"Haah~~!" Barre gathered all his strength and charged toward the monster.
The other three did the same—well, since they were basically just supporting characters, I'll just call them Jia, Yi, and Bing to save trouble with names, as the author's side note.
This world lacked fighting spirit, and spiritual energy was scarce to the point of death. Cultivators could only rely on strengthening their own cells and unlocking personal potential.
Because of the curse, most humans were capped at level eight, which meant that typical human potential hovered around level five—just enough to defend against bandits.
Without mana or elemental power, most humans had to rely on battle techniques or skill. Only magical beasts possessed elemental power, which was why humans still hadn't conquered the Magical Beast Mountains.
From Fang Chen's perspective, humans in this world were incredibly weak—at best capable of destroying a small mountain.
Among the ninth-levels, Barre was the best-equipped with weapons. He wielded a sword specially made for the Cloud Dragon Emperor nation, a weapon passed down through generations of great commanders—one of the world's few excellent weapons.
The others… well, their experience was passable at best.
So despite the monster's power, Barre raised his battle awareness to its peak.
With a flash of white light, the monster's right hand was slashed open, revealing a human arm beneath. Crimson blood quickly seeped out from the crack.
The human hand trembled briefly before being enveloped once again by the black substance.
Not much blood was lost, and the bleeding stopped quickly, causing a slight spark of hope to flicker in Barre's eyes.
"It's just a parasite-like monster! We have hope!" Barre's eyes gleamed briefly.
But the monster quickly reacted, punching Barre away with a single blow—his smile never had time to fade.
"Tsk!" Another charged forward, gritting his teeth, fists clad in gloves. He attacked swiftly, but the monster suddenly vanished, retreating a great distance in an instant.
"Cut!" The two behind who rushed up sneered. Such speed…
"Hey! Do you feel that? The monster's speed is the same as that guy's!" Barre's companion said, eyes fixed on the monster, mind racing.
That "guy" was naturally the ninth-level powerhouse who had been drained dry first. He had the fastest movement speed among ninth-levels—simply put, the fastest runner.
His attack power wasn't much to speak of though.
"Hey… it's like the monster absorbed that guy's specialty!" Barre suddenly realized.
His companion Jia had the best observation and strength among the four ninth-levels—a long-range archer.
Though his combat style was weak overall, he was an extremely accurate marksman even at distances over a thousand meters.
"Seems like that description is a bit off… but at least that's the only trait we've seen so far!" Yi, wearing the boxing gloves, frowned.
He was the world-renowned boxing champion among ninth-levels—master of fist combat.
"Stay alert!" Bing said grimly, adopting his stance.
He was the fastest attacker in terms of speed, though his attack power remained a weakness.
The four suddenly surged forward toward the monster.
"Haah!!" Barre raised his sword high and swung down with all his strength.
Having fought before, the monster—though not particularly intelligent—had learned to evade attacks.
It stepped aside, just out of his reach.
At that moment, Yi rushed forward with fists raised, prepared to strike.
His fists pounded relentlessly at the monster's head, but the monster suddenly lifted its head.
Its claws spread wide, black substance extending into sharp nails. Though they looked sharp, everyone present sensed they weren't yet at ninth-tier level.
This was actually somewhat good news.
The monster swung its claws wildly, colliding repeatedly with Yi's fists. The clashing sounds echoed as they simultaneously attacked and defended.
Yi's face darkened. Initially, he could break the monster's nails with his punches. But soon the monster switched from nails to palms.
His fists hitting the monster's palms had all his strength absorbed and nullified.
"Roar—!" Suddenly, as Yi and the monster clashed, the monster's shoulder was pierced by an arrow.
Jia, from behind, swiftly drew another arrow and nocked it on his bow.
A flaw appeared instantly, and Yi aimed carefully before smashing his fist against the monster's head.
With a tremendous force, the monster was knocked back, the black substance around its head scattering.
Beneath the dark matter, a human head was revealed. The first thing it did was take a deep breath, then it roared, "Run! This monster is not on the same level as a ninth-tier! Find the village chief of Floating Cloud Village! Hurry…"
Before finishing, the black substance recovered, rapidly spreading again.
The four exchanged looks, gritted their teeth, and quickly retreated.
If they didn't run now, would they wait to be picked off one by one once the monster recovered?
Although it seemed the four had the upper hand, Yi's fists were already swollen and aching to the bone.
If the monster reacted and fought back properly, they wouldn't stand a chance.
The four fled rapidly, realizing this monster looked like a beast but was actually quite dim-witted.
Its awareness was poor, though its speed was exceptional.
If they could just get out of its sight, it would lose track of them.
As the four left, the black matter slowly engulfed the monster's head, restoring its three-eyed monstrous form.
It scanned its surroundings, then let out an angry roar, unleashing a powerful gust of wind.
Like a duck that got away from the jaws of death, it unleashed an uncontrollable fury for the first time.
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