Chapter 231 — The Earthly Brawl

The collision shook the battlefield.

Evan narrowly evaded the one-eyed Terra Bear's first counterattack, his lightning-wreathed body flickering across the rocky ground before reappearing several meters away. The beast's massive claw tore through the space he had occupied, sending fragments of stone flying in every direction.

His eyes narrowed as he steadied himself.

'Its strength is on another level. Even with that armour slowing it down, I can't afford to take a direct hit.'

He glanced toward the other side of the battlefield.

The fighting between his undead and the living Terra Bears was nearly over. Most of the enemy group had already fallen, and only a few scattered clashes remained. His summons had done their job, but several undead had sustained considerable damage during the battle.

Evan couldn't afford to lose any more of them.

Not when he had spent so much time building this army.

He immediately recalled the undead Terra Bears that had finished their opponents, withdrawing them from the battlefield before they could suffer unnecessary injuries.

He also recalled the damaged summons still fighting near the edges of the battlefield, pulling them away whenever an opening appeared.

The one-eyed Terra Bear watched the strange creatures vanish.

Its remaining eye shifted between the empty spaces where they had stood and the human before it. A furious growl rumbled from its throat, but before it could charge again, Evan raised his hand.

[Raise Undead]

Necrotic energy spread across the battlefield.

The corpses of the fallen Terra Bears began to twitch as deathly energy seeped into their bodies. Broken muscles tightened, damaged flesh was forced back into motion, and dark green flames gradually ignited within their hollow eye sockets.

One after another, the dead beasts rose.

Evan checked his summon list.

His expression finally eased.

'Sixteen more. That brings my total to eighty-two.'

Eighty-two undead Terra Bears.

Even he had to admit that his army had grown considerably beyond his original expectations.

With this many summons, he could afford to leave the one-eyed beast alone and head straight for the Ironhide Bear. The newly raised undead would strengthen his forces further, and he could always return to deal with this troublesome opponent later.

It was the sensible choice.

Unfortunately, Evan had never been particularly fond of leaving an unfinished battle behind him.

His gaze returned to the one-eyed Terra Bear.

The beast was still glaring at him, its enormous claws grinding against the rocky ground. The armour covering its body made it look like a living fortress, and the power behind its attacks was sufficient to threaten even Evan's reinforced physique.

A slow grin appeared on his face.

'Running away would be the smarter choice. But defeating a stronger opponent now will only help me when I face the real boss.'

He rolled his shoulders.

'Besides, I didn't come all this way just to let you walk away.'

Evan recalled every remaining summon.

The undead bears vanished into storage, leaving the battlefield strangely empty. Only shattered pillars and the enormous beast standing across from him remained.

He had deliberately cleared the area.

If the next exchange became as destructive as he expected, he didn't want his own army caught in the crossfire.

The one-eyed Terra Bear slowly turned its head.

Its gaze swept across the deserted battlefield before settling on Evan.

ROOOOOARRR!

The roar erupted with such force that loose stones trembled across the ground.

The beast lunged.

Its massive body surged forward, blotting out the sky above Evan as its armoured forelimbs rose to crush him.

Evan's lightning flared.

He vanished from beneath the beast's shadow and reappeared beside its face, Crimson Edge already descending in a vicious arc.

SHRAAAK!

The blade struck the earth armour covering the bear's cheek.

Sparks burst from the impact.

For a fraction of a second, Evan felt the resistance travel through his weapon. The blow had carried enough force to split ordinary Terra Bear armour, yet the hardened layer covering this beast merely fractured at the surface.

The slash had failed to reach the flesh beneath.

The bear's eye snapped toward him.

Its claw swept sideways.

Evan immediately withdrew, but the attack still forced him to twist awkwardly in midair before landing on the rocky ground.

He looked at the shallow groove left by his blade.

Then he examined Crimson Edge.

'That armour is even tougher than I thought.'

He had already tried attacking its joints. Now, even a direct strike against its face had barely produced a result.

Continuing to rely on his sword would waste his strength and mana.

Evan's expression turned thoughtful.

Then he returned Crimson Edge to his inventory.

The bear paused.

Its remaining eye narrowed as it watched the weapon disappear, apparently unable to understand why its opponent would willingly discard his weapon.

Evan flexed his fingers.

The bones covering his hands had developed several cracks during the earlier exchanges, and a thin line of blood ran along his palm. His injuries weren't severe, but the damage reminded him how much force the beast could generate.

He raised both fists.

"All right. Let's settle this with our fists instead."

