As the giant ape and the Second Order white tiger looked at each other with eyes brimming with fatigue but with no intention of backing down, waiting for the opportunity for the other to let its guard down a bit to launch a fatal attack, the two beasts sensed someone whose Soul Power was considerably weaker than both of them.
The problem was that while both beasts were stronger, that was under normal conditions.
The Second Order white tiger had half of its body scorched and almost all of its beautiful white fur had been turned to ashes while burns of a terrifying degree plagued its body.
On the other hand, the Second Order giant ape was not much better off than the white tiger. The beast was covered in blood from head to toe and its terrifying natural regeneration ability did not seem to be working as before since its wounds only continued to bleed steadily while flesh frozen into white ice cubes could be seen beyond.
Both beasts seemed to have control over completely opposite elements so they were both strong and weak against each other.
The mutated spider emerged from beyond the darkness and stood as it stared with its wide bulging eyes at the two wounded beasts. Its horrifying mouth was slightly open so that sticky saliva was constantly dripping onto the ground.
The giant ape and the white tiger immediately became alert and jumped back. Together with the spider, the three beasts formed a triangle as they looked at each other with murderous intent.
Behind, a few hundred meters away, that small patch of land was still perfectly protected. Whatever was there, it was obvious that it was responsible for the appearance of these three Second Order beasts.
"S- Spider...."
Seeing the giant body with countless fine hairs standing upright, looking at those glowing eyes that seemed to reflect countless times the same image, and seeing those long sharp fangs with dripping green drool, Shangguan Bing Xue immediately turned pale as a sheet.
Bai Zemin's face changed noticeably and only now did he remember what happened some time ago in the mutated forest when the army of mutant spiders appeared.
The problem was that unlike back then where he could have paved a bloody path by himself, the current situation was completely different!
Bai Zemin might have the ability to take on 100,000 Unclassified enemies, but he definitely did not arrogantly believe that he had the ability to take on 3 Second Order beasts by himself!
"You can't faint!" He hurriedly grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her to look him in the face.
Shangguan Bing Xue jumped in fright at the sudden swing and unconsciously tried to break free, however, her Strength was much lower than Bai Zemin's so her initial efforts were to no avail. After realizing who the person who was grabbing her was and seeing the serious face of the young man a short distance away from hers, she finally stood still even though her face was deathly pale.
"Wu Yijun told me what happened to you when you were younger. Besides, I hate spiders too." Bai Zemin looked deeply at her and said with a serious expression, "However, you can't faint here. Do you hear me? If any other Second Order beast appears or my attack fails, then it will be difficult for me to protect myself let alone protect you fainted."
Shangguan Bing Xue shook her head and said with lingering fear, "I.... I'm sorry... I really can't do anything about spiders."
Bai Zemin frowned tightly. The fact that a spider appeared out of all possible creatures was something he definitely did not expect.
After thinking about it for a moment, he calmly said, "You... You ride on my back and wait."
Shangguan Bing Xue did not hesitate and gladly accepted his offer. Since it was not the first time she had ridden on his back, nor were there few times the two of them had been forced to have physical contact, she had no rejection towards him. Less so now that she was aware that he didn't see her in any lustful way at all, far from it.
"What are you going to do?" She asked after settling onto his wide back.
Even though it wasn't too comfortable due to his huge sword being in the way, she somehow felt much safer now and her fear unconsciously receded enough to allow her to speak naturally.
"Since things are like this, I have no choice but to make some changes to my initial plan:" Bai Zemin looked down at the battlefield and noticed that the spider seemed impatient and about to make its move.
"Sorry..." Shangguan Bing Xue sighed.
In the end, she became a burden to him again... She seemed to keep embarrassing herself.
"Everything's fine." Bai Zemin shook his head. "I'll kill that spider first. That'll make you feel better and be able to fight, but you'll have to help me hold that tiger back for a few seconds. Do you think you can do it?"
Hold back an Agility-type Second Order beast? Shangguan Bing Xue wanted to say that such a thing was impossible for the current her.
However, since the situation they were in was mainly because of her, she gritted her teeth and said resolutely, "Even if I can't I will definitely do it."
Bai Zemin was satisfied with her answer and nodded, "Good answer. Besides, you probably won't have to worry too much about the tiger's speed by the time my attack falls."
"You mean..." Shangguan Bing Xue suddenly thought of something but before she could ask more, Bai Zemin dashed into the distance.
He unhesitatingly activated his Second Order Lightning Movement skill to receive a boost of 70 Agility points and then used the second activation of the skill to create 3 clones that possessed 10% of his overall power.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The three clones set off in different directions under the direct command of the main body and charged towards the outer perimeter of the forest. Although their movement speed was incomparable to the real Bai Zemin, they were still fast enough to reach the outer perimeter in a short time.
