Killing the Peacock

Han Sen pursued the lobster, which had reached a depth of over one thousand meters. The blue light of the peacock continued to grow dimmer and dimmer, a sure sign that it was dying.

Its wings had been broken by the lobster's pincers. Blood seeped into the ocean from the torn flesh, coloring the area in a red haze.

Han Sen could only see the peacock when its blue lights flickered.

The peacock's face was rotten. Its flesh had been stripped and melted away, which exposed parts of its skull.

All across its body, its once-pleasant mane of graceful feathers had been shredded to tatters. Its train in the back had been mangled by the cruel ferocity of the lobster. The peacock that had looked fine and proud back on the island was now uglier than a skinned chicken.

"It looks like having a high defense is a worthier investment. It seemed to pay off for the lobster, in beating this week's nemesis," Han Sen thought to himself. Although the peacock was powerful, its power wasn't enough to compete with the hardy lobster.

The lobster was not Han Sen's focus. The peacock super creature was only able to leave shallow scratch marks upon its shell; with the lobster being that strong, he didn't want to risk becoming its next potential target. Even if he used Yin Force, he doubted it would do much.

Seeing that the peacock was dying, Han Sen dove in after it. The murky blood that tainted the waters helped to mask his chase.

Han Sen was now about ten meters away from them. The lobster was happily toying with the peacock's near-lifeless body, unaware that it was being watched.

The peacock lacked the strength to fight back. Its eyes were white and it was starting to drown. It only reacted when the lobster made another cruel dig into its flesh.

Han Sen summoned his mascot beast sword and held it tight. This was a berserk sacred-blood beast soul sword; if he could inflict one mighty blow upon the peacock's weakest point, he might be able to end its life for good.

The weak point Han Sen was referring to was the most grievous of the wounds inflicted by the lobster.

Han Sen positioned himself carefully. He could not allow the lobster to become aware of his intrusion, but he had to get as close to the peacock as he possibly could.

After thorough observation of the peacock's current state, he considered a number of wounds he might go for. But whichever he chose, he'd only have one chance to ensure the kill. Once he attacked, the lobster that was jovially munching its prey would be alerted to his presence. There would be no retries.

The wound on the peacock's wing was the most severe. But even if he attacked there, it wasn't a deadly, critical location.

Although the peacock looked utterly ravaged, its wounds were greater than the sum of their parts. None were truly grievous on their own. From the way things looked, the peacock's cause of death would be drowning. The wounds themselves weren't enough to stop its body from operating or make it bleed to death.

Han Sen continued to watch. If he wanted to slay the peacock in one fell swoop, the most viable location he could strike would be the wound left by the wasp.

The peacock's face was a rotten mess. Blood plasma leaked from its eyes, indicating that its brain had been ravaged by the poison.

Han Sen carefully avoided the plasma that merged with the sea. Although it was similar to the blood, the plasma solidified in the water. It didn't merge and discolor the water as the red blood did.

Han Sen camouflaged himself in the clouds of blood and managed to sneak around behind the peacock's body. The big lobster was still snacking on its feathered foe and was not aware of Han Sen's presence.

Han Sen was beginning to feel excited. If he was discovered, he'd have no choice but to fall back, for there would be no way he could battle a lobster deep down in its own domain; the sea.

Although the lobster was not as scary as the wasp, the lobster's shell made it invulnerable to him in his current state. Furthermore, despite being an avid, extremely dexterous swimmer, there was no doubt that the lobster would be considerably faster than he was. He did not dare upset it.

If they were on land, then maybe he'd have a chance to fight back. He wouldn't down here, though. Han Sen could only pray that he would not be discovered.

Fortunately, luck was on Han Sen's side. He had managed to get up close to the peacock's side without the lobster noticing.

If he wanted to attack the peacock's eyes, he'd have trouble. The lobster was facing that direction, so he'd definitely be seen.

Han Sen stuck close to the peacock's body for a while, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Alas, it never came.

After biding his time for a while longer, the chance he was waiting for still never came. But now he was running out of time, for the peacock looked like it was starting to give up the ghost. Its head bobbed in the water and its body was twitching more and more faintly after each bite the lobster took.

"No. I cannot wait any longer. If I do, the peacock will die. This is a risk I'm going to have to take." Han Sen gritted his teeth, held his mascot beast sword and stared at the bobbing head.

He cast Heresy Mantra and the Jade-Sun Force. With his heart like a generator and is kidneys kicking into overdrive, he was endowed with an infinite reserve of power. His power was at max capacity and he was raring to go.

Han Sen chose not to transform into Snow Lady. He decided to use Fairy Queen. But he needed greater clarity of vision to more properly analyze the peacock's head and the lobster's movements.

He used his remarkable senses and gathered a granularly-detailed overview of the scene so he could predict every single possibility.

To strike like this would definitely draw the lobster's attention. And after that, he could only flee. Han Sen's life hinged on whether or not he could escape the lobster's pursuit; therefore, he could not make a single mistake. He couldn't afford to be careless.

But then an opportunity presented itself. Without letting it pass him by, he leapt into action. He swam straight to the peacock's head like a torpedo, sword-in-hand and ready to strike.

The moment Han Sen made his move, the lobster became aware. The pincers that were working on dismembering the peacock's battered body now turned their attention to Han Sen.

Han Sen's eyes looked cold. Ever since he unlocked his gene lock with Jadeskin, he could become emotionless and unafraid of death at will.

The lobster's pincers were too quick. He knew if he continued his attack on the peacock he would be unable to dodge its claws.

If Han Sen ran away now, however, he wouldn't be given a second chance to kill the peacock.

His eyes looked different. The ancient mascot beast sword plunged itself into the peacock's eye repeatedly, and at the same time, he summoned his golden armor and the gargoyle glyph. With his other hand, he attempted to stop the pincer.

Squelch!

The mascot beast sword was driven deep into the peacock's eye, all four feet of its blade. There was no resistance.

But at the same time, the big purple pincer of the lobster came bearing down on Han Sen. He slapped it.

Pang!

Han Sen's hand was knocked back into his own chest. Coughing blood, he was launched like a cannonball a few dozen meters in the sea.