"You son of a bitch!"
Looking at Wang Long, who was frozen in place, Chu Xiu almost wanted to rush over and strangle the coward.
Usually, he acts all tough bullying the weak, but when it really matters, he turns cowardly?
But there's no time to complain, Chu Xiu's mouth is full of sweetness, he just managed to prop himself up with his hand, can't even manage to shout more before the sharp claws of the monster, like a ghoul, came down!
"Crack!"
The sharp nails scratched across Chu Xiu's shoulder armor, and the hard bone instantly filled with cracks, making Chu Xiu feel a pain like bone fracture in his left shoulder! Almost forcing him to kneel to the ground again!
Luckily, he had absorbed the corpse in advance, upgrading the Bone Armor by one level as a precaution. If it were strengthened to +2, this grab might have shattered the entire shoulder armor!
With a flash of ferocity in his eyes, Chu Xiu held back the pain in his left shoulder, shouted loudly, and with all his effort, thrust forward with his right hand, finally forcing the monster to retreat a few steps.
Chu Xiu then grasped the Bone Spear with both hands, stepped back with his legs, and with all his might, pushed the spear forward!
Even though the monster held it with just one hand, preventing the spear from penetrating further to cause damage, under Chu Xiu's strength, the spear turned into a stick pushing the monster back.
The monster staggered a few steps back, soon extended a rear leg to steady itself easily, while Chu Xiu felt like he was pushing a thousand-pound boulder, unable to move an inch no matter how hard he tried.
"Wang Long, move, or we're all going to die here!" Chu Xiu shouted.
His shout finally snapped Wang Long out of his daze.
The monster's attention was entirely on Chu Xiu; Wang Long's corner was still in the blind spot—an ideal position for a sneak attack!
He mustered up courage, trembling as he stepped forward, but as he took just one step, before even raising his metal bat, the monster seemed to sense something, suddenly turning its head, its scarlet eyes fixed on him!
"Ah!"
Wang Long's face turned pale instantly, instinctively taking a step back, but the monster did not intend to let him go!
With its right hand now gripping the Bone Spear firmly, no matter how Chu Xiu exerted all his strength—his face flushed red—the spear was slowly being pulled out from the wound!
Black, oil-like blood flowed from the wound of the monster, but it seemed utterly unaware, its eyes locked on Wang Long.
Under the monster's gaze, Wang Long was so frightened that he dared not move, just watching blankly as the monster completely withdrew the Bone Spear, missing the best chance to attack while the monster and Chu Xiu were in a stand-off!
As the monster fully withdrew the Bone Spear, it immediately abandoned Chu Xiu, roaring and clawing at Wang Long!
"Ah!!!"
At the moment when his life hung by a thread, Wang Long finally reacted, his legs pushed off, his entire body shot out like an arrow, jumping seven or eight meters, crashing against the load-bearing wall in front of the bedroom.
"Bang!"
Wang Long screamed miserably, painfully hitting the ground.
Seeing this scene, Chu Xiu almost wanted to vomit blood; this bastard wasted the precious opportunity of a threefold power burst on escaping!
"Useless!"
Chu Xiu muttered a curse.
But Wang Long wasn't completely useless; at least he bought Chu Xiu some breathing space.
Moreover...
Chu Xiu glanced at the monster's abdominal wound, where the black blood still flowed incessantly, showing no sign of stopping; the wound even continued to tear.
Trait [Bleeding].
Taking a deep breath, Chu Xiu adjusted his stance, calmly staring at the monster not far away.
Wang Long was out of the question now, but it didn't matter. He had never entrusted his safety to others, anyway.
In fact, he was already prepared to single-handedly face the monster, which is why he agreed to the plan. Wang Long was just additional insurance.
Although the battle caught him somewhat off guard, the monster's tough body and brute strength were within his expectations.
"Don't come over!"
Chu Xiu stopped Yun Lu, who after much hesitation was still planning to help.
