“This Beastman… is a Demon Hunter?”
Liliya’s words made Rocky gasp sharply and he hurriedly leaned forward to look at the Beastman.
In his gaze, the bare-chested Beastman was confronting a Grayrock Demon. Although the Grayrock Demon had a gigantic body, the Beastman was also a hulking figure, standing well over two meters tall with muscles that seemed sculpted by axes and cleavers. Just this impressive appearance alone made him no less formidable than the Grayrock Demon.
What was even more crucial was the strong fighting spirit exhibited by the Beastman. He had clearly been thrown here, but when he got up from the ground, he showed no fear facing the advancing Grayrock Demon.
Was this the Demon Hunter?
It had been said before that because demons were of great value, this had given rise to the profession of Demon Hunter, those who hunted demons specifically to sell them and thereby sustain their livelihood.
Generally speaking, Demon Hunters were extremely wealthy, given the immense value of demons. A Demon Hunter, if he hunted just one demon a year, could earn enough to live comfortably without worries for the entire year.
But equally, while this profession was lucrative, it also had a high mortality rate. After all, the targets they hunted were terrifying, leading to a frequent reversal of roles between hunter and hunted, to the extent that the vast majority of Demon Hunters ultimately died during their hunts, turning into the quarry of the demons.
Yet even so, there were still a great number of people who pursued this profession. After all, demons were valuable, and among the Demon Hunters, there were indeed skilled individuals; some even made a name for themselves and became significant figures that shook the entire sky.
Rocky had not expected that his first demon hunt would bring him face to face with a Demon Hunter; he couldn’t tell if this was bad luck or good fortune.
“They’re fighting!”
Just as Rocky was inwardly reflecting, the Beastman and the Grayrock Demon had already started clashing fiercely!
The first to make a move was not the Grayrock Demon but the Beastman!
The Beastman let out a furious roar and charged towards the Grayrock Demon, his entire form like a moving mountain. Moments later, he slammed ferociously into the Grayrock Demon’s chest, forcing the massive opponent to stumble back several steps.
And that was not the end. As the Grayrock Demon staggered back from the powerful impact, the Beastman leaped up, hoisted the Broadaxe in his hands, and chopped down fiercely.
A sound rang out as the Broadaxe struck squarely on the Grayrock Demon’s head, but it produced a metallic clashing noise, and then… nothing further happened, the Grayrock Demon was unharmed!
Seeing this scene, Rocky finally understood what Liliya had said earlier; the Grayrock Demon’s body was exceedingly tough, impervious to ordinary weapons.
After being struck by the axe, the Grayrock Demon was clearly enraged, and a crack then opened on its stone-like head, soon followed by roars emanating from the crack.
Amid the roars, the Grayrock Demon raised its huge fist, and slammed it down hard at the Beastman!
“Bring it on!!”
Faced with the descending fist, not only did the Beastman not dodge, but he also let out a shout and then hoisted the Broadaxe with both hands as if he were holding up the fiery sky, attempting to block the strike outright!
A moment later, a dull thud sounded; the Grayrock Demon’s fist landed heavily, exactly on the Beastman’s Broadaxe.
And yet… he actually blocked it!
The Beastman below the fist was gritting his teeth, veins bulging on his arms as he held the Grayrock Demon’s fist at bay with the Broadaxe, successfully withstanding the blow.
Then, amidst his roaring, the Beastman’s arms burst with force, swiftly knocking aside the fist overhead, and as he leaped up, he landed another axe blow on the Grayrock Demon’s head!
“My goodness…”
Rocky, hiding behind a rock, was completely stunned by the battle unfolding before him. He had never imagined the Beastman could be so formidable, daring to fight a demon one-on-one, and not falling behind in the least!
This was utterly unbelievable!
Yet, as shocked as he was, and as much as he admired it, he hadn’t forgotten his main task — he too was here to hunt demons!
So, Rocky hesitated, unsure of what to do. The Beastman before him was so formidable; should he just stand by and watch the highly valuable Grayrock Demon be defeated and let this big catch slip away?
Thinking this, Rocky couldn’t help but glance at Liliya, then noticed that Liliya’s brows were also tightly knit.
“Liliya, can this Beastman win?”
“Hard to say…”
Liliya shook her head, her expression serious, “This Beastman is very powerful, I estimate he’s at least a fifth-level warrior, maybe even sixth, and he has a lot of experience. Did you notice? Each of his attacks specifically targets the Grayrock Demon’s head because that’s the only weak spot, where the Demon Core is located.”
“But… it’s not going to be easy for this Beastman to defeat the Grayrock Demon.”
“He’s already on par with the Grayrock Demon, how is it not easy?”
“You’ll see soon enough, we’re not at the critical moment yet.”
Without further explanation, Liliya continued to watch the battlefield.
At this moment, the Beastman was fiercely tangled in a death battle with the Grayrock Demon, and he was indeed formidable. Facing a Grayrock Demon that was significantly larger than himself, he did not fall behind at all; in fact, due to his relatively greater agility, he even managed to gain the upper hand at times!
