Chapter 673: A Tussle of Life and Death (1)

Third Person’s POV

It was stabbing directly toward his neck.

There was no sound of wind being pierced, any fluctuation of aura, or killing intent that could be detected through ordinary means as it pierced toward its target.

It was like a silent assassin emerging from the darkness, striking at the exact moment when its target was most vulnerable.

Ethan’s instincts had been sending him a constant signal of danger ever since this creature had first appeared.

But even now, they did nothing more than warn him.

They didn’t tell him where the attack was coming from.

They didn’t reveal where the creature itself was hiding.

And the needle was already almost touching his neck.

Yet, as though Ethan possessed eyes in the back of his head, his head suddenly tilted sideways at the last possible moment.

SHING!

The bluish-gray needle passed directly beside his neck, piercing through the empty air where his throat had been only an instant earlier.

A few strands of his violet hair were sliced apart and drifted down through the air.

Seeing the lethal point of the needle pass so close to his neck, Ethan’s previously unfocused crimson eyes instantly froze.

But he didn’t lose his mind in fear, nor did he sigh in relief.

Instead, he did what years of fighting and training in both of his lives had taught him to do, and that was to retaliate.

His hand carrying the sword immediately moved backward.

However, instead of attempting to slash behind him, Ethan performed a stabbing motion with the sword’s hilt.

His movement was direct and decisive.

He knew that if he tried to turn around and slash at the creature, the time required to complete the motion would be enough for that needle to pierce his body.

A stab with the hilt was much faster.

His action was perfectly timed.

The moment Ethan’s sword hilt shot backward, the needle that had initially passed beside his neck suddenly changed its course.

It twisted in midair and reversed its trajectory, stabbing toward the front of his neck from the opposite direction.

But Ethan’s counterattack had already forced the hidden creature to change its movement.

The needle deviated from its original trajectory.

That tiny deviation was all Ethan needed.

His body immediately exploded sideways, allowing him to jump out of what had almost become a cage of death.

Only after creating distance did Ethan’s eyes sharpen completely.

His crimson gaze swept across the surrounding space, but that deformed creature with his lethal needle had once again gone invisible.

But this time, Ethan’s expression was different.

He had finally understood something.

He might not be able to see or sense Trozon clearly, but he didn’t need to.

His body could feel it.

And for an assassin-like opponent whose greatest advantage was remaining completely undetected, that realization could mean the difference between life and death.

But before he could sigh in relief at finally finding a way to fight against this tricky opponent, a sudden cold sensation struck his waist.

The cold feeling transformed into a sharp, searing pain in the very next second.

A bluish gray needle could be seen protruding from his waist.

It had pierced straight through his flesh.

Ethan’s face twisted in pain as the deformed demon suddenly materialized beside him, its cold gray eyes glinting with the predatory malice of a demonic heron eyeing a helpless fish.

However, the pain erupting from his side was far greater than what a simple stabbing wound should have caused.

Ethan’s expression changed slightly as he immediately realized the reason.

There was poison laced onto the needle.

The excruciating sensation spread outward from the wound almost instantly, causing his muscles to tense as an unbearable pain tore through his body.

Ethan gritted his teeth hard enough to make them creak.

Yet despite the intense pain coursing through him, his crimson eyes remained cold as he stared at the sneering creature.

Then, without the slightest indication that he would attack after being fatally stabbed, he suddenly moved his head forward.

BANG!

His forehead smashed directly into the deformed creature’s face.

The impact was so sudden and forceful that the deformed creature’s eyes widened in genuine shock and disbelief, while its nose caved in and blood spurted out of it.

It clearly hadn’t expected this seemingly inferior creature to retaliate immediately after being struck by its heart-searing poison.

The poison it used was extremely potent.

Even demons with powerful bodies would often collapse and lose the will to fight after being inflicted with it, their minds overwhelmed by the excruciating pain and fear it induced.

Yet this inferior human had not only remained standing, but he had counterattacked.

The headbutt left Trozon momentarily dizzy, but the creature didn’t retreat.

Instead, its black beak suddenly opened and pecked toward Ethan’s face with frightening speed.

The attack was vicious enough to skewer his skull if it connected.

But Ethan’s eyes were already cold and focused.

His head moved sideways.

The black beak narrowly missed his face, passing dangerously close to his cheek.

At the same time, Ethan’s free hand moved.

A flash of emerald light appeared between his fingers as an emerald dagger materialized in his grip.

Without wasting even a fraction of a second, he twisted his wrist and stabbed the dagger toward Trozon’s waist.

The deformed demon seemed to have anticipated the silent counterattack.

Its body twisted with shocking inhuman agility, narrowly avoiding the dagger’s point.

Even so, the emerald blade managed to tear through the side of its waist.

SLASH!

Filthy blue blood splattered through the air.

Trozon immediately retreated.

But Ethan didn’t give it the opportunity to create any distance.

In the next instant, he chased after the deformed creature like a mad demon, his movements becoming even more aggressive despite the poison coursing through his body.

Yes, he had already abandoned his ice broadsword in favor of his twin emerald daggers.

He understood that this close-quarters battle was completely different from his previous fight against the sheep demon.