Hei Yingjie had barely scraped by and dodged the attack, but still endured a scratch from the beast's claws. Another wound opened on his arm and he had moved even more far from his saber. The Alpha steel back wolf got ready and braced for another attack.
Lin Mu was getting more and more desperate by the second. Even while using the skill blink, he was still too far. He had already used Blink five times in a row, but the speed of the alpha steel back wolf was too high.
Lin Mu feared that he would not be able to reach Hei Yingjie in time. Quickly thinking, he let ideas flow through his mind as he finally decided on one. He kept on using Blink to teleport forward and when he was within twenty meters of the alpha steel back wolf, he threw his short sword forward.
~Swoosh~
The short sword shot forward and soared through the air. In the blink of an eye, it was already near the Alpha steel back wolf. But just as it was about to hit it, the beast reacted with a monstrous agility and tilted to dodge the short sword.
The short sword overshot and missed the alpha steel back wolf by mere inches.
"NOOOOO!!!" Lin Mu yelled as his eyes turned bloodshot.
The beast turned around and refocused its attention on its prey that was Hei Yingjie. By now, Hei Yingjie had become too injured to be able to move with his previous speed and could not react fast enough. He closed his eyes in acceptance as his body became stiff.
Lin Mu's shout was still echoing as he dreaded what was about to come. His emotions were a mixture of anger, frustration, guilt, and regret. He kept on watching as the Alpha steel back wolf was about to end the life of Hei Yingjie.
But just as he was about to give up, a miracle happened.
The short sword that had missed and had gone ahead, suddenly turned around. It was as if it had suddenly come alive and was now flying back. Everything happened in an instant and could not be explained in a short time.
Just as the beast's fangs arrived at Hei Yingjie's neck, it stopped moving.
Hei Yingjie opened his eyes once he sensed that his impending doom had somehow not arrived yet. He was expecting pain and suffering, but somehow it had stopped midway. His eyes opened to a sword tip being pointed at him.
Hei Yingjie's eyes went wide as he flinched backwards. Only after moving a few inches to the back did he see what had happened. A short sword had pierced the head of the Alpha steel back wolf and come out of its mouth.
It was this very short sword's tip that was pointed at him when he had opened his eyes.
"Wha-What? What happened? How?" Hei Yingjie questioned as he felt incredibly confused.
He had actually seen the short sword miss its target that was the alpha wolf, so he wondered how was it stuck in its skull now.
Lin Mu was standing in his place as if he was dumbstruck. He had clearly seen what had happened a few seconds ago.
The short sword that had missed its target and was flying ahead, somehow turned back and pierced the head of the Alpha steel back wolf. Somehow the short sword had sensed the desperation within his heart and had responded.
A strange new connection was formed between them, and the sword responded to his thoughts. At that moment, Lin Mu wanted nothing more than to kill the Alpha steel back wolf. Thus that was exactly what the short sword had done.
It had fulfilled his most intense desire.
A few more seconds passed as Lin Mu contemplated. Suddenly an intense wave of exhaustion washed over him as felt his strength leave him.
"Wha… What's… happening… to me?" Lin Mu muttered between breaths.
Lin Mu could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the ground.
"You unconsciously used spirit control on your short sword. Your spirit qi has been exhausted greatly due to it and that's why you are feeling such a great fatigue." Xukong suddenly spoke in Lin Mu's mind.
"Spirit control?" Lin Mu questioned in his mind as he laid down on the ground helplessly.
"Remember what I told you about controlling and using spirit swords. Normally you would have refined your spirit sense to an extensive range and would have then used that to control a spirit sword. A spirit sword that's controlled in this manner can be used to attack or to fly."
"But what you have done is much different than that. Since you don't have a spirit sense that's long enough, the short sword instead used its own ability to establish a connection forcibly. This resulted in it draining most of your spirit qi." Xukong explained
Lin Mu was finally able to understand a part of what had happened. He would have been able to completely understand it, but his fatigue was making it difficult for him to think clearly. The exhaustion was forcing him to close his eyes, which he was barely able to resist.
With great difficulty, Lin Mu propped himself with his hands and turned around to look at Hei Yingjie. The man was safe for now, but his injuries had worsened. Whatever pill and techniques that he was using to restrain his injuries were no longer having any effect.
Some of the members of the Hei corps were now approaching Hei Yingjie to check up on him, while the rest were rushing towards the collapsed Lin Mu.
"Seniors!" They shouted.
Two of them pulled away Hei Yingjie from the Alpha steel back wolf, while two others checked on the beast. Once they ensured that it was dead, they let out breaths of relief.
"The beast is dead!" They shouted with elation.
The others then too shouted with joy after hearing their words.
"YEAH! They did it!"
The men that had approached Lin Mu took out a small glass bottle. They then opened its cap and took out a pill from it. The pill was white and looked very plain.