311 Hesitancy
In the dead of the night, under the soft and cool glow of the twin moons, Adam and Ennea dashed through the dense forest, their expressions grim and full of rage.
Adam's upper body was bare. His clothes had already been destroyed in the last battle. As he rode atop the majestic white fox, the muscles on his back rippled with power.
His torso was filled with scars, big and small. Moreover, the biggest scar that he had stretched from his neck, all the way down toward his waist.
This was the injury left behind by the Hexaclaw Panther.
He had never been so close to death as he was earlier in the fight just now.
Ever since this war with the orcs had begun, it was one bad thing after the other for him. Things never went according to Adam's plan, and as a result, he had to rake his brains to get out of his predicaments.
However, even he would have never expected things to go so awry.
Things had taken such a drastic turn that he had nearly died on more than one occasion. If it wasn't for Ennea, he would have truly died!
Thinking of the culprit behind all this, his bloodshot eyes flashed with unbridled rage and killing intent. He urged the white fox to pick up speed and follow the bloody trail left behind by the panther.
I won't stop until I've ripped your heart out, you damned beast!
The forest around the two was alive with the sound of the rustling leaves, the creaking branches, and the distant cry of nocturnal beasts.
Ennea, despite being heavily injured, moved with such grace that her paws barely made a sound as they touched the forest floor.
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After a long time, the young man and the fox were able to see a familiar beast in the distance.
Its black fur was stained with blood and it was limping through the underbush. Its movements were labored, however, it was still fast enough to escape from them.
Adam urged Ennea to run faster. The wind whipped against his face as they slowly closed the distance.
As they drew closer, the panther sensed their approach. It turned around and let out a guttural growl that sent shivers down Adam's spine.
However, the youth resolved himself and continued to charge ahead.
He endured the splitting headache and gritted his teeth, "I'll kill you no matter what!"
With a burst of speed, Ennea leaped forward, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. As soon as the panther was within range, Adam's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint and he jumped off the fox's back.
He gathered a large amount of mana and coated it around his fist. He drew his arm back and as soon as he got close to the panther, he launched a destructive punch. "Die!"
BOOM!
At the last moment, the panther managed to dodge the attack by relying on its superior speed. Despite being grievously injured, it still managed to evade Adam's blow and sped off into the distance.
The ground underneath trembled slightly as dust and debris flew in all directions. A small crater was formed where Adam's fist landed.
When he realized that he had missed his target, he cursed under his breath, "Damn it—Ughh!"
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The sequela from having used his spiritual force to cast a spell earlier still remained. And it seemed to be getting worse with time.
However, he just couldn't let the panther go.
He raised his head and looked in the direction the beast had escaped to with his bloodshot eyes. The next moment, Ennea approached him and nudged her head against his face in concern.
"I'm… I'm fine." He slowly stood up and got on the fox's back before resuming the chase.
After close to an hour, Adam and Ennea finally managed to catch up to the panther again. However, this time, the youth didn't recklessly attack. Instead, he patiently waited for the opportune moment.
Adam stealthily followed after the beast for another hour. Finally, the latter had led him to a cave entrance, hidden by a curtain of ivy and moss.
"Is this where it resides?" The youth's eyes narrowed as he saw the beast limp inside the cave.
It seemed that the chase had dealt a great blow to the panther after being injured by Adam. However, the same could also be said about Ennea. She was panting heavily and it seemed that she would pass out any moment.
When Adam noticed this, his heart ached. Did I make a mistake coming here?
But the next moment, his eyes flashed with determination. He recalled the feeling of being on death's doorstep all because of that six-legged panther.
Recalling that desperate moment he was in earlier, his entire being was filled with anger.
He got off Ennea and then slowly walked toward the cave entrance with her. He glanced at the white fox and whispered into her ear, "Just a little more. We can finally rest after we've taken care of the beast."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Ennea nodded her head ever so slightly. Although she was greatly exhausted, she still wanted revenge just like Adam.
The air suddenly grew cooler as Adam and Ennea ventured deeper inside the cave, the walls closing in on them like the jaws of a giant. The cave was a labyrinth of tunnels, but thanks to the trail of blood left behind by the panther, the pair didn't take long.
Within a few minutes of entering the cave, they heard the soft whimpers of the panther ahead of them. It seemed that the beast was in deep pain.
Hearing this, Adam's bloodshot eyes narrowed and he hastened his footsteps.
Finally, he came upon a spacious chamber. Its ceiling had a large, gaping hole in it through which moonlight filtered in, illuminating everything underneath.
The Hexaclaw Panther weakly lay at the center of the chamber, licking its wounds.
When Adam saw this, his lips curled up into a wicked grin, "Found you!"
Without waiting a moment longer, he gathered mana in his hands, turned them into the shape of claws, and pounced at the injured panther.
However, when he got closer, his gaze fell on something else, causing him to abruptly stop in his footsteps.
A moment later, the mana around his hands dissipated.
His eyes flashed with hesitancy as he lowered his head.
Adam's fists clenched and unclenched several times. In the end, he helplessly muttered under his breath,
"…Damn it."
