"Meilan, find something to use as a weapon! I'll keep it busy until then!" Haoran shouted, not waiting for a response before charging straight at the hungry looking beast.
A wild grin stretched across his face as he taunted, "Come here, little pup! You're gonna be daddy's lunch, haha!"
The beast didn't react at first, but after Haoran let out a loud, maniacal laugh, its ears twitched and it turned to face him, growling low and deep, as if asserting its dominance.
That only made Haoran laugh harder. "There we go! Come at me!"
With the creature's full attention now on him, Haoran lunged forward and swung his fist. The beast, however, was quick, easily dodging each strike with sharp, agile movements.
When Haoran paused his barrage for a moment, the wolf like creature seized the opportunity. Its jaw opened wide, and it lunged at him with snapping fangs. Luckily, the distance between them was short, and Haoran managed to dodge the attack just in time.
"Quite the hungry pup, huh?" he smirked, still trying to provoke it further.
The beast answered not with growls, but with its claws, slashing at Haoran in a flurry of strikes. A few shallow cuts marked his arms and chest, drawing thin lines of blood, but Haoran didn't falter. His expression grew more focused.
With every attack, he started to notice a rhythm, a pattern in the beast's movements. He couldn't match its speed, not yet, but he was slowly adapting, learning when it would strike and how.
Then, the beast hesitated. Just for a moment.
Its breathing slowed, its stance slightly lowered, Haoran saw his chance.
He lunged with a powerful punch, aiming straight for the creature's side. But in that instant, the beast shifted.
Instead of clawing, as he had predicted, it dipped to the side, dodged the punch, and sank its long, sharp fangs deep into Haoran's arm.
"AHH!" Haoran screamed, gritting his teeth as pain surged through his arm. He struggled to stay upright, clutching the beast's fangs embedded in his flesh. "Meilan! Damn it, where are you?!"
There was no response.
For a brief second, Haoran's heart sank as panic crept in. Had something happened to her?
But just as the beast opened its jaws again, ready to bite down harder, Haoran caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye, Meilan, running toward them with a large, thick tree branch in her hands.
Her footsteps were heavy, unbalanced by the weight of the branch. It was clearly too large for her, but she pushed through. Seeing her approach, the wolf-like beast abruptly released Haoran's arm and leapt back a few meters.
As the fangs pulled free, a gush of blood spilled from the wound. Haoran grunted, clutching at the injury with his good hand. His face had turned pale, and his hand was quickly soaked in his own blood.
"Damn... you're late," he muttered, his voice hollow.
"Sorry," Meilan replied quietly, not meeting his eyes. Her gaze was fixed coldly on the beast as she raised the thick branch like a sword and swung it.
But the branch was heavy, and her movements were slow. The beast dodged easily, weaving past each clumsy strike.
Haoran, still reeling, suddenly chuckled under his breath. His eyes lit up with a fierce gleam.
"Hehe…"
Ignoring the pain in his arm, he let go of the wound and charged forward again, joining Meilan. The beast, sensing danger from the arm blood soaked boy with wild eyes, let out a sharp, warning howl.
Meilan flinched in surprise, but quickly adjusted her stance and swung her branch again to keep the creature at bay.
As Haoran approached, he dipped his injured arm into the air, letting fresh blood drip from his fingers. Then, with a sudden motion, he flung the blood straight at the beast's face, aiming for its eyes.
A splash of red struck true.
"Gotcha!" Haoran roared triumphantly as the beast recoiled, one eye blinded by the fresh blood. It staggered back, pawing at its face in panic.
In that moment of chaos, Meilan moved decisively. She swung the thick branch with all her strength, striking the beast with a loud crack.
"Hahaha! Die, you bastard!" Haoran shouted, already seeing victory in front of him, but then, behind him, a low growl.
It was sudden. Too close.
Haoran turned his head slightly, and his heart nearly stopped.
Another beast.
Larger, darker than the others. Its fur wasn't green, it was darker, and on its head were two small, developing horns. Its eyes gleamed with menace.
He had no time to react, but someone else did.
A flash of motion, Yuan.
In one hand, he held a large, jagged fang. With a single, swift strike, he drove it deep into the side of the new wolf's neck.
The beast howled in pain.
Haoran stared in shock. His body went cold. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe for a moment—just frozen in place, the image of Yuan standing there burned into his mind.
He realized, in that instant, how close he had come to death.
And who had saved him.
"Bang!"
A loud crack echoed from the direction Haoran was facing, but he didn't turn. He kept his eyes fixed on Yuan, who was now locked in a fierce battle with the horned, wolf-like beast.
Yuan moved swiftly, fluidly, wielding the long fang like a dagger. His strikes were fast and deliberate, aimed to exploit any weakness.
"Grrr!"
The horned beast growled, its eyes narrowing with rage. It bared all its teeth, trying to intimidate Yuan. But Yuan's expression didn't change. He responded with another cold, precise slash of his makeshift weapon.
Despite landing a few blows, Yuan quickly realized something was different, this beast's hide was far tougher than the others. Unlike the earlier wolves, where the fang sliced through with ease, this one's thick skin resisted every strike. His attacks left only faint scratches.
"Tsk", Yuan clicked his tongue in frustration. The fang wasn't sharp enough, and he had no way to sharpen it now. His mind raced, trying to think of alternatives.
As he took a few steps back, gaining distance, the horned beast lunged forward, now attacking with increased ferocity. Yuan dodged with practiced agility, weaving between swipes and snapping jaws.
He saw openings, several, in fact, but every time he aimed a counterattack, the fang failed to break through the tough hide.
Gripping the fang tighter, Yuan narrowed his eyes.
"Only two weak spots left..." he thought, focusing sharply on the creature's eyes and its exposed mouth lined with razor like fangs.
With that decision, Yuan crouched slightly, adjusting his stance. Then, in one smooth motion, he scooped a handful of dirt from the forest floor and flung it at the beast.
The horned beast backed away, growling with its mouth wide open. Yuan narrowed his eyes.
"It wants to bite."
Seeing the opening, he didn't hesitate. Fang in hand, Yuan lunged forward. The beast reacted, shifting slightly to dodge and aiming to sink its fangs into Yuan's arm, but Yuan anticipated it.
In one fluid motion, he sidestepped and thrust the fang directly into the beast's gaping mouth, jamming it deep into its throat.
The creature choked and recoiled in surprise, violently shaking its head in an attempt to dislodge the fang. But the discomfort only made it more vulnerable.
Yuan didn't waste a second. He threw himself onto the beast's head, clamping down on its snout with both hands, blocking its nostrils to cut off its air supply while trying to force its mouth shut around the embedded fang.
Panicked, the horned beast thrashed wildly, trying everything it could to shake Yuan off. But Yuan held firm, refusing to be thrown.
Seeing this, the rest of his group finally sprang into action. Meilan picked up the thick tree branch she had used earlier and swung it with all her strength at the beast's head.
"Crack!"
The branch snapped in two from the impact, but the blow had landed hard. The beast tried to let out a cry of pain, but it couldn't, its mouth was jammed shut, and its nose was blocked. Its struggles grew weaker. Its limbs slowed.
Darkness crept into the beast's vision.
Finally, it collapsed, unconscious.
Yuan released his grip, panting. Without wasting time, he grabbed the beast's head and twisted sharply. Once. Twice. Then, crack, the neck snapped.
The horned beast was dead.