator staggered a few steps forward with his legs trembling. He lost his balance and finally collapsed to the ground.
He crawled to a tree nearby and rested his back against it, breathing heavily, with sweat soaking through his clothes. Even though Alator was exhausted and probably already at his limit, he didn't let his guard down. He was still tightly gripping his dagger, his eyes darting around his surroundings cautiously.
After a few minutes, just as Alator was about to relax and finally let his guard down...
"Crack!"
A sudden sound entered his ears from behind. Alator froze instantly; he didn't dare to move or even turn his head. When the sound came again, he finally understood what it was. It was the crunch sound of footsteps crushing down on the dry leaves scattered across the ground. It seemed that someone, or something, was coming toward his direction. The approaching steps weren't fast or casual; they were calm and deliberate, as if whatever it was, was moving stealthily.
Alator swallowed hard. He shifted his eyes to the corner as he slowly turned his head. He looked around, but oddly, he didn't see anything, only the corpse of the black panther that was lying there. Alator furrowed his brows in confusion. As the noise entered his ears again, he narrowed his eyes toward a particular direction. His eyes flashed with a strange light, and his face began to change color as he saw what it was.
Alator saw a crocodile slowly emerging from the thick green canopies of the forest. One of the most dangerous things about this particular beast was its green skin, giving it the ability to blend with the forest, making it difficult to see or notice.
The crocodile finally emerged fully. Alator's eyes went wide in shock. The beast was ten times larger than any other crocodile he had ever seen. Of course, this crocodile wasn't just a wild beast, this was an Iron-Jaw Crocodile, a two-star vicious demonic beast.
Alator was still, not even daring to breathe. He began to sweat profusely as he discovered that it was a demonic beast. His heart was pounding hard against his chest; he just hoped that the beast hadn't seen him yet.
Alator's eyes suddenly lit up as he remembered something. He slowly reached out for the pouch hooked on his waist and brought out a small green box. This was the same box he had found in the pouch when he was looking for cooking ingredients in the canyon. He quickly spread the Null Dust on his body, trying to erase his scent.
The beast approached the body of the dead panther and sniffed around it. The beast raised its head and looked around. It seemed like it was trying to find the person behind the black panther's death, and it was sure that it had heard some noise in this direction, which was what actually attracted it here. And when it arrived, there was a scent of a human around, but now, it had just disappeared without a trace.
With the tree he was leaning on as a shield, Alator held his breath and quietly began to crawl away from the place. The demonic beast didn't just stand there; it began to move around, searching for the human who had killed the black panther. Demonic beasts were more intelligent than ordinary wild beasts. It was even said that some demonic beasts who had reached a terrifying stage of power could rival an adult human in intelligence. The more humans grow in age, the more intelligent they become, but the more powerful a demonic beast is, the more intelligent it becomes.
Alator finally got a bit far from the beast. He calmly pushed himself up and began to walk ahead quietly. He wanted to run, but he was sure that if he dared to, the beast would surely notice him. Honestly, Alator didn't want to have anything to do with a demonic beast right now. He knew how tough it was for him to kill an ordinary wild beast, not to talk of a demonic beast. Hell, Alator really wanted to cry at this moment; he was already hitting his limit.
Alator gritted his teeth in frustration; he really can't wait to participate in the bloodline awakening ritual to awaken his soul essence. But first, he needed to get out of this wild alive before anything else.
Just a few steps away, Alator would have finally gotten away from the demonic beast, but his foot suddenly crashed on a dry branch lying on the ground, and it gave out a loud cracking sound.
"Crack!"
Alator froze on the spot. The Iron-Jaw Croc turned its head swiftly toward the direction, its glowing red eyes staring at a petrified figure in the distance.
"Shit!"
Without wasting time, Alator broke out into a dash. The beast growled and chased after him. Alator bolted forward as tree branches lashed against his skin mercilessly, leaving deep and shallow scratches on his body. But honestly, Alator didn't care. He occasionally glanced back to know when the beast wanted to use its breath attack. He didn't know how he had managed to survive the last one from the Silver-Eyed Wolf, and he didn't know if he would be lucky this time. But in truth, Alator didn't want to gamble with his life at this moment, so he was being cautious.
Alator continued to run with the last strength left in him. Surprisingly, he was actually managing to put some distance between himself and the beast. He noticed that his agility has increased a lot, and this was the result of the powders he eat at the canyon. But right now, he doesn't have time to look into it. Even though the Iron-Jaw Croc was a demonic beast, in actual reality, it was still lagging behind in terms of speed in comparison to Alator.
When the beast realized that Alator was getting away, it let out a furious growl. Its massive jaws parted quickly as the Mana in the surroundings rushed toward it. The mouth glowed with a dangerous light, and it shot out a red beam of energy toward Alator.
Alator felt an ominous foreboding. He quickly snapped his head over his
shoulder, his eyes went wide as he saw the dangerous energy rushing toward him with terrifying speed.
"Not again!"