Chapter 205: Defensive Counterattack

The next moment, Rod immediately sensed something was wrong. His heart pounded, and he almost cried out in panic.
The elements in the surroundings began to fluctuate intensely—so strongly that the fluctuations of fire even raised the temperature of the space.
“Magic beasts!” Rod cursed under his breath and quickened his pace toward the enemy.
As expected, a fireball the size of a head appeared first, followed by many more, surrounding Rod like a rain of fire and leaving him overwhelmed and in grave danger.
Outside, the mid-stage quasi-divine-level beast watched coldly, waiting for an opportunity. The moment the fireballs disappeared, it would attack Rod.
Rod grumbled inwardly—these fireballs were incredibly powerful, likely at the level of ultimate magic. Truly, they were powerful spells unleashed by a late-stage sacred-level beast!
With the light from the fireballs, Rod managed to see the appearance of the two beasts: one resembled a tiger, while the other looked like a jackal. The tiger and jackal were a perfect match, leaving Rod utterly helpless.
No one would believe him if he told them he had been attacked by two such beasts, especially ones combining magic and combat skills! Beasts at this stage had their pride—while it was possible for them to attack together for a common goal, a combination of magic and combat skills was extremely rare. Not to mention that magic beasts and physical beasts already had differences; even if not, it would be hard for them to work together unless the magic beast was desperate.
The competition in the world of beasts was far more brutal and bloody than anyone could imagine, no less so than in the human world.
Muttering in frustration, Rod found himself in this situation. Melon was truly ruthless, using such a fierce tactic from the start—a combination of magic and combat skills, which would multiply the power of the two beasts exponentially. It was not just about the two beasts alone, similar to human teams.
A team might consist of individuals of average strength, but once different classes were combined optimally, their power could be astonishing.
Fortunately, Melon still had some conscience and hadn’t brought in another quasi-divine-level magic beast. That would have been a real problem. Rod was also glad no more beasts had been added—two beasts versus three beasts made a huge difference, especially with a magic beast involved.

Watching the fierce tiger lurking outside, Rod felt a headache coming on. This battle seemed tough; to win, he had to deal with that magical beast first. He hoped the cooperation between those beasts wasn’t very good.

The moment the fireball disappeared, Rod also launched an attack. With a slash from his Dark Dragon Sword at the tiger, he suddenly moved swiftly, pulling back the sword and rushing toward the wolves behind. It was a feint—the wolves were his real target.

The tiger roared in anger, seemingly realizing it had been tricked, and chased after Rod without giving him any chance. Meanwhile, those damned wolves had no intention of fighting back and instead chose to evade, keeping running and never allowing Rod to get close!

In this pitch-black darkness, Rod could only rely on his mental power to determine the location and movements of his opponents. Not only was his accuracy low, but his reaction time was also delayed. With the opponents deliberately avoiding him, he couldn’t seize any opportunity!

On the other hand, though these beasts couldn’t see clearly either, they had keen senses of smell. Compared to mental power, their sense of smell might be more useful at this moment!

So, what happened next was predictable. Rod faced fierce counterattacks and bombardment. Fireballs and fire walls kept appearing, hitting him relentlessly. The tiger also pounced repeatedly, leaving several wounds on Rod. With his mental power scattered, he was in a dire situation.

“Damn it!” A wound appeared on his arm, causing him to gasp in pain. Another scar. Having been suppressed for so long, he was filled with anger, and his temper grew more irritable.

He felt an urge to tear off these gear and fight properly, to crush those two beasts to pieces.

But thinking of Melon’s words and his purpose for coming here, Rod forced himself to hold back, trying to calm down and learn to handle things calmly.

After another afternoon of fighting, at the cost of several more wounds, Rod gradually adapted to this situation and learned to stay calm. Avoiding another attack, a cold smile appeared on his lips as an idea struck him.

He simply stood still, closing his eyes. Since he couldn’t see anyway, keeping them open was useless and would only hinder him.

Instinctively, even though they couldn’t see, people would subconsciously focus most of their attention on their eyes and would instinctively look around at critical moments to distract their attention and mental power.

