Fierce Battle

Chapter 39: Fierce Battle

Xiang Kun followed the scent and tracks for several hundred meters before stopping by the lake. The scent ended completely there, and judging by the few drops of blood on the ground, the trail led into the water.

Had that "thing" carried the husky's corpse across the lake, or thrown it in?

Or could that "thing" not only fly, but swim underwater too?

Xiang Kun was staring across the lake, wondering whether to go check the other side, when he suddenly caught the distinctive scent he had been tracking for three days. He snapped his head toward where it was coming from.

A figure stood in a large tree about a dozen meters away, looking down at him. It seemed to be wearing a long coat that covered its whole body, and its head looked unusually large—or perhaps it was wearing a mask or hood.

What the hell...? A jumble of vampire legends flashed through Xiang Kun's mind.

But in the next instant, the "figure" leaped from the tree, then spread its "arms" with a thump, flung open its coat, and dived straight at him.

"Holy shit! What the fuck—!"

Xiang Kun jumped in fright. His muscles tensed as he sprang sideways, dodging the "figure's" attack.

If the thing flying at him had really been a hideous-looking person, then no matter how frightening or bizarre it looked, he would have been mentally prepared. It wouldn't have startled him too badly.

But as the distance closed in rapidly, the moonlight gave Xiang Kun's far-superior dynamic vision a clear view of what the "figure" really was. It wasn't a person wearing a long coat at all—it was a gigantic bird with an ugly, oversized head!

Xiang Kun sprang sideways and rolled several times across the ground before getting back up. He was fast, but the Giant Owl was faster. After two beats of its enormous wings, it was in front of him again, its talons striking down at him.

With nowhere to dodge, Xiang Kun fought back with everything he had. He let the Giant Owl's talons sink into both sides of his torso, then used the momentum to lunge up and seize its head, dragging it to the ground and forcing it to fight him there.

Since his mutation, this was the first time Xiang Kun had unleashed all his strength so completely. He held nothing back. With one hand, he gripped the feathers beside the Giant Owl's head to keep its beak from pecking him. With the other, he swung his fist and hammered away with all his might.

Every blow brought an involuntary roar from him, and each one made the Giant Owl screech in a strange voice.

At first, the Giant Owl kept attacking Xiang Kun's torso with its talons. But he pressed his body as close to it as he could, keeping it from reaching his abdomen and groin. He let its claws rake his back and waist, even allowing the talons, as thick as his fingers, to pierce his sides.

Xiang Kun was betting everything on attrition: which would give out first, its talons or his fists?

After more than a dozen punches, the Giant Owl clearly couldn't take it anymore. It pulled its talons free from Xiang Kun's body, kicked hard with its legs, and twisted violently to break loose. Xiang Kun released it too and rolled aside—he was struggling to hold on as well. The Giant Owl's claws had been tearing at his sides relentlessly. If he hadn't been pressed so close, preventing its legs from spreading, it probably would have ripped him open before he could land more than a couple of punches.

The Giant Owl didn't keep attacking Xiang Kun. With a shrill cry of agony, it struggled to fly away, but after covering some distance, it staggered and fell to the ground. It lurched back into the air and vanished into the night a few seconds later.

Barking dogs and approaching footsteps sounded in the distance. Xiang Kun knew it wasn't that late yet, and some people walking their dogs were still nearby. The commotion had drawn attention.

Xiang Kun didn't linger. He quickly scanned the area, picked up his glasses, which had fallen and shattered during the fight, and his phone, which had been left nearby. Then he gathered a few enormous feathers that had fallen from the Giant Owl, stuffed them into his pocket, clutched his waist, and hurried away.

Xiang Kun didn't go straight home. Instead, he found a secluded, deserted spot and lay back on the grass to rest.

He was badly injured. The Giant Owl's talons had pierced several bloody holes in his lower back, and he had lost so much blood that his clothes and pants were soaked through. Several of his ribs were broken, and his internal organs must have been badly damaged and bleeding too. During the fight, he had even felt some of his muscle groups cramping and twitching.

His right fist, which he had used to pound the Giant Owl's head, was also badly injured. It was a bloody mess, and the bones in his hand were broken. He couldn't even unclench his fist and straighten his fingers.

An ordinary person in his condition would have needed emergency treatment at a hospital, probably even a stay in the ICU. They might not have survived.

But Xiang Kun had no intention of going to the hospital. It wasn't that he would rather die than reveal the secret of his body. He knew he wouldn't die.

He could feel the wounds, inside and out, rapidly repairing and healing.

As he lay on the ground, Xiang Kun thought about the Giant Owl and suddenly realized—this thing was an owl!

But could an owl really be that huge?

When its wings were spread, they were even wider than his arm span! Its body alone must have stood around one and a half to one point six meters tall!

No wonder he had mistaken it for a person.

Standing in the shadows of a tree, it really had looked like someone wearing a long coat from a distance.

Xiang Kun suddenly thought of something. He raised his bloodied right hand and looked at the blood on his arm. Some of it was his own, and some belonged to the giant bird—or rather, the Giant Owl.

Xiang Kun took a deep breath, then suddenly licked the blood on his arm, swallowing it mixed with his saliva.

Boom!

It was as if a burst of white light had exploded in his mind. Xiang Kun felt all the cells in his body "leap" and "thrill" again. This sensation was even stronger than when he had first drunk chicken blood or rabbit blood.

The "pleasure" and "euphoria" brought by the blood didn't affect the taste buds on his tongue or his stomach. It felt as if the sensation came from the deepest part of his body, as though every cell were voicing the same opinion and cheering for him.

Xiang Kun let out a long breath, his expression almost blissful.

If anyone had seen him then, they would have been horrified: a bald, broad-built man, covered in blood and wounds, lying on the grass, licking the blood on his arm with an expression of rapture. It was just too twisted!

Xiang Kun felt hunger welling up inside him. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't have become hungry until the next day.

But this hunger was different from usual. It was almost as if it were reminding Xiang Kun that he needed more of the blood he had just drunk!

After resting on the grass for a while, Xiang Kun lifted his tattered T-shirt and checked the wounds on his waist. Once he wiped away the blood, there wasn't a mark left. His right hand had almost completely recovered too, and his fingers moved freely again.

Xiang Kun climbed to his feet, but the moment he stood, an image flashed through his mind.

He found himself looking through a first-person view, as if wearing a VR headset, rummaging through a torn-open garbage bag beneath him. "His" hands had turned into talons, and inside the ripped bag, he could just make out a rabbit's ear.

The entire image lasted only a little over a second. Xiang Kun froze, then immediately understood what he had seen.