After feeling its wing go limp, the beetle went haywire. Its remaining wing beat violently against the air while its six legs thrashed against the forest floor.
Tree trunks cracked under the impact of its armored body as it rolled and twisted, desperate to dislodge Ethan from its back.
Ethan hung on with iron-enhanced fingers digging into the seam between carapace plates, but the creature's jerking movements grew increasingly violent.
Black ichor made the surface slick, his grip weakening with each wild convulsion.
"Just... die... already..." he growled, trying to drive Han Wei's sword deeper.
One final heave sent him flying. His back slammed into a massive tree trunk with bone-jarring force.
*Crunch.*
The bark splintered from the impact, shards exploding outward as his body created a large dent in the wood.
"Hisss!"
Air rushed through his teeth as pain lanced up his spine. Being strong enough to damage the tree didn't mean he was immune to being damaged himself.
The beetle screeched in triumph, turning to face him with its mandibles clicking angrily. The beetle wanted nothing but to rip him apart.
One wing of the beetle hung useless, but the other still functioned enough for limited mobility. Its six legs dug into the forest floor as it charged.
Ethan pushed himself upright, ignoring the pain in his back.
"Not bad," he muttered, spitting blood.
"My turn."
He activated Enhanced Speed, darting sideways as the beetle smashed through the tree he'd just been standing against. The ancient trunk toppled with a thunderous crash, but the monster barely slowed, pivoting with surprising agility to track him.
Ethan fired three arrows in rapid succession, targeting the soft joint at its thorax. Two bounced harmlessly off its armored carapace. The third found its mark, sinking deep.
The beetle screeched in pain but didn't stop. If anything, the injury made it more aggressive. It charged again, faster this time, mandibles spread wide enough to sever a man in half.
Ethan leaped, intending to vault over it. But he was not fast enough.
"Shit! It caught me." He muttered as one of its pincers caught his leg mid-jump, slicing through his pants and deep into his calf.
"Argh!"
White-hot pain shot up his leg as he crashed to the ground, rolling to avoid the beetle's immediate follow-up strike.
The wound was bad.
Glancing at it, Etahn could see muscle laid open to the bone, blood flowing freely.
But luckily his F+ Regeneration talent activated, the edges of the wound slowly knitting together.
Not as fast as the bear's original E Grade ability, but enough to keep him in the fight.
"That's going to reduce my combat ability," he muttered, limping backward to create distance.
The beetle sensed Ethan's weakness.
Not wasting the opportunity, it pressed forward. It scuttled towards him with unnerving speed, its pincers clicking in anticipation of the kill.
Screech!
Ethan feinted left, then dove right as the beetle committed to its attack. He rolled under its body, slashing upward with his sword as he passed.
The blade found its mark in the softer underbelly, drawing more black ichor.
The beetle screeched.
A sound no insect should be capable of making.
It twisted, trying to impale him with its back legs, but Ethan was already moving, his legs carrying him just beyond its reach.
His leg wound throbbed, but the bleeding had slowed. The regeneration was working, albeit gradually.
"I need to end this soon." Ethan muttered, glancing around to make sure he wasn't surrounded.
'The beetles' screeching must have attracted some monsters. And who knows what rank they would be.'
The beetle reared up, exposing its underside again but it was no error, it was a different attack mode.
Its abdomen pulsed once… twice, then sprayed a jet of acidic fluid toward him.
"Shit!"
Ethan activated Protective Shield just in time. The acid splashed against the magical barrier, sizzling as it ate through the forest floor beside him.
"That was close. Too close."
"I need a new plan. This is taking too long."
The beetle's natural armor was still too strong for his attacks, its acid spray kept him at a distance, and its remaining wing gave it just enough mobility to avoid being flanked easily by him.
"Time to use everything."
Ethan activated Iron Enhancement, hardening his body to withstand the next charge. When the beetle rushed forward, he didn't dodge—he met it head-on, Enhanced Speed carrying him straight toward those deadly pincers.
At the last possible moment, he dropped and slid beneath it, his sword raised to slice open its underbelly from front to back.
The maneuver worked, his blade cutting a long gash in the softer chitin.
But the beetle wasn't finished. As Ethan emerged from beneath it, one of its back legs caught him across the chest, the force of the blow sending him flying into another tree.
This time, he didn't just dent the bark—he went straight through it.
The tree toppled as Ethan crashed through its trunk and landed hard among the underbrush.
Blood filled his mouth.
"Shit. That attack definitely broke several ribs."
But even as he lay there, his Regeneration talent was working, mending the damage.