Boss Battle? (Part 2)

I dared to stand against the Desolate Beast with confidence, relying on something, not just blind courage.

Back when the Desolate Beast began absorbing life force, everyone was greatly affected. But I was different; I didn't feel the slightest weakness or discomfort! To my surprise, no pale green aura flowed from me. This meant the Desolate Beast's ability to absorb the life force of all things was completely useless against me! Thinking about the reason, I figured it was probably because my absorption of Blood Energy was similar in principle to its absorption of life force, so it couldn't interfere with me?

Regardless, since the beast's signature killing move was useless against me, what was there to hesitate about?

"Miss Liu... you're unaffected? How?" Du Lin asked in surprise.

"Heaven knows why! In any case, hurry and take them away! As far as possible!"

Du Lin stopped wasting words. He hoisted Shi Tao and Rui Feng onto his shoulders and fled with his remaining strength. The moment he left, my bloodied hands could no longer hold on. With a crash, they dissolved into blood, and the unobstructed giant claw slammed heavily onto the ground, causing it to shake. I dodged, pulled a bead from my waist pouch, and swallowed it directly!

The bead melted in my mouth, and a surge of Blood Energy instantly filled my body. The pouch I had tied to my waist wasn't mine; it belonged to Rui Xin, and it was stuffed with Demonic Beast Cores she had secretly hoarded along the way. Demonic Beast Cores were condensed from the essence and blood of demonic beasts, making them the best supplements for me!

"Hah!" A torrent of blood erupted from my entire body. Seeing that I was about to exceed my limit, the Blood Energy from the Core I just consumed immediately integrated into my limbs and bones. New blood flowed in continuously. Thanks to this, the amount of blood I was now releasing far exceeded the total volume of blood in my body normally! As soon as the blood tide surged out of my body, it transformed into countless crimson tentacles that wrapped around the Desolate Beast's limbs with lightning speed. The tips of the flexible tentacles morphed into sharp Blood Blades, slashing uniformly at its skin!

However...

Puff! Puff! Puff! The Blood Blades did indeed pierce its skin, but only shallowly, causing little substantial damage. Its skin was like alloy coated in rubber – seemingly soft, but incredibly hard!

I was horrified. I had easily cut through Bone Armor Lions and bald men like paper with my Blood Blades before. This was the first time I had seen them fail! The Desolate Beast attacked again, twisting its limbs forcefully and breaking free from the flexible tentacles! A blood-red light gathered in its eyes. Judging by its stance... was it about to unleash its ultimate move?

BOOM! A blood-red beam of light shot from its eyes, heading straight for me! "Triple Blood Shield!" I shouted. The tentacles melted and condensed into shields, forming three layers! Almost the instant the Blood Shields formed, the beam collided with the first layer. It held for a few seconds before shattering into pieces! The second shield also met the same fate, but the beam thinned considerably after passing through it. By the time it hit the third shield, it was completely extinguished, perishing along with the shield.

Seeing this, cold sweat streamed down my face. I had underestimated it. Even if it couldn't absorb my life force, its combat power was still astonishing. My attacks were basically ineffective, and each defense against its attacks put a significant strain on me. This situation was truly unfavorable...

Was there no more powerful attack method...

Ah! I'm so stupid! How could I forget this! I still have the Charging Blade I've been carrying on my back since we set out, but never used and thus forgot about!

I quickly took the blade case off my back. The Charging Blade didn't come with a sheath. Without Uncle Ding's Demonic Bloodline, carrying swords and blades directly on my back was suicidal, so I had put it in a case beforehand. But at the same time, the Desolate Beast lunged at me again. Damn it, this beast looks so clumsy, yet it's so agile! Blood condensed into a lump and collided with the Desolate Beast, slightly altering the trajectory of its lunge. I seized this opening to dodge, while my hands fumbled with the straps of the blade case. Which idiot tied this strap so tight!? Wait, was that me?

Like a martial arts master, the Desolate Beast moved and maneuvered, reappearing before me. I dodged its first claw with a sidestep, but couldn't avoid the second!

With a thwack, I was sent flying into the air, my internal organs churning. If I hadn't quickly hardened my blood into a shell to protect my body, I would have been done for by now! The Desolate Beast, however, showed no signs of slowing down. Its massive eyes flickered with blood-red light again. It intended to deliver a fatal blow while I was airborne and unable to dodge!

The beam was about to fire. Still in mid-air, I finally retrieved my blade. Perhaps due to adrenaline, everything seemed to slow down in my eyes. Ejecting the spent round, loading a new one, cocking the hammer! The Desolate Beast seemed to fire its blood-red beam in slow motion. I swung my blade with all my might and pulled the trigger the moment it collided with the beam!

