Against The Eternity Chapter 20: [19] Chapter - 8: A Furious Beast (Part - 2/2)

Read chapter 20 of Against The Eternity by Phoenixfly_steller on NovelPedia.

[19] Chapter - 8: A Furious Beast (Part - 2/2) They walked for what felt like hours, with the sun rising steadily higher in the sky, its light filtering through the thick, dense leaves of the trees and then trickling down in golden streaks onto the earth. The deeper they went into the mountain woods, the thicker and more humid the air grew, heavy with scents of moss, tree bark, and wild herbs that grew unseen beneath the underbrush. The path was more like a game trail, barely a path at all, as they wound their way through towering tree trunks and twisting roots, but neither of them complained. The woods, however, were not pleased with their presence. Something rustled in the bushes on their right, and a first-tier wolf sprang out, snarling, its jaws wide enough to swallow a man whole. Eklavya didn’t even break stride. His green sword flashed in the sunlight. The wolf hit the earth in two neat halves. Anshvi glanced down at it as they continued on their way. “You know,” she said casually, “most people would at least pretend that fight was difficult.” Eklavya cleaned his blade on a leaf. “It was difficult.” “Oh really?” she said, raising a brow. “For the beast, maybe.” It wasn’t even ten minutes when a thick-scaled second-tier beast sprang out of the underbrush, a reptilian creature with thick, scaly hide and a snapping jaw. Eklavya didn’t even have time to draw his blade when Anshvi stepped forward. Her spear spun in her hand. Silver light flashed. The beast’s head flew off and rolled into the bushes. Anshvi went on walking as if she hadn’t just killed a second-tier beast. Eklavya raised an eyebrow. “You’re showing off.” “I’m warming up,” she replied calmly. Another beast soon emerged, one much larger than the ones before. It was a third-tier beast, covered with jagged bone plates, which came charging from the trees with thunderous steps, shaking the leaves loose from the trees above. Eklavya stepped aside at once. Anshvi let out a deep sigh. “You always leave the big ones to me.” “You enjoy them,” he said. “And it’s not like I’m strong enough to kill that thing anyway.” “That’s not the point.” And with that, Anshvi spun the spear around before lunging forward with a fluid motion, as if water was running through the beast's defenses before striking between the gaps of its bone plates. The beast roared, stumbled, and finally fell heavily against the forest floor. Eklavya watched the beast fall before crossing his arms. “You definitely enjoyed that.” Anshvi twirled the spear once before resting it against her shoulder. “You’re jealous.” “Of what?” “My skill.” He glared at Anshvi. “Nah, but of your confidence.” Anshvi let out a soft laugh. And so the hours went by, with the pair walking, fighting, talking, and sometimes even arguing over whose turn it was to face the beast that came charging from the underbrush. The deeper they went into the forest, the more the forest seemed to want to test them. The first-tier beasts that came charging from the underbrush were quickly defeated by the swift, precise strikes of Eklavya's sword. The larger beasts, ones whose strength was equal to that of the practitioner warriors or above, were defeated by the cold glint of Anshvi's spear, which was both beautiful and merciless as she cut through the beasts' claws and bones like a silver storm. Once, the leaves above them rustled violently. Leaves floated down in spirals of brown and green. And then two dark shapes leapt down from the leaves. A one-tier panther and a second-tier black five-legged beast with a long snout came crashing down like falling blades, twisting their bodies in the air as they hurtled towards their prey. The one-tier beast leapt straight for Eklavya’s throat. But Eklavya was quick to react. His green sword flashed upwards in a smooth motion. The sword cut through the air with a sharp whistle. The beast landed on the ground but only for a moment before its body stumbled forward with a crimson line on its neck before crashing l