Andrew's arm pushed up, deflecting the Dullahan's blade as it repeatedly tried to strike down. With a flick of his wrist, he swept the arm-blade aside.
Then, using both arms, he raised the tachi high above his head and brought it down in a vicious, straight chop toward the Dullahan.
The immense force generated a powerful gust of wind as it struck the Dullahan's shield, sending it staggering back.
The stagger disrupted the Ethereal's intended follow-up attack with its arm-blade. The tremendous force transmitted through the shield forced it to take two steps back just to dissipate the momentum.
Andrew flicked the tip of his blade up, thrusting viciously into the gap to the right of the shield, aiming for the Dullahan's right leg. The blade pierced through, instantly carving a deep gash in the Dullahan's right leg. Unfortunately, Ethereals had no blood to spill.
It had to be said, the strangest thing about Ethereals was how they were like data-driven game characters. Unless a limb was completely severed or destroyed, their normal functions wouldn't be impaired.
This state, like that of a silicon-based lifeform, combined with a complete lack of self-awareness and only raw combat instincts made them just like a swarm of insects.
Only the higher-level nodes could be said to possess a shallow consciousness, while the lower-ranking ones were like puppets, attacking any living target with reckless abandon.
Seeing Andrew's blade fully extended, the Dullahan immediately raised the shield on its left arm and smashed it toward his head. The wide edge of the shield loomed larger and larger in Andrew's vision.
Andrew, of course, had no intention of taking that hit head-on. After all, he wasn't wearing any defensive gear right now; a direct blow would be anything but comfortable.
As he swiftly retracted the thrusting blade, Andrew swung his tachi in a wide arc at the Dullahan. Using the forward momentum of the swing, he leaped back a significant distance.
This leap caused the Dullahan's shield bash to miss completely. At the same time, Andrew's retreating slash wasn't finished yet.
Inertia was always the best ally when wielding a heavy weapon.
The inertia from the retreating slash instantly became an accelerator for his next move. Andrew guided his body, letting the tachi carve an elliptical arc through the air.
Twisting his body and waist, he unleashed a fierce upward diagonal slash. The nearly exhausted force from his previous move became violent and swift again, fueled by the acceleration of his spin.
Although this attack struck the Dullahan's shield, the blade not only sent a shower of sparks flying but also left behind a deep notch.
The scattering sparks illuminated the Dullahan's dark form.
Only then did Andrew get a clear look at its black body and the deep claw marks on its shield.
This Infamous Dullahan, despite its imposing appearance, was already battered and broken, covered in marks left by sharp claws.
The pattern of these claw marks was incredibly familiar to Andrew. Between two long, deep gouges was a third, distinctly smaller and shorter mark.
The trio of marks combined to form one complete scratch.
There were many of them, and they were very deep.
Besides those, there was also a massive bite wound. The marks, resembling canine teeth, covered the Dullahan's entire left shoulder, shattering its original pauldron into several pieces.
This seemingly powerful Ethereal was actually in a half-crippled state. Its actual combat strength didn't even match that of the half-evolved Pompey.
Those deep, long wounds looked as if they'd been torn open, like a series of long serrated blades had raked across the Ethereal's body, leaving gashes that could not heal.
These claw marks, identical to the ones on the wall earlier and somewhat familiar, made Andrew pause for a moment.
This thing... it was definitely only here because of some kind of anomaly.
The Pompey fighting Caesar was likely the naturally generated boss of this Hollow.
But this Dullahan was clearly not an Ethereal that could have been spawned so quickly in a nascent Hollow like this.
Andrew's battle with it seemed to have stimulated the recently calmed Hollow. Ether energy flared up again, pouring continuously into Pompey.
As the energy infused it, the crystals on Pompey's body grew deeper in color, while the green patterns on its skin glowed even brighter, as if it were advancing to the next stage.
And with the start of this evolution, the Hollow's activity level was steadily increasing.
As Pompey's evolution began, it teleported from its attack on Caesar back to its original position. The Dullahan also retreated to Pompey's side, guarding its evolution like a sentinel.
Not caring how this bizarre situation came to be, Andrew turned to Caesar, who had quickly moved to his side, and said:
"I'm going to take out Pompey as fast as I can. You just delay the Dullahan. Prioritize your own safety above all else."
Caesar nodded seriously and said:
"Leave it to me!"
It wasn't that he didn't want to attack Pompey together to speed up the hunt. The issue was that the Ethereals were only about twice the size of a human.
Given the length of the Dullahan tachi in Andrew's hands, if he made a vertical slash and Caesar failed to dodge in time, the palicoes would be coming to cart her away.
There wouldn't even be a chance for a so-called Helm Breaker.
And most importantly, there were no palicoes here!
Day 101 of missing Meowscular. I miss him.
Since Caesar had agreed, Andrew gave her half of the Healing Potions from his item pouch, then raised his tachi and prepared to advance.
After all, if that thing successfully evolved again, the Ethereal would become a pure Ether activity catalyst.
As long as it existed, the Hollow, which had been in a stable phase, would immediately become active and begin to expand.
And at that point, even Blazewood would probably be in danger.
As the duo approached, the evolving Pompey's progress didn't slow in the slightest. At the same time, the Dullahan began to recover from its injuries thanks to the high concentration of Ether energy.
As the two unhesitatingly closed in, Pompey immediately lashed out at the approaching humans.
Taking a step forward, it swung the crescent scimitar on its right arm down fiercely, an attack Andrew blocked directly with the vambrace on his arm.
The evolution time for an Ethereal was incredibly fast; it could be completed in just a few dozen seconds.
So Andrew had no time to waste. He chose the fastest and most direct method of attack—tanking the hit to trade blows.
With the protection of the Lockblade Dragon Vambraces, Andrew was fully confident in his ability to take the hit.
With a twist of the hand that had blocked the scimitar, Andrew grabbed the blade as Pompey tried to pull it back. The tachi in his other hand swung, leaving a deep gash where the scimitar connected to its arm.
Andrew's immense strength made it impossible for Pompey to break free. Their very first exchange had left a deep wound on its body.
Even a painless Ethereal would instinctively retreat when faced with an insurmountable foe.
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