Hard-Pressed

Chapter 345: Hard-Pressed

This was a top-grade magic tool refined from the white scales of the Ink Flood Dragon! It had accompanied Han Li through countless battles. Aside from a small hole punched through it some days ago by that Blood Essence Diamond, it had never suffered significant damage. And now, it was destroyed by a single demonic beast. Han Li could scarcely believe it.

By the light of the moonstone above his head, Han Li could now make out the monster's shape. It was extremely bizarre.

It wasn't very large, only about a single zhang tall. A thin neck supported a tiny head, but two fist-sized clusters of green light glowed with a cold, sinister chill, staring at him with an utterly lifeless expression.

What caught Han Li's attention most was what appeared to be its forelimbs: two pitch-black, cleaver-like blades. It shocked him to his core!

This monster actually used weapons! But what kind of cleaver could be so sharp as to cleave the White Phosphorus Shield in a single stroke?

These thoughts flashed through Han Li's mind, but his body had already blurred as he shot like an arrow toward the cave entrance.

No joke. In this cramped cave, tangling with such a terrifying monster was a death sentence no matter how many lives he had. Fleeing outside was the only advantageous option!

But the moment Han Li moved, the monster silently sprang after him, its speed equally astonishing.

The cave was short. Han Li and the monster shot out of it one after the other, kicking up two gusts of wind.

The instant he was out, Han Li raised his hand without thinking. A beam of white light shot from his palm, and the pristine Divine Wind Boat materialized in the air before him.

He intended to take the Divine Wind Boat and fly away.

Since his defensive tool couldn't withstand the monster's attacks, he would create distance and blast it to pieces with his offensive tools.

But that brief pause to summon his tool was enough. A black shadow flashed before his eyes. The monster had gotten ahead of him, appearing directly between Han Li and the Divine Wind Boat. Its two blade-like forelimbs clanged against each other a few times as it stared at Han Li with an icy gaze.

Han Li's heart sank.

This demonic beast was not only this powerful but also possessed a certain level of intelligence. This was a huge problem.

But now that he was out of the pitch-black cave, bathed in moonlight, Han Li recognized the creature. It was a massive, ash-gray praying mantis, its entire body shrouded in a strange gray aura.

Han Li took a light breath, forcing down his unease. His figure blurred, splitting into five or six identical afterimages that charged straight at the giant mantis. He refused to believe that his fully-accelerated Smoke Step couldn't break past a mere demonic beast's blockade.

The mantis's green eyes flickered. It, too, split into several blurry shadows, meeting Han Li's afterimages head-on.

Han Li's expression shifted dramatically.

Puff, puff. Han Li's afterimages were shattered one by one by the giant mantis's arms. His true body was forced to block with his remaining tortoiseshell tool, only to be sent flying back to his original position. A deep slash now scarred the tortoiseshell.

Han Li's face was pale as he looked at the cut on the tortoiseshell. He swallowed dryly. This tool clearly couldn't withstand many more blows.

But before Han Li could devise a counter-strategy, the mantis let out a zzzz sound and unfurled a pair of foot-long, gray wings. A buzzing drone filled the air as the demonic beast gently levitated on its rapidly fluttering wings.

Seeing this, Han Li felt a groan well up inside him. How could he have forgotten that mantises were insects and could fly? This meant the beast's speed would be even more terrifying.

For the first time, Han Li felt uncertain about his own movement technique.

Nevertheless, he quickly cast various auxiliary spells like the Light Body Technique upon himself and slapped his storage pouch. Over a dozen streaks of gold, black, and red light shot out simultaneously.

He wanted to strike first to seize the initiative.

But the mantis demonic beast didn't wait for Han Li to launch his tool assault. The moment it had floated up, a black shadow flickered and it vanished from its spot without a trace. An instant later, it appeared directly above Han Li's head, bringing its blade down in a vicious chop aimed at splitting him in two.

At this moment, Han Li's expression was one of dead calm.

He shook his shoulders, and amidst a blur of afterimages, he too vanished from his spot. The dozen or so Golden Mother-Child Blades, Black Flood Dragon Grips, and other tools hovering beside him swarmed the demonic beast like a hornet's nest, intent on tearing it to pieces.

Clang, clang, clang! A rapid series of metallic sounds rang out. The giant mantis swung its two scythes at an almost invisible speed, forming a massive defensive web. The moment Han Li's tools made contact, three of the golden blades and a fire fork were sliced into fragments, turning into specks of fluorescent light that fell from the air.

