"Third Spirit Ability—Solitary Moon Slash!" Chen Chu shouted low. The phantom of Sagros appeared behind him once more and charged into the dust toward the Mantis King.
Although he did not understand why every Spirit Ability had to be accompanied by an explosive shout, he could never stop himself whenever he attacked. Perhaps this was a bug unique to the Douluo Plane.
The Third Spirit Ability, Solitary Moon Slash, also came from a mantis-type spirit beast. This ability could unleash a powerful crescent-shaped slash that ignored 15% to 20% of the opponent's defense, specifically designed to break through heavily armored targets.
It was perfectly suited for dealing with this Dragon Mantis, whose shell was unbelievably tough and several tens of thousands of years old.
After unleashing Solitary Moon Slash, Chen Chu kept leaping and maneuvering among the ancient trees. With his current Spirit Abilities and strength nearing that of a Soul Emperor, facing a fifty thousand year spirit beast with such a powerful bloodline still put him under immense pressure. He had to wear it down slowly and wait for an opportunity.
The fifty thousand year Dragon Mantis was already an overlord-class spirit beast in this forest, and its combat strength was exceptionally fierce. After taking several of Chen Chu's attacks, it quickly reacted and locked onto Chen Chu's presence through the thick dust.
A few seconds later, Chen Chu's heart suddenly tightened on instinct, and he immediately shot upward. Sure enough, in the next instant, two massive pincers, like the scythes of death, burst from the silent dust without warning.
With one strike, they shredded that century-old tree into fragments.
Riding the momentum, Chen Chu stepped onto the branch of another ancient tree. He had barely steadied himself when a flash of cold light flickered through the dust below.
The Dragon Mantis's scythe-like forelimbs directly severed the branch he had just landed on. Wood chips sprayed from the break as the twin scythes swept past his hand with a piercing howl.
He did not dare linger. With a tap of his toes against the branch, his body shot out like an arrow. At the same time, he formed a blade with his right hand, gathering Soul Power in his palm.
"Second Spirit Ability: Blade Qi Impact
Can release fan-shaped combat blade qi to attack multiple targets from afar. There is a 20% chance of reducing the opponent's defense by 5%, with an additional bleeding effect!"
Two azure wind blades flew from his hand in an instant, heading straight for the Dragon Mantis's compound eyes. Although this Spirit Ability was not as powerful as Solitary Moon Slash, it was faster and inflicted bleeding. As long as he could hold on, he would eventually wear the creature to death.
The Dragon Mantis clearly did not take the two wind blades seriously. With a sweep of its forelimb, it shattered one of them, while its other forelimb blocked the second. Then it immediately broke into a charge toward Chen Chu on its six thick legs.
It was even faster than Chen Chu had expected. Every step made the ground tremble faintly, while the shrubs and saplings in its path were smashed apart, leaving behind a chaotic trail.
Chen Chu's gaze sharpened. This thing had actually guessed his intentions and wanted to end the fight quickly. It truly was a born warrior, the uncrowned king of Beast Canyon.
"Such strong battle instincts. It's willing to injure itself just to close in on me at full speed and finish this quickly!"
He sighed inwardly, never slowing as he moved around the thicker ancient trees nearby. The Dragon Mantis focused entirely on him and pursued closely behind, its massive body repeatedly smashing into tree trunks. Bark rained down, and the trunks were soon covered in deep gouges.
After running for a while, Chen Chu noticed that the Dragon Mantis had begun to tire. Realizing this was a good opportunity, he suddenly stopped and sharply leaned backward. The Dragon Mantis's forelimb sliced over him with a shriek of tearing air and embedded itself directly into an ancient tree.
Taking advantage of the moment it pulled its forelimb free, Chen Chu kicked off the ground and slid low across it. The twin scythes formed after Sagros possessed him stabbed straight toward the Dragon Mantis's abdomen.
He remembered observing earlier that although the Dragon Mantis's shell was tough, its abdomen was relatively weak, one of its few vulnerabilities.
Yet just as his twin scythes touched its abdomen, they were blocked by an invisible layer of Soul Power, leaving only a shallow mark.
So it really has Soul Power protecting it. Chen Chu swiftly withdrew his short blades and flipped backward. This thing was so intelligent—how could it not have found ways to compensate for its weaknesses?
By then, the Dragon Mantis had already pulled back its forelimb, turned around, and launched another attack at him.
This time, a faint yellow glow appeared over its forelimbs. It was clearly about to use its innate ability.
Chen Chu did not dare take it head-on and could only dodge again. But the Dragon Mantis's attacks visibly accelerated, its forelimbs swinging faster and faster. Yellow slashes shot from its forelimbs toward Chen Chu. These strikes were incredibly powerful, carving trenches several meters deep into the ground. The surrounding ancient trees were cut down in broad swathes, and the area around it quickly became open.
Not good. This thing wants to clear the field. Chen Chu dodged the slashes while searching for an opportunity to counterattack. He noticed that after every slash, the Dragon Mantis deliberately struck the trees, clearly intending to clear away the ancient trees obstructing its vision.
No, if this continues, it'll get close. If it gets close, I'm screwed.
Chen Chu took a deep breath as Soul Power surged wildly through his body. The phantom of Sagros behind him became clear once more.
"Fifth Spirit Ability: Demon God Art: Tyrant Body." Chen Chu shouted low again, and red light spread across his body.
The Fifth Spirit Ability was one of his few enhancement and crowd-control-breaking abilities. For three to five seconds, it allowed him to enter the Tyrant Body state, increasing his attack by 200% and his defense and speed by 100% each.
Most importantly, during the first round, no matter what level of damage he suffered, the damage he took would not exceed 15% of his maximum health. It could be considered a conceptual-level Spirit Ability, as well as his trump card.
At the same time, his Third Spirit Ability began charging in his hands. This time, he did not unleash Solitary Moon Slash directly, but condensed it onto his twin scythes. Sagros's forelimbs were immediately enveloped in a layer of silvery-white light.
The Dragon Mantis seemed to sense the danger and stopped attacking, staring warily at Chen Chu. But Chen Chu gave it no time to react. With the many enhancement effects stacked upon him, his body became an afterimage as he charged straight at the Dragon Mantis.
The instant he closed in, he dodged its forelimbs and fiercely thrust out his twin scythes. His target was the spot on the Dragon Mantis's abdomen where he had just left that shallow mark.
"Pssh!" Carrying the power of Solitary Moon Slash, the twin scythes smoothly broke through the Dragon Mantis's Soul Power protection and pierced into its abdomen.
The Dragon Mantis let out a sharp shriek. Its massive body trembled violently as its forelimbs flailed madly, trying to swat Chen Chu away.
Seeing this, Chen Chu immediately pulled out his twin scythes and retreated. This strike had wounded the Dragon Mantis, but it was not enough to kill it. Sure enough, after a brief moment of pain, the Dragon Mantis's eyes became even fiercer. Green blood flowed from the wound in its abdomen, yet its aura barely weakened.
Seeing this, Chen Chu inwardly cursed and turned to flee into the jungle, roaring in frustration, "Damn library, selling fake books! Didn't it say that as long as you pierced this thing's abdomen, it would basically lose its fighting ability? What the hell is this? Its stomach got pierced, and it actually became stronger!"
"Fake-book seller, screw your mother!"
The instant Chen Chu felt the Dragon Mantis's surging killing intent, he knew he had underestimated it. Sure enough, he could not blindly trust others.
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