Chapter 31: Mortal Combat

"Roar!" The Blackwing Demon bellowed in pain and fury, raising its hand to strike. The Fire Mongoose, already alerted by Lu Kuan’s command, bit down hard and darted away just in time, narrowly evading the demon’s blow.

At that moment, a swift arrow shot forth from the darkness, striking the Blackwing Demon squarely in the neck. With a shriek of agony, two enormous damage numbers appeared above its head: "-27! -4!" The first number was the critical hit from the Shatterbone Arrowhead, the second the holy damage from the Sacred Oil.

Wracked by excruciating pain, the Blackwing Demon was driven into a frenzy. With a single hand, it drew a shadowy warhammer from its back and charged straight for Lu Kuan’s hiding place.

The Fire Mongoose, having just escaped, turned back with savage determination and bit the demon’s ankle, slowing it ever so slightly. Lu Kuan seized the opportunity, sprinting along the edge of the cavern as his hunting bow sang with a rapid string of "twangs," arrows flying in a relentless storm.

Lu Kuan held nothing back now, unleashing his full strength—each arrow followed the last almost without pause. In less than five seconds, six or seven arrows had already embedded themselves in the demon’s face and neck, a string of damage numbers cascading above its head in a spectacular display.

"Roar!" The Blackwing Demon howled in vexation, swatting the troublesome Fire Mongoose aside with a great paw. Then, opening its vast maw, it unleashed a jet of black light that screamed across the cavern.

Lu Kuan’s eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he rolled aside. The black light grazed his foot as it shot past, striking the stone wall and bursting into a splattering spray.

"System prompt: You have been hit by Shadow Spit, taking 27 points of damage!"

"You are affected by Shadow Surge: 3 points of shadow damage every 5 seconds, for 20 seconds!"

Even a glancing blow from the black light sent Lu Kuan’s health bar plummeting. His heart clenched in terror, and he scrambled several meters away, loosing another Shatterbone Arrow over his shoulder, straight into the demon’s gaping mouth.

"System prompt: Missed!"

"Damn it!" he cursed reflexively, seeing the demon charging at him with thunderous strides, warhammer raised, ready to crush his skull.

At that critical instant, the Fire Mongoose leapt once more, hurtling through the air to latch onto the demon’s face in a frenzy of claws and teeth. Lu Kuan swiftly circled to the other side.

Now truly enraged, the Blackwing Demon seized the Fire Mongoose and flung it against the stone wall with a heavy thud. After that, Lu Kuan heard nothing from his companion—no response to his commands.

Fortunately, there was no system prompt announcing the pet’s death. Lu Kuan steadied himself, bow drawn taut once again. The chase and battle continued for only a minute, but to Lu Kuan it felt an age.

Fighting in such cramped quarters was a dire disadvantage for a ranger, especially against a thick-skinned, close-combat brute. Gritting his teeth, Lu Kuan pushed his stamina to the limit, dashing and dodging, his energy bar draining rapidly.

The Blackwing Demon fared little better, bristling with arrows and driven to a murderous rage. Its eyes glowed blood-red, but despite its fury, it was always half a step slower than Lu Kuan, its blows missing by the narrowest margin.

"Roar!" In a fit of wrath, the demon let loose another deafening bellow. This time, thick, roiling black smoke poured from its body, quickly engulfing most of the cavern.

The black mist seemed to possess a corrosive effect. Torches caught within flickered wildly before going out without a sound, plunging the cavern into deeper gloom.

Lu Kuan eyed the smoke warily and immediately retreated to the other side. This, however, left him even less space to maneuver. Still, he remained calm, for after relentless luring and provocation, he had finally drawn the Blackwing Demon close to the vine trap.

With a sudden rip, a dozen vine-thick tendrils burst from the ground, ensnaring the demon’s legs and dragging it down. In the brief moment it struggled, Lu Kuan unleashed three more arrows.

"-30! -4!"
"Normal attack hit: -10! -4!"
"Aimed shot hit: -15! -4!"

The Blackwing Demon broke free in two seconds, but by then Lu Kuan had already darted to the far side, plunging into the swirling black mist.

He had no intention of courting death. From his pack he drew a pristine white scroll, unfurled it, and shouted, "Word of Sanctity!"

A dazzling white light burst forth. The impenetrable black fog was pierced instantly, dissipating like paper in a storm. Lu Kuan rolled nimbly to his feet, the darkness now swept away.

Such was the power of Word of Sanctity: not only a bane to demons and undead, but an innate counter to dark magic as well. If only the scroll’s cooldown weren’t so long, Lu Kuan would have gladly bought ten.

Seizing his respite, Lu Kuan downed a low-grade instant stamina potion and, with a subtle motion, set another vine trap.

The poor Blackwing Demon, unfamiliar with the creatures of this world, had no idea what Lu Kuan was up to. The holy radiance from the scroll filled it with rage, and with a furious roar, it charged again.

After only a few paces, it was caught once more by the trap, and another volley of arrows greeted it.

By now, only a single torch still flickered in the cave. Beyond three meters, Lu Kuan could see nothing but a vague, shadowy blur. Fortunately, his Listening skill was at level two, allowing him to roughly judge his enemy’s position by sound.

Thus began a desperate chase, Lu Kuan exhausting every trick in his arsenal, finally managing to drag out the fight to the third minute.

"Gasp... gasp..." he panted, bracing himself against the stone wall. His vision flashed red—a system warning that both stamina and health had fallen below critical. One more reckless move and he’d collapse into unconsciousness.

Though the demon had never landed a direct blow, its shadow magic was highly corrosive. The constant drip of damage was wearing Lu Kuan down.

Glancing back, he saw the hulking black shape sprawled two meters away—the Blackwing Demon. He couldn’t make out its features, but he could imagine it was bleeding profusely. If not for the system’s periodic cleanup of unretrieved arrows, it would have long since become a pincushion.

Yet the heavy, ragged breathing told him it still clung to life. The demon’s constitution far outstripped his own, and its recovery rate was in a different league altogether.

Lu Kuan slumped against the ground and checked his pack: two more spare stamina and health potions, but alas, both had at least twenty minutes left on their cooldowns.