Death Demon Dragon

Han Sen saw Dragon Lady in full-sprint, and right on her heels was a terrifying mantis out for her blood.

The mantis kept on swinging its scythes as it went, in large arcs that hewed the stones and vegetation all around her.

Dragon Lady did not falter or slow, and she kept on moving as fast as she could, determined to get away. In her hands, she clutched a basketball-sized egg that belonged to the mantis she had angered.

After a brief stare with his Dongxuan Aura, Han Sen was able to tell it was a sacred-blood creature. No small foe for Dragon Lady to consider taking on by herself.

Fortunately, the mantis was a large, lumbering, and blusterous creature. It wavered from side to side as it went, trying to catch its prey that was swift of foot and as nimble as a squirrel. It was having great difficulty catching Dragon Lady, but even so, she was unable to completely escape its pursuit. And it'd only be a matter of time before the chef got winded or made a slip.

She used the geography as best she could to throw off the scythed-beast, but still, she couldn't shake the persistent mantis.

Han Sen didn't think there was much he could do to help her out. The mantis was a sacred-blood creature, after all, and even he had his limits. And even though Han Sen could not see what geno core it utilized, one thing was certain: it was a gemstone geno core. And trying to topple one of those was a reckless endeavor with his current status.

"Get rid of the egg! Throw it away!" Han Sen yelled at Dragon Lady.

The blades of the mantis had just sliced through an entire rocky outcrop, and the land tumbled and shook. Han Sen wasn't going to step any closer.

The sprinting chef wasn't following his command, though. She responded, "I can't do that!"

"It's only a sacred-blood egg! Live to fight another day, geez. It's not worth it. Just get rid of it." Han Sen wished to save her, but if she did not listen, there was little he could do.

Even if Han Sen threw his Crystal Core at the rampaging insect, it had an effective radius of two meters. It wouldn't be enough to soften and rubberize the entire thing.

And that was assuming it could. It was a mighty thing, even by sacred-blood standards. There was no guarantee his Crystal Core would soften it enough to be worthwhile.

Han Sen looked at Red Pony and Starsea Beast and noticed how small and harmless they looked.

Dragon Lady ran beneath the eaves of a nearby forest and kept on running into the dense landscape of trees. Still, it did not hinder her pursuer much. The mantis marched through the trees, slicing them down as it went. Any it missed were soon toppled by the weight of its body.

"I need it to get myself a gold geno core!" Dragon Lady explained the reasoning for her risky venture, as she hopped across the overgrowth.

"There'll be plenty of opportunities for one in the future. It's not worth what you're putting yourself through. What's the point of getting one if you end up too dead to use it?!" Han Sen could understand her plea and desire, but he felt frustrated at his inability to aid her.

"But I've been here for so long, and I only just summoned this Death Demon Dragon. I am not sure when I'll be able to do it again," Dragon Lady said.

"Sh*t! You summoned that thing? It looks more like a mantis than a dragon, but still... whoa!" Han Sen then recalled her special ability: it was possible for her to summon ingredients to cook with. This time, however, her ingredient was getting the better of her. It should have been the other way around, but now, the ingredient was about to gobble up the chef. It was nearly poetic.

Pang!

Dragon Lady made a misstep, and she stumbled and tripped over a tree that had been knocked down by the monster that hounded her.

The Death Demon Dragon arrived before her to take advantage of her mistake. It raised up its ghastly blades, ready to bring them down and put her to rest in a deep crater.

Han Sen, realizing he had no choice, summoned his Crystal Core and lobbed the egg at the blades that were ready to descend.

The egg bounced off the glistening steel of its weapons, and then, the metallic cutters turned moderately flaccid.

Dragon Lady pulled out some cutlery and blocked the softened steel with a knife and fork.

Pang!

The knife and fork held back the blades, but there was still a steady force descending onto her. Slowly, she was pushed back into the plush soil of the forest floor until a trench had formed.

Dragon Lady spat out some blood as she repelled the cutters. It had taken the wind out of her and dealt her a good deal of damage, but she knew she had survived due to the action of the egg. The area the egg had hit had been softened.

The Death Demon Dragon was unable to kill her with its first strike, so it tried to do it again. Once more, it raised its lethal butcher-ware.

"You two? Head on home. I've got something that needs doing, but I won't be too far behind," Han Sen told Red Pony and Starsea Beast to return to the shelter. Then, he took aim and launched the egg at the mantis' eye with the precision and force of a cannon.

Pang!

The crystal egg battered the eye of the mantis with perfect accuracy, throwing the creature off-stance and making it miss the death-blow it sought to deliver.

"Run!" Han Sen said, after retrieving the Crystal Core.

Dragon Lady, holding her own egg, took off running. She was quick, but her speed had obviously been impeded somewhat by the hit she had just suffered. The mantis looked at Han Sen, peeved about the intruder that had hassled it a second time, but still continued going after Dragon Lady.

Seeing her run so slowly, Han Sen had no choice but to take the egg off her hands. He shouted, "Give me the egg!"

Dragon Lady threw it to Han Sen and then leaped out of harm's way.

The blades of the mantis were just about to descend on her head, but it was fortunate she made the jump. They cut into the earth and kicked up a plume of soil, twigs, and branches.

Han Sen, egg in hand, then taunted the beast. He said, "Now, only one question remains, mantis boy: fried or scrambled?"

The rage of the mantis had been stoked even more, and it began stomping over to Han Sen, blades waving from left to right, decimating the landscape between the two.

Han Sen's body was weaker than Dragon Lady's, but he had his phoenix techniques to dodge. Unfortunately, getting rid of the mantis for good didn't seem possible right now. But at the very least, he was able to remain alive.

Han Sen kept on running, with his graceful evasions making it look like a spectacular dance. The cutters of the mantis shredded the ground like a violent wake Han Sen was leaving behind.

The mantis' size was fortunate, for again, its huge and lumbering body made it difficult to catch such small and spry prey. But then, the mantis suddenly stopped giving chase. And from out of the mantis's forehead, something appeared.