Lyren was faced with a stage seven beast but this one was stronger because it was in the same level as him.
It was closer to breaking through to the eighth stage.
It was the perfect opponent for him and the two faced off one drawing a sword and the other scratching its foot on the green grass.
The beast was a wild bull with very long curved horns that almost met at the tips which were over a meter long. The bull was black and it appeared to breath steam from its nostrils. It had brown eyes and the hooves gave the impression that they were made of iron.
The two horns were a silver and the tip sparkled when the sun rays hit them. The bull exuded some sort of pride probably from the fact it had long and shiny sharp horns.
It was difficult to tell whether it had any energy but that did not matter because it was already tough enough.
The face off did not last longer than sizing each other up and the two charged at each other. Lyren was still preparing to swing his sword when the bull escaped from his line of sight.
His hair tingled as he brandished his sword sideways and the impact of the horns hitting the sword produced a sharp clang and Lyren could not maintain the hold of his sword.
He dropped it as he was sent flying. His wrists hurt because he held the sword with both hands to defend.
He was about to hit a tree as he succeeded in moving his foot which made contact with the tree as he jumped forward further expanding the distance between the bull and closer to the sword.
He felt the bull's gaze and he realized he could not waste time again as he rushed towards the sword which he reached but in the next second, his feet were no longer touching the ground.
His world was rotating and the skies were getting closer but in the next second, he was falling and he stretched his right hand and used it to absorb the impact which left his wrist aching.
He rolled forward and the sword in his left hand brandished as he stood up and faced the bull. His eyes almost popped out when he realized the bull was not there anymore.
His heart raced and he calmed himself further and gripped the sword with both hands. His ears twitched as he heard distant gallops and he quickly turned back and saw the horns ramming into his body and again he was sent flying.
He was slow and even when he heard the bull coming, he had been unable to react. He quickly activated his mind's eye and lit up the three arrays before he fell backwards.
The three arrays floated above the bull and Lyren quickly released his attack but the bull was quick and it evaded all the three arrows.
It was then it struck him that this bull was in the seventh stage but it already had a body in the eighth stage. He had picked the wrong opponent.
Still, he felt he had created an opening and he could finally breathe. He stood up and looked at himself. He had tattered clothes and his shirt was no more.
That last attack had finally torn the last pieces holding it together.
His pants were torn in different parts especially at the knees and he realized that they were a drag as he tore the lower part leaving him wearing a makeshift short.
He did not stop his waves of attacks and the bull did not seem to get the chance to attack which helped him catch his breath.
He felt a slight headache and he realized that it was the arrays and he unleashed two sequential of attacks before he dispersed the arrays.
A bellow echoed through out the forest and the birds flew away. Lyren was surprised and also relieved that one of his attacks had landed.
There was another standoff as the bull quietened and looked at Lyren once again. The attacks it had done were all ultimate attack and no one was supposed to survive those ones.
Even stage eight cultivators did not dare attack it. Not every beast could be attacked and the bull was an example. One slip and the horns would tear you open.
***
"What is that noise?"
"I have a feeling that it is a silver horned black bull. It is the only creature that can bellow like that…"
"Is there a group of cultivators who have been unlucky and encountered it?"
"Why don't we go and have a look. It doesn't hurt to do so…"
"I think it has been hurt and the group will have a hard time. Why don't we go and take our chances with the bull? After all, it might be severely injured…"
A group of five hunter were discussing. It was a group made up of men and they were all in the seventh stage though it appeared that they had just broken through.
They did not need any more contemplation and they agreed to go and have a look. This might be their lucky day…
***
The standoff was brief and the two appeared to catch their breath. Lyren's toned body and the bull's strong defenses he had just tested.
It dawned to him that he was the only one taking most of the damage and that was not a fair fight. It was his turn to do real damage. The slash that had cut through its ribs was not enough to satisfy him. He wanted to chop its head off.
Lyren felt his heart race and at first, he was confused whether it was fear but he was not afraid. His blood boiled and it was then his lips twitched and he stopped himself from laughing.
He was actually getting excited and also warmed up. A grin formed on his face as he took the liberty to attack as he performed the first sword.
The bull did not hesitate too and it charged head on this time.
Lyren was still stuck on the third swing when the bull reached him and the sword and horns clashed once more with Lyren being sent flying again.
He spit a mouthful of blood and a shallow hole appeared on his chest. He gritted his teeth and stood up and tried to restart the first sword.
The bull found him as an open target and it rammed into him once again and he gritted his teeth once more and used the sword to defend as he skidded backwards.
This surprised both of them as that attack should have sent him flying or even broken his hands.
Well, the two were not the only ones who were surprised but a group of five cultivators hiding in a bush and watching the fight had their jaws dropping to the ground.
Had it been only one of them, it would be his eyes playing games but the five of them were seeing a wonder of their life.
Even the five of them did not dare attack the bull. And in front of them, a kid was having a head on combat with the bull.
They saw the wound on its ribs and they felt shivers. Who was the kid? They could only move their eyes as they stared at the ongoing fight.
Lyren was adapting and he was doing it slower than he should have been. He had a feeling that that he should not be on the back foot and that skid backwards proved his point.
He had so many wasted movements and energy which in turn led to him being beaten. His body could definitely move faster.
His sword floated before him horizontally as he looked at the bull through the sword with slanted eyes.
Blood flowed from his head and he could not tell when he was hurt. His hair was dyed red and as his blood dropped to the ground, he moved faster and he did not bother performing the technique first.
He was doing it the wrong way. Unless he could increase his performance speed which he couldn't, the bull was going to get to him every time.
The VANTAGELESS BLADE was a finishing technique and he should be working on slowing the bull down first. That would give him time to perform the full technique.
The two charged at each other again under the five pairs of popping out eyes…