Chapter 44 The Thing In The Mist

The mist surged closer, folding in long, violent sheets. Whatever moved inside it was big, and it was coming straight for the residual trail Lin Feng had left at the old sink.

He kept scrolling through the System Shop.

[ Current Rage Points: 10,562 ]

No time to waste. He went straight to Pungent Ward.

[Pungent Ward – Upgrade Available]

[Effect: Stronger odor burst / Longer tracking disruption / Higher interference against scent and residual qi]

[Cost: 2,200 RP]

He bought the upgrade.

[Rage Points remaining: 8,362]

Next, Blackroot Traction.

[Blackroot Traction – Upgrade Available]

[Effect: Improved grip on wet roots and mud / Shorter recovery between bursts / Reduced chance of slipping under pressure]

[Cost: 1,800 RP]

He bought it as well .

[Rage Points remaining: 6,562]

He still needed something that could actually help force a bind. He filtered the shop hard for binding, dominance, and submission effects. Most things were locked or cost more than he had left. One usable option sat near the top of what he could afford.

[Will Break Shot – Skill Fragment]

[Effect: Short range shot that strikes at the peak of a target’s killing intent]

[Cost: 3,500 RP]

He bought it.

[Rage Points remaining: 3,062]

Finding nothing else that seemed useful, he closed the system shop. The plan was set in motion.

Yu Mei kept her eyes on the moving mist.

"It tracks residual disturbance and fresh hostility. Once it locks on, it won’t stop." She glanced at him. You’re still not in its class even if you’ve improved."

Lin Feng checked the knife and rolled his shoulders. "I’m not planning on a clean win."

"What then?"

"I’m going to bind it."

Yu Mei looked at him like he had grown a second head. A short, disbelieving breath left her.

"Of course. Of course you’d look at something that can kill you with it’s breath alone wants to keep it as a fucking pet."

The mist in front of them split open sudeenly. The entity came through had shell and muscle mixed with root like growths along its back and shoulders. Its eyes locked onto Lin Feng the moment it cleared the fog. The air pressure spiked. Every animal in the area had already vanished.

Lin Feng triggered the upgraded Pungent Ward at once.

A dense, foul burst of odor and qi interference exploded outward. The entity’s head jerked slightly off line as its tracking scrambled.

Upgraded Blackroot Traction bit into the wet roots as he fired Fleet Footed Dash, opening distance and angling toward rougher ground. The entity recovered fast. A resonant snarl rolled out of it, and thick killing intent slammed down like a wave.

Stronger than anything he faced so far. The fight strated brutay. The entity was faster and heavier. Lin Feng survived the first exchanges purely on mobility as Dash + upgraded Traction letting him slip across surfaces that should have dumped him. A claw sheared the edge of his robe. Another pass left a burning line across his ribs. He answered with short Countersteps and opportunistic knife cuts, not to win, but to keep the hatred climbing. He needed it at the peak.

Every shallow wound, every time he slipped just out of reach fed the entity’s fury higher. The gap in power stayed obvious. One clean hit would end him. He took a heavier graze across the thigh that made the next Dash lag, gritted his teeth, and kept provoking.

The Ward’s interference was fading. The entity was locking on cleaner. Yu Mei still did not move from the shelter.

The entity gathered itself for a committed rush, killing intent rising to a murderous crest.

Lin Feng met the charge at the last moment, and slammed Thick Face Counterstep to get inside the worst of the momentum, and fired Will Break shot straight into the peak of its hatred.

The shot ripped out of him. The entity convulsed mid attack, it’s killing intent flaring white hot, exactly the window the skill was built for.

Lin Feng drove forward through the recoil, teeth bared, and reached for the first forced Hostile Beast Bind with everything he had left.And the bind attempt slammed into the creature’s will.

For one heartbeat it felt like it might work. The creature’s body locked. Its eyes widened with pure, murderous confusion. Lin Feng felt the bind connection stretch out like a hook trying to sink.

