Chapter 36- Rhinoceros Subjugation (3)

Before the Rhinoceros could take a step forward and dash at Kara, it was hit with a blade of wind on its side. It put the foot that was in the air down and braced. It slid a few centimeters away, but its armor took no damage and it remained spotless. The attack from Daniel had prevented it from going after Kara as intended.

Everyone had comprehended weapon intent to different extents, so they were going to use it to attack it.

"Everyone, go after its neck. It's the least amount of area we need cut through to kill it." Mira yelled and sent 2 slashes of her blade intent at the Rhino's neck, one from each blade.

It struck the Rhino and left a small scratch on its nape even with her full blade intent being used to attack it. Going after the neck allowed them to get the most materials without damaging anything valuable.

Serena planted her feet in the ground and raised her sword above her head. She started sending large amounts of qi to the blade, giving it a green aura. The Rhinoceros could feel the strength of the attack that would surely give it a wound if it struck anywhere. Wood qi was one of the weaknesses of his Earth qi as it would drain his strength and earth qi and become even stronger.

Maxwell was made to stay back and help where he could if he felt he could change the situation. He was going to increase the gravity on the Rhinoceros if it ever charged at someone who was unable to move. It was quite draining on his qi, and it also gave him a slight headache. He also needed to touch the area he wanted to control the gravity of, leaving it as their last resort.

The rhinoceros charged at Daniel frantically to get out of the encirclement. It hadn't felt pain ever except once, as a newborn. After that day, it feared pain of any short. With its thick hide, almost nothing could hurt it. It started screaming in fear. It almost made them feel bad for killing it till they recalled the carnage left in its wake in the village and the forest.

As it got near the edge of the clearing, it struck an invisible barrier that glowed into existence with a dim brown glow. The Rhinoceros nearly fell over after suddenly being halted by the barricade. It stumbled around a bit before turning around on its hooves and charging at Maxwell who was standing next to a tree while powering the barrier with Spirit Stones.

He was hunched over, placing more Spirit Stones into a small tree hollow that acted as the core of the formation. The ground shook lightly beneath him as the Rhinoceros charged at the core that emanated qi. Maxwell didn't spend time disguising and hiding the core as he would have to manually give qi to it without any long-lasting source at hand.

Daniel charged towards Maxwell, trying to reach the spot behind him before the Rhinoceros could hit him. They knew he couldn't detect it with his cultivation realm.

"Maxwell, Run!" Jeffrey yelled while launching slashes with his sword containing sword intent and qi in the path the Rhinoceros was charging through. He hoped to slow down its charge by striking it. Unluckily, every slash missed the Rhinoceros and dissipated in the air after travelling a few more meters.

Kara wasn't agile enough to reach, but she used her bow to shoot arrows at it. The arrows were coated in fire qi, and they contained a destructive force. The arrows scattered of the thick grey hide, only leaving a minute scorch mark.

Everyone panicked as it got closer to Maxwell. In 2 seconds, it was right behind him. Daniel tried forcing himself to run faster, to get there in time, but his legs couldn't take him any faster than he already was running.

Right before the Rhinoceros hit Maxwell, he disappeared, and then reappeared on top of a branch of the adjacent tree. The rhinoceros was rather surprised it hit nothing, before it charged into the tree with a loud bang. Splinters sprayed everywhere and it was stunned by the impact.

"You fell for it. I was strengthening that tree for you to hit."

"Now!" He shouted at Serena.

She released a glowing slash, the length of her outstretched arm. It was a brilliant green, brimming with vitality. The presence of so much wood qi caused pink buds in the pond to bloom and grass to grow new and vibrant leaves, filled with life.

It sped through the air, making weeds grow small flowers and sapling turn into plants. The rhinoceros was standing still with its head still spinning. Maxwell had strengthened the tree so much that even its head that could destroy extremely hard rocks with ease couldn't damage the tree and instead suffered a mild concussion. The rhinoceros was squealing in pain, but it felt the slash approaching. With its current state it couldn't think straight.

The Rhinoceros screamed in pain as it hit. The slash cut through the hide and started draining the qi from its body and growing stronger. As it reached the neck bone of the Rhinoceros, it mysteriously stopped and was countered. It left a deep wound that spilled deep red blood on the ground. It painted the damaged tree and the ground along with the plants crimson.

The pain had allowed it to stop panicking, but it instead went into a crazy and delirious state. It ran straight into the pond while making terrible sounds. It was attempting to wash away the burning sensation in its neck with water. After diving in, it never came out and instead the pond turned red.

Soon, the body rose to the surface floating. The corpse was mostly devoured and in the center of the half devoured corpse, lay a black and red blob-like mass that continued to eat away. It devoured the life that was remaining in the Rhino and grew bigger.

"What is that?" Mira asked while wielding her 2 blades in caution.

'Black and red appearance. It consumes the vitality in living beings. Is it that?'

"It can't be? There is nothing else it can." Maxwell muttered to himself.

"What is it?" Serena asked him.

As she asked that, the blob suddenly enlarged and enveloped the entire corpse. The corpse disappeared and only 2 long white horns remained.

"F*ck! Run! Quickly." Maxwell swore while jumping back.

"What is it? Why are you so alarmed?" Jeffrey asked while stepping away.

"It's a demon. There shouldn't be any. I don't know why this is here."

Maxwell had no knowledge of demons from his past life's memories in the Mortal Plane. He had only come across a short note on it in the corner of a book he found in the library of the Chevalier mansion. It wasn't in detail and that had aroused Maxwell's attention further.

"What's a demon?" The rest collectively asked, other than Arnold who lay injured next to them.

"I don't know either. All I know is that they should be exterminated before they grow stronger and larger."

"What will happen if that occurs?" Mira asked curiously.

"All it said was a catastrophe would occur and nothing would remain."