Bai Zemin himself rushed at a much higher speed than his clones, disappearing in a few blinks of an eye. Appearing and disappearing in the middle of the dark forest amidst the dense forage. With his movement speed pushed to the maximum possible he could cover a kilometer in roughly 5 seconds; the problem was that he could only sustain this movement speed for a couple of minutes before falling down unconscious due to the explosively fast loss of Stamina.
After reaching the outer perimeter of the forest, Bai Zemin began to slaughter all the beasts he encountered regardless of their levels. His passive skill originating from his unique class Blood Berserker, Blood Will, began to slowly but surely charge up.
After charging the skill to 20%, Bai Zemin timed that the first activation of Lightning Movement would soon run out so he would have to spend 40 Stamina points again if he wanted to activate the skill a second time.
Sweating uncontrollably, he dashed back into the depths of the forest. On the way, he crossed paths with his clones, who were close to reaching the outer perimeter.
Shangguan Bing Xue noticed that Bai Zemin's breathing was extremely labored and his black hair was beginning to stick to the sides of his face due to the accumulated sweat. She did not take long to realize that this was the result of excessive Stamina loss in a short time.
"Little brother Zemin, calm down and think with a cool head. Don't let the panic get the better of you or it's all over." Lilith's soft, soothing voice rang in his head.
Bai Zemin blinked in confusion without pausing, when Lilith's voice sounded in his mind again, "You could have summoned the clones when you reached the outer perimeter of the forest."
Bai Zemin's pupils shivered when he heard this.
The second activation of Lightning Movement consumed 1 Stamina point per clone every second. In short, Bai Zemin not only lost 40 Stamina points to gain 70 Agility points but he had also lost at least 200 Stamina points so far since the consumption of 3 clones was equivalent to 3 Stamina points per second.
However, Lilith was right. This happened because Bai Zemin was too nervous and could not think things through clearly, leading him to act imprudently.
Regardless of how powerful he was, regardless of how many survivors revered or hated him, and regardless of how smart and calculating he might be; at the end of the day, Bai Zemin was just a 20-year-old young man.
With all the burdens he carried on his shoulders coupled with the enormous pressure of having to face three Second Order beasts, it was simply impossible to ask him to act as if nothing was going on. After all, Bai Zemin was a flesh and blood human being as well.
Fortunately, Lilith helped him realize that he was actually not as calm and composed as he appeared to be. Otherwise, the consequences could have been very heavy when the time came to fight the Second Order beasts.
Bai Zemin took a deep breath and the look in his eyes became sharp as the blood flow inside his body slowly began to become stable.
Bang!
He said nothing and increased the speed at which he advanced even more, becoming a flash of blue light that flickered in the middle of the darkness.
Floating high in the sky, Lilith's gaze seemed to be able to go beyond the treetops. As she watched the young man in black armor and the young woman in blue armor on his back, a smile formed on her red lips and she murmured, "That's why taking care of kids is such a headache."
She didn't seem too disturbed no matter how one looked at her.
* * *
When Bai Zemin finally reached the vicinity where the three Second Order beasts were, he felt earth-shaking explosions and roars along with terrifying shrieks that sent shivers down his spine.
"They are already fighting." Shangguan Bing Xue muttered.
"It will soon be our turn. Get ready yourself too." Bai Zemin jumped up and activated Gravity Manipulation in reverse, soaring hundreds of meters and gently landing on the treetop they were on before.
Shangguan Bing Xue said nothing and nodded silently. She closed her eyes and began to adjust her state. Regardless of whether Bai Zemin could kill the Second Order spider fast or not, she knew that she had to fight no matter what; and that was what she was going to do even if she had to face one of her greatest fears.
Bai Zemin took out a bottle of blood he had in the leather pouch tied to his waist and casually tossed it into the air. He then activated Second Order Blood Manipulation and the blood belonging to a First Order Blazing Beetle glowed as if it were a precious gem.
The blood floated in the air and twisted constantly. As if countless hands were pulling at them, the blood turned into thousands of thin threads that soon began to merge together, spinning in mid-air and slowly taking a new shape.
Bai Zemin had his eyes closed and as the lightning from the clouds illuminated his face a slight frown could be seen. He didn't seem to be aware that the rain was getting heavier and heavier or he simply couldn't be bothered to get soaked at the moment.
In his mind, he tried to picture the whole forging process; every detail, every tool, every material needed. Little by little, he as a blacksmith, his skill Blood Manipulation as a hammer, and blood as a material, merged to slowly give shape to what appeared to be a huge three-meter-long trident.
Meanwhile...
[Blood Will: 28%/50%]
...
[Blood Will: 30%/50%]
...
[Blood Will: 35%/50%]
...
His three clones finally began to do their job.
* * * * * * *
Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3