Why Defeat The Devil? - Chapter 8
Chapter 8: How To Leave The Forest
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Time ticked away. In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
On this day, Xi En, whose clothes were tattered, held the dazzling Sacred Sword in a fight with his enemy in a corner of the forest.
“Yowl!”
“Awoo!”
A throng of furry monsters with a single horn looked menacing like the evil spirits. Holding their staffs, they were growling as they rushed at Xi En. Each of them was huge and sturdy like a gorilla. They carried undulating malevolent torrents of force, just like the feral bird with a human face and a snake body which he ran into on the first day.
Xi En now knew that the undulating force was mana.
These monsters before him possessed mana as well. By using the mana, they could enhance their strength and immunity against injuries. Some of the monsters could even deplete mana to unleash fire and lightning almost as if they were using magic. It was a dangerous situation.
For the past few days, Xi En met monsters which could petrify their targets just by staring at them. There are those which could curse their enemies and a few which could corrode their enemies’ bodies.
If not for his “Physical Resistance”, “Magic Resistance”, and “Unusual State Resistance” which were at maximum levels, together with the protection of the Sacred Sword, Xi En would have died a thousand deaths while facing these monsters.
As of now, he was no longer fearful when he faced them. Looking at the single-horned monsters that were charging toward him in a mob, he stepped up to them instead of withdrawing.
“Evolve!”
As Xi En ran, he used the “Extreme Evolve” skill at maximum level without hesitation. “Extreme Evolve” enhanced Xi En sharply as it elevated each of his abilities.
“Swoosh!”
His speed accelerated several times as he catapulted into the mob like a shadow.
“Swoop!”
The glowing Sacred Sword flashed, cutting the single-horned monster which was at the front of the throng into halves. Blood splattered on the ground.
“Awoo!”
“Awoo!”
These single-horned monsters roared in rage, pouncing at Xi En one after another and swinging their staffs simultaneously. The rushing sounds of the staffs reinforced the impressions of them being lethal weapons as the monsters came at Xi En.
It was as if Xi En had eyes all over him. He was constantly on the move, swift as the wind. He rushed forward, skidded back, slid to the left, and evaded to the right. He kept low. At times, he charged forward, sprang up high when he needed to, and deflected all the attacks flawlessly.
With “Perception to Enemy” as a constant reminder delivering each monster’s position to his mind, and with the assistance of “Deflect”, it was impossible for Xi En to be hit.
In addition, the “God of Military” skill equipped him with an instinctive divine battling ability and intuition. Consequently, Xi En became totally invisible. The monsters felt a gust of wind fluttering back and forth among them, confusing and angering them.
At the same time, the resplendent radiance of the gleaming Sacred Sword flashed continuously as it waved left and right.
“Swoop! Swoop! Squelch! Swoop!”
As the battle went on, the single-horned monsters were killed one after another by the Sacred Sword. Pieces of body parts were scattered all over, lying in pools of blood.
Compared to ten days ago, Xi En’s battle skill had improved to the extent that the difference was now like the contrast between heaven and earth.
It was all thanks to his acquired skills.
At present, he had thirteen skills at maximum level. In addition to “Heaven’s Grace” and “Supreme God’s Blessing”, Xi En had a total of fifteen skills. Naturally, he was now different from when he first arrived in this world ten days ago.
Specifically, the “God of Military” skill allowed Xi En who had never battled to act as if he was possessed by a true military god who unleashed his divine battle ability. On the other hand, the “Extreme Evolve” skill enhanced Xi En in every aspect. Combined with the Sacred Sword’s power, Xi En breezed through everything. What was missing was a pedestal for him to stay atop!
Furthermore, Xi En had upgraded both skills to their maximum level. Their effects, in comparison to Level 1’s effects, were substantially distinctive.
Even then, Xi En was still left with many SP. After ten days of continuous battles, he had leveled up to Level 10 and received a total of 1000 SP. Even when he upgraded all thirteen of his skills to their maximum levels, it only took him 130 SP. He still had 870 SP to spare.
In terms of his improvement, Xi En could firmly say that he felt like a whole new person as compared to his previous self.
“I don’t know if I’ll be happy when I’ve to stay in the wilderness and eat scrap every day…”
The emotions that Xi En went through were complex, prompting him to lament as he swiped the blood on his Sacred Sword away after the battle had ended somehow.
All around him, the single-horned monsters were lying in blood, their carcasses exposed in the forest. No surviving monster was exempted.
On the contrary, Xi En remained unscathed and was not stained by any blood at all.
It was the psychological trauma he experienced on his first day which resulted in the haggard Warrior’s fear to be near blood. Subconsciously, he avoided the pools of blood on the ground.
Looking back at the days he spent eating and sleeping in the badlands, being occasionally jolted awake by ambushing monsters in the middle of the night, and more often than not being compelled to eat monster meat due to his hunger, Xi En was overcome with an impulse to cry.
“When are days like this going to end, oh my dear fair Goddess?”
Xi En sighed, but his hands were already at work, cutting apart the single-horned monsters around him to get the edible portions.
Ten days were more than enough to test Xi En’s survival skills. He was no longer opposed to eating monster meat. He had the “Unusual State Resistance” skill and the Sacred Sword’s reduction of negative effects and purification effect. So, there was no worry that he would have stomach upsets.
Whether he found the meat delectable or not, or whether he actually wanted to eat it were two different matters altogether.
“This is forcing me to become Bear Grylls!”
Xi En slashes one of the single-horned monsters into two out of indignation.
Then…
“Eek!”
Following a shrill cry, a black shadow flew past in the sky above.
Xi En was already going through the information the moment the “Perception of Enemy” skill espied a monster and informed him.
“That’s…”
He was initially stunned when he saw it. Then, his eyes twinkled because he had figured it out.
Xi En had finally figured out how he could leave this forest.