"What now?" Miko asked in irritation as the fog encroached on them.
"I don't know, but be prepared and don't relax your guard," John responded as he took out his scythe, while Miko took out his sword.
Although neither of them said anything, they could both tell that the fog was anything but ordinary. The fog slowly approached them, and before long it had reached them. Both John and Miko had a look of surprise come across their face.
"My divine sense is restricted by the fog. It can normally reach a hundred yards, but right now its being restricted to just ten yards," Miko gravely commented. John nodded his head in agreement, as his divine sense was also restricted. With the limited visibility of the fog, alongside the restricted divine sense, they would both be essentially blind past a few yards.
"Stick close together, and don't move. This fog will eventually pass, and then we can continue on," John said as he came up with the best idea he could think of. If they were to walk around in this fog, they would be separated before long.
The two of them stood in place, senses pushed to their maximum as they waited for the fog to pass over. Nearly an hour passed by, and both were starting to think it was nothing but an unusual fog when all of a sudden, a claw swung through the thick fog, heading directly towards John.
Peng!
Scythe and claw collided, and John was knocked sideways into the murky swamp.
"John! Hold on…"
Peng!
John heard Miko call out before he too heard Miko meet an attack with his sword. With the disorienting fog, the sound of Miko faded farther and farther into the distance as the two of them became separated.
John's legs sank down into the water up to his knees, and he soon found another claw attack coming directly at him. Due to the small distance that John could see in front of him, each attack gave him only a moment to respond to before it reached him.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
John continued to parry attack after attack as a non stop barrage of claw's attacked him from deep within the fog. It seemed as if he was being attacked by many creatures at once, and John found himself pushed backwards further and further as he did all he could to withstand the barrage of attacks. Although the attacks were not incredibly powerful, the claws were incredibly sharp, and John knew that even his body would take damage if enough attacks were allowed to land on him.
The barrage continued for quite some time, and John became increasingly frustrated at his current predicament. He couldn't see exactly where his enemies were, and so counter attacks became difficult. Whenever he found an opening and dashed forward to meet his enemy, all he would find was fog. Clearly, the source of the claw attacks was skilled at staying hidden within the fog.
While thinking about a solution, a claw managed to slip by John's defenses and graze his shoulder.
Blood spurted out slightly as John saw the claw cut right through his skin. Although the wound wasn't all that deep, even a glancing blow like this one had managed to pierce his body. If it was any other cultivator, half their shoulder would have been removed by that attack.
'What do I do? I would be fine if I used my Supreme Battle Art, but I can't use my Supreme Battle Art unless I know it will end the fight, otherwise its just wasted blood essence reserves.'' John wracked his mind for solutions, until his eyes slightly brightened as a thought popped into his head.
'I have no idea if this will work, but it's worth a shot.'
While parrying the attacks, John exhaled all the air in his lungs before he breathed in as deep as his body would allow him. Air continued to pour into his lungs as a small torrent of air was forcefully sucked into his lungs. Due to his incredibly tough and powerful body, both externally and internally, John found that his lungs were able to withstand a much larger burden.
He had come up with this idea on the spot, but was unsure of if his lungs would be able to withstand the burden required. His doubts were soon cleared, and after breathing in for nearly ten seconds, John opened his mouth wide and screamed out at the top of his lungs.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
An incredibly loud shout echoed all throughout the swamp, and the pressure from the shout formed a small concussive wave that forcefully pushed back the surrounding fog. A large smile appeared on John's face as he saw that his idea had indeed been successful, before it quickly reverted into a serious frown.
The pushed back fog quickly revealed the source of the attacks, and John was surprised to find that it was just one creature instead of the many he had assumed. The creature was nearly fifteen feet tall on two hind legs, and had a body and head similar to a lizard. However, its body was decayed to the point of it looking like a dead corpse, and ten long arms with sharp claws protruded out of its back. A thick aura of death permeated from the creature.
'A half-step Qi Condensation beast!'