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Ethan had been trailing the Mosswine, keeping a constant, careful distance. Hidden in the shadows and free of any residual scent, his concealment was excellent. Because of this, the excited Jaggi following the scent trail did not immediately detect him.
The moment the monster heard the sound of gears grinding and spun around in alarm, it only saw a heavy, black shape swinging towards it with a rush of displaced air. Before it could react, the immense force sent its slender body flying. It tumbled twice in the air before hitting the ground, scaring the just-settled Mosswine into a desperate dash.
Following that, intense pain assaulted the Jaggi's small head, causing it to let out incessant wails.
Opposite it, Ethan activated the mechanism. The two-meter-long great axe retracted and folded, quickly separating into the Sword and Shield. Although the action felt slightly stiff, he successfully completed the standard morph from Axe Mode to Sword Mode.
His eyes were fixed on the miserable, bloody sight of the Jaggi opposite him, one of its legs cleanly severed in two. Ethan tightened his grip on the blade.
That axe swing was originally aimed at the creature's head, but its sudden turn, combined with the shift in the Bone Glaive's center of gravity in Axe Mode, which required him to use greater force to control, had thrown off his aim. The result was the scene before him—blood and gore flying—a sight that would certainly make an ordinary person vomit.
Yet, Ethan felt his adaptability to this scene was surprisingly strong. Perhaps it was honed by his previous wilderness survival. Although he had felt a bit nauseous when he first saw it, he suppressed that feeling completely within a few breaths.
The Jaggi was still howling, but when it saw that its attacker was of a similar size, a fierce determination entered its cries. Even hopping on its single remaining leg, it tried to rush forward and bite the attacker.
"Bring it on!"
Ethan exhaled. He kept his eyes locked on the Jaggi hopping toward him on one leg and moved forward to meet it.
The instant the monster leaped to attack, Ethan tensed his right arm, shielding himself with the massive shield. He firmly blocked the Jaggi's weak attack; his arm only trembled slightly.
The next moment, the shield was withdrawn, and the blade cut through the air, cleaving heavily into the Jaggi's vulnerable neck. The sheer weight immediately fractured its cervical spine, and the flesh was sliced nearly in half. Beneath the crimson flesh, the raw white bone shards were clearly visible.
The Jaggi's body slumped to the ground, frothing blood pouring from its mouth, unable to produce its ear-splitting howl again. The severity of the wound was enough to kill it.
After a few brief twitches, the Jaggi's body went completely limp, devoid of life.
"Phew… That wasn't so hard after all. It wasn't as stimulating as facing the Bullfango."
Ethan knelt down, drew his carving knife, and first pried out the two sharpest fangs from its mouth. He was about to chip off a few of the toughest scales, but several angry howls drifting from afar made him reconsider.
The monster's cries when it was attacked must have been heard by its companions. To be safe, he decided to retreat first, observe the situation from a distance, and then make a decision.
Quickly wiping the blood from the Bone Glaive's edge, Ethan silently retreated into the shadows of the jungle.
Ten minutes later.
Three orange figures burst out of the tall grass in quick succession. They immediately spotted the corpse lying in a pool of blood on the ground. Their pupils slightly contracted, and they let out immediate howls of fury. They then quickly craned their necks to scan the surroundings, their noses constantly twitching, trying to pick up any clues from the scent.
However, after a nervous period of observation, the three Jaggi saw no sign of the attacker. They split up and cautiously began to probe the area, trying to find out which reckless fool dared to attack a pack member on their turf.
One of the Jaggi, while walking, suddenly caught a very faint scent of blood. It raised its head to look around, trying to discern the source, when a branch above it suddenly rustled. Before it could look up, a figure descended with the force of a thousand pounds, the blade in his hand striking the center of the monster's raised forehead.
"Crack."
Accompanied by the crisp sound of bone shattering, the heavy blade pressed down, smashing the Jaggi's skull into the soft ground. The creature didn't even have time to utter a cry of anguish before blood and brains spilled onto the ground. It was undeniably dead.
"Phew…"
Ethan straightened up, forcefully pulling the blade out of the Jaggi's fractured skull. Ignoring the blood splatter on his face, he vigilantly watched the two Jaggi that had not yet gone far.
Although the surprised Jaggi had been unable to make a sound, the commotion of Ethan leaping from the tree still drew the others' attention. The two cunning monsters immediately rushed to flank him, but stopped in perfect coordination five or six meters away, constantly circling and observing. They howled occasionally, apparently trying to gauge the target's threat level.
Ethan's grip on the blade tightened involuntarily. This was the first time he had faced two monsters in a direct confrontation, and even though they were the low-threat Jaggi, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
The standoff lasted for two seconds. Ethan initiated the charge, attempting to severely injure one of the Jaggi first.
The blade was raised high and then brought down toward its head, but the targeted Jaggi managed to back-hop twice, dodging Ethan's attack and widening the distance again.
Simultaneously, the other Jaggi rushed toward Ethan's back. Its mouth, filled with sharp, hooked teeth, opened, ready to take a vicious bite out of his back.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Ethan's first strike missed. He urgently changed his move, his waist twisting with sudden force, driving his upper body into a rapid turn. A Roundslash sent his blade into the Jaggi's wide-open mouth, carving a bloody wound and forcing it to retreat with a whimper.
The forced change of attack threw off Ethan's balance, causing him to stagger several steps to the left before he regained stability.
The Jaggi in front, seeing Ethan's momentary vulnerability, howled excitedly and leaped, lunging and biting at Ethan.
There was no time to attack and block, nor time to roll away. Ethan could only raise the shield on his right arm to protect himself. He felt a heavy force transfer through the shield into his arm, then impact his shoulder, making his upper body involuntarily lean back. Fortunately, his left foot quickly stepped back to stabilize his balance, preventing him from being knocked down into the most dangerous position.
In the brief exchange, neither side gained an overwhelming advantage, and the situation once again fell into a stalemate.
Only this time, the two Jaggi felt they had figured out their opponent's strength. They no longer lingered five or six meters away but approached from both sides at a slow pace, using this pressure to force Ethan into revealing an opening.
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