A few minutes ago Hao Xuan was more than 400 meters away engaged in combat with a crimson beast that had appeared out of nowhere.

The first time Hao Xuan saw it he thought it was a figure of his imagination but he could not have been more wrong. ​​

Physically, it was a little similar to the ones he had seen in the flashbacks of one of the other timelines but still very much different. Where those creatures resembled four-legged feral beasts that were more beast than human, this one looked and fought as a man would.

Its entire body was encased in chitin-like plates of armor tied together with ropes of muscles snaking over each other. Its revolting fleshy exterior was bright red even under the few rays of light that were present.

The left and right side of its body was clearly segmented into two right down the middle, dividing its entire abdomen cleanly in half. Both its upper limbs ended in sharp hook-like weapons that were attached directly to the arms with the bands of muscular tissues.

Its face held the image of a humanoid stone mask with indistinguishable burning orbs of light in place of eyes. Both of its lower limbs ended in didactyl feet (two-toes like an ostrich) with muscles that looked like sprouting flowers along the base of each of the joints. (Reference Image in Authors notes and discord)

It looked both naked and fully armored at the same time, or both alive and dead depending on how closely one examined its body.

Utilizing the complete range of movements mentioned in the Imperial Glaive Doctrine Hao Xuan managed to fend off the seemingly neverending barrage of attacks from the creature.

They seemed to be evenly matched both in terms of power and speed as they continuously traded blow after blow without any regard for either of their well-being. Every time either of them found an opening to strike the other party would counter and the cycle would resume.

This lasted for close to six minutes, which to Hao Xuan felt like an eternity. He continuously pushed himself to his limits, even going as far as using 'Assualt of the Mad God' which turned his upper body into the color of charcoal and then 'Infernal Rapture' to further boost his attack power.

It came to a point when both of them were moving faster than the speed of sound. None of the other beasts could follow their movements, not even the Orc Warders. So all they could do was sit and watch from the sidelines as they flew back and forth.

Six whole minutes of blood pumping, high-octane, adrenaline-fueled extremely close-range combat that spewed blood and flesh everywhere, mostly of others beasts.

By the end flakes of blackened skin were flying off Hao Xuan's body during the smallest movements. He had exhausted most of the Chaos Qi reserves but still not even managed to land a fatal blow.

Although at this point he didn't know if that was even a possibility with this creature. Having been so up close and personal for so long he was able to tell there was no light behind those eyes. Its movements were hollow and reactionary, like a program.

It was equivalent to fighting a puppet that would not get tired, that would not slip up or make mistakes in the heat of the moment. Every time Hao Xuan increased his speed and boosted his strength it would grow stronger to match it.

It was just a little bit stronger than him, a tad bit faster. Not enough to overwhelm him but enough to keep him on his toes.

And just as Hao Xuan was trying to come up with a new plan he felt something change inside of him. It felt like someone had plucked at his left heart and tried to pull it out of his chest.

It was only a momentary sensation that quickly faded away but not without leaving an emptiness in its place. He suddenly became anxious as if he had lost something extremely important and then it dawned on him.

'Princess Ceni!'

He couldn't 'feel' her existence anymore.

Hao Xuan jerked around to look in the direction he had last sensed her before remembering the crimson beast that was standing a few meters away. But when he looked back the beast was already gone.

That was the perfect time to attack but it took that opportunity to take its leave. That was certainly an unexpected development but an unwelcome one.

He waved his hand as a small white silhouette appeared in front of him. The Formarchian Prince looked up at him with its black eyes. Hao Xuan pointed in the direction Ceni had been.

"Find the people that are there. Do not attack them but don't let them leave either."

*bzz*

The moment he finished giving the orders the Prince vanished along with a barely audible buzzing sound. He did not teleport but moved at such extreme speed that even Hao Xuan had no way of following it.

***

Authors Notes:

All images are posted in the Official Discord.

Link: https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQ

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Reference Image Link (1): https://i.pinimg.com/564x/e2/10/de/e210de09e92d2040897af6a13908a75f.jpg

Shortened Image Link (case sensitive) : https://urlzs.com/p6Bae

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