Chapter 3 : The rabbit vs the deer
The rabbit and the deer charged at each other, both of their bodies enhanced with spirituality. Although the rabbit was small, even laughable compared to the sharp-toothed deer, it did not retreat; it attacked head-on!
Boom!
Their heads collided with force, sending the wind swirling violently and dust scattering everywhere. Shock appeared in the deer's eyes—why was a spring rabbit attacking directly? It had fought many rabbits before, and all of them were evasive, hard to catch.
Crack!
The deer's antlers cracked, as did the rabbit's skull. However, it was lighter in weight, so it was sent flying, while the deer remained standing firm.
Barely touching the ground, the rabbit shot forward, giving itself no chance to stop! It dashed directly toward a nearby tree, using it as leverage to leap again, attacking the deer from the side!
Thanks to its experience, the deer quickly reacted, leaping backward to avoid the attack, then smoothly turned, trying to tear the rabbit apart with its sharp teeth!
But the rabbit was faster, narrowly avoiding the attack at the last moment.
The battle continued, and it was clear that the deer had the upper hand. With its experience and agile movements, it easily dodged the rabbit's attacks while relentlessly pressing on.
On a nearby tree, Ajeel watched the scene with a grim expression, silently screaming in fury within his heart:
"What is this foolish rabbit doing? Why is it fighting like this?!"
Normally, green rabbits relied on evasion and waited for the right opportunity to strike; they didn't have strong bodies. But this foolish rabbit focused entirely on direct attacks! What happened to waiting for the right moment?
Did it not realize that in a head-on collision, it would suffer the most?!
Ajeel lifted his head and glanced at the female deer. They were still watching from a distance, not intervening—and that was natural. Unless they were given orders from the male deer, they wouldn't act.
Seizing the opportunity, Ajeel closed his eyes, sensing his spirit, then dove into it.
Inside his spirit...
A vast white space extended, and at its center floated a white nucleus, inside which a pure white liquid filled 30% of it.
Seeing this, Ajeel's expression darkened even further.
"I'm in a tough spot."
Once the deer finishes with the foolish rabbit, it will be his turn!
Since the battle began, Ajeel had been using his spirituality to gradually heal his chest injury and regain some of his vitality, but now he stopped. What he had done so far was enough, and he had to conserve the remaining of his spirituality.
"Damn it! I was a fool... I should have backed off from the hunt once I lost my Yin Roots!"
Without them, how could he restore his spirituality? He knew that losing his Yin Roots wasn't a coincidence; he had some suspicions, but he had acted too hastily!
And as expected...
The battle was nearing its end.
The rabbit had worn itself out, and foolishly, it kept attacking head-on, suffering numerous injuries without finding any opportunity to heal or regain its strength while focused on the fight.
Yet, it did not retreat. An angry expression appeared on its face, showing its teeth, with a gleam of defiance and arrogance in its eyes!
It had lived barely over half a year. When it was younger than four months, it lived like any ordinary rabbit, hiding in the green grass, living a dull life.
But everything changed when it turned four months old—when its spirit awakened!
Since then, it became a master among rabbits! With its strength, it took over the tastiest patches of grass, and not content with that, it started leaving the green grass, searching for fallen fruits or anything better than grass.
At first, it was scared... but it gathered courage, step by step, until when it faced another opponent, it crushed it with its strength! Over time, pride and arrogance crept into it...
But unfortunately, throughout all this time, it had never faced a creature of its size, and it didn't know its true value...
Just a rabbit...
...
The rabbit prepared to attack the deer again. It wanted the fruits, and it would take them! It had always gotten what it wanted.
Boom!
It enhanced its body with spirituality and struck the deer with force!
But this time...
As the collision neared, a dangerous gleam appeared in the deer's eyes!
It lifted its head and opened its mouth!
Boom!
The rabbit's strike caused the deer's teeth to crack, even shattering parts of them, but it didn't realize the situation it was in!
It was just a small, inexperienced rabbit...
It had entered the deer's mouth!
"Aaaahhh!"
The deer clenched its teeth, trying to tear it to pieces!
Despite all the rabbit's resistance, it couldn't break free... it was exhausted, injured, and its body was nothing but a weak mass of flesh and bone.
At that moment...
Its courage and arrogance crumbled.
In the end, they were of no use...
The rabbit began to scream in pain and agony, but it was in vain...
It was torn apart mercilessly.
Ajeel watched the scene with a grim face, his heart pounding violently. No matter how hard he tried to suppress his fear, he knew the truth...
He might be next.
At that moment, the deer lifted its head and looked directly at the tree where Ajeel was hiding. In its eyes, there was a murderous intent, as if saying:
"It's your turn."
Its arrogance grew, but unlike the rabbit, it wasn't careless... it remained cautious.
It glanced at the female deer before taking heavy, majestic steps toward the tree. As it did so, it slowly swallowed the rabbit's corpse!
But even with all its caution, it didn't expect an attack from another direction...
Suddenly!
The ground beneath its feet collapsed!
Boom!
Dust spread everywhere, branches shattered, and noise filled the air!
The deer was struck with shock and surprise! Instinctively, it enhanced its body with spirituality to the maximum, raising its guard while letting out a savage cry!
"Raaaaa!"
The female deer ran quickly, surrounding the pit, responding to the male deer's call, though their eyes gleamed with some hesitation.
But even then, they didn't know what to do, and nothing happened!
On the tree where Ajeel had been hiding earlier, there was a broken branch and a rope made of tree fibers lying on it...
But there was no one.
...
A few meters away, Ajeel was running at full speed, occasionally enhancing his legs with spirituality!
"I did it! Now, run at full speed to the Ironclaw Bears' area!"