Draconic King of Shadows-Chapter 63: First One Down

"I never saw the info of the Green Rose Poison Heart, but this Rhino should be just as strong as it was," Damion deduced quickly after witnessing the strength of the Rhino and seeing its Rank.

The charging beast’s horns lit up with a blazing crimson light, and it bulldozed its way towards Damion. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

’My sword isn’t sharp enough to tear through its skin.’ Damion thought as he pushed off his feet, dismissing the sword and clenching his fists. ’I should test these hand wraps. A hundred percent increase to all fist attacks isn’t something small.’

The Rhino reached him faster than he expected, and as he got closer, he could feel a shocking heat coming from it.

He leaped high and landed on its snout, pushing forward again as it whipped its head forward and caused an explosion of the same red light coming from its horns.

Damion felt his back burning, and his speed was accelerated, causing him to overshoot and land far behind the Rhino as opposed to its back where he intended on landing.

He swiftly turned around to charge back, but from nowhere, another Rhino came crashing through the bushes, small trees and several intertwined lianas towards his direction.

Damion in a moment of surprise was forced to look away, and he failed to notice the Rhino he was fighting coming at him again.

Luckily, the heat its horns radiated alerted him of impending danger, and Shadow Walk took him away.

His gaze flashed with surprise again when he found Matilda saddling the Rhino that charged his way and clawing at its back continuously. It took time, but she eventually broke through its tough hide and drew blue blood.

A loud roar shook the jungle, and the Rhino came to a stop, using the same move Damion’s Rhino used to throw her off.

Matilda landed on her feet unlike Damion, and she went low immediately, digging her claws into the ground and pushing forward.

She blasted ahead, throwing dirt and soil behind as she accelerated with a burst.

Her movements were beast-like, and the glow in her eyes was almost frenzied. She seemed to have lost all sense of reasoning, but retained a deadly and unpredictable feel to herself which boosted her prowess considerably.

Her poisonous Aura forced its way into the Rhino’s wound, and it began to slowly fester. The Rhino, however, activated its special power, and its horns also lit up with a red light, a strong heat beginning to come from it.

The scales on Matilda’s body grew some more, and her speed increased by a few percent.

She leaped forward, tearing a gash in the space between the Rhino’s flap and latching onto its head. Her claws dug into its eyes a second later, but an explosion blew her away.

Another wail followed this injury, and the glow from the Rhino’s horn spread, covering its head fully and a part of its neck.

It bellowed loudly and charged at her again, its speed greater than before.

Matilda sat on the ground, heaving as the burnt mark on her chest and arms slowly healed.

She stared at the charging Rhino, unbothered by its menacing look, and when it was only a few meters from her, she fell through the shadows, smiling at the beast as she disappeared.

Damion’s Rhino was in the same situation too, looking around for its opponent.

Suddenly, Damion reappeared from the Shadow of a wide leaf above, and he fell swiftly, his arm cocked back for a punch.

Blessing of Strength.

His fist smashed the Rhino’s spine, a dull metallic echo following immediately after.

The beast barely had the time to cry out in pain before Matilda came from the side and tore into its eye with her claws.

Damion jumped, accelerating high into the air before falling back down, gaining speed with each second.

Matilda distracted the beast while he fell, making sure it wasn’t able to move too far and let Damion miss.

In a stroke of luck, the Rhino came back to that same spot it had received Damion’s punch, only for another to land on its spine again, sending another wave of pain through its body.

Its limbs buckled, but it didn’t fall.

It roared, frantically pushing around at the duo and gaining some breathing space for a moment.

The Rhino’s desperate attempt to free itself from the clutches of Damion and Matilda only left it open to more attacks.

Damion seized the opportunity to land another punch on the Rhino’s side, but being the first time he hit that spot, it wasn’t as painful, though it was effective.

Just then, the Rhino Matilda fought earlier came barrelling towards them, its glowing red head failing to burn the forest as it passed.

The duo swiftly retreated out of the way.

Matilda took a swipe at the air as she jumped back, and two green crescents of poison energy followed her hand motions, shooting out and hitting the other eyes of the already injured Rhinos.

Now they were both blind and poisoned.

The first Rhino tripped over and fell heavily, causing the earth to rumble. The other was lucky enough not to fall over its brethren, but smashed through a tree instead and continued running.

’Deal with this one, I’ll go after the other,’ Damion spoke to Matilda through their mental link.

He left straight away, jumping from tree to tree as he chased down the Rhino.

In its blindness, it had no idea where it was going, but for some reason it kept running, letting out a bizarre sound as it moved.

Damion didn’t outright attack but waited, waiting for the Rhino to crash into something.

He found his chance not long after and dashed ahead, stopping by the beast’s belly region and beginning to rain down punches like a living machine gun.

Damion winced as he felt his knuckles fracture, and the recoil made him lower his power output after a while. His punches were twice as powerful with the Transcendent Rank hand wraps, but his constitution wasn’t.

He couldn’t go over his bodily limits for long lest he risked breaking himself.

He lowered his power output, but kept at his attack. And slowly, but surely, the Rhino’s breathing slowed to a puff every few seconds, before it ceased completely.

"First one down," Damion voiced out.