This result made Rocky extremely anxious, because, at this rate, the Grayrock Demon might really end up in the Beastman’s bag!
But just as he was about to lose control, an unexpected situation suddenly arose!
The Beastman struck the Grayrock Demon’s head with his Broadaxe once again, a move he had repeated countless times without effect. But this time, when the Broadaxe fell, something different happened— there was a cracking sound, and a crack finally appeared in the rock-like head of the Grayrock Demon!
According to Liliya, the head was the only weak point of the Grayrock Demon, so although the Beastman hadn’t completely shattered its head, this strike gave him hope that a few more blows might finish the Grayrock Demon off.
But at that moment, the heavily damaged Grayrock Demon let out a deafening roar and went completely berserk, launching an aggressive attack on the Beastman.
In an instant, their positions of advantage were completely reversed; the Beastman, who had been slightly on top, was immediately outmatched after the Grayrock Demon went mad and soon fell into a significant disadvantage.
Facing the fists of the Grayrock Demon, the Beastman no longer dared to resist head-on and could only dodge awkwardly. At first, he managed to barely evade the attacks, but as time wore on, his greater disadvantage became evident—his stamina was failing!
Considering the duration, they had been fighting for quite some time. The prolonged battle caused the Beastman’s stamina to steadily decline. In contrast, the Grayrock Demon remained as strong as ever. So, when the Grayrock Demon began its frenzied assault, and the intensity of the fight escalated, the Beastman gradually couldn’t keep up.
After dodging several attacks consecutively, the Beastman was ultimately, and carelessly, struck by a punch and knocked down to the ground!
With one punch, the Beastman was flattened to the ground, and the Grayrock Demon then lifted its foot and, roaring furiously, slammed it down, attempting to crush the Beastman with one stomp.
In that instant, the Beastman felt the threat of death and hurriedly rolled to the side before he could get up.
Immediately after, there was a loud boom—the Grayrock Demon’s foot slammed down, and the ground erupted in a cloud of smoke…
“Aaaaah!!!”
From within the enveloping smoke came a sudden scream. Hidden behind a rock, Rocky and Liliya quickly looked over, but it was not until the smoke cleared that they saw that one of the Beastman’s arms was pinned under the foot of the Grayrock Demon!
Amid the screams, the Beastman struggled fiercely to pull his arm free, but to no avail. The Grayrock Demon’s body was even more massive than his and made entirely of stone, making it unimaginably heavy.
While the Beastman struggled to escape, the Grayrock Demon, instead of lifting its foot, raised its fist high and aimed directly down at the Beastman!
Boom!
A loud crash sounded as the Grayrock Demon’s fist smashed into the ground, and at the same time, the Beastman’s screams abruptly stopped…
Had he been, had he been smashed to death?
No longer hearing the Beastman’s screams, Rocky, hidden behind a rock, felt a chill run down his spine. Could it be that the Beastman had just been smashed to death?
But no!
Just as he thought the Beastman had been killed, he suddenly saw a disheveled figure appear not far away—it was the Beastman!
He was alive! And he had escaped?
Seeing the Beastman reappear, Rocky was shocked. However, as he looked closely at the Beastman, he was stunned.
The Broadaxe in the Beastman’s hand was dripping with blood, and his other arm was severed cleanly!
In a desperate bid to save his life, the Beastman had amputated his own arm that was pinned down, thus narrowly escaping death.
That was ruthless…
Looking at the still-bleeding stump, Rocky felt his face must have turned pale, realizing just how dangerous it was to deal with Demons—that life and death could hinge on an instant.
“Oh no!”
As Rocky was somewhat dazed, Liliya suddenly shouted, snapping him out of his stupor.
Oh no!
Recovering his senses, Rocky silently cursed as the Beastman who had just narrowly escaped death was charging in their direction, where he and Liliya were hiding!
This wasn’t to say that the Beastman had spotted them, but rather, having lost an arm, he knew he couldn’t win and so decided to flee. Coincidentally, the direction of his escape was precisely where Rocky and Liliya were hiding.
As he attempted to flee, the berserk Grayrock Demon showed no signs of stopping. The frenzied demon not only caught up with the Beastman but also raised its fist and smashed down, forcing the Beastman to use every last bit of his strength to barely dodge.
Although he dodged, the Grayrock Demon’s fist smashed directly onto a large rock—the very rock behind which Rocky and Liliya were hiding!
As the rock shattered, the two of them sprang out, appearing before the Beastman and the Grayrock Demon…
In an instant, the whole forest fell silent, as neither the Beastman nor the Grayrock Demon expected others to be present.
Similarly, Rocky and Liliya were caught off guard, never having imagined they would expose themselves like this.
But as the Beastman, Grayrock Demon, and Rocky all froze, Liliya was the first to react, and she shouted at Rocky,
“Take action!!”