A grin spread across his face.

"Let's see whose body is tougher."

The one-eyed Terra Bear answered with a furious roar.

Evan's hands began to transform.

Fragments of earth gathered around his knuckles, compressing into crude gauntlets that covered his fists. The stone formations were uneven and rough, but Evan continued feeding them Earth Elemental energy until the outer layer hardened.

Then Ice Elemental energy spread over the surface.

A pale mist curled around his hands as the frozen layer tightened over the earthen gauntlets, filling the gaps and reinforcing their structure. The ice formed sharp ridges across his knuckles, giving the crude weapons a more defined striking surface.

Evan clenched his fists.

CRACK!

The pressure caused tiny fractures to appear across the outer layer, but a fresh coating of ice immediately sealed them.

His grin widened.

'Earth for impact. Ice for reinforcement. If the outer layer breaks, I can rebuild it as long as I have enough mana.'

It wasn't a perfect solution.

Every heavy strike would place enormous pressure on his makeshift gauntlets, and reinforcing them repeatedly would consume his resources. But unlike his sword, these weapons could absorb the impact across his fists while allowing him to adjust the angle of every blow.

Against an opponent whose armour resisted slashing attacks, that difference might be decisive.

Lightning crackled around his legs.

Evan disappeared.

BOOM!

He reappeared directly in front of the one-eyed Terra Bear.

The beast reacted instantly, swinging its enormous claw toward his head.

Evan didn't retreat.

He stepped into the attack and drove his right fist toward the bear's face.

KRAAAAAANG!

The collision sounded like a hammer striking an iron fortress.

The bear's claw crashed against Evan's reinforced forearm while his fist slammed into the armour covering its cheek.

For an instant, neither moved.

Then Evan's punch twisted the beast's head sideways.

The one-eyed Terra Bear staggered backwards.

One step.

Then another.

Its massive paws scraped across the rocky ground as it struggled to regain its balance.

Evan landed lightly, his arm trembling from the impact.

A thin fracture had appeared across the earthen gauntlet covering his fist.

He immediately reinforced it with ice.

His eyes gleamed.

'That worked!'

The bear shook its head, apparently stunned that the smaller creature before it had managed to force it backwards through sheer physical force.

Evan didn't give it time to recover.

He charged again.

The one-eyed Terra Bear roared and swung its opposite claw, attempting to intercept him before he could close the distance.

Evan ducked beneath the attack.

The claw passed over his head, carrying enough force to scatter dust across the battlefield.

He planted his foot against the ground and drove himself upward.

BOOM!

His fist slammed into the bear's face.

The earthen armour cracked.

Before the beast could react, Evan struck again.

CRAAACK!

A second punch landed against the same spot, widening the fractures across its cheek.

The bear roared and swung its massive forelimb at him.

Evan twisted sideways, allowing the claw to pass close enough to scrape against his shoulder armour. The impact sent him skidding across the ground, but he used the momentum to pivot and launch himself back toward the beast.

He wasn't trying to overpower its entire body.

He was concentrating every attack on a single point.

BOOM! BOOM! CRACK!

His fists hammered against the damaged armour covering the bear's face.

Each impact sent vibrations through the hardened earth. The fractures spread, branching outward from the initial point of contact as the beast struggled to bring its claws into position.

Evan's gauntlets began to deteriorate.

The ice coating shattered with every heavy punch, and the earthen layer beneath it developed increasingly deep cracks. He continuously reinforced the damaged sections, but he could already feel the mana cost rising.

He had to finish this quickly.

The bear suddenly lowered its head.

Its enormous jaws snapped toward him.

Evan's eyes sharpened.

He stopped his next punch halfway through the motion, twisted his torso, and drove his left fist directly into the side of the beast's face.

KRAAAAAACK!

The remaining armour around its cheek shattered.

Fragments of hardened earth exploded across the battlefield.

For the first time, the bear's flesh was exposed.

Evan saw his opening.

He immediately followed with a brutal right hook aimed at the creature's remaining eye.

THUD!

His fist connected.

The beast's head snapped sideways, and blood burst from the flesh surrounding its eye.

ROOOOOOOOOARRR!

The roar that followed was so violent that the surrounding stones trembled.

The one-eyed Terra Bear staggered away, swinging its massive forelimbs in every direction. Its claws smashed through pillars and gouged deep trenches into the earth as it tried to retaliate against an enemy it could barely see.

Evan retreated beyond the reach of its flailing arms.

His gauntlets were badly damaged, but his expression remained bright.

'I got it!'

