Chapter 64: Forest Rumble
He raced to the top of the vine and ran up its length until he was far above the forest, staring into the horizon. There were about fifty of the green vines slithering and wiggling all over the place, and few of them were long enough to tower over the forest trees by more than two hundred meters.
Mark watched the ant anima watching him. They both ran across the vines without ever letting the other out of their sight, and Mark crouched on the vine and used it as a springboard to launch himself toward where the Ant was!
Phwoom!
Mark flipped in the air and released a loud shout as he used his heel to slam into the spot where the ant anima had been standing! The ant anima easily dodged around the attack, but the attack was so strong that it immediately tore through the vine and split it in two! Mark didn\'t stop; he grabbed hold of the torn vine and used it as a whip to try and slam into the ant!
Shink!
The ant immediately cut through the vine with its blade and got rid of the pieces, but Mark was able to take advantage of that brief moment when it couldn\'t see him dash over to its side! Mark bent and swung upwards into the space below the Anima\'s rib!
"Rargh!!"
Boom!
A massive punch to the kidney would have been enough to render any human incapable of standing, but the ant anima was able to tank the punch from Mark like a pro as it was sent flying through the air! It slammed into another vine and screeched in anger as it glared at Mark.
Mark knew that the ant was stronger than him. From the small skirmish that they just had, Mark could sense that there was no way he could win against the monster if this was a contest of strength. But what it had in strength, it severely lacked in speed! The ant anima was not fast enough to stop Mark if Mark went at full speed, and it had a slower reaction time than Mark!
That meant that there was still a high chance that Mark could win if he managed to deliver enough punches in quick succession before the anima could react!
Boom!
The anima immediately shot straight for Mark again, and Mark took in a deep breath as he prepared himself. He crouched over and dashed out of the way just before the ant slammed into the spot where he had been standing! Mark slid down the vine he had been standing on and dodged to the side as another vine almost slammed into him!
He landed on the forest floor and ran through the trees for a few minutes before grabbing hold of a branch and breaking it off its tree as he passed it!
Mark turned around and threw the branch, gaining a smile when he saw that the branch hit the ant on the face! Mark changed direction faster than the ant could follow, and he dashed straight for the ant! By the time the ant managed to get its sight back, Mark was already in position once more, and there was nothing it could do as he pulled back his fist!
Boom!
[Critical Hit]!
Another strike to the same spot immediately sent the ant flying through the air as it screeched in pain. The first hit was enough to soften that area up, and now that Mark managed to get a critical strike on that same spot, it was impossible for the ant not to feel it!
Boom!
Mark immediately dashed forward as a new vine shot out of the ground and began to chase after him! He raced up another one of the vines quickly and made his way higher up to avoid the vine chasing him!
The vine he was standing on began to wriggle around to throw Mark off, but he was able to get a hold of it before he looked around to see where the ant flew off to. It was probably hiding somewhere to get its bearing back after that punch. Mark knew that there was no way that the anima would stay down for long. The anima was far more durable than that.
Mark narrowed his eyes as he glanced around quickly while keeping a lookout for the vines that were wriggling about and trying to get him as well. He only needed to drop his guard for a moment, and he would be killed by either one of the two monsters.
Shink!
The ant anima suddenly appeared from behind a large vine, raising its blade high in the air! It was right behind Mark, and Mark was not able to turn around quickly enough to stop it from slashing him with its blade. But Mark was smart enough to immediately drop forward once he felt something coming from behind him, and it was only because of this that Mark didn\'t get decapitated by the blade!
The blade cut a long line across the back of Mark\'s shoulders, and he could feel a stinging sensation there that told him that the cut was very deep. But that didn\'t matter to him. The wound wasn\'t so bad that it would prevent him from moving, and that meant he didn\'t have to worry about it!
Boom!
Mark shot off for the anima once more, and the anima\'s face twisted in irritation and anger as it noticed that Mark was not showing any sign of slowing down at all. What sort of human is this? They had been fighting for the better part of ten minutes already, and yet Mark was still charging forward like his energy was limitless!
The anima always planned to end this fight quickly so that it could put Mark into the pod that the queen would grow from, but it never knew that Mark would be this strong. Mark was much stronger than what the scouts reported, and with the way things were going, there was actually a likelihood that it would lose!
"Just die, human!"
Boom!
The anima charged for Mark again, and they both slammed into each other in the air. Mark knew that he couldn\'t win in a battle of strength against the anima, so he used his hands to redirect the anima\'s punch to the side and moved faster to grab its arm!
"Rargghhh!!"
Mark flung the anima to the ground, and it slammed into the forest floor, creating a deep crater!
Boom!
A massive shockwave echoed across the island, making the entire landmass shake as waves smashed against the island shores! The anima rushed to its feet as the dust cleared, but before it could get back into the air, Mark was already with it on the ground!