Exiled Prince and His Succubus Army-Chapter 23: Fighting the tortoise-leopard

But the tortoise-leopard was surprisingly fast, far faster than anything with such a bulky shell-covered body had any right to be. In the split second before Renji’s blade would have connected with its skull, the creature retracted its head completely into its shell with a speed that defied physics. Renji’s sword swung through empty air where the head had been just a fraction of a second earlier, the momentum of his strike throwing him slightly off balance.

Before he could recover, the head popped back out of the shell with equally impossible speed, and those powerful jaws snapped viciously at Renji’s extended hand, trying to bite down on the fingers that gripped his sword. Renji withdrew his hand just in time, jerking it back reflexively as he felt the creature’s hot breath on his skin and heard the click of teeth snapping together mere inches from his flesh.

"Damn it," he muttered, his mind already recalculating his approach. He circled the creature carefully, looking for an opening, trying to predict its patterns.

He charged again, this time increasing his speed even more with the help of Kaede’s enhancement. His muscles burned with the effort as he pushed himself harder, faster, moving with a velocity that should have been impossible for someone of his build and training level. He brought his sword down in a devastating downward arc, putting all his momentum and strength behind the blow, aiming once more for that vulnerable leopard head. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

But again, the creature retracted its head with frustrating speed, pulling it back into the protective shelter of its shell in the blink of an eye. This time, however, Renji’s sword didn’t swing through empty air. Instead, it connected with the beast’s hard shell with a resounding CLANG that echoed through the forest. The impact sent violent tremors through Renji’s entire body, vibrating up through the blade, into his hands, along his arms, and into his shoulders. It felt like he’d just tried to cut through solid stone with a kitchen knife, completely ineffective and potentially damaging to his weapon and himself.

His hands went numb from the shock of the impact, and he had to fight to maintain his grip on his sword. The realization hit him like a physical blow, he wouldn’t be able to defeat this creature using sheer strength and speed alone. The shell was too hard, too well-protected, and the creature’s ability to retract its vulnerable parts made direct attacks nearly impossible to land. He needed a different approach, needed to think tactically rather than just hack and slash.

He began to formulate a plan, thinking about how he could outsmart the beast rather than simply overpowering it. Maybe if he could feint high and strike low, or create a pattern that would make the creature predictable, or find some weakness in its defensive strategy.

But then he immediately felt movement behind him, a displacement of air and the sound of clawed feet scraping against dirt. His enhanced reflexes, courtesy of Kaede’s abilities, saved his life. Without even thinking, operating purely on instinct and the warning signals his body was screaming at him, Renji jumped away from his current position, throwing himself to the side with desperate speed.

He felt the rush of air as powerful jaws snapped shut exactly where his back had been just a fraction of a second earlier. Another one of the tortoise-leopard beasts had circled around behind him while he’d been focused on the first one, attempting to catch him in a classic pincer attack. If he’d been even a split second slower, those teeth would have sunk into his spine or the back of his neck, and the fight would have been over before it really began.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He looked to his right, his dark eyes quickly scanning the battlefield to assess how his companions were faring in this chaotic fight. What he saw made him pause for just a moment, even in the midst of his own dangerous situation.

Aya and Kaede were fighting one of the tortoise-leopard beasts together, working in impressive coordination that spoke to how much they’d already grown as a team in just a short time. Aya had her eyes narrowed in fierce concentration, her entire focus channeled into her telekinetic powers. She was using her abilities to pull at the head of the beast, creating an invisible force that gripped the creature’s leopard skull and yanked it forcibly out of its protective shell.

The beast struggled violently against her mental grip, its powerful neck muscles straining as it tried to retract back into safety, but Aya held firm. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the effort of maintaining such precise control while the creature thrashed and fought, but she didn’t let go, didn’t give it even an inch of freedom.

With the head held extended and vulnerable by Aya’s telekinetic grip, Kaede moved in for the kill. Her sword flashed in the dappled forest light as she brought it down in a powerful slash aimed at the beast’s exposed neck.

The blade connected with flesh and bone, but the creature’s hide and musculature were incredibly tough. The first slash cut deep but didn’t sever completely, drawing a spray of dark blood and an agonized shriek from the beast that was part feline yowl and part something more reptilian.

Kaede didn’t hesitate or show any sign of frustration. She simply raised her sword again and struck once more, her movements efficient and practiced despite the resistance she was encountering. The blade bit deeper this time, cutting through more of the thick neck. Then again, a third slash that went even deeper, nearly halfway through now.

The beast’s struggles were becoming weaker as blood poured from the massive wounds, but it still wasn’t enough. Kaede gritted her teeth and struck a fourth time, then a fifth, each blow delivered with the same unwavering determination.

Finally, on what must have been the sixth or seventh slash, the blade finally cut all the way through. The leopard head separated from the tortoise body with a wet, final sound that was distinctly unpleasant. The severed head dropped from Aya’s telekinetic grip and hit the forest floor with a heavy thud, those golden eyes already glazing over in death.

The massive shell-covered body swayed for a moment, as if not quite ready to accept that it was dead, before it too collapsed heavily to the ground. Dark blood pooled beneath it, soaking into the earth and dead leaves.