Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 194: Tests

The hole in the ceiling wasn’t good enough as a shooting spot to hunt the level two magical beast from a secure location. The creature could escape out of sight or run into one of the passages the river had carved.

Liam also couldn’t allow the magical beast to regroup with its pack. The hit on the neck had been for that exact reason. Liam wanted to prevent the creature from calling for help.

Of course, killing the magical beast in one blow would have met those conditions. Even Liam’s deadly poison could have provided a stark advantage. The problem was that he didn’t know what that creature could endure.

After all, despite powerful, deadly tools, Liam still employed a foundation expert’s Qi. The magical beast would innately resist it out of virtue of its superior level.

That superiority also applied to Liam’s poisoned arrows and needles. He wasn’t sure whether they would pierce the coyote’s hide or snap before they could attempt to spread their deadly properties.

Moreover, what Liam wanted to test weren’t his hunting skills. His recent improvements had mainly involved his unarmed abilities, and he needed to see how close that put him to the superior stage.

So, after firing the arrow, Liam stored the Black Bow and jumped down, landing heavily on the muddy floor before shooting at the still-lingering mist of fur and gore.

The fall took longer than the charge. Liam employed an even greater speed than what Melissa had experienced, while his abundant Qi flowed toward his hands.

Nevertheless, Liam’s worries turned out to be solid.

As soon as Liam reached the still-dispersing mist, something jumped through it, impossibly fast, its mouth already open and aiming for his neck.

Liam’s brain worked overtime. He spotted the missing, bleeding chunk of the coyote’s neck. That injury was severe. It would have even been deadly for a level one magical beast, but superior creatures had endurance that could only be described as unnatural.

Still, Liam focused on something else. He was now fast enough to dodge, even slipping past the coyote’s claws, but that would make him lose the initiative the Black Bow had created.

Liam had something that could prevent that, but scenes from his battle against Cecilia flashed in his brain. He had already matched something superior to a mere charge, and his current speed could increase its power.

So, Liam forcefully stopped while pouring all his momentum into his thrusting palm. He delivered the best Seismic Palm he was capable of, striking the coyote’s descending snout.

The impact sent tremors throughout Liam’s body. Everything from his palm to his feet shook. His left arm snapped backward, and the entirety of his body threatened to follow that trend, only for the more abundant Qi circulating through him to keep him in his position.

That strenuous effort depleted a lot of energy, wasting almost as much as some martial arts, but Liam pushed all that to the back of his mind, focusing on the battle.

The impact affected the coyote, too. Blood spurted out of its nose, and more of that even flowed from the injury on its neck. It tried to cry, but only a muffled, bubbly noise escaped its throat.

Nevertheless, the failed cry didn’t get in the way of the magical beast’s next move. Despite the injuries on such sensitive spots, the coyote twisted itself mid-air, its maw reaching Liam’s side as soon as its paws touched the ground.

That time, the coyote was faster in ways that Liam couldn’t dodge through the circulation technique. Even without abilities, a magical beast’s physical prowess was akin to a quasi-martial art, inevitably outclassing Liam.

Still, Liam was done testing. Even with unmatched physical strength in the foundation stage, speed, and a rank 1 martial art that made full use of his more abundant Qi, he still couldn’t outdo the mere leap of a level two magical beast.

The best Liam could achieve was a draw that damaged him far more than it did his opponent. It also kept him stuck for longer, showing how he couldn’t close that gap with inferior tools.

If Liam wanted to win, he had to step at the coyote’s level or rely on similarly superior methods, methods he now owned.

The coyote’s mouth was closing on Liam’s side, ready to tear away a big chunk of his abdomen and all the organs it contained. However, thunder suddenly resounded inside the chamber.

The magical beast bit on empty air, watching as mud and rocks splashed away from Liam’s previous spot. Yet, its sharp eyes followed the abrupt sprint, its body already twisting in its direction.

Something thin flew at the coyote, but another thunderous noise resounded, instantly followed by pain. Liam had suddenly reached its left side, half of his right hand stabbed between its ribs, piercing something important.

The coyote didn’t care for injuries or collapsing lungs. Its body worked, so it kept twisting to lunge at Liam, only for the thundering noise to return.

The world in Liam’s vision turned into a blur. The edges vanished, replaced by a confusing mixture of colors. His eyes struggled to remain open while his ankles screamed in pain, but he still moved, performing the sharpest turns his speed allowed him to.

The first thundering noise sent Liam behind the coyote. Ideally, he would reverse his momentum to reach the magical beast’s other side, but his speed was too great for that, his following turn being closer to ninety degrees than one hundred and eighty.

Then, Liam kicked the ground again, his Qi exploding according to the Lightning Step’s theory, unleashing a third thunderous noise that finally sent him to the coyote’s right side, but the creature had followed his movement.

The coyote had spun on itself, matching those loud sprints, ready to charge now that Liam was coming. Yet, its body betrayed it now. Its legs stopped responding, and its damaged neck failed to support its head, lowering it.

Liam’s clawed fingers stabbed the coyote’s neck in that moment of weakness, his speed pushing both of them down, sliding on the ground.

The coyote now had a punctured lung, deadly poison in its system, a missing chunk of neck, and four fingers stabbed on its other side, but its body still began to recover. Liam felt it begin to struggle while he pinned down its head, but his Qi was already fueling another move.

Liam felt the strain on his fingers but trusted his training. His grasp slowly closed, piercing through flesh and bone until he could pull his closed fist out of that furred head.

That success tore away a quarter of the coyote’s head, leaving it without part of its skull and brain. The magical beast still twitched a couple of times until it finally stopped moving forever.