The bear's remaining eye was still open, though the surrounding flesh had swollen considerably. Blood streamed down the side of its face, partially obscuring its vision.

The damage wasn't enough to destroy the eye.

But it had created an opportunity.

Evan's grin faded into a focused expression.

'Let's finish what I started.'

He lifted his hand.

[Dark Veil]

A thin strip of darkness formed across the one-eyed Terra Bear's face, spreading over its remaining eye.

The beast roared and shook its head violently.

For an instant, its vision vanished.

Evan moved.

Lightning exploded around his legs, and he shot forward with his right fist drawn back. The damaged gauntlet had already begun to break apart, so he gathered more earth and ice around his knuckles as he accelerated.

The bear's exposed eye was directly ahead.

One clean strike would be enough to inflict devastating damage.

Evan closed the final few meters.

His fist began its descent.

Then his instincts screamed.

A sudden pressure swept through his body, warning him of a threat arriving from an impossible angle.

Evan's pupils contracted.

'What?'

He twisted his head.

A massive claw was already descending toward his position.

The one-eyed Terra Bear had turned toward him despite the darkness covering its eye.

Its armoured paw came crashing down with enough force to flatten the ground beneath it.

Evan tried to redirect his momentum.

Too late.

His eyes widened as he realised that the beast's attack was already upon him.

'How did it find me?!'

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The claw struck his body.

The impact launched Evan across the battlefield like a projectile.

His reinforced armour shattered along his left side as he smashed through one stone pillar, then another. The first crumbled around his body, while the second exploded into fragments that scattered across the rocky ground.

He finally struck the earth.

CRAAAAASH!

The impact carved a shallow crater into the battlefield.

For a moment, Evan couldn't move.

Pain erupted through his ribs and left arm. His breath caught in his throat, and blood spilt from his mouth as he struggled to draw air into his lungs.

The armour covering his left side had been destroyed.

Broken bone fragments and shattered earth lay scattered around him, while the gauntlet on his right hand had cracked almost beyond repair.

'Damn it...'

He planted his right hand against the ground.

His arm trembled as he forced himself upright.

Green and golden light spread across his body, flowing into the damaged areas as he activated his recovery ability. The pain didn't disappear immediately, but his breathing gradually steadied, and the worst of the damage began to mend.

Evan wiped the blood from his mouth.

Then he looked toward the one-eyed Terra Bear.

The beast stood several dozen meters away, glaring at him with its single bloodshot eye. The darkness covering its face had begun to dissipate, and its massive chest rose and fell with each furious breath.

It was injured.

Its face was bleeding, and much of the armour around its cheek had been destroyed.

Yet it had still managed to strike Evan while blinded.

That was the part he couldn't understand.

He had moved quickly enough to evade its previous attacks. Even with the bear's impressive reactions, [Dark Veil] should have created a brief opening, especially after he had already begun moving toward its eye.

But the beast had turned toward him before the darkness disappeared.

It hadn't swung randomly, either.

The claw had struck almost exactly where Evan had been moving.

His expression grew colder.

'No. That wasn't luck.'

He replayed the exchange in his mind.

The bear had been facing away from him when he first attacked. It had turned toward him during his approach, even before the attack could reach its target.

And when Dark Veil covered its eye, it had still managed to track his movement with frightening accuracy.

Evan's gaze shifted toward the ground beneath the beast's feet.

The surrounding earth was trembling faintly.

He remembered the earlier battles.

How the one-eyed bear had detected him through Nightstep.

How it had found his position despite his attempts to conceal himself.

How its attacks had repeatedly intercepted him, even when he used lightning to change direction at the last instant.

A possibility began to form in his mind.

His eyes widened.

"Wait..."

He stared at the beast.

"Could you be using that ability?"

The one-eyed Terra Bear released a low growl.

Its claws pressed into the rocky ground.

RUMMMMMBLE...

The earth beneath Evan's feet trembled.

He felt it this time.

Not merely the vibration caused by the beast's movements, but something deeper. A faint, continuous disturbance spreading through the ground, reaching outward from the bear's massive body.

Evan's expression changed completely.

'It isn't tracking my movements with its eye.'

His injured hand slowly curled into a fist.

'It's sensing me through the earth itself.'

The bear lowered its head.

Earth Elemental energy surged beneath its feet, spreading through the rocky battlefield like an invisible web.

Evan felt the ground tremble again.

And suddenly, every impossible detail of their battle began to make sense.

The one-eyed Terra Bear had never needed to see him to know where he was.