"BOOM-------"

The deafening roar was immense. The immense force generated by the collision sent me flying backward. The Charging Blade nearly slipped from my grasp. I landed heavily, burying half the blade into the ground before I stopped retreating. The blood-red beam had already dispersed upon impact, leaving only scattered red light particles.

This is promising! I couldn't help but rejoice inwardly. The bullets for the Charging Blade were loaded with Spiritual Energy I personally infused, mixed with a good amount of my own Blood Energy. Its power was several times greater than when Si Nan Ying demonstrated it! Although this Charging Blade was only a mid-grade Spirit Artifact, its power was comparable to a high-grade Spirit Artifact!

But this came with side effects. The immense recoil was entirely absorbed by my arms, which now throbbed with unbearable pain!

Seeing its attack fail, the Desolate Beast angrily swiped its claws. This time, I didn't dodge but met the attack head-on! A new bullet was in place. Simultaneously, I controlled my blood to adhere to the blade, dyeing the entire thing a seductive red. It swung like a flowing crimson ribbon.

Another boom. The golden shell casing traced a beautiful arc. The blade clashed violently with its claws, but this time, it wasn't me who retreated, but the Desolate Beast! A hideous wound, deep enough to see bone, appeared on the back of its claw, and dark green blood gushed out. Its seemingly soft yet firm skin could no longer withstand the Charging Blade enhanced by my blood!

When the enemy advances, I retreat; when the enemy retreats, I advance! The Desolate Beast's stance was now completely disrupted. If not now, then when? I swallowed another Demonic Beast Core to alleviate the pain in my arms. Splattered blood gathered and transformed into anemone-like tentacles again, but this time their purpose wasn't to bind but to buy time. The tentacles rapidly wrapped around the Desolate Beast, leaving it exposed. A small amount of blood gathered beneath my feet, forming steps. I stepped onto them and leaped towards the Desolate Beast's head. Blood Energy continuously poured into the Charging Blade, causing even the Spiritual Energy arrays carved on the blade to glow blood-red! The Desolate Beast looked up, roaring in fury, its massive eyes flashing red again--

"I won't let you!"

The first shot was fired. The blade erupted in a dazzling red light and thrust down forcefully. Before the beam could be fired, it pierced the hard shell covering the giant eye and sank deep into it, up to the hilt! Then--

Three shots fired simultaneously!

Three shell casings ejected at once. The blood attached to the blade exploded outward! The blade cleaved open the giant eye, crushing flesh and skin, until it pierced the skull! The Desolate Beast roared in agony. Its death throes flung me to the ground.

But it didn't fall immediately as I expected. Instead, it used the monstrous strength unleashed in its desperation to slam the ground! With a single blow, the ground immediately caved in. It turned out there was a hollow space beneath. It intended to escape through this! The Desolate Beast fell into the hollow space through the collapsed ground, and I was dragged down with it.

My arms were close to breaking, making it difficult to maintain balance. I crashed heavily onto the cave floor. Through the swirling dust, I could vaguely see the Desolate Beast staggering and moving within the cave.

The Desolate Beast was nearing its limit. The severe head injury was blurring its consciousness, and the wounds on its limbs made every step difficult. But this cave led to the forest. If it could escape into the forest, it could heal itself with the abundant life force there--

"Don't even think about it!"

A thick, bloody tentacle snaked out like a phantom and latched onto the Desolate Beast's head, burrowing directly into the wound! The tip of the tentacle morphed into a blade, churning violently inside the beast's skull. After a series of violent twitches, the Desolate Beast finally collapsed limply, completely dead.

I collapsed to my knees, utterly spent. My arms were now immobile. I had only resorted to such a gruesome killing move out of desperation, and it had nearly drained all my Spiritual Energy.

Back at the Winter Arrival Hotel, I had a sudden thought: what if my blood diffused into a large vat of water, could I control that entire vat of water by controlling my blood? After testing it, I reached a somewhat disappointing conclusion: if my blood was mixed with a large amount of "things that didn't originally belong to me," it would become extremely difficult to control, whether it was water, juice, or someone else's blood. This also meant that, in my current state, it was extremely difficult to "make blood enter an opponent's body and cause damage from the inside."

Looking at the Desolate Beast's lifeless body, I let out a sigh of relief. This battle was the most difficult one since my transmigration. My Spiritual Energy was depleted, my arms were weak, and every inch of my body ached, but...

I won!

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