Chapter 133: A Battle That Could Not Be Won

The sonorous bellow of the ground echoed as a foot came crashing down toward the Shadow Monster’s chest.

The ground trembled in despair, and cracks formed beneath it like a spiderweb as the immense force from the axe kick descended like a heavenly tribulation.

A cavity formed on the chest of the Shadow Monster, its whole body trembled, and the dark shadow grew dim and faint, like the withering of hope amidst chaos in the abyss.

Desther had already felt earlier. The Shadow Monster may look like a shadow made of smoke but actually has a shell as hard as divine iron. Every strike that landed would feel as if he were striking at hard stone. There was no softness or the feeling of striking a flesh, only a carapace that seemed to be able to withstand the hardest of strikes.

Another axe kick came crashing down, followed by a fist bearing the weight of the heavens.

The kick landed squarely on its chest once more, but the pain pulled it back to reality. Its body disappeared like smoke, only to appear right behind Desther like a ghost.

Even before Desther could turn, a Magic Bullet was already waiting for the Shadow Monster that materialized out of thin air behind his back.

Learning its lesson from before, the Shadow Monster was not idle and disappeared into smoke once more. Its figure materializing out of thin air beside him.

The Shadow Monster screamed and retaliated. Its razor-sharp claws glowed with a violent black hue as it came slashing toward his head, threatening to separate his head from his body.

With little time to react, Desther used his turning momentum and raised his arm along with the dagger kept inside the Storage Space to block its incoming attack.

As sturdy as the dagger was, it seemed like butter cut with a hot knife as it was sliced as soon as it made contact with the Shadow Monster’s sharp claws. The momentum of its slash did not falter, continuing toward Desther’s arm with surgical precision.

Its sharp claw came in contact with Desther’s forearm, although without a mouth, the Shadow Monster seemed to grin as it saw the inevitability of Desther’s severed arm. However, to the Shadow Monster’s surprise, its claw encountered a hard resistance as soon as it came in contact with Desther’s fleshy arm.

At the same moment, it felt an instinctive fear rushing through its mind. Using its skill, it immediately disappeared from his side and reappeared a few meters away.

Desther turned his head to look at the Shadow Monster and then at the shallow blood mark on his forearm.

Blood oozed out of the shallow mark, not because of how the cut was, but because of what was contained in the Shadow Monster’s claws.

"Well, that stings a little."

He finally understood what Lexie felt as she endured the pain caused by the same monster.

By the time he lowered his arm, the shallow mark or the minor scratch on his forearm had already closed and disappeared.

His Supreme Body granted enhanced healing and resistance to such damage.

It did feel a little sting, though.

This was the first time that he had been injured for a little while now. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Although the cut was shallow, it still proved that he was still human and could bleed, no matter how high his attributes and how strong he had already become.

From the looks of it, he had become arrogant.

Was it after he became Supreme that he felt this way?

Grounded back to reality, Desther stared at the Shadow Monster and felt like this had already gone too long.

Anything could happen in a battle.

No matter how small and insignificant, even ants could topple and beat an elephant.

Desther looked at the repertoire of skills at his disposal.

Having high attributes was not enough to kill the Shadow Monster. Its body was quite sturdy, despite it having Agility as the highest attribute.

If he had to guess, it might also be due to the existence of a body-enhancing skill, much like his Supreme Body.

His inability to slay it easily also reminded him to really get a proper weapon.

A weapon that suits him, a weapon that could keep up with his growth, and a weapon worthy of a Supreme.

Although his Supreme Body was also a weapon in its own right, it was still different if one held a sharp tool during combat.

The Shadow Monster’s body shivered in fright as soon as it sensed Desther’s gaze. It realized that unlike earlier, this gaze no longer contained the same laid-back attitude he once wore even while fighting.

It also came to a sudden realization that it could not defeat Desther. Not when its one-shot-kill attack could only manage to scratch his arm.

Although just a monster, it was able to come into the startling realization that this was a battle it could not win.

Something needs to change.

Feeling the intense gaze of Desther, the Shadow Monster let go of any hesitations lingering on its mind as it disappeared into smoke.

Desther expected that it would once again appear behind his back for another sneak attack opportunity.

However, the Shadow Monster did not appear like he expected it to.

The surroundings went into cold silence. The rustle of leaves could be heard echoing in the distance, but the faint rhythm of the battle disappeared.

The Shadow Monster was no longer in sight.

’Did it escape?’

He released Sense and focused his perception to the best of his abilities, trying to detect where the Shadow Monster was.

The next instant, his eyes widened in a sudden realization.

His head turned toward a particular direction; rage boiled in his eyes for the first time as the Shadow Monster materialized out of thin air, only to disappear once more in the same manner a dozen meters away.

By the direction it was going, Desther knew that the Shadow Monster was not trying to escape.

No,

Not when the direction it was going was the location where he left Lexie.