Battle with a Corpse Badger

"Yes, yes."

As if granted a reprieve, Lu Chen hurriedly turned around and headed toward a half-collapsed thatched hut at the edge of the village.

It was relatively secluded there, screened off by several ruined walls—just enough to slip out of everyone's sight.

He circled behind the hut and, after confirming no one was watching, had just breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to inspect the moss-covered corner of the wall.

Yet at that very moment!

The keen perception of demon aura brought by his Mastered Demon Suppressing Saber Technique suddenly sounded its sharpest warning in his heart!

An exceedingly concealed presence, yet one carrying the savage ferocity and hunger unique to living creatures, quietly emanated from behind a pile of rotting firewood beside him!

This felt completely different from the lingering Killing Intent he had sensed while handling dead things before!

It was a cold, aggressive, living demon aura!

Every hair on Lu Chen's body stood on end in that instant!

Almost instinctively, he reached back and gripped the short-handled Boning Knife tucked at his waist, which he had brought from the Corpse Handling Room for protection.

"Rustle!"

Almost the instant his hand closed around the hilt, the pile of rotting firewood exploded apart!

A swift black shadow shot out like an arrow loosed from the bow, carrying a foul gust as it lunged straight for Lu Chen's face!

It was a badger-like creature the size of an adult wildcat, gaunt enough for its bones to show.

But great patches of its fur had fallen away, exposing bluish-black rotten flesh. Its eyes were a sickly, cloudy white, and foul-smelling saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth—this was a Corpse Badger, drawn here by the dense Corpse Sha Qi and having undergone an initial mutation!

Though it had not reached Entry Grade, its savagery and speed far surpassed those of ordinary beasts!

Life and death hung by a thread!

At this critical moment, the muscle memory carved into Lu Chen's bones by twenty-two years of grueling practice in the Demon Suppressing Saber Technique saved him.

He did not even have time to think before his body reacted on instinct.

He sidestepped!

The Boning Knife in his hand carved a chilling arc through the air. Without the slightest flourish, it slashed with the most direct and efficient angle, incomparably precise as it cut toward the Corpse Badger's neck!

However! At this moment, the gap between theory and reality was magnified without limit!

If used against a motionless or slow-moving corpse, that strike would have been perfect—enough to sever its head in one blow.

But the speed and uncanny adaptability of a living demon creature far exceeded Lu Chen's expectations!

In midair, the Corpse Badger abruptly twisted its body, dodging the vital blow at an angle that defied all physical reason!

"Slash!"

In the end, the blade only cut off a small patch of rotten flesh and half an ear!

"Screech—!"

The Corpse Badger let out a shriek sharp enough to pierce eardrums. The excruciating pain did not make it retreat; instead, it completely ignited the savagery in its bones!

The moment it landed, it did not pause in the slightest. Its corpse-spotted claws kicked violently off the ground, and it became a black shadow once more as it pounced again, even faster than before!

Lu Chen was horrified!

He immediately deployed his Minor Mastery Body Evasion Steps. His footwork shifted in rapid succession, and within the cramped space behind the thatched hut, he narrowly dodged one deadly pounce after another.

The Corpse Badger's attacks came like a raging tempest. Each sweep of its claws tore through the air with sharp hissing sounds.

Lu Chen swung his knife in counterattack several times, but every strike was evaded by the Corpse Badger's agility, which surpassed all reason.

The Boning Knife was too short!

In actual combat, the disadvantage of being an inch shorter was laid bare in full.

He could not block effectively at all and could only evade passively.

Amid the chaos, there came a ripping sound. His sleeve was torn open in a long gash, and several burning bloody marks instantly appeared on his arm.

Lu Chen possessed the realm of a Mastered saber technique and strength far beyond ordinary people, yet he severely lacked experience fighting living creatures. He also lacked methods capable of delivering a killing blow or effectively restraining an opponent!

The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique was more than sufficient for cutting down corpses, but when used to slay demons, it seemed somewhat cumbersome and overly direct.

The battle lasted only a dozen or so breaths, yet to Lu Chen, it felt as long as an entire hour.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing began to grow hurried.

At last, Lu Chen seized an opportunity!

The Corpse Badger missed again, and in the instant after it landed, there was the faintest, almost imperceptible stiffness in its body.

Now!

A cold gleam flashed through Lu Chen's eyes. He poured all the strength in his body into his right arm in an instant, driving the wisp of Turtle Breath Inner Qi in his dantian without reserve and attaching it to the knife's tip!

He abandoned every complicated move and, with nothing more than a simple straight thrust, viciously drove the blade into the Corpse Badger's gaping mouth as it howled!

"Thud!"

A muffled sound.

The Boning Knife pierced precisely through the Corpse Badger's mouth and emerged from the back of its skull!

Filthy blood and grayish-white brain matter splattered out at once.

The Corpse Badger's body convulsed violently several times. A trace of disbelief flashed through its cloudy white eyes before it finally stiffened completely and stopped moving.

"Ha... ha..."

Lu Chen dropped to one knee, gasping heavily as his heart pounded wildly in his chest.

The wounds on his arm gave off faint waves of numb itching. Clearly, the Corpse Badger's claws carried a weak corpse poison.

He immediately circulated the Turtle Breath Technique, mobilizing his inner qi and barely suppressing the toxin around the wounds.

Lu Chen looked at the Corpse Badger on the ground, which was not particularly strong, then recalled the perilous, utterly disheveled battle just now. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his back.

[Host has slain a Corpse Badger. System reward: one year of Demon Devil Lifespan.]

Such danger, and only one year as a reward? That meant this Corpse Badger's level was not high.

"Damn it... so killing living demons and handling dead corpses were completely different things..."

"This saber technique... against targets that cannot move, it was near perfect. But living creatures would never stand there and let me chop them..."

"I still need faster, more agile methods of attack, or... ways to restrict their movements..."

"If it had not been one just now, but two... or a genuine Ranked Demon..."

"Or someone from the Demon Suppression Division..."

At that thought, Lu Chen's gaze turned incomparably grave.

He did not dare delay any longer and swiftly began cleaning up the scene.

Lu Chen kicked the Corpse Badger's body deep into the pile of firewood and thoroughly covered it with rotten logs.

Then he grabbed a handful of dirt and vigorously scrubbed the filthy blood from the Boning Knife and his body.

Finally, he tore off a strip of cloth from his ripped sleeve, roughly wrapped the wound on his arm, then pulled down his sleeve to cover it completely.

After finishing all this, he took several deep breaths and tried hard to calm his hurried breathing and racing heart. The slightly panicked, exhausted expression returned to his face as he came out from behind the thatched hut.

"Why did you take so long?" an Imperial Guard who was changing his companion's medicine asked casually when he saw him emerge.