Bone injury
The dull pain from the blunt force trauma to his chest continued to churn, and with each breath, it felt as if his internal organs were being gripped and pulled by an invisible hand. Lu Heng kept moving backward, maintaining a safe distance from the giant Blizzard Monster that had fallen and missed its target.
The icy touch of the rock wall still lingered on the fabric of his clothes; the suffocating feeling of being trapped between the beast and the mountain hadn't completely dissipated. He braced one hand against his chest to steady his swaying body, while his other hand reached behind his back, his fingertips fumbling for the Giant-Feather Crossbow he carried. The metal crossbow was covered in snow from the forest, and the icy sensation seeped into his fingertips, slightly dispelling the weakness that had gripped his body.
With a light touch of his fingertips to the Wristband on his wrist, a flash of light appeared, and several perfectly polished arrows landed in his palm. Lu Heng, his arm numb, lowered his head and quickly completed the entire process of nocking and stringing the arrows. The muscles in his arm still lingered from the pain of holding the knife against the ferocious beast, and they trembled slightly as he exerted force. He deliberately slowed his breathing, his gaze fixed on the Blizzard Monster slowly rising in front of him.
A deep, bone-revealing gash was embedded in the beast's chest, a wound left by the Bronze Hunting Blade. Dark red blood trickled down its fur, spreading into large, blackened marks on the snow beneath its feet. Its massive body moved sluggishly and clumsily; with each step forward, its limbs swayed slightly. Yet, its murky eyes showed no sign of retreat, only pure, frenzied rage. It clung to Lu Heng's figure, slowly approaching step by step.
Lu Heng sensed that the previous wounds inflicted by the blade had severely damaged the beast, but its obsession with revenge was keeping it from collapsing. The current distance was perfect; there was no issue of long-range trajectory deviation, and he no longer needed to get close enough to suffer blunt force trauma.
He steadied his swaying wrist, aimed the Giant-Feather Crossbow at the beast's broad chest, and released the trigger.
The sharp whistling sound shattered the silence of the valley. The arrow, imbued with force, pierced straight into the thick animal hide without any resistance, penetrating the entire body. The tip of the arrow, carrying warm blood, emerged from the beast's back.
The impact jolted the Blizzard Monster's massive body to a halt, its steps faltering as it stopped in place, more blood gushing from its chest wound. But only for a moment, it raised its heavy head again, the frenzied killing intent in its eyes undiminished, and dragged its pierced body, still slowly moving towards Lu Heng.
This attack was a truly devastating blow; anyone else would have been rendered unable to move long ago. Lu Heng dared not be careless, and taking advantage of the beast's pause, he retreated several meters again, further expanding his maneuvering space.
The wristband glowed again, and a second arrow landed in my palm. I quickly nocked it, and the crossbow bolt locked firmly onto the beast's head.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Heng released the bowstring.
The arrow pierced precisely into the weak spot on the side of the beast's head. Its massive body swayed twice before crashing heavily into the snow, the dull thud echoing through the narrow valley.
He didn't rush forward immediately, remaining in a defensive posture with his crossbow raised. He lightly activated his Wristband, retrieved a new arrow, and nocked it to the crossbow. His gaze swept over every clump of trees and crevices in the rock face. The fight had been quite loud, and the strong smell of blood wafted through the air, easily attracting other monsters in the forest to come and scavenge.
The cold wind whistled through the valley crevices, causing the snow on the branches to fall in a soft rustling sound; apart from that, there was no other sound. The entire forest was eerily quiet, without the roar of animals or the sound of footsteps on the snow. Only after confirming that there were no hidden threats around did Lu Heng's tense shoulders relax slightly.
He clutched his aching chest and slowly walked toward the Blizzard Monster's massive corpse, his feet treading on the blood-soaked snow, the cold, damp sensation seeping through his shoes.
"We were still careless."
Lu Heng muttered to himself in a low voice, his chest heaving as his internal injuries flared, a dull ache rising with each word. The image of the Blizzard Monster's rage and breakdown as it witnessed its mate and cub perish flashed uncontrollably through his mind, yet he felt no remorse whatsoever.
He silently weighed the options in his mind.
I might feel a pang of pity, but pity cannot be exchanged for my own life. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would be lying in the snow right now. Any monster with the intention to attack is only truly harmless when it is completely defeated.
As the thought crossed his mind, Lu Heng raised his Wristband on his wrist. A faint light slowly enveloped the entire body of the giant beast, and the decomposition process slowly began.
As the light shifted, materials appeared one after another in mid-air: thick and durable Blizzard Monster hide, hard animal bones, extremely tough Blizzard Monster Tendon, and a Blizzard Monster Snow Pearl that was entirely ice-white and gleamed with an extremely cold light.
In addition, two orbs of light, unlike ordinary materials, floated quietly. One was Energy Core emitting a dark gray light, and the other was a lustrous and translucent essence of flesh and blood.
Lu Heng's gaze fell on the essence of flesh and blood, and he pinched it between his fingertips. Along the way, no monster that could produce essence of flesh and blood was easy to deal with. Every battle required him to fight with all his might, and every time he ended up with injuries of varying degrees.
Without any hesitation, he tilted his head back and swallowed the essence of flesh and blood directly.
The moment the essence slid down his throat into his abdomen, a gentle and lingering warmth spread from his Dantian, flowing through his blood vessels to his limbs and bones. The muscle soreness and numbness caused by the giant claw's earlier blows slowly dissipated at a visible speed.
But as the warmth reached the injured area in his chest, a sharp, irritating sensation suddenly shot up his throat, followed by an itchy, suffocating feeling. Lu Heng couldn't help but bend over and cough violently.
He coughed up mouthfuls of dark red, stagnant blood, which fell onto the pure white snow, spreading out in glaring patches of red.
The coughing continued for a long time before it gradually subsided. Lu Heng supported himself on his knees, panting heavily, with a fine layer of cold sweat seeping from his forehead.
The essence of flesh and blood did indeed repair most of the bruises on his body surface and relieve his fatigue, but a persistent, dull pain remained deep in his chest. He knew that the beast's violent charge had injured his ribcage, a deep internal injury. A single essence of flesh and blood could only temporarily suppress the pain, not completely cure it.
The stench of blood lingers here, and lingering for an extended period poses too high a risk; it is not advisable to rest and heal here.
Lu Heng raised his hand and stored all the materials produced from the decomposition into the storage space of his Wristband. He pressed one hand tightly against his chest, suppressing the discomfort churning in his internal organs, and turned to walk away towards the Stone Cave Shelter.
The wind and snow in the forest gently fell on his shoulders. He slowed his pace, taking each step carefully to minimize the stinging pain from the vibrations in his chest. He just wanted to get back to the stone cave, which was sheltered by the geothermal Geothermal, as soon as possible to treat his serious internal injuries.
Passing by the Blizzard Monster's dark stone cave nest, Lu Heng glanced at it hastily, secretly planning to come back for a thorough search in a couple of days when his injuries had healed. Right now, with waves of sharp pain shooting through his chest, he dared not linger and could only quicken his pace to return to the cave to rest.