First Kill

Zion tried to raise his spear, but the panther was faster.

Like a boulder, it hit him and Zion was pushed to the ground.

 Zion, however, succeeded in blocking the panther's jaw in time by shoving his spear's shaft in it and kept pushing.

GRAHHHH!

Unable to kill Zion in a single move, the panther roared in fury and pushed its jaws towards his neck.

Zion gritted his teeth and gave his all to maintain the distance. He couldn't. The panther was slowly gaining the advantage.

It seemed that needing to employ so much strength to kill an easy target like Zion annoyed the panther, and the next moment it swept its paws at the shaft.

Crack!

"No!..." Zion could feel his spear's shaft crackling, and desperation took over him. If he didn't do something now, then it meant instant death.

The shaft's crackling became even stronger, and it was just about to break.

Zion glared at the panther, which was ready to maul him to death any second now and gritted his teeth in anger.

'If I die, then I die, but I'll make sure that you'll forever remember me!'

Zion had about eight per cent Qi in his reserves and planned to use it all in his move.

He reduced the strength he was exerting from his right hand until his elbows touched the ground.

The spear shaft tilted inwards as a result. Sensing this opportunity, the panther clawed at Zion's chest, making him bleed.

"B-Bastard!" Zion roared in anger from the pain, but there was no time to waste.

All his Qi rushed towards his right hand and formed a thick layer.

CRACK!

The shaft finally gave in, and the panther's jaw mercilessly moved towards Zion's neck.

However, when its jaws were just an inch above Zion's neck, his fist connected.

The fist landed on the panther's thick neck, and the next moment Zion felt a breaking sensation.

The panther's eyes immediately turned lifeless and fell over Zion.

If not for the breaking sensation he had felt, Zion would have thought that the Panther was still alive.

He gritted his teeth and pushed the dead panther's several-kilo heavy body off him.

Zion's chest heaved heavily as he stared at the dead panther in both fear and admiration.

However, before he could relish in the feeling of defeating panther, a thought crossed his mind.

'There is no time to waste!'

He grabbed what remained of his spear and immediately rushed back to the spot where he had parted ways with Fana.

Then he rushed towards the direction Fana had gone to collect the fruits.

"Fana!" He called in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft. Expecting a reply, he kept rushing forward. A few minutes later, he finally heard her voice.

"Here!" Fana's voice came from the other side of a thick bush.

Zion walked past it and finally saw Fana, who had been crouching behind the bush.

"I-I heard a loud roar…" Fana was about to explain everything to Zion when her eyes fell upon his chest, which had deep cut marks and was bleeding continuously.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"What happened?! How did you get injured?!" She asked with a horrified expression.

"It was a panther," Zion paused and continued, "It's dead now, but we must hurry and get as far as possible from here! The commotion must have attracted other beasts here.

"B-but you're bleeding! You'll die at this rate! Let me dress it up." Fana suggested.

"It's just a small wound, I'll take care of it later. What's important now is for us to get sway from here as fas-"

Zion was interrupted by Fana the next moment, "No! I'll treat you first, and then we'll leave."

She had an unyielding gaze to her as if she would not hear no as an answer. Zion felt surprised by this sudden change in her demeanour.

"But-" Zion tried to argue, but was stopped once again.

"No buts! I've seen some suitable herbs nearby, so it won't take a lot of time," After saying that, Fana immediately went to collect those herbs.

'What has suddenly gotten into her?' Zion thought in confusion. Even so, he didn't forget to keep close attention to his surroundings.

As for Fana, she was searching the bushes for appropriate plants and flowers before rushing back to Zion.

His heavy bleeding and refusal to address his wounds reminded Fana of Troy. He has done the same thing, which led to him falling unconscious later, and eventually to his death.

'I can't let him die!' This thought constantly rang in her mind as she immediately rushed back.

Finding that Zion was still doing fine, she sighed in relief and crushed the flowers and leaves she had collected with a stone.

"You sure are a talented herbalist," Zion complimented when he saw her doing that.

"Don't talk and focus on conserving your energy," Fana replied while concentrating on her task.

Ten minutes later, the paste was finally complete.

"Here, it will burn a little, so endure it," She applied the paste on his bare chest.

Zion gritted his teeth from the pain and endured the whole process. When she was done, Fana wrapped Zion's robe around his chest and tightened his wound.

"All done," she said in relief and satisfaction.

"Thank you," Zion replied thankfully.

Seeing this, Fans felt guilty as she only helped him to increase her own chances of survival.

"Shouldn't we be going from here then?" She changed the topic.

"Yes, let's go," Zion responded immediately, and the two of them started rushing through the forest.

It was only after four hours that they decided to rest.

Fana had collected fruits on the way, so food was not a problem for them. Zion immediately began making a new shelter.

This time, Fana also helped him, as he seemed to be struggling due to his wounds.

By the time the night descended, the shelter was ready, and the two of them were inside, munching on some fruits and talking.

They talked about some past events and used small talk to stop their minds from overthinking.

After some time, Fana decided to ask questions that had been bugging her, "Earlier, you said that the panther had died. Did you kill it?... How were you able to overpower it with just-"

Fana was about to finish her question, but stopped when she realised that Zion's head was tilted downwards and his chest heaved steadily.

'Yes, he must be tired after all that,' Fana thought and didn't disturb him.

'But if he really killed it, then doesn't that mean he's very skilled?' Fana's eyes glimmered in the dark as hope seemed to have returned in them, a hope to escape this gruesome forest.