He turned to take one last look at the route that led to the gates before going further in, and came face to face with someone who was looking at him hungrily with wide eyes…
Duncan backpedaled fast in surprise. His back slammed into the rock that he had just placed at the entrance. Duncan blinked furiously as he saw the person standing in front of him opening his mouth.
The person, or whatever the hell it was, that was standing before him looked at Duncan up and down and drooled. Duncan wasn't sure whether he should call the one standing before him a person or not. There was something odd about the one standing before him.
While Duncan could dismiss the wide eyes, drooling mouth, disheveled hair, and overall filthy appearance as a result of living in this cave, he couldn't dismiss the long nails, sharp teeth, crazy hunger in the eyes, and other aspects that bothered him.
Furthermore, Duncan hadn't even heard the person's breathing or any other noise before he came face to face with him. As for the rotting stench that was coming off the person, Duncan was bewildered that he hadn't smelt it until that moment. One had to understand how truly revolting that smell was to know why Duncan was surprised.
The smell that wafted from the person's body almost made Duncan gasp. It wasn't just bad breath, sweaty smell, or something inane that could be dismissed as the byproduct of the living environment here. It was truly revolting. Duncan felt as if his gut was churning violently just looking at the person.
However, Duncan wasn't given much time to think about these things. Just as the revolting smell assaulted him, the person lunged at Duncan with a crazy glint in his eyes.
Only Duncan's repeated practice of <Wind Chasing Steps> these past two weeks helped him avoid the person's lunge. Just as Duncan disappeared from the spot he was in, the crazed person slammed into the rock behind Duncan with a thud.
Duncan took in a deep breath and noticed that he was able to breathe freely now without that nauseating smell assaulting him. Duncan figured that the smell only assaulted someone if they were in close proximity to the person. He had never come across such a weird phenomenon before in his life.
The person didn't give Duncan much time to ruminate over that strange event. The moment he composed himself, he saw the person push off from the rock and change direction toward his location. Duncan once more executed <Wind Chasing Steps> and escaped from the person's attack.
Duncan saw from the side of his eyes how the nails in the hands of the person pierced through the stone at the spot where he was standing previously and shivered. Seeing that, Duncan knew that he could never let those nails near him.
Duncan hastily unsheathed his sword and blocked upwards. Duncan's sword met with the nails that were descending to pierce him. Duncan heard the clash from where his sword met with the nails and gulped nervously. Duncan reaffirmed his decision to never let those near him and looked at the person who was attacking him.
Immediately he was once again assaulted with the rotting stench emanating from that person. The person was looking at him with a crazy glint in his eyes now. The moment their eyes met, the person growled angrily. The sound that came out of that mouth grated Duncan's ears.
Duncan scrunched his eyebrows and swung his sword again. This time he performed the <Absolute Cut Sword Art>. The person dodged away and looked at Duncan warily for the first time since they met. Duncan breathed a sigh of relief and steadied his mind.
The attack had truly taken him by surprise. He hadn't even known that there was someone else hiding in the vicinity. If he had let his guard down earlier, he would have been dead by now.
Duncan scowled at his assailant and took in the assailant's form clearly for the first time. Until now, he hadn't been able to see his assailant clearly due to low visibility and constant attacks.
Now that he took in a good look, Duncan couldn't help but frown at his assailant's features. The person was deformed in several places. His body wasn't like that of a typical human to be precise.
There were several scars running across its torso. There were scratch marks on his face and legs that looked to be caused by similar weapons like his nails. The left ear of the person was half gone. It looked as if someone had bit it and torn it. Apart from the obvious filthy look, the person who was standing before him was naked as well.
Duncan calmly assessed the situation, while warily circling his assailant. He knew that a fight was inevitable and it would be a fight to the death. His assailant didn't seem like someone who understood the concept of retreat. The way his assailant was assessing him indicated that the person considered him a threat as well.
While Duncan was confident of walking out of this fight alive, he wasn't so sure about walking out without taking any damage. From the few instances they had clashed earlier, Duncan knew that he had a slight advantage in terms of speed and reactions. However, he didn't know if the person was stronger than him.
