Chapter 606: Leap

Toads were ambush predators with only one true attack pattern. Magical beasts weren’t necessarily bound by those limits, especially when they developed abilities, but certain instincts came before any of that.

There was no territory to defend. The area had nothing special, on top of being isolated. The level three toad had no reason to fight for it.

Moreover, losing the tongue meant that the toad couldn’t capture prey. It was the same math cultivators did. The battle had already been too expensive, and continuing it risked creating unrecoverable losses.

So, the toad jumped, displaying the full power and elasticity its hind legs were capable of. Its bulky figure turned into a blur that cut through the sky, disappearing from the area.

That wasn’t a speed Liam could match, not with Qi-empowered body alone. He could still give chase like he had many times with his prey in Krosstoen’s mountain, but he opted for breaking his own rules instead.

Liam wasn’t hunting to get better at running. Fighting was the key, so he would use every tool at his disposal to continue doing it.

The fan was already out, remaining behind with Rachel, staring intently at her. Still, it shot toward Liam at his call, catching him as soon as he jumped.

With the fan’s speed, Liam caught up with the toad while it was still mid-air. Its simple leap had truly been a showcase of animal superiority, but what followed put it in its place, quite literally.

The fan flung Liam at the frog, his existence willing his figure to accelerate and spin, his somersault ending right as he reached his target.

Liam turned the greatsword to its flat side, basically transforming it into a devastating mace when accounting for its weight and his momentum. At that speed, he could cleave through almost everything, but he wouldn’t commit the same mistake twice.

As Liam had predicted, the toad’s skin started to glow, its wet secretions making it brighter than it should be. The greatsword hit right afterward, the clash releasing a deafening clang.

That was the very defensive ability that had stopped Liam’s ambush. He knew cutting wouldn’t have been possible against it, not in any meaningful way, so he opted for squashing.

With no foothold or ability to defy gravity through intent, the frog flew down, slamming heavily into the ground, which exploded outward, sand and soil blowing everywhere.

The frog wasn’t the only one to suffer. Liam wasn’t fine. Surprisingly, his core had yet to deal with the foreign poison, and his open injuries spurted even more blood at the blowback that reached him.

Nevertheless, Liam didn’t let any of that stop him. Injuries lost relevance with superior Qi coursing through his meridians, and even the laws of physics had no shackles on his existence.

Instead of being stuck dealing with the blowback, Liam willed it, and his figure shot down. The battle had resumed, along with his self-imposed limitations.

By the time Liam landed, the frog had already moved. It had given up on escaping since it was clear he would catch up again, charging at him with another incredible jump.

The toad had acted first, intercepting Liam. Its speed also wasn’t something he could defend against, but he could use it to his advantage.

Right before the clash, Liam stabbed his greatsword into the ground, its sharp edge pointing ahead, and the toad slammed right into it, but not before shining once more.

Another clang resounded. Liam’s ears hurt at that deafening sound, but he had far greater problems at hand. The ground around the clash had shattered into dust from the apocalyptic shockwave that had expanded, meaning the greatsword wasn’t stabbed anywhere anymore.

Liam hissed as he put a hand on the sharp edge toward him. He kept the greatsword straight, using it as a barrier against that deadly wetness as he was pushed back.

Each clash made blood erupt from Liam’s open injuries, but he feared a second dose of the toad’s poison far more. He honestly wasn’t sure his heart could take it.

Still, Liam wasn’t the only one suffering. He might be on the defensive, but he was attacking.

The blunt mid-air blow had inflicted internal damage despite the defensive ability, and there was something else at work in that regard.

The forward leap was pushing Liam away, but the toad had still slammed headfirst into the greatsword’s edge. The weapon hadn’t dug deep due to that shining skin, but it had drawn blood, and that was enough for a poison master.

Patches of the toad’s skin began to cave in while its charge was still ongoing. Gory holes opened all over its bulky body, expanding as more of its flesh melted.

Liam kept being pushed back even as his feet found soil again. They dug into it. Nothing he tried stopped that forward leap, the pressure continuing to empty his body of blood.

The clash seemed to have reached a stalemate, ready to break with the next move, but it never came. The leap’s momentum eventually weakened enough for Liam to stop himself, and the bulky figure stabbed in his greatsword didn’t use the opportunity for another attack.

Liam felt weak, the weakest he had ever felt since reaching the branching stage, but still drove the greatsword down. The gesture shook off the toad from its edge, which lay on its side, croaking one last breath before the venom inside it finally took its life.

’These will be harder to hunt,’ Liam thought, letting go of the greatsword as he also fell to the ground, barely managing to turn on his back. ’Not all will have abilities, but this really isn’t a poison I can endure yet.’

Drowsiness actually started to get to Liam. He had lost too much blood. He wasn’t at risk of dying since his Qi was automatically compensating for that absence, but rest was necessary.

"I’ll stop here tonight," Liam forced out, knowing someone was listening.

"Honey, leave it to me," Rachel’s voice resounded from somewhere at Liam’s side. "Little Sister will take really good care of you."

Liam felt he had made a mistake, but drowsiness took over before he could think the matter further.