Demon Immortal-Chapter 86: Turning Tables

BANG!

Duncan once more slammed hard into the wall with his back as he came up short in his clash with the cannibal.

Duncan rose up, gritting his teeth in anger and frustration. He was now trapped in this small space, with the cannibal standing between him and the exit. The area around here didn't favor Duncan's style of fighting much.

He couldn't freely use his martial arts techniques in the way he desired. Every time he tried to execute his sword art, the cannibal interrupted him causing him to defend himself in haste.

As for using <Wind Chasing Steps>, Duncan can forget it as he was now trapped in a small space.

Thus both his techniques were not able to be used to their full potential in this confrontation. And to make matter worse, the enemy was stronger than him. Duncan already had suspicions of strong cannibals lurking in these pathways, but to have it confirmed in this time and place was the worst thing that could happen to him.

The one saving grace was that the enemy wasn't ridiculously powerful. It gave him a chance to fight back. But, without his techniques to boost his attacks or speed, Duncan was having a hard time accomplishing that.

Duncan didn't rush toward his enemy this time. He knew that the best option was to escape from this place and take the fight elsewhere. And he had to come up with a plan to do that.

With the cannibal blocking his way out, Duncan wasn't confident in overpowering it and escaping. If he could overpower it, then there was no need to escape. So, he had to use his brain here instead of his muscles.

Duncan closed in on the cannibal slowly, noting down each and every aspect of its actions in his mind. Duncan noticed that this cannibal wasn't in a hurry to attack him. It was letting him attack and retaliated at the right moment. The only time it initiated its attack was when Duncan tried to use his sword arts.

That meant, while this cannibal was confident in dealing with him as he is, it wasn't sure about his techniques. And this cannibal was also smart to realize that it had him trapped and wasn't rushing in to finish him off.

It was almost as if this cannibal understood the notion of tactics.

Duncan grimaced as he realized that this fight was going to be a tough one. He would have preferred if the cannibal was as brain-damaged as the other cannibals, but his luck seemed to finally run out.

Nearing the cannibal, Duncan swung his sword intending to make the cannibal step away from him a bit. But the cannibal calmly parried his swing with its nails, causing Duncan to stumble backward a little from the force.

However, Duncan was prepared for such an outcome as well. He retreated a bit and went low this time aiming for the cannibal's legs. The cannibal jumped over Duncan's swing and tried to hit Duncan back with a claw attack.

Duncan dodged the strike without giving ground and tried to shove the cannibal back with his shoulders. However, the cannibal tanked his shove without even flinching and tried to bite Duncan's neck in retaliation. Duncan had to hurriedly move away and swing his sword in defense.

The cannibal roared angrily when Duncan's sword grazed its shoulders and moved aggressively to box Duncan in. Duncan was having none of that. He used one leg to steady himself and pivoted to add extra momentum to his follow-up swing. The cannibal had to back away in fear of his sword a bit.

Having created some room, Duncan executed <Wind Chasing Steps> and tried to decapitate the cannibal with a blitzkrieg strike. However, the cannibal wisely ducked under his swing and punched Duncan hard in his stomach.

Duncan almost doubled over from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and rolled away when the follow-up claw attack landed on the spot he was in. Still gasping from the earlier blow, Duncan swung his sword once more at the cannibal's legs, causing it to dance away in a hurry.

Duncan once more followed his attack with a chop toward the cannibal's neck region. The cannibal reacted to it by arching its head back and bending backward. While the cannibal was able to escape the swing, Duncan however capitalized on its situation by vigorously stomping on the cannibal's thigh.

Duncan felt as if he was stomping on the ground itself when his leg connected with the cannibal's thigh. The cannibal grunted in pain as his leg buckled under him, and brought him to one knee. Duncan followed up it up with an elbow strike to the kneeling cannibal's face.

The cannibal however was smart enough to realize its predicament and used its hands to block Duncan's elbow. Duncan felt his bone jar a little when the connection was made.

Luckily for Duncan, the force behind the blow sent the cannibal backward, causing its center of gravity to tilt a bit. The result was that the cannibal lost his balance and fell backward.

Despite the pain emanating from his elbow, Duncan didn't waste any more time. Seeing the cannibal down on its back, Duncan knew that this was his chance to change the course of the fight. He advanced bravely and tried to chop the cannibal into several pieces.

