Slaying the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard

In the mountain forest!

A Demon Scorpion encountered a Demon Snake.

Hiss, hiss~

The Demon Snake flicked its tongue, then swiftly attacked, trying to drive the intruder away.

But the Demon Scorpion had clearly come for whatever the Red-Tailed Snake was guarding.

Its enormous claws swung, colliding with the giant snake's tail.

After just a few exchanges, it was clear which of the two Demon Beasts had the advantage.

The Red-Tailed Snake was plainly no match for the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard.

In the end, the battered Red-Tailed Snake was worn down by the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard and killed!

The Scorpion-Tailed Lizard gripped the Red-Tailed Snake's corpse in its claws and began devouring it bit by bit.

It had secured the fruit and could enjoy a hearty meal as well.

Such hunts were the key to Demon Beasts advancing by preying on one another.

The scene perfectly illustrated the truth that big fish ate little fish, and little fish ate shrimp.

Watching the battle end, Yang Tian tightened his grip on the Wooden Sword. He knew where the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard's weak point lay, but getting it to leap into the air would be extremely difficult.

"Hah!" With a low cry, Yang Tian launched his attack.

The Scorpion-Tailed Lizard was enjoying its meal and was quite displeased at the sudden interruption.

Its scorpion tail lashed out, trying to swat the little nuisance dead.

Unfortunately for it, Yang Tian was nimble.

After dodging for a while, he had already closed in on the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard's flank.

"Electric Thrust!"

It was a Squire skill of the Second-Tier Profession that Yang Tian had learned over the past six months.

Thin arcs of electricity flickered over the Wooden Sword.

Then he drove it hard into the softer flesh along the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard's side.

As the electric current coursed through it, the demonic lizard felt numb and weak.

That single skill consumed a considerable amount of Yang Tian's spiritual power.

He then forcefully flicked its scorpion tail aside. Having recovered, the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard attacked with both tail and claws.

"What a troublesome Demon Beast!"

"But killing you will earn me enough money to have an Iron Sword forged!"

Yang Tian muttered to himself.

He blocked with the Wooden Sword in his hand.

Then he put basic movements such as cleaving, slashing, Rising Sword, and thrusting to use in actual combat.

The Demon Beast was fast. Four legs were bound to be faster than two.

No, if I let it wear me down like this, I'll end up just like the Red-Tailed Snake!

Yang Tian realized something was wrong. His spiritual power was draining rapidly, so he had to end this battle quickly.

Then he did what he had done against the Black Wolf.

Bending his legs, he slid forward. After dodging the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard's sharp claws, he slid beneath it with his sword tip pointed upward.

"Electric Thrust!"

He unleashed the skill once more!

Pfft!

The entire Wooden Sword plunged into the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard's belly, and it froze in place.

Finally, Yang Tian crawled out from beneath the demonic lizard, his body smeared with blood.

"Urgh~" He began to dry-heave.

Yang Tian did his utmost to get himself used to the smell of blood as quickly as possible.

Because this was what his training would be like from now on.

Whether he could reach two hundred spiritual power in the remaining two years depended on his efforts.

With his current eighty-nine points of spiritual power, becoming a ninth-level Squire would be relatively easy.

But breaking through to two hundred spiritual power within two years would still be a stretch.

If he could awaken his internal spiritual power when he had just over a hundred points, perhaps it would be possible.

Of course, his spiritual power would need to reach at least thirty points.

After tidying himself up a little, he went over to the Red-Tailed Snake's nest.

After searching around, he finally discovered five red fruits along the edge of the snake's den.

"They're pretty much all ripe!"

Looking at the five red fruits, Yang Tian murmured to himself.

Then he picked them all. If they were inedible, the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard would not have gone to such trouble to come here.

The snake's den was extremely bare.

He found no other treasures and finally dealt with the two Demon Beast corpses.

He hauled them into town and sold them for two gold coins and five silver coins.

That was a very substantial sum.

He looked at the Wooden Sword, which he had washed clean but which still retained a faint smell of blood.

Then he passed a smithy!

Looking at the smithy, Yang Tian murmured, "It's time for a new sword!"