Great horned lizard (2)

Using the vanishing raindrop steps to change position, Ryu went from one side of the great horned lizard to the other side, leaving the beast completely disoriented. This quick change of position, not only made the lizard lost track of its foe, as it left the beast open for an attack since the moment Ryu used movement skill, he evaded one strike from the tail.

In that position of advantage, Ryu moved the sword down, the tip of the almost touching the rocky floor, then the blade started to move forward with the great lizard as a target, aiming for the neck.

As the sword traveled through its arc, it accelerated as if the rock of the ground itself pushed the blade until the sword made contact with the neck of the horned lizard. Then, Ryu pulled the sword up using all the strength of his back, shoulders, and arms, trying to cut off the lizard's head.

However, when the edge of the sword made contact with the scale of the lizard, some of the energy that the blade carried was lost, but still, it managed to bypass the beast's defense, reaching the red flesh.

However, the cut went just a few centimeters in before the lizard reacted, jumping in the other direction, consequently avoiding a deep and possibly lethal cut on its neck. Then the lizard landed facing Ryu, blood flowed from its neck, leaving a deep red pool on the floor.

Although Ryu managed to injure his foe, it was not to the extent of shifting the flow of the battle, as in the first exchange, it had become clear that the difference in strength favored the horned lizard. It was only because of the immortal grade skill that he achieved the feat of cutting the horned lizard. But, with that use of the raindrop vanishing steps, it summed up to 3 uses already, leaving him with only two more.

Without any pause, the great lizard leaped forward, sending a claw attack on Ryu, to which he dodged stepping to the side. Immediately, the lizard shifted its head to face Ryu and threw its tongue aiming at his leg, and he evaded this strike leaping back.

As soon as he landed, another claw attack came from his right, this blow Ryu blocked with the sword, being pushed by the force of the strong lizard's arm. Before Ryu could prepare a counter-attack, a pair of black horns came for his chest, and with no room to dodge, Ryu leaped up, passing above the lizard and landing at the other side, close to the tail.

As he turned to face the lizard, there was already a large mouth full of teeth coming his way, forcing Ryu to move to the side. In this position, Ryu saw a small opportunity to launch an attack. He stepped forward, getting closer to the lizard with his sword horizontally, still moving, he swang the blade, sending it to the lizard's side.

However, the slash landed on the scales and ricocheted back without producing any damage to the beast, as this slash had no power since it Ryu had no stance, it was not a movement according to the heavenly pillar martial art style, it was just a regular sword swing devoided of any technique.

The moment that his sword reflected back, the horned lizard saw its chance to send the tail. And Ryu saw the strong and large yellow tail coming in his direction, foreshadowing heavy damage, he tried to activate the vanishing raindrop steps to escape to dodge, but, in his unbalanced stance, the skill vailed to trigger.

With that, the tail hit Ryu on the side with a loud dry sound, making him bend to the side as a profound pain assaulted his body. The blow had landed with such force that Ryu was afraid that his ribs had broken.

For the next instant, Ryu's vision turned dark, as the blow on his rib cage forced the air out of his lungs, plus the pain made him pass out. Fortunately, it only lasted a fraction of a second, and Ryu woke, embracing his own chest because of the pain, but he had no time to wait for the pain to subside as the horned lizard was coming with the pair of horns.

As Ryu had no time or mobility left to dodge, he activated the movement skill avoiding that the horn pierced his side, although, this time he did not go to the other side of the yellow reptile, he chose the furthest distance possible, opening space between himself and the lizard.

This choice brought him a few precious seconds until the lizard could realize where he had gone, a time which he used to recompose himself and prepare for the next exchange.

At the last succession of blows, it became obvious that the horned lizard had the upper hand in the fight. While it was attacking non-stop, pressing Ryu, he couldn't even launch a single counter-attack nor open distance to breathe and take the initiative. Even worst was that he used the vanishing skill for the fourth time, leaving him with a single use remaining.

When the lizard noticed him and prepared to make a lunge, Ryu extracted his sword and changed it to a spear, using a short range weapon proved fruitless and extremely dangerous, so he decided to try with a mid range one.

As the lizard came running, pretending to use its horn to kill Ryu once and for all, he pointed the spear forward and steeled the grip on the shaft holding it close to his waist, making a strong grip and steady stance to receive his foe head-on.

Then, head and spear collided, the lizard had the advantage of bodyweight and strength in general, but Ryu's stance that draws the force of the rocks under his feet didn't let it go for less. The great beast pushed forward using all of its power, while Ryu resisted in his position, being pushed back no more than a few centimeters.

This struggle lasted until the scale on the lizard's forefront broke, and the spear's tip pierced through the skin, making blood flow down.

This outcome made the lizard stop immediately and take a step back, which gave Ryu room the take the lead for the first time since the fight had begun.

Ryu did not waste the opportunity, he lunged forward, launching the spear forward many times in succession, aiming for the lizard's head. The attack didn't pass by the scales, but the lizard continued to retreat every time the tip came, proving that the weapon switch was efficient.

But this situation didn't last forever, when the lizard lost patience, it launched the tongue to Ryu, obliging him to use the spear to deflect it, a move that made room for the lizard to jump to the side and escape the pressure imposed by the spear.

The lizard landed facing Ryu and shrieking to express its anger, in this last exchange, though short, was on Ryu's side.