[Divine Manifestation]
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a blinding light erupted in front of him. A translucent shield formed instantly, layers of divine runes flashing across its surface as it positioned itself between Zayen and the incoming attack.
Clang—!
Zayen was blasted backward by the force, smashing heavily into a tree.
Cracks spread rapidly across the divine barrier.
Before he could even catch his breath, the shield shattered into countless particles of light.
Struggling to stand, Zayen coughed up a mouthful of blood. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and lifted his head.
The Hellfang Lion stood not far away, its massive body radiating killing intent as its eyes locked onto him. A mocking expression appeared on its ferocious face.
The Hellfang Lion let out a long howl, a flash of light streaking through its misty eyes. Its powerful body tensed, then shot forward, almost transforming into a blur of lightning as it charged.
At that moment, the Hellfang Lion was moving so fast that if Zayen tried to track it with his eyes, his throat would be cut in the next second.
He could only rely on his instincts to dodge continuously and on [Divine Manifestation] to block part of the attacks. Even so, more than a dozen shallow and deep wounds soon appeared across his body.
ROAR!
At that moment, the Hellfang Lion let out a thunderous roar and charged straight toward Zayen.
Seeing this, Zayen immediately activated [Divine Manifestation], creating a golden shield between himself and the Hellfang Lion.
The Hellfang Lion's claws slammed violently into the golden barrier.
The shield lasted for only a few breaths before shattering under the overwhelming force.
As the one sustaining the barrier, Zayen felt his blood surge violently. He spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward.
While his body was still flying backward, Zayen reached for his waist.
The blood-red bandages loosened on their own as his hand closed around the hilt of Crimson Eclipse. In a single smooth motion, he drew the blade free.
The moment the sword left his waist, the blood-red bandages unraveled from the blade and lashed out, coiling violently around his body before wrapping tightly around his right arm, completely from wrist to shoulder.
Swish!"
Zayen swung the Crimson Eclipse forcefully toward the Hellfang Lion, and a red sword light immediately slashed toward it.
Seeing the red sword light coming, the Hellfang Lion quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Boom!
With an earth-shattering noise, a sword mark hundreds of meters long instantly appeared on the ground.
The Hellfang Lion was naturally furious. A mere Level 2 human dared to attack it.
Die, human!
In the next instant, the Hellfang Lion swung a claw toward Zayen.
It was very confident. As a Level 3 magic beast, although the strike looked casual, it had used more than fifty percent of its strength. No matter how strong the opponent was, his chest should be ripped open by this blow.
Clang!
Unexpectedly, Zayen was already prepared and used Crimson Eclipse to block the Hellfang Lion's claw.
He immediately dodged and retreated three steps backward.
At that moment, a bloody scratch appeared on the Hellfang Lion's palm.
Before the Hellfang Lion could continue its attack, it saw golden light gathering around the blade of Crimson Eclipse. In the next second, the dark red sword suddenly turned golden.
Even the blood-red bandages wrapped around Zayen's right arm changed to a golden color.
Then, with a thought, Crimson Eclipse shot out of his hand, charging forward at incredible speed toward the Hellfang Lion.
Under Zayen's control, the sword moved with extreme precision, aiming directly for the lion's eyes—a vital point.
But the Hellfang Lion was, after all, a Level 3 magic beast on the verge of reaching Level 4. Its strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Level 3, and even some Level 4 magic beasts would struggle to match it.
It immediately shifted to the side, dodging Zayen's strike with stunning agility.
But this strike was nothing more than Zayen's bait.
[Divine Manipulation]
Following Zayen's activation of the [ Divine Manipulation] skill, Crimson Eclipse instantly split into five golden swords, completely surrounding the Hellfang Lion.
Zayen pointed a finger, and instantly, all the golden swords surrounding the Hellfang Lion shot toward it.
"Roar!"
The Hellfang Lion was not flustered in the slightest. Its lion fur bristled as its massive claw fearlessly swiped toward the golden sword.
It completely disregarded the attack.
The human was only Level 2.
It had only been injured earlier because Zayen had launched a sudden sneak attack. How could it possibly be hurt by a mere Level 2 Human Race cultivator when it was exerting its full strength? Even a Level 3 would be useless.
But these thoughts were destined to become the Hellfang Lion's own delusions.
As the lion's claw clashed with the seemingly harmless sword—
In the next instant, the five golden swords of Crimson Eclipse tore through the Hellfang Lion's claw like a raging tornado.
Fresh blood burst forth, splashing onto the ground as it poured from the shattered flesh.
The intense pain instantly enraged the Hellfang Lion.
Damn Human Race!
He injured me twice with only Level 2 strength?!
Seeing the Hellfang Lion wounded, Zayen's eyes lit up.
"I wonder how many experience points I'll get from killing this lion…"
In an instant, the way Zayen looked at the Hellfang Lion changed—as if he were staring at a priceless treasure.
The Hellfang Lion, despite its fury, instinctively retreated two steps upon meeting Zayen's gaze.
Does this Level 2 human have some kind of strange fetish?
That thought only made the Hellfang Lion even angrier.
How dare this damn Human Race look at it like that!
"ROAR!"
After releasing an earth-shattering roar, a terrifying fluctuation of power erupted from the Hellfang Lion's body.
The next second, it charged forward without hesitation.
It no longer wanted to waste time with Zayen.
It wanted to tear him apart—
and shred his body completely.