When I was less than five steps away from the mantis, it issued a warning. "Human, stop where you are. Stay still."
But there was no way it could scare me off. I took another step forward.
"Warning. If you come any closer, I will kill you!"
I took another step. This time, the mantis said nothing. A blue beam shot straight out of its eyes.
I had been on guard the whole time, so the instant something changed in its eyes, I quickly stepped aside. The blue beam struck where I had just been standing and sliced a rock cleanly in two.
Zhang Jing shouted, "Careful!"
I neither turned around nor replied.
I lunged at the mantis again. It had no time to use that blue laser on me because my fist was already swinging toward its ridiculously tiny head.
I put a great deal of force into that punch. The mantis tried to dodge, but it had just been attacking and could not react in time. My fist struck its head hard, but I froze immediately afterward. The punch seemed to have done it almost no harm. Its body only tilted slightly.
Zhang Jing's voice rang out beside me again. "I already told you, that won't work. Don't underestimate its defense. Unless you can hit it with ten tons of force in one blow, otherwise..."
Before she could finish, I felt my body being taken over.
I was secretly delighted. It looked like the Heart Core had stepped in.
I could actually sense the Heart Core's emotions. It seemed deeply dissatisfied with me, even filled with disdain.
Perhaps, in its eyes, if it had thrown that punch, it might have smashed the mantis's head right off.
Then I felt my body fill with power. The force was so