Chapter 12: Frequent Changes
"You bastard!" Watching Wang Long standing there in a daze, Chu Xiu felt an urge to strangle this coward.
He's so tough when bullying the weak, but now he goes soft at a crucial moment?
But there was no time to complain. With his mouth full of blood, Chu Xiu barely managed to prop himself up with his hands. Before he could even shout, the ghoul-like monster’s sharp claws came down!
"Crack!"
The sharp nails scraped across Chu Xiu's shoulder armor, instantly covering the hard bone with cracks. Chu Xiu felt a pain like a bone fracture from his left shoulder, nearly causing him to collapse again!
Fortunately, he had fortified the bone armor by one level with the absorbed corpses. If it had been at +2, this one strike might have shattered the entire shoulder armor!
A flash of ferocity appeared in his eyes. Enduring the pain in his left shoulder, Chu Xiu shouted and thrust forward with all his might. At that moment, the bone spear was still lodged in the monster’s body. With this push, he managed to force it back a few steps.
Chu Xiu then gripped the bone spear with both hands, planted his back foot firmly on the ground, and used all his strength to drive the spear forward!
Although the monster's single hand could completely block the spear, preventing it from causing further damage, Chu Xiu pushed with all his might, using the spear like a rod to force the monster backward.
The monster staggered back a few steps before firmly planting a back leg to steady itself. Chu Xiu felt as if he were pushing against a thousand-pound boulder, unable to budge it an inch despite his best efforts.
"Wang Long, if you don't move, we’re both going to die here!" Chu Xiu shouted.
His yell finally snapped Wang Long back to reality.
With the monster’s attention on Chu Xiu, Wang Long remained in a blind spot, a perfect position for a sneak attack!
He gathered his courage and stepped forward, but as soon as he raised his metal bat, the monster seemed to sense something and turned its crimson eyes to stare at him!
"Ah!"
Wang Long's face turned pale, and he instinctively took a step back. But the monster had no intention of letting him go!
The creature grabbed the bone spear with both hands and pulled hard. Despite Chu Xiu’s full effort and red-faced struggle, the spear was slowly drawn out from the wound.
Black, tar-like blood flowed from the monster’s wound, but it seemed oblivious, fixating on Wang Long.
Under the monster’s gaze, Wang Long was so terrified he couldn’t move, watching helplessly as the monster pulled the bone spear free, missing the best opportunity to strike.
With the spear removed, the monster abandoned Chu Xiu and lunged at Wang Long with a roar!
"Ahhh!"
At the brink of death, Wang Long finally reacted. He kicked off with his legs, shooting out like an arrow, leaping seven or eight meters to crash into the load-bearing wall in front of the bedroom.
"Bang!"
Wang Long screamed in pain, collapsing to the ground.
Seeing this, Chu Xiu almost spat blood. This coward had used his precious triple strength burst to run away!
"Useless!"
Chu Xiu cursed under his breath.
However, Wang Long wasn’t entirely useless; he at least bought Chu Xiu some breathing room.
And...
Chu Xiu looked at the monster’s abdominal wound, which continued to ooze black blood without stopping, the wound even tearing further.
Trait 【Bleed】.
Taking a deep breath, Chu Xiu adjusted his stance, calmly staring at the monster not far away.
Wang Long was unreliable, but that was fine. He never intended to rely on others for his safety.
In fact, he had prepared to handle the monster alone before agreeing to the plan. Wang Long was just an extra layer of insurance.
Although the battle had caught him off guard, the monster’s resilient body and brute strength were within his expectations.
"Don’t come over!"
Chu Xiu stopped Yun Lu, who hesitated for a long time but was ready to help.
"This is a one-on-one fight."
His right hand gripped the bone spear, keeping the tip aimed at the monster. His left hand formed a strange gesture, channeling energy into his palm to form a swirling vortex.
The monster seemed to sense Chu Xiu’s danger, not moving rashly, hissing and pacing slowly, looking for an opening.
Both stared at each other intently. Suddenly, Chu Xiu blinked rapidly, and the black-furred monster seized this 0.1-second opportunity, lunging at Chu Xiu!
However, this flaw was a deliberate act by Chu Xiu. With a mental strength exceeding 3.0, his reaction speed far surpassed ordinary people. He swiftly adjusted the spear to aim at the monster!
The sharp spear tip pressed against the monster’s abdomen, forcing it to halt its charge. At the same time, his left hand shot out!
A transparent, slightly gray energy blade formed at high speed and shot out instantly!
【Yin Wind Blade!】
"Slash!"
The spear blocked the monster, its side swipe leaving deep scratches on Chu Xiu’s chest armor. At the same time, the half-meter-long wind blade hit the monster’s chest!
"Rip!"
The monster's coarse black chest fur was sliced off, leaving a deep wound to the bone, black ink-like blood gushing out!
The impact staggered the monster back. Chu Xiu seized the opportunity, stepping forward, twisting his waist, and thrusting the spear into its throat with all his might!
"Thunk!"
The sharp bone spear pierced through the monster’s throat, exiting the other side. Blood sprayed out!
The monster’s crimson eyes glared, producing a gurgling sound from its mouth, swinging its long arms to attack Chu Xiu, but it couldn’t reach him by mere centimeters.
After half a minute, the light faded from its eyes, and its arms dropped limply.
【Slaughtered creature, professional experience +115】
【Current experience: 128/200】
With the notification in his mind, the monster collapsed heavily to the ground.
As the monster fell, Chu Xiu exhaled deeply, his tense nerves finally relaxing.
He stepped back, leaning against the wall, feeling his arms numb and his head dizzy.
This was the aftereffect of high mental tension.
The battle was both thrilling and not.
Thrilling because Wang Long had faltered, and Chu Xiu’s performance wasn’t as good as he expected, leading to frequent mishaps.
Not thrilling because his armor was still mostly intact. Though he appeared battered, he still had room for error. Even if the ghoul’s life force had doubled, he was confident in winning.
But as his first battle in the Abyss, it left a deep impression and taught him many lessons.
The most important one being—
Never believe bullies will turn into competent fighters, no matter how fierce they seem.
"Chu Xiu! Are you alright?"
Yun Lu's voice broke his thoughts. Chu Xiu looked up to see her worried face.
"I’m fine." Chu Xiu forced a smile.
With a sob, Yun Lu said, "I... I thought... we were dead..."
Her nose twitched, and her eyes reddened, tears threatening to fall.
Chu Xiu paused, then simply said, "Don’t worry."
These two words seemed to have a calming effect, as Yun Lu quickly relaxed and smiled through her tears, nodding vigorously, "Okay!"
Then, she pointed to the center of the living room, "Chu Xiu, look!"
Chu Xiu turned to see two glowing orbs rising from the monster's body.
He reached out and grabbed them.
【Obtained item: Karma Point*23】
【Obtained equipment: Model 004 Ghoul Necklace】