Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Loyal and Devoted Brother

After Qin Chuan slipped into the thicket, he kept changing positions while waiting for his skills to refresh. After a while, his abilities returned, and the Black Scale Beast once again entered the range of his ultimate attack.

"Skyfall Strike!"

Without hesitation, Qin Chuan unleashed his ultimate. The clanging of metal rang out, but the Black Scale Beast managed to escape the area of effect.

"Flow Strike!"

His actions mirrored those from earlier, but this time, something unexpected happened.

"Wrath of the Black Scales!"

Just as Qin Chuan activated Flow Strike, the beast launched its own ultimate. All its attributes surged, and a terrifying aura swept across the field.

With its greatly enhanced stats, the Black Scale Beast moved faster than ever and landed safely in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh! Qin Chuan's primary iron sword shot toward the beast in an instant.

"Phantom Strike!"

As the iron sword entered the ten-meter radius around the Black Scale Beast, it unleashed its skill, lunging ferociously.

"Let's see where you run this time!"

"Damn! This is like a comet crashing into the earth!"

Both sides were locked onto each other, so in the next moment, their skills would collide head-on.

Clang!

The tip of the cold iron sword met the beast's claws in a fiery clash.

The violent impact sent Qin Chuan's body spinning uncontrollably backward, claw marks appearing on the blade and a burning pain searing through him.

"Damn, this spicy pain is something else."

Qin Chuan’s consciousness twisted into a bitter smile; the tearing effect was indeed hard to bear.

The turn of events was entirely beyond Qin Chuan's expectations, but he remained unshaken. Anything could happen in battle, and only calmness could bring ultimate victory.

"Phantom Combo!"

The Black Scale Beast successfully blocked Qin Chuan’s attack and, upon landing, immediately activated its second phase.

At this moment, Qin Chuan’s cold iron sword was still spinning in midair, practically a sitting duck.

"Blink!"

Unruffled, Qin Chuan flashed five meters downward just as the beast pounced, successfully dodging it.

"Oppression!"

Prepared in advance, the Black Scale Beast unleashed its oppression skill as soon as it closed in after the second lunge.

If oppression struck Qin Chuan, he would be stunned instantly, and the beast was confident it could tear him to shreds within the following second.

Sure enough, Qin Chuan, who had just landed, was hit directly.

A glimmer of joy flashed in the beast’s eyes, and it viciously raised its claws to strike down!

"Die!"

Yet, at this critical moment, Qin Chuan, who should have been stunned, mysteriously vanished.

Boom!

The beast’s claws smashed into the ground once more.

"Joking aside, immunity to all damage isn’t a myth!"

Having narrowly escaped disaster, Qin Chuan felt a secret thrill. Though the situation was grim, he continued to display exceptional skill.

At this point, the beast had revealed all its abilities, but none had yielded its hoped-for results. Its ultimate, however, still had over twenty seconds left.

Those twenty seconds seemed brief, but the beast could launch dozens of attacks in that time.

Qin Chuan realized how fierce the beast’s ultimate was and wisely chose to keep running.

"Slide!"

Upon landing, Qin Chuan slid forward five meters, widening the gap.

The beast, already enraged by missing so many skills, pounced again as soon as it touched down.

Five meters seemed far, but for the beast, it was a matter of an instant.

Yet, no matter how fast it was, it couldn’t beat Qin Chuan’s ability to instantly return to his original spot.

Whoosh!

In a flash, Qin Chuan returned to where he’d started, now twenty meters away from the beast.

He had deliberately slid forward instead of backward, so that when he returned to the original spot, he’d gain more distance.

"That was terrifying just now, but too bad you missed again. Ha!"

For now, Qin Chuan became a “verbal king,” taunting his opponent.

The Black Scale Beast, already close to exploding in rage, lost all rationality under Qin Chuan’s provocations, consumed only by an urge to tear him apart.

Roar!

Before the beast could pounce again, Qin Chuan deftly ran off.

Thus began a game of hide-and-seek, chase and retreat, with Qin Chuan no longer attacking proactively but using the immense range of Flow Strike for movement, coupled with Blink’s three-second cooldown, making his escape lively and swift.

During the chase, the beast’s ultimate began its countdown.

"Damn, what lousy luck! Didn’t notice I’d reached the lakeside!"

Bursting out of the thicket, Qin Chuan saw the vast lake ahead and cursed under his breath.

Whoosh! The beast followed closely, and upon seeing the lake behind Qin Chuan, it was elated.

The lake was not only cold, but unfathomably deep, with strange currents below.

"Ha! With that lousy black sword, why don’t you keep running?"

"Run? Why should I? The scenery here is lovely—I’ll pause to enjoy it."

Qin Chuan’s tone was light; since escape was impossible, he’d gamble everything and fight with his back to the water.

As they exchanged words, the beast’s ultimate faded completely, but its other active skills had recovered.

Meanwhile, to save himself, Qin Chuan had used all his abilities again; the shortest cooldown, Blink, had two seconds left.

Those brief two seconds would decide his fate.

The Black Scale Beast was brimming with confidence. He knew Qin Chuan’s skills inside out and understood they were all on cooldown.

"One more second! Blink will be ready!"

At that moment, the beast attacked.

"Phantom Strike!"

Whoosh! The beast was so fast, even with one second—or just half a second—it could strike Qin Chuan in time.

"Damn! I have to take this head-on!"

At this life-and-death moment, Qin Chuan didn’t hesitate, swinging his sword in a basic attack.

Clang! Crack!

The collision sent a violent tremor through Qin Chuan’s spirit core, and unbearable pain swept over him, making him almost vomit blood.

Looking at his cold iron sword, he saw a fine crack.

"Damn, this guy’s sharpness is insane!"

"Ding! Body damaged. Use primal repair?"

"Repair!"

"Ding! Repair successful. Consumed ten thousand evolution points."

Qin Chuan had no time to feel the sting of losing his points. His sword, struck, spun backward.

Seeing the retreating blade, the beast’s lips twisted into a cruel smile.

"Oppression!"

Boom!

A roar thundered in Qin Chuan’s mind, and he was struck by intense dizziness.

"Damn, Blink still needs 0.1 seconds! This luck is catastrophic!"

"Phantom Combo!"

The beast launched its second phase again, purple cold light glinting on its claws.

If those claws landed, Qin Chuan would be gravely wounded, if not dead.

For the first time, Qin Chuan found himself in such a perilous situation; his heart raced.

At that dire moment, a sweet, childlike voice sounded behind him.

"Resist Technique!"

Sleepbug’s body glowed green, and a transparent shield enveloped Qin Chuan.

Resist Technique: Can withstand one attack above the user’s own tier.

Bang!

The beast’s claws struck Qin Chuan’s sword, but this time left it unharmed. However, dazed by the stun, Qin Chuan was sent flying backward once more.