Then the beast shrugged it off. A violent surge of will and raw power smashed the half formed connection apart. The backlash hit Lin Feng like a physical blow, ripping through his meridians and forcing blood up his throat. He staggered and his vision started blurring.

The entity roared and came at him with everything. There was no more room clever positioning measured provocation. Lin Feng burned qi as fast as his foundation could supply it. He cut when he could, dodged when he couldn’t, and felt his reserves emptying at a terrifying rate.

The power gap was brutal. A heavy limb caught him across the side and sent him rolling through roots and mud. His chest flared with sharp, wrong pain. He forced himself up anyway, spit blood, and kept moving. The upgraded Pungent Ward was long gone. The beast locked onto him completely now, eyes burning with clean killing intent.

Lin Feng’s qi was starting to bottom out as well. The next Dash was weak. And a claw tore across his shoulder and slammed him into the ground hard enough to drive the air from his lungs. He tried to roll and only made it halfway. The entity loomed over him, one massive limb rising for the finishing blow.

This was it.

The limb started to come down—and stopped.

The creature froze. Its head jerked hard to the side, once, twice, like it was trying to shake something loose. A distorted, furious sound tore out of it. For a second its eyes met Lin Feng’s, filled with hatred so thick he could feel it.

Then it turned and crashed away into the forest, roots snapping under its bulk and the mist swallowed it’s figure.

Silence rushed back in. Lin Feng lay there, unable to do more than breathe in wet, shallow pulls. Everything hurt. His qi was scraped down to almost nothing. Blood soaked through his robe and onto the ground.

Footsteps approached. Yu Mei stopped a few paces away and looked down at him.

"I was sure that was the end of you," she said. There was a thin edge of real surprise underneath. "You should be paste right now."

Lin Feng managed a weak, bloody breath that might have been a laugh. "Disappointed?"

"That thing didn’t just leave. I don’t know how you did it, but your stupid bind attempt, most likely caused something. Doesn’t mean you’re safe."

She hauled him up with more strength than he thought she had and half carried, half dragged him toward thicker root cover away from the open ground. Every step sent fresh pain across his body. He didn’t remember sitting down again, only that at some point the world stopped tilting long enough for him to stay upright against a root wall.

Time passed in fragments. Yu Mei packed a rough bandage against the worst of the bleeding. She didn’t waste words. The swamp around them stayed unnervingly quiet.

Then the mist shifted again and the sound of heavy steps returned. Both of them tensed. Lin Feng tried to push himself up and nearly blacked out from the effort. Yu Mei’s hand went to a simple knife at her side, though her expression said she already knew it wouldn’t be enough.

The entity stepped back into view. It looked no less powerful than before. Mud and sap clung to its shell and root growths. Its eyes still burned with hatred when they locked onto Lin Feng. For a long moment it just stood there, breathing hard, the air around it thick with killing intent.

Lin Feng’s gut clenched. It had come back to finish what it started. The beast took one step forward... then another... and slowly, stiffly, lowered itself to the ground. It lay down a short distance away, head still turned toward him. It did not attack. It simply stayed there, radiating pure resentment, as if something far stronger than its own will had forced it to stop.

The system appeared with an update.

[Forced Hostile Beast Bind – Partial Success]

[Bind Status: Unstable]

[Milestone Complete: First Forced Hostile Beast Bind]

[Rage Points +10000 rewarded]

[Cureent Rage Points : 13,062]

[Warning: Bind integrity low. Target resentment extreme. Reinforcement required.]

[Next Milestone seed generated]

[Complete three forced Hostile Beast Binds]

Lin Feng stared at the creature that now sat bound, barely to his will. Every part of him hurt and his qi was nearly gone. The bind felt like a thin, burning wire between them that could snap if either of them pushed too hard.

Yu Mei looked from the beast to Lin Feng and let out a long, slow breath.

"You absolute idiot," she said quietly. "You actually did it."

Lin Feng let his head fall back against the root, eyes half lidded, the unstable connection pulsing faintly in the back of his mind.

"Told you. " He whispered

The bound beast growled, full of hate but it did not rise.