亚洲偷自区

(Xyrean Province- Inner Regions)

(The Mermaid\'s Lake- Forested Outskirts)

"Are you nervous?" Qin Lan quietly whispered as she passed a knife to Liu Yifei.

The pair were crouched down behind some bushes as they stared at the enormous boar that was walking through the forest.

It was a mutated creature with a large body that was almost the size of an adult human male.

Thick bone-like tusks jutted out from the animal\'s lower jaw and the sharpened ends gleamed under the sunlight.

The boar was roaming around the forest while occasionally stopping to sniff the air and rummage around the nearby vegetation.

"I\'m… a bit scared…" Liu Yifei quietly whispered as she tried to keep her voice low. Qin Lan placed a warm hand on her back and comforted the young girl.

"Don\'t worry… it is important that you feel that way. Never forget that every battle carries with it the risk of death," Qin Lan explained gently.

"There is no shame in running away… those who others mock as cowards are often the ones who survive…"

"But you must learn how to fight in case you cannot escape from a dangerous situation. Don\'t worry for this training… I will be here with you the entire time."

Qin Lan spoke seriously, and her words brought a small smile to Liu Yifei\'s lips.

The pair waited patiently as the boar strolled towards their direction.

Qin Lan silently counted down using her fingers before giving Liu Yifei the signal that they had agreed upon to attack.

She burst out of the bushes and lunged towards the boar with her knife held firmly in her palm. Liu Yifei was close behind with an expression of nervous excitement on her face.

The boar was startled by the sudden noise and before it could react Qin Lan\'s knife had already penetrated its left eye socket.

Screech!

The boar cried out in pain and swung its enormous tusks at the foolish human who decided to attack it.

Qin Lan lowered her head and the tusk passed mere inches away from where her skull had been just moments prior.

"Liu Yifei! Aim for its sides!" Qin Lan yelled as she distracted the boar by stabbing her knife into the creature\'s soft lower jaw.

The young teenage girl bravely rushed forward and managed to land two decent stabs in the creature\'s sturdy hide before quickly backing away just as she had been taught.

The boar hissed in pain and its eyes turned a bright crimson red colour. Horrifying reddish marks began to appear on its fur and the temperature began to rise.

Was it going to use its special ability?

"Back away now!" Qin Lan commanded as she leapt away from the creature just as the boar opened it mouth.

An enormous wave of orange- red flames flew out of its opened mouth and slammed against the nearby trees.

These flames were white hot and although Qin Lan had dodged the fire… she could feel the hair on her arm burn away under the high temperature.

The boar screeched in pain as it began to cough up blood.

Qin Lan narrowed her eyes as she saw the animal begin to grunt and wheeze.

It seemed that the boar could not use its ability without paying a price…

"Okay… back away for now… I\'m not sure if the boar has any other tricks so just observe as I take it down…" Qin Lan spoke loudly for the young girl to hear.

Liu Yifei nodded and quickly ran towards a nearby slope so that she could get a decent vantage point to watch the fight.

The boar eventually recovered, and its red beady eyes stared at Qin Lan with an expression of hatred.

"Kill yourself," Qin Lan growled darkly as she felt the warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest intensify.

She saw one of her mental threads flow into the animal\'s mind but it was immediately broken as if it had encountered an invisible barrier.

Huh… guess it only worked on humans then…

The boar lowered its head and charged at Qin Lan with its massive body. The ground trembled as the creature rushed at the human who had caused it so much pain.

Qin Lan could feel her heartbeat gradually slow down. The world around her faded away and all she could focus on was the monster rushing towards her.

Its large tusks could easily rip her body apart and yet there was not the slightest trace of fear in her mind.

No… she had faced worse…

Qin Lan slowly inhaled and the gently let out a soft breath.

She moved with minimal movements as she shifted her body to the side and narrowly avoided the tusk that was aimed at her lower body.

She proceeded to jump on the animal\'s back and even as the boar buckled and tried to throw her off… Qin Lan managed to hang on.

Liu Yifei looked on in complete shock as the young woman who was her combat teacher moved as though she was an ancient warrior.

Qin Lan held on to the animal\'s back using one hand and swung her body around until she was right above the creature\'s skull.

With one sharp thrust her blade penetrated the animal\'s skull and reached the soft fleshy brain hidden inside.

The boar let out one last agonising screech of pain before it slowly crashed to the ground motionless.

Qin Lan dug through the corpse\'s head and pulled out a large purplish-black crystal that was warm to the touch.

A thick reddish vein could be seen running along the edges of the crystal.

The trees that were affected by the boar\'s fiery attack were still burning but it had rained the day prior, so the flames were gradually going out.

"Wow! That was amazing!!" Liu Yifei exclaimed in shock as she stared at Qin Lan with stars in her eyes.

"Okay… well obviously those kinds of moves are far beyond what you are capable of, but I hope that you saw how I did not panic during the fight," Qin Lan smiled gently as she spoke.

"In a fight… it is important to keep a cool head and analyse the current situation at all times. Remember that the environment can also be used as a weapon."

"Always be on alert for any sudden developments…"

The pair walked back to the campsite as Qin Lan continued to impart more wisdom on her young protégé.

What they did not know was that several thousand kilometres away… someone or rather something was observing them through a portal.

.

.

.

.

"Do you see those two?" Qin Wei softly whispered as he snapped his fingers and the portal disappeared.

"Yes… who are they?" Wu Jing asked with some confusion on his handsome face.

"They are allies of the mutated zombie that killed your men… when the time is right… we can use them as bait to draw her out," Qin Wei chuckled darkly as his fingers curled up into a fist.

Wu Jing nodded slowly but the image of the young teenage girl next to the older woman flashed across his mind.

He did not know if he had ever seen such a pretty girl before…