Chapter 96: One Stroke!

The Violet Thunder Eagle stood proudly in the air. Although its aura fluctuated slightly due to unhealed wounds, Chen Qi could still see dense purple electricity surging across its body, emitting the imposing presence of a top-tier rank-five fierce beast.

Through the eagle’s domineering eyes, Chen Qi could sense its soaring fighting spirit. For the beast, this was not a routine hunt for food; it was a matter of life and death, and even the future of its entire kin.

Conversely, Chen Qi’s gaze was equally cold and stern. He had his own reasons for needing to take down this beast. It was simple: if a beast bullied him, how could he not retaliate?

Man and beast locked eyes, sparks seemingly flying between them.

In an instant, the Violet Thunder Eagle, holding the advantage of flight, made its move. With a spread of its wings, which spanned several meters, dozens of lightning feathers appeared in the air, raining down upon Chen Qi like falling dumplings.

Chen Qi chose not to meet them head-on. He dodged left and right on the large boulder, his long blade aimed steadily toward the eagle, his focus entirely on defense. As someone who could not fly, he had only one chance to wound the beast: the split second it engaged in close-quarters combat. Lacking effective long-range capabilities, his situation was truly dire.

Fortunately, the Violet Thunder Eagle was constrained by the eggs in its nest, preventing it from retreating. Otherwise, if it could strike and flee at will, this battle would be impossible to win.

The lightning feathers riddled the boulder with pits, but the eagle was not impatient. It circled in the air, its sharp eyes bulging as it scanned for any opportunity to strike.

As it passed over Chen Qi's head, the eagle repeated its tactic, once again raining down a barrage of lightning feathers, covering both Chen Qi's current position and the surrounding area.

Chen Qi’s body tensed, but he began to dash before the feathers could land, sprinting toward the edge of the boulder. Feeling the dense barrage of lightning striking behind him, he knew his gamble had paid off.

Thanks to his intense concentration, he caught a glimpse of the eagle’s signature wing-spreading maneuver out of the corner of his eye and responded decisively.

Seeing another wave of lightning feathers grounding the area, the eagle was not angered but delighted. Dragging a trail of purple electric afterimages, it dove preemptively toward the direction of Chen Qi's sprint. It did not fear Chen Qi running; it feared his small-scale dodges. Now that Chen Qi was in full stride and unable to easily shift his momentum, how could it pass up the chance to strike?

Feeling the rush of wind aimed directly at the back of his head while mid-run, Chen Qi did not gamble on his positioning. He instantly activated his skill: "Focus Burst."

His nerves twitched, and his heart pounded with the rhythm of an overload, thrusting him into a state of heightened neural reflexes. In those few tenths of a second, fueled by his overheating brain, he formulated a plan.

Chen Qi suddenly slammed his feet into the stone in a desperate halt, sparks flying from his soles as he forced himself to decelerate to evade the eagle’s dive.

The diving eagle revealed a look of deep mockery. Based on its countless battles, that "little hairless ape" below could never stop in time; the distance he could cover by skidding to a halt was merely a matter of a single claw-swipe.

"Does that little ape think I’m still slow because of my injuries? Little does it know I’ve already found the finest mountain herbs. Hmph! It is destined to pay the price."

Thinking this, the eagle did not hesitate. It fully extended its talons from beneath its wings, reaching toward its own tail, and maintained its downward dive, its entire body surging with electricity.

Amidst the crackling, a bolt of lightning coalesced upon its talons, extending several feet to form a claw of pure electricity, positioned perfectly to strike above Chen Qi’s head.

The eagle’s expression turned vicious. In its eyes, the damned little ape could not have anticipated this move. Its talons were about to be bathed in the blood of its prey. Waiting for the impending wail, the eagle already imagined itself tearing flesh from the ape’s chest. A scene to be envied by other eagles indeed.

Seeing his head about to collide with the lightning-forged claws, Chen Qi threw his head back desperately, trying to narrow the margin.

"Useless!" the eagle thought with disdain, enjoying Chen Qi’s expression, and gave its claws a flick.

With that flick, the electricity from its back feathers seemed to find its target, surging toward the claws in a flash. As the current poured in, the lightning claws, which were only a few feet long, suddenly grew in size and deepened in color, as if fed a potent tonic. It was clearly about to pierce through the neck Chen Qi had exposed by leaning back.

Though it wouldn't enjoy the crunch of crushing the ape’s skull, sliding its claws down the soft neck to gouge out the heart felt like a satisfying alternative. Sensing imminent victory—and that his missed lunch was finally secured—the eagle thought absently.

Suddenly, its eagle eyes caught a surge of dense blood-energy erupting from the human’s chest.

"What use is that little bit of blood-energy? A single lightning feather would annihilate it." The eagle continued its downward strike, a flicker of human-like confusion on its face.

Then, it saw that ball of blood-energy linger in the air for a moment before reflecting back onto the ape’s own chest.

"?????" The eagle’s shock intensified. Instinctively sensing danger, it tried to retract its strike, pulling its claws back with a violent contraction.

But Chen Qi would not grant it that chance!

A sensation like boiling water exploding against his chest knocked Chen Qi’s braking body off balance. Using that force, he sat backward, instantly collapsing onto the boulder.

He had utilized this minor blood-energy impact skill with such mastery, using it to micro-adjust his own position mid-combat!

The lightning talons, still following the trajectory toward where Chen Qi’s neck had been, struck empty air. Seeing his plan succeed, Chen Qi felt a surge of joy and controlled his right hand, which had been readying his long blade, to slash upward.

This strike was a standard, full-power blow; he did not attempt to enter that "mindless" state again. On one hand, he felt a spark of joy, and he instinctively realized that such sudden emotion would hinder his inner stillness. More importantly, he lacked confidence in maintaining that state; success would be great, with damage output soaring, but what if he failed?

In close-quarters combat, where a second could mean life or death, even a momentary lapse could lead to being easily killed by an equal opponent—let alone one as strong as the Violet Thunder Eagle.

Regardless, the strike was highly effective. The blade entered the eagle’s abdomen and sliced toward its wing. This, too, had been calculated; he needed to destroy the beast’s ability to fly. What if it decided to abandon its eggs and run?

Realizing the malice of the strike, the eagle panicked, knowing the damage to its wing was inevitable. Perhaps it was a stroke of genius, or perhaps it took inspiration from Chen Qi, but it suddenly triggered an explosion in its own lightning-forged claws.

The lightning claws instantly erupted into a burst of electricity, a powerful shockwave blasting from the center. The eagle used the force of its own explosion to push its body away from Chen Qi’s blade before it could reach the wing.

Even so, the strike added fresh wounds to its already injured body, and the smell of charred flesh rising from the wound promised further deterioration.

The long blade slid out, stained with eagle blood, emitting a vibrant, eerie red glow under the sunlight. The tip of the blade burned even brighter, exuding a murderous intent.

Chen Qi pulled back, his blade pointed diagonally at the ground, his expression guarded and alert. He knew clearly that while the injury was severe, it would not kill the beast. What kind of beast is the most terrifying? Naturally, one that is driven to a desperate, suicidal frenzy.

Sure enough, the Violet Thunder Eagle began to climb, ignoring the blood dripping from its abdomen, hovering with apparent difficulty. Just as Chen Qi stared at its flight path, the eagle’s talons glowed slightly, and the diamond-shaped lightning shadow reappeared.

"This is..." Chen Qi’s pupils constricted violently. A sense of fatal crisis descended.