The floating tag vanished the moment Ronan caught sight of it. However, he now knew what they were facing.

He wasn't sure why a monster around his own level would put him on edge though. That had been an almost primal fear reaction. He raised the spear, taking a step forwards into his combat stance.

A frown crossed his face as his eyes darted around. His movements felt sluggish. A check of his status confirmed nothing was wrong, but he figured a bit of extra caution wouldn't hurt.

"Three tails this time. Level thirty seven, keep your guard up," he said to Keith.

When there was no response or sounds of movement, he turned around to check on the guy. Keith was standing still, slack-jawed with dull eyes.

What the hell? Is it one of the fox's skills? Ronan was far more worried now. Fighting against a higher level opponent was one thing. Doing it while also protecting the dazed Keith was a different story.

A nearby shadow seemed to stretch towards him. It happened in the blink of an eye. One minute Ronan was standing in daylight, the next darkness.

Only his heightened instincts allowed him to dodge the claw swipe that came from within the outstretched shadow. Yet the fox was relentless.

Its momentum carried it around in a rapid spin. As the shadow retreated, a bushy tail thwapped Ronan on the arm.

He'd raised it to guard his face in time, but the impact sent him flying. To his shock, the damage was no laughing matter either, despite how soft the tail had been.

You have been hit by [Elite Three-Tailed Fox Lv.37]!

-36 Health [Smashing]

As he regained his balance, Ronan saw a wisp of flame flickering in the middle of the street. It vanished the moment he focused on it. Weird, he murmured to himself.

There was no time to ponder the meaning. Two more shadows streaked across the ground towards him. He didn't know which was the real attack. Possibly both.

He wasted no time in channelling his mana and stamina into four skills at once. Holding back would only get him killed. As the shadows reached his legs, Ronan unleashed his fury.

Vital surge, breaking charge, double strike, and even magic strike. The devastating combination had brought Magriz'al the Hobgoblin Champion to his knees. What could a mere fox do against it?

Yet as the barbed spear swung out, followed by an ethereal copy of itself that swung in step, Ronan's face twisted in confusion. He stumbled forwards as breaking charge sent him flying through empty space.

The swing of his spear carried him round, the jagged tip biting into nothing but the ground as it reached the end of its arc. He hurried to yank it back when he felt three lines of fire rake down his back.

Spinning and swinging his spear, Ronan cursed as it once more struck empty air. He did catch the fox slinking away into the shadows, glaring after it. Coward, he inwardly spat.

A spear-shaped shadow shot at him from where the fox had escaped. He jumped to the left, a clean dodge. Suddenly he felt something pierce his gut.

Blood spurted out as a pencil-width hole opened in his abdomen. Ronan gasped, focusing on the notification more than usual to see what the hell had happened.

You have been hit by [Elite Three-Tailed Fox Lv.37]!

-43 Health [Piercing]

You are [Bleeding]!

-6 Health per second

Unfortunately it only told him how soon he would be dead from blood loss, rather than what the attack had been. There was no time to figure it out as three more shadows darted at him.

To Ronan's dismay, there was a shadow spear lancing towards Keith's head as well. Damn it, he inwardly cursed, racing towards his dazed ally.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

When he swung his spear this time, it smacked the shadow strike aside. The same couldn't be said for those aimed at him, as he felt two sharp impacts hit his chest.

You have been hit by [Elite Three-Tailed Fox Lv.37]!

-48 Health [Piercing]

You are [Bleeding]!

-9 Health per second

You have been hit by [Elite Three-Tailed Fox Lv.37]!

-39 Health [Piercing]

You are [Bleeding]!

-5 Health per second

The stream of notifications was growing annoying, so Ronan dismissed them all. He had just over half his health points left. If the battle continued in this manner, he would soon lose them too.

He had somewhat figured out what the fox's skill must be. Either it was illusions, masking the true attacks among false ones and manipulating the shadows to conceal its intent, or it had space manipulation magic.