"This is a solo fight."
His right hand tightly griped the Bone Spear, its tip aimed at the black-furred monster, while his left hand dropped to perform a mysterious Technique, and energy gathered in his palm, forming a gradually solidifying vortex.
The monster across seemed to realize that Chu Xiu was tough to deal with, refraining from rash actions, emitting a "hiss" while slowly moving, looking for a chance to attack.
Both intensely focused on each other, suddenly, Chu Xiu's eyelids moved quickly, and this 0.1-second lapse was keenly captured by the black-furred monster, which suddenly kicked off and lunged at Chu Xiu!
However, this flaw was intentionally left by him; a Spirit exceeding 3.0 endowed him with reaction speed far beyond ordinary people, swiftly adjusting the Bone Spear's direction towards the monster!
The sharp spear tip pressed against the monster's abdomen, forcing it to halt its assault; meanwhile, his hidden left hand quickly thrust forward!
In an instant, a transparent, slightly gray air blade took shape at an incredibly fast speed and shot out instantly!
[Yin Wind Blade!]
"Screech!"
The Bone Spear successfully blocked the monster, with its side-swiped claw just barely grazing Chu Xiu's chest armor, leaving five deep scratches, while the nearly half-meter Wind Blade hit the monster's chest!
"Slash!"
The monster's rough black fur on its chest was entirely severed, leaving a deep wound visible to the bone, with a torrent of ink-like blood spurting out!
Simultaneously, the immense impact caused it to stagger backward, Chu Xiu took the opportunity to step forward, plant his feet and twisted waist, holding the spear with both hands, and stabbed it with all his might at its throat!
"Splash!"
The sharp Bone Spear pierced the monster's fragile throat, stabbing through its neck completely, and a mass of blood splattered out!
It stared with eyes of scarlet, emitting threatening sounds while swinging its long arms trying to hit Chu Xiu, but always remained ten centimeters away from him.
A good half-minute passed before the brilliance in the monster's eyes gradually faded, its arms drooping powerlessly.
[Slaughtered creature, Professional Experience +115]
[Current Experience: 128/200]
With the notification sound in his head, the monster collapsed heavily to the ground.
As the monster fell, Chu Xiu let out a long breath, his tense nerves finally relaxed.
He stepped back, leaning half against the wall, feeling his arms numb and his mind slightly dizzy.
This was the slight aftereffect of high tension concentration.
Actually, this battle, both thrilling and not thrilling.
Thrilling, indicating Wang Long's failure to act and Chu Xiu's performance not being as good as he imagined, surprises were rife.
Not thrilling, indicating his armor on his body remained mostly intact, although seeming periled, actually allowing space for errors, even if the ghoul doubled its life force, he was confident of winning.
Although it was his first battle in the Abyss, it left Chu Xiu deeply impressed, teaching him much experience and lessons.
The foremost lesson, naturally—
Never trust that a bully will suddenly transform into a competent Warrior, no matter how fierce they portray themselves.
"Chu Xiu! Are you alright?"
Yun Lu's voice interrupted his thoughts, Chu Xiu glanced up to see a worried little face.
"I'm alright." Chu Xiu managed to muster a smile.
Yun Lu, sobbing replied, "I, I almost thought, thought you, we, were all doomed..."
As she spoke, her nose twitched, eyes starting to turn red as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
Chu Xiu was slightly stunned, after a moment's silence, he briefly responded, "It's okay."
Yet, somehow those mere words genuinely seemed to soothe, prompting Yun Lu's mood to ease immediately, she smiled through tears, nodded heavily: "Yeah!"
She suddenly noticed something, pointing to the center of the living room: "Chu Xiu, look quickly!"
Chu Xiu turned, seeing rising light clusters from the monster's corpse.
Reaching out his hand, he grabbed them.
[Item Acquired: Cause and Effect Points*23]
[Equipment Acquired: Type 004 Corpse Demon Necklace]