Its enormous body sprang straight up, kicking up a cloud of dust as it soared at least twenty meters into the air. Then its truck-sized frame plunged straight toward Li Ke.
Its shattered mask was twisted with resentment, and it raised both fists, each as big as a truck, ready to pound Li Ke as it came crashing down.
Standing on the wrecked carriage with his sword in hand, Li Ke couldn't help gaping. He didn't think his small frame could take two hits like that. The constant threat of death sharpened his senses, setting his mind and body racing.
Desperately squeezing every last bit of ki from his body, Li Ke once again assumed the stance for a draw-and-slash. His eyes fixed on the enormous fiend before him.
He watched the grotesque face beneath its shattered mask, and the ever-growing threat of death.
Then...
Ki coursed through his body, and his sword cut through mind and flesh!
Backstep Slash!
The instant the enormous fiend hit the ground, Li Ke leaped backward off the carriage, clearing the reach of its massive fists. His sword flashed again, sweeping out a white arc of light. A fierce wave of ki burst from it, slashing beyond the blade's reach and splattering more foul, green blood across the demon's face.
The fiend's howl shook the heavens, but Li Ke was in no better shape.
Its two enormous fists smashed the horses into unrecognizable lumps of flesh, and the remaining carriage was reduced to splinters. A visible shock wave warped the earth and surged toward the spot where Li Ke would land.
Worse, the demon's fists swung toward him again.
"Damn it!"
In the blink of an eye, Li Ke saw what was happening—and saw the demon's furious punch coming at him. He had only enough time to raise his sword in front of him before he went flying with a whoosh, like a shuttlecock smashed away by a pro.
That savage force sent him hurtling at unbelievable speed. But Li Ke wasn't helpless. Though physically weaker than other students of the Wind Technique, he had mastered the art of dispersing force in his battles with them, using footwork, posture, and movement to easily deflect the blows of opponents far stronger than himself.
So...
His technique for dispersing force, in this situation...
Was completely useless. Li Ke felt as if he'd been hit by a truck. That technique depended on the difference in strength; against a force this overwhelming, it might as well not exist.
If he hadn't used ki at the last second to protect his internal organs, they would have been pulverized instantly. He might have looked unharmed on the outside, but inside he'd have been utterly wrecked.
Even so, he was gravely injured.
Li Ke glanced at the system panel as he lay among a tangle of lush vines, and nearly spat up blood.
Health: 12/157
That blow had knocked his health down to nearly single digits. If it had been any stronger, he'd have been saying his last words.
But at least his opponent wasn't doing well, either.
"Raaaah!!!!"
A crisp cracking sound rang out from where the demon stood. Li Ke looked up and saw the mask fall away from its face, revealing a grotesque visage.
From its features, the girl had probably been fairly pretty before. But now...
Tch.
"An ugly expression really is the greatest destroyer of a girl's looks."
Speaking as he did, Li Ke used his sword to get back to his feet, ready to give the fiend one more good hit before he died.
To his surprise, the demon's gaze turned vicious when it saw him stand. But the moment it took a step, thick black smoke began pouring from its body, and it looked to be in tremendous pain.
With every step, more black smoke poured out, and its huge body grew smaller. As it shrank, the demon's howls sounded more and more like a human's.
"No! That can't be! How could you break my mask? How?! Mortal blades cannot harm us!"
The grotesque fiend couldn't believe what was happening. Beings like them belonged to both the spirit realm and the material world; they couldn't be harmed by something that was purely spiritual or purely physical. Only weapons that belonged to neither realm, and were as alien to the world as they were, could hurt them. Or their own kind.
But why? Why could this human, who couldn't use even the slightest bit of magic, shatter her mask so easily?
Why?!
Watching Li Ke sway on his feet, the fiend quickened her pace. She wanted to kill him before she died. But with her mask completely shattered, her power was rapidly dissipating. By the time she finally reached Li Ke and raised her fist, her consciousness had already begun to fade.
In her final memory, she vaguely remembered raising her fist...
Li Ke watched the human girl raise her fist at him, then collapse to the ground. He let out a deep sigh of relief.
Seeing that monster charge at him while black smoke poured from her body had really made him think he was done for. If he hadn't been too badly injured to run, he would have fled at full speed.
Looking at the girl on the ground, Li Ke thought for a moment, then hefted the sword in his hand. After a little more thought, he decided not to risk getting close.
Though she seemed to have returned to human form, who knew whether that demon had truly disappeared? Or whether she might suddenly jump up and stab him when he approached.
In his current, badly injured state, he couldn't afford to take any risks.
"In that case, I'll have to finish her off by throwing something."
Judging the distance to the girl, Li Ke decided to use a thrown blade to finish her off. But he didn't have any small knives, so naturally, he would have to use Yone's sword.
But if he threw the sword and the girl suddenly came back to life, that would be a problem. It would be best to have something to tie to the sword.
Li Ke looked around. The vines nearby were either too thin or too short, or he couldn't pull them down in his current state. The ones he could tear free would take too long.
So he looked at his belt.
"No choice. I'll have to use you. Good thing I'm poor and my pants fit snugly. I can still run without a belt."
He planted his sword in the ground and started undoing his belt.
But the sight of a girl lying on the ground in the wilderness, while a man stood over her with his back turned, wiggling his hips as he undid his belt, was bizarre no matter how you looked at it. Meimu arrived quickly after hearing the commotion. Seeing Li Ke from behind, she fell silent for a second, then broke the Kinkou Order's rules once again and asked him,
"What are you doing?"
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