The monster's enormous claw came crashing down over his head, bringing an even stronger sense of danger than he had felt in his cave dwelling. An invisible suppressive force accompanied it, leaving Chen Lin feeling as though he had sunk into a mire, barely able to move.
It had locked onto him!
Chen Lin's heart tightened. The creature had set its sights on him and would not rest until he was dead.
Unable to dodge, he could only withstand it head-on. Chen Lin immediately took active control of the Xuanwu Shield and sent it up to meet the blow.
But he soon discovered that although actively unleashing the Xuanwu Shield made it immensely powerful, its consumption of mana was equally staggering.
The shield was like a bottomless pit, ravenously drawing mana from his body. Only after swallowing more than half of his reserves did it show any sign of slowing.
Chen Lin hurriedly seized the chance to cut off the flow of mana, not daring to let it absorb any more.
If it drained all his mana, he would become a lamb awaiting slaughter. Even if the restraint vanished, he would have no strength left to escape.
The Xuanwu Shield had already been activated to a considerable degree. When the enormous claw struck it, the shield shuddered for a moment, but blocked the attack without suffering any damage.
The feeling of being restrained immediately vanished, and Chen Lin regained his freedom of movement.
Yet he did not seize the chance to flee. Instead, his gaze sharpened, and he commanded the artifact spirit to manifest the Xuanwu phantom and devour the enormous claw!
If he fled now and the claw struck him again, he would not have enough mana to activate the Xuanwu Shield a second time.
Only by driving it