Seeing this, Han Li, who had used the opportunity to leap onto the Divine Wind Boat, felt a pang of deep distress.

He hurriedly recalled his remaining tools. Several streaks of light immediately made a sharp U-turn and flew back.

But the giant mantis wasn't about to let them go. Its forelimbs briefly crossed and scraped together before it shot forward like a black line, giving chase at a terrifying speed. In a flash, it caught up to the tools and, without any courtesy, hacked wildly at them again. Two more golden blades snapped into several pieces and fell into the dust.

Han Li felt his heart bleed.

This set of Golden Mother-Child Blades, while not the finest of top-grade tools, was a rare matched set that he had found extremely convenient to use. He had owned them for so many years and grown attached to them. And now, eight or nine out of ten were destroyed.

Fortunately, the Black Flood Dragon Grips he valued most were still intact. Neither of them had been destroyed, a small mercy amidst such a disaster.

But looking at the mantis demonic beast still locked onto him, Han Li couldn't feel fortunate at all. If he couldn't find a way to deal with this fiend, not just his remaining tools, but even his own life would likely be forfeit.

With this thought, Han Li poured a torrent of spiritual power into his feet. The Divine Wind Boat shuddered slightly before transforming into a streak of white light that shot into the sky. Han Li refused to believe that a mere demonic beast could match the Divine Wind Boat's flight speed.

He had only been flying at a high altitude for a short time before he was forced to change his mind and admit he was a frog at the bottom of a well.

Now, he raced ahead, periodically glancing back and instant-casting a few fireballs to slow the mantis demonic beast that was hot on his tail.

"This is insane! Not only is the beast's attack ferocious, but its flight speed is unbelievably fast. Even my Divine Wind Boat is a bit slower in comparison." Han Li thought, utterly exasperated.

He was now almost certain that this demonic beast was far more powerful than the white spider in the underground cavern.

This giant mantis was either a top-tier fourth-grade demonic beast or a legendary fifth-grade one. That was a creature practically capable of contending with a Core Formation initial-stage cultivator!

Just thinking about this possibility sent cold sweat pouring down Han Li's back. He could only frantically release fireballs to buy himself some time against the beast's relentless advance. Though each fireball it faced was easily split in two, it still forced the creature to slow down slightly, buying the Divine Wind Boat a moment's respite.

But Han Li knew that if this continued, it was only a matter of time before he was caught. He couldn't just let this stalemate drag on. So, even while controlling his flying tool and releasing fireballs, he hurriedly sent his divine sense into his storage pouch, searching for any tool he could use now.

Suddenly, his divine sense touched something extremely soft. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he had an idea.

Han Li glanced down to survey the terrain below, then slammed his foot onto the Divine Wind Boat, steering it in a steep dive toward a dense jungle below.

At the same time, he fished out seven or eight ordinary tools from his storage pouch, not caring what they were, and sacrificed them all at once. Then, four or five puppet soldiers were tossed out in a flash of white light. A few blindingly bright arrow-shaped rays shot towards the demonic beast behind him, following the tools.

This frantic assault did, in fact, force the giant mantis to whirl its arms to deal with it. It quickly tore the tools and puppets to shreds. But when it went to search for Han Li again, the area below was silent. Han Li had vanished without a trace in the sea of trees.

The demonic beast's twin green eyes flickered uncertainly. It slowly descended to a low altitude, circling above the nearby dense forest, apparently still trying to find Han Li.

Behind a large tree in the forest below, Han Li was staring solemnly at the giant mantis circling above, a hint of tension in his gaze.

He was currently draped in a lightweight gauze, a cloak-like piece that completely isolated all of his various auras.

This Spirit-Reveiling Gauze was a trophy Han Li had acquired from Xuan Le during the white spider battle. Back then, Xuan Le had tried to use it to ambush Han Li and had instead lost his life to it. This gauze could not only block spiritual energy fluctuations but also mask the scent and aura of a human body.

Now, driven to desperation, Han Li was using this tool, hoping that the demonic beast's intelligence wasn't too high and that it would leave on its own after searching for a while. If not, he was in trouble.

But just to be safe, Han Li kept a solidified Blood Essence Diamond in one hand.

While the item was incredibly fast and possessed immense destructive power, after witnessing the giant mantis's astonishing speed, Han Li had no confidence in using it to kill the beast. He had just taken it out as a fail-safe.

(A chapter will follow tonight, but it will be a bit late! Sigh, I'm so slow!)