Chapter 674: A Tussle of Life and Death (2)

Third Person’s POV

The broadsword had been perfect against a massive target like the sheep demon, allowing Ethan to fully utilize its tremendous destructive power alongside his overwhelming physical strength.

But against a creature like Trozon, which relied on speed, concealment, and sudden attacks, the broadsword’s larger movements would only become a hindrance.

If he stubbornly continued using it, even the slightest delay in his movements could cost him his life. The previous two attacks had already proven that, as he had narrowly escaped death both times.

The twin daggers he had snatched from the master artifact refiner yesterday, however, were far more suited for this kind of battle.

They were wind-attributed weapons, and their blades were exceptionally sharp due to the wind elemental runes engraved upon them.

He had come to know this fact later in the day from Elis that these daggers had been one of the best creations of that short-tempered but slimy artifact refiner due to the fact that it was made from Green Pumice.

Green Pumice was a rare wind-element ore found within the violent canyons separating the Northern Glacial Region from the Central Divine Region.

For Rank Three magical weapons, these daggers were among the finest.

There were countless ways Ethan could utilize them, but he chose the approach most suited to the battle before him.

Their compact size allowed him to attack and defend within an instant, while their short reach allowed him to remain close to Trozon—exactly where he needed to be to react to the creature’s movements.

Ethan knew he couldn’t allow Trozon to disappear again.

The moment that creature became invisible, his newly gained advantage would vanish along with it.

Suppressing the agonizing pain caused by the poison spreading from the wound, Ethan circulated his ice mana through his waist.

The frigid energy rapidly spread through the wound, freezing the damaged flesh and sealing the bleeding before the poison could spread even further.

It didn’t freeze the poison completely, but it still managed to slow its spread.

For now, Ethan only needed to keep his body functional.

Using the full potential of his powerful physique, he relentlessly pursued the deformed creature.

His violet hair fluttered wildly behind him as his twin emerald daggers repeatedly flashed through the air, leaving beautiful but deadly emerald green trails in the white snow.

Every strike was aimed at a vital area.

Every movement was calculated to prevent Trozon from creating enough distance or enough respite to vanish again.

On seeing the seemingly crazed look in Ethan’s crimson eyes, the deformed creature sneered coldly.

It raised one of its clawed hands and easily parried the green dagger flashing toward it.

CLANG!

At almost the same instant, another identical bluish-gray needle suddenly appeared in its other hand.

Without giving Ethan any warning, it thrust the needle toward his stomach.

The attack came from such a close distance that there was almost no room, let alone time, to evade it.

Under normal circumstances, Ethan would have been stabbed.

But this time, his body reacted on its own, guided by the strange trance-like state of ’feel’ that he had entered earlier, a state whose exact nature he still didn’t understand.

A green blur flashed between them.

CLANG!

One of his daggers intercepted the needle just before it could pierce his stomach.

The force of the collision knocked the needle slightly off course, causing its tip to narrowly miss its intended target.

And before Trozon could react to the sudden interception he hadn’t expected, a foot suddenly flashed upward from below.

BAM!

Ethan’s kick struck directly against the deformed creature’s chin.

The enormous force behind the blow caused Trozon’s head to snap backward as its entire body was sent flying through the air.

Ethan didn’t give it a moment to recover.

With a cold look in his eyes, he immediately doubled down.

His body shot forward after the flying creature, and both emerald daggers were raised simultaneously.

He swung them toward Trozon’s legs.

A glowing blue aura suddenly covered the emerald blades.

The ice mana condensed along their edges, making the daggers even sharper as they crossed through the creature’s lower body.

SLASH!

Both of Trozon’s deformed legs were severed.

Filthy blue blood immediately poured from the wounds.

The moment the blood struck the frozen ground, it began corroding the surface, creating small holes wherever it landed.

Ethan’s eyes flashed coldly.

He had finally managed to inflict a serious injury on the creature.

And this time, he wasn’t going to give it another opportunity to disappear.

His body immediately leapt forward as he prepared to finish the ordeal.

But just as he was about to reach the falling creature, Trozon suddenly seemed to blip out of existence.

Ethan’s pupils contracted.

Like before, there was no warning, and no spatial fluctuation that his soul sense could detect before this ability of its had activated.

One moment, the deformed creature seemed to be incapacitated in midair, and in the next, it vanished into nothing.

Ethan landed heavily on the ground.

THUD!

He immediately lowered his stance, twin daggers still tightly gripped in his hands.

His breathing was heavy now.

The poison continued burning through his body, while the prolonged battle had already pushed his physical and mental endurance to their limits.

Yet he ignored all of it.

His crimson eyes rapidly swept across the ruined surroundings, but like the last time, he sensed nothing.

Ethan’s soul sense spread outward once again, carefully combing through the surrounding area, but he still found nothing.

His fingers tightened around the daggers.

Where did it go?

He remained completely still, carefully searching every corner of the ruined city.

And soon, his alert eyes suddenly caught something unusual.

A few droplets of blue blood could be seen on the frozen ground beside a nearby house.

The blood was slowly eating away at the surface beneath it, producing faint wisps of vapor.

Ethan’s gaze immediately sharpened.

Seeing that, Ethan’s body flashed toward the droplets of blue blood, as he knew he couldn’t allow this opportunity to go to waste.