It was probable that his assailant was stronger than him. After all, even if he used his sword, Duncan wasn't confident in making a dent in the floor. But, the assailant's nails were able to chip away the floor easily.
So, he needed to keep moving and use his advantage in speed. He shouldn't get tied down in a contest of strength. And the rotting smell that emanated from the person made Duncan wary of getting injured. What if those nails were poisonous as well? He wouldn't rule out that possibility.
To make matters worse, he didn't have any medicine to treat the wound if he was poisoned or infected with whatever was creating that rotting stench on his assailant's body.
Above all, the thing that worried Duncan most was the noise that had been generated during their clash. It was really loud in this silent cave. If there was anything else that was lurking around here, the noise would have attracted their attention as well.
As Duncan realized this, he knew he had to end this confrontation as soon as possible. If not, he will get mobbed by a lot of whatever this person before him was.
Gritting his teeth, Duncan pushed off the ground and swung at his assailant, intending to end this confrontation quickly.
<Absolute Cut Sword Art> was a technique that was devised with pure attack as the focus. In order to bring out the best effects of the technique, a cultivator must be decisive and aggressive in their approach when they battle.
Duncan's current actions were in-line with the core edicts of the technique. Hence, Duncan's attacks were amplified to a small degree as he engaged his assailant. The assailant confidently blocked Duncan's sword with his nails with the assumption that Duncan's attack was the same as the last one.
However, unbeknownst to both, Duncan's actions of decisively engaging his opponent without holding back amplified Duncan's attack strength. The moment the sword clashed with those nails, Duncan's assailant wailed in pain and jumped back hastily.
Duncan paused hearing that ear-piercing sound for a bit. The sound was causing him a headache, but Duncan wasn't in a position to care about it. As Duncan paused, he spied green blood oozing out of his assailant's hand.
Duncan was stunned for a moment. He had never seen someone with such a blood color. Even the wild beasts he had fought against had red blood in them. This green blood confirmed Duncan's suspicion of his assailant was not a human being anymore.
Seeing his assailant clutch his hands and wail in pain, Duncan didn't stop for even a single moment. If not for anything else, Duncan wanted to skewer his assailant to stop those ear-piercing wails. Both for his sanity and to prevent drawing the attention of the other inhabitants of this place.
Duncan redoubled his efforts and once more attacked his assailant without any mercy. His assailant dodged while still wailing like a stuck pig. Duncan only became more and more irritated hearing those wails. His head started to pound, causing Duncan to grit his teeth and execute <Wind Chasing Steps> once more.
This time, his attack bore fruit as Duncan's sword pierced through his assailant's arm, severing it cleanly. The wails intensified as Duncan's assailant tried to stem his stump. Duncan didn't him any more opportunities as he was getting sick of hearing those wails.
Executing <Wind Chasing Steps> again, Duncan closed in on his opponent. This time he aimed for the opponent's throat in a bid to silence him. Duncan's sword was swift with no hesitation, hardly leaving any time for his assailant to react.
A severed head flew some distance away and landed with a loud thud.
Duncan took in the sight before him. His assailant's prone body was twitching violently as blood sprouted from the two places he had cut through. In the distance, a severed head rolled around leaking green blood all over the place. Luckily, there were no wails anymore.
In its place, a rotting stench assaulted Duncan's nose. Duncan's nose had grown more sensitive as of late. It was hard for him to ignore such a stench. He felt his gag reflex activate and he almost doubled down vomiting.
Duncan didn't feel like he had achieved any victory in this fight. He was more disgusted by the smell than he was previously. Scrunching his nose, Duncan looked around vigilantly. He knew that the wails his opponent made earlier would have definitely drawn some attention.
Spying no one around the place, Duncan decided to leave this place for good. He wasn't planning to come here until the last day. If not the wails, this stench would definitely attract some other dangers lurking in this cave to this place. So, staying here would be foolish.
Decision made, Duncan used <Wind Chasing Steps> and hurried away from the spot. Duncan chose a random direction and headed inside the tunnel leading deeper into the cave.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
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