Chapter 756: Moon vs Dotted Leopard [2]

The surprise of the explosion had taught it caution, and that caution slowed it down, making it predictable, stole the reckless aggression that had nearly killed Moon earlier.

But Moon kept planting runes, and the leopard, for all its new wariness, still got caught.

Twice more it misjudged, committing to a lunge over ground Moon had prepared, and twice more a buried rune threw it off its rhythm at the critical moment. Each time, Moon capitalized, Tempest Symphony flashing out with Cryothunder through every stroke, Phantom Strikes masking the real cuts among the false, his blade opening fresh gashes across the leopard’s body.

Deep cuts slowly made its mark on the leopard’s body, and the effect of the accumulated damage had begun to show.

Frost spread from each cut, lightning still crackling in the deeper ones, its blood freezing as it spilled. Moon’s Tempest Symphony combinations, empowered by Cryothunder, bit far deeper, each committed combination tearing through the beast’s defenses and leaving lasting, debilitating injuries.

The frost was beginning to slow it, too, the Freezing Cold component layering with each strike, dragging at the wind-boosted speed that was its greatest weapon.

Moon stayed just out of reach, chest still burning from his own wound but the bleeding stopped, his mind cold and focused, managing the distance with precision.

This is working. By controlling the engagement, I make it come to me on my terms. It’s just a matter of time before it falls.

He had more runes left. A different kind now, pressed ready in his off-hand.

The leopard circled him, wary and wounded, frost creeping across its body, and Moon circled back, patient, waiting for the moment to end it.

Moon decided to end the fight.

He charged the leopard head-on, a reckless-looking approach the beast hadn’t expected after all his careful distance-keeping. The leopard crouched, wind gathering, ready to meet the charge or dodge aside at the last instant.

But Moon wasn’t relying on his sword this time.

The moment he closed to point-blank range, he triggered a skill rune he’d been holding, one pre-loaded with Thunderclap Raiju. The purple wolf erupted directly in front of the leopard, so close there was no room to dodge, no distance to create, the construct materializing and striking in the same instant. At point-blank range, the Raiju slammed into the beast and detonated in a burst of violet lightning, the soul-damaging current flooding through its body.

The leopard seized, stunned, its muscles locking as the lightning overwhelmed its nervous system.

One second. That was the window, and Moon took every fraction of it.

His blade became a blur, Cryothunder blazing, and he carved into the paralyzed beast with everything he had.

Several deep gashes appeared across its face, neck, chest and other vital areas. Strike after strike landed clean on the helpless leopard, each one worsened by the fused element, lightning searing and cold shattering, the frost crystallizing inside every wound and rupturing the flesh from within.

In that single second, Moon mutilated the Surpasser beast, reducing it from a dangerous predator to a gruesome, shredded thing clinging to the edge of death. Its once-sleek body was now a horror of frozen gashes and crackling wounds, blood freezing as it poured, its face half-ruined, its neck opened.

As the stun finally broke, the leopard, in a last desperate act of survival, unleashed a burst of wind that shoved Moon away and propelled itself backward, breaking free of his reach. Then it turned and fled, its instinct to survive over-powering its grief and rage towards Moon.

The beast running for its life from the human who had torn it apart.

Moon didn’t let it go.

He gave chase instantly, calling on the same trick the leopard had used against him, a burst of wind at his back for an initial acceleration boost, flinging him forward, and then Air Step layered on top, his feet kicking off solidified air to compound his speed, closing on the fleeing predator with relentless pace.

But he didn’t need to catch it in melee.

He summoned his bow mid-pursuit, nocked an arrow, and assimilated Cryothunder into the shaft, frost and lightning threading through the arrow as a single unified field. He drew, Falcon’s Focus sharpening his aim, and loosed.

The first arrow streaked after the fleeing leopard and struck it clean in the back, the Cryothunder detonating on impact, ice crystals exploding through its already-ruined flesh. The leopard stumbled, its flight faltering, a loud shriek of pain escaping its throat.

Moon nocked a second arrow and fired.

It struck true once more. Hitting a beast on the verge of death wasn’t really difficult, especially with his skills.

The arrow buried itself into the beast’s body, and the fused element finished what the stun and the sword had started. The ice propagated through its tissues, rupturing it from within, the lightning accelerating the crystallization until there was nothing left for the leopard to survive on.

The Surpasser leopard crashed to the ground mid-stride and lay still, frost and purple lightning still crackling across its mutilated corpse.

Moon slowed to a halt, but did not lower his bow, his chest heaving, the half-healed gash across it aching, but a fierce grin spreading across his face.

Although the beast was on the verge of death, he still did not drop his guard, just in case. The notification of killing had yet to flash across his eyes, and he wouldn’t relax till then.

He nocked his arrow, and fired at its head.

Whoosh!

The arrow struck true, penetrating the beast’s skull, and killing it in turn.

[You have killed the level 65 Surpasser Dotted Leopard]

[You have gained 50,250 Lives]

Staring at the notification, Moon smiled brightly. He’d done it, he had killed a Surpasser-rank beast, with his own hands and without the help of his beast soul or companions.

I can kill new Surpassers now. My defense is still a weakness, I nearly died twice, but my offense has crossed the line. With the right tactics, the right distance, I can bring one down without using Life Burn.

He looked at the notification, then back at the fallen leopard, pride and exhilaration coursing through him.

Honeybun and Mirage trotted up beside him.