So he simply closed his eyes, thinking it might work better that way. Then Rod stood still, listening intently to the sounds around him, concentrating his mental energy to sense the whereabouts of those two living beings.
He chose a defensive counterattack strategy. Since launching an offensive attack would only expose him to numerous weaknesses, defense and counterattack might be the best approach at the moment. At least Rod couldn’t think of a better strategy.
As expected, without moving, the tiger opposite him became even more aggressive, charging at him, while the jackal fired fireball after fireball. Rod accurately split each fireball in two with his Dark Dragon, causing them to disappear.
Gripping his Dark Dragon tightly, Rod stood still. Having dodged the tiger’s last attack, he had gained some insight into its attack patterns—it was extremely fast, faster than him right now. So he had to wait for the right moment, the perfect chance for a fatal strike.
As his mental energy became fully focused, Rod gradually became more aware of his surroundings. He remembered the method Melon had taught him: to observe the world with heart, to connect with the world through heart and mental energy. The perfect integration of heart and mental energy could yield unexpected results.
Inspired, Rod delved his thoughts deep into his heart. At that moment, he tried to observe and examine everything around him with his heart, guided by his mental energy.
Perhaps due to discomfort or an incorrect method, this approach actually led to Rod being attacked several times by the tiger. He could clearly feel his clothes torn to shreds. If he hadn’t been wearing that set of gear closely, he wouldn’t know how many wounds he would have sustained, or what kind of wounds they would be.
Even so, several visible wounds covered his body now, with the warm sensation of blood and the smell of blood stimulating both Rod and the wild beasts’ aggression.
Time passed by minute by minute. The battle lasted an entire day. Rod was tired, and so were the wild beasts. In this confrontation, Rod’s role was merely to dodge, patiently avoiding attacks. Unable to break through after prolonged efforts, it was now the wild beasts’ turn to become impatient.
As time went on, half a day later, Rod finally succeeded in combining his body and mind for the first time, using his mental energy to guide his heart in observing the surroundings and the enemy.
Though it was just the beginning and still very unskilled and difficult, Rod wasn’t without gains. At least he could barely make out his surroundings, even if for only a short time! But Rod was satisfied.

It’s like this now because one isn’t used to it or familiar with it. But what about in the future? Once one becomes more familiar with it? It goes without saying—the prospects are boundless. The present may be dark, but the future is still bright.

As for the immediate situation, Rod has already found a way to kill the tiger. Once the tiger is dead, the jackals can’t cause any trouble. Right now, the tiger is also exhausted, giving Rod a great opportunity! Closing his eyes and observing carefully, his mind suddenly cleared, and he vaguely saw a tiger over a meter tall and two to three meters long charging at him, its mouth wide open, looking ferocious.

“Hmph, beast, die!” Seeing everything and understanding its movement trajectory, though briefly, Rod had enough information. With a cold snort, he swiftly stepped aside, using that simple move to avoid the tiger’s sharp claws. Immediately afterward, he swung the Dark Dragon.

A gut-wrenching scream echoed as the Dark Dragon unleashed tremendous force, followed by the sound of tearing. Warm blood began to splash, and the screams grew increasingly pitiful. Gradually, the sounds faded until the tiger was dead—killed by Rod’s fatal strike, thanks to the accurate judgment that method provided.

It can only be said that the tiger was unlucky; in the darkness, it relied on its sense of smell and moved around recklessly, leaving large gaps, allowing Rod to strike and tear it apart from throat to tail—brutally efficient.

With the tiger dead and having mastered a method, Rod saw no threat in the jackals either. He easily killed them and secured victory in just a few moves.

This was Rod’s first battle, one that took an entire day. His defense-and-counter strategy was highly successful. He also learned something crucial that would be invaluable in the future.

“This kid… Hey, truly a genius—his comprehension speed is amazing! How long did that equipment help me last in my first battle? Five days or six? In the end, I exhausted myself completely and killed two magical beasts!” From afar, feeling what was happening inside, Melon murmured to himself, recalling his own first battle and feeling somewhat amused. Back then, he hadn’t killed the beasts outright but had exhausted them to death—something his master called unprecedented! Thinking of this, he could only smile wryly and sigh—today’s young people are truly remarkable.