Given how rare and complex the latter would probably be, Ronan suspected it was the first. Illusions. Annoying, but I think I know just the trick, he thought with a smirk.

First, he needed to free up his focus to give everything to the battle. He twisted his hips before unwinding. A loud thwack rang out across the street as he backhanded Keith in the face.

The man stumbled, a red mark appearing on his cheek. His eyes shifted and came back into focus. He clutched at his face, mouth ajar. "What…? Ronan, what did you do that-"

Ronan cut him off as more shadows struck towards the two of them. "Fox caught you in a spell, mate. Stay sharp!" he yelled as he raced towards the last place he'd seen the fox.

With how tricky the fox was, manipulating every attack and movement so Ronan couldn't track its real position, there was no use going for a direct hit. Instead, he had a surefire way to damage the fox.

As the next shadow spears raced towards him, Ronan didn't make a move. When they were a few metres away, he suddenly shot forwards.

With a roar, he unleashed his three combat skills once more. Vital surge was still active, thus he didn't need to use it twice. Mana and stamina flushed out of his system.

A long staff made from bone appeared in his hands as they slammed towards the ground. The gnarled skull at its tip shattered as the staff smashed into the broken asphalt.

His strategy hinged on the poor condition of the roads, along with the foxes' lack of durability. If he couldn't see his enemy, then the solution became simple.

Just destroy everything around him.

For a single moment, silence fell over the ruined streets. The shadows that clung to the edges of the broken buildings seemed to shift, as though alive.

Then a dozen cracks exploded outwards from where Ronan's staff had struck. The cracks shot into the shadows, the asphalt roads exploding in their wake.

Under normal circumstances, ruined building materials from pre-integration Earth wouldn't have left a scratch on a level 37 monster. Exploded and sent flying by Ronan's devastating combination of skills…? His plan worked like a charm.

Not a second after he blew the road wide open, an ear piercing howl cut through the air. A towering, three-tailed fox tumbled out of the shadows sporting dozens of bleeding wounds across its shiny orange fur.

The collage of red and orange resembled a raging fire, but the fox was anything but raring to go. Seeing how weakened it was from just the after effects of his strike, Ronan suspected its stats were heavily invested in that nasty illusion skill rather than its durability.

It took a few stumbling steps, perhaps concussed. The moment its eyes focused once more, it moved to dart back into the shadows.

Ronan couldn't let that happen. He was running low on stamina after two consecutive combos. If it regained its terrain advantage he wasn't sure he could take it down. Not while protecting Keith, anyway.

As soon as the fox started moving, so did Ronan. Unfortunately for the beast, despite its natural agility, the brutish human was fast for his size.

The shattered bone staff had returned to his inventory, a barbed spear slipping into his hands as he raced forwards. He gathered his stamina, preparing for a final strike.

The fox sped up, three tails swishing as half a dozen flickering flames appeared around the street. Ronan almost fell sideways, a wave of nausea striking him each time he so much as glanced at one of the flames.

However, it was too little, too late. The result of the battle was set in stone as Ronan unleashed breaking charge.

The fox made a final desperate leap for the writhing shadows. Sleek orange fur shone in the golden light of sunset, blitzing across a broken road.

Ronan's stomach lurched as the last remnants of stamina were drained from him, along with a decent chunk of mana. A crimson fountain painted him with blood as Thurg's Razorspear carved into the fox's soft underbelly.

The monster began to screech, but its death cries were silenced by a second ethereal copy of the spear. The ghostly barbed spear burst through its back, showering the asphalt with guts and gore.

The weight of the corpse brought Ronan to the ground with it as it fell. He lay there, panting from exhaustion even as he felt the system beginning to rejuvenate his drained resources.

Despite that, a big grin was plastered on his face. His heart was pumping at a thousand beats per minute, the adrenaline and thrill of battle still coursing through his system.

He was satisfied with the outcome of the battle. They'd cut it close, but it was a well fought victory. More than the enjoyment of the battle itself, Ronan was grinning at the kill message floating in his vision, already thinking of how to use his loot.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.