However, the cannibal was ready for him. It used its legs to block Duncan's swing. And grabbed Duncan's shirt. Before Duncan could react, the cannibal pivoted and threw Duncan over its head using its legs as leverage.

Duncan rolled a few paces and stood up and looked at the cannibal which was already on its feet. The duo eyed each other and the cannibal smirked at Duncan and licked his lips.

Duncan smiled calmly in response and waved it goodbye.

Before the cannibal could react, Duncan used the <Wind Chasing Steps> and booked it from that place. When the cannibal threw Duncan over its head, it effectively shifted both their positions in regard to the exit. When Duncan stood up, his back was towards the exit.

This allowed Duncan to escape from the place easily. He knew that his fight with the cannibal wasn't over yet. The cannibal would most probably chase him down. But, Duncan wasn't afraid of it. The problem with fighting the cannibal earlier was the enclosed space they fought in.

The cannibal didn't have any weapons and preferred to engage in close combat. So, an enclosed space was an ideal place for it to display its full strength. However, that wasn't the case with Duncan. He couldn't effectively use his techniques, thus bringing his fighting power to half of what it could have been.

Now Duncan can find an ideal place for him to engage with the cannibal and fight against it.

Duncan heard the cannibal roar in anger and follow after him. He didn't even need to turn to look at the cannibal. From the sounds that were coming from behind him, Duncan knew that the cannibal was following him angrily.

Duncan's mind raced as he tried to form a plan to deal with this cannibal as quickly as possible. Duncan didn't know why this cannibal was so strong or how it found his position. But, he knew that prolonging a fight with it would lead him to get mobbed by more cannibals once more.

Already a single one was giving him so much headache. If more cannibals arrived, then he would be truly fucked. Not to mention that there was only one more day for him to reach the entrance.

Even if the cannibal didn't arrive, Duncan was planning to end his cultivation session and go in search of the entrance soon. He didn't fancy being locked up inside this godforsaken place. There was no food here and it was filled with cannibals. Pretty soon, he would exhaust himself and become weak.

Then, only one fate awaited him.

As Duncan raced through the pathways, he came across a wide space that acted as a connecting spot between different tunnels. He figured that this place was good to engage the cannibals and pivoted to the side suddenly.

The cannibal raced past the spot he pivoted from and stopped to turn. It was expecting Duncan to flee after changing directions. Unfortunately, Duncan didn't have any such ideas.

Duncan executed <Wind Chasing Steps> and appeared near the cannibal. He channeled the <Absolute Cut Sword Arts> and swung at the cannibal's neck viciously. The cannibal had enough reaction time to understand what was going on and raised its hand to guard its neck.

Duncan's sword cut through the cannibal's arm easily. However, unlike what Duncan had expected, it didn't cut through entirely. It got stuck in the cannibal's bone and came to a screeching halt.

Duncan gritted his teeth and pulled the sword back. He immediately executed <Wind Chasing Steps> and retreated back into some distance. It was good that he retreated because the cannibal's retaliatory strike from its other hand passed through the region where Duncan's head was mere moments after Duncan disappeared.

Duncan had a displeased look on his face as he watched the cannibal intensely. He was expecting his sword to do much more damage than what was dealt out. He knew that another such opportunity to take out the cannibal wouldn't manifest easily.

Unfortunately, he had overestimated his power and underestimated the durability of the cannibal. The cannibal recovered from the shock of the attack and looked at Duncan angrily. Its left arm hung uselessly below his shoulders. Green blood poured from the cut Duncan had dealt it like a river.

The cannibal looked at Duncan hatefully and roared.

Duncan was neither fazed by the setback nor taken aback by the hatred. He was calm and was already prepared for the cannibal's anger. He didn't waste a single moment as he heard the cannibal's angry roar echo across the tunnels.

Duncan didn't give the cannibal any chance to recuperate. He once more executed his techniques and attacked the cannibal relentlessly. The cannibal now found itself on the receiving end of the barrage of Duncan's furious attacks.

Duncan's mindset was that if he couldn't cut through the cannibal in a single stroke, then he would carve its flesh away bit by bit. So, Duncan never delivered any finishing blows. He went after the cannibal's legs and arms in a targeted manner. His goal was to make the cannibal immobile and not pose a threat to him. Only when it was incapacitated was he planning to go for the kill.

The cannibal never expected the tables to turn so suddenly. Before it could bounce back from its arm being made useless, Duncan was upon it with the ferocity of a tornado.

*****

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