Bai Qiu abandoned his weapon and retreated twenty meters in a row.
He knew the power of the Dragon Piercing Dagger—being stabbed by it would have likely destroyed most of the creature's eyes and the brain tissue inside its skull.
In other words, even if he turned and ran now, it probably wouldn't survive, unless it was one of those monsters with a particularly durable mechanism!
Even so, maintaining a twenty-meter distance was, in Bai Qiu's view, the optimal range for both dealing with a suicidal attack and for retreating.
The Dragonfang Hound opened its bloodthirsty jaws at Bai Qiu.
Its neck swelled like a ball, and immediately a fire serpent shot out from its mouth toward him.
The flames reflected in his eyes, moving so fast that the twenty-meter distance vanished in an instant!
Bai Qiu crossed his hands to protect his face and retreated at full speed.
The heat of the fire and the strong push sent him back to thirty-five meters away.
At this distance, the fire could no longer reach him.
After continuously spewing flames for over eight seconds, the fire gradually weakened and finally disappeared.
The Dragonfang Hound, drained of energy, collapsed to the ground, looking like a healthy person who had spent three years on drugs—its once-full body reduced to skin and bones.
After stepping out of the range of the fire, Bai Qiu immediately removed his iron armor and pauldrons, which had been scorched and heated.
The fire had only directly hit him for less than a second, thanks to the armor's protection.
If the flames had continued, even an elephant might have been roasted alive.
After the fire attack, the Dragonfang Hound was still barely alive but not dead.
Bai Qiu didn't rush over; he lingered nearby and happened to see a Dragonfang Soldier flying over.
His eyes lit up.
The Dragonfang Soldier, seeing a living being, tried to attack, but Bai Qiu moved faster than it and suddenly reached it, slamming it down hard and leaving it stunned on the ground.
He grabbed the Dragonfang Soldier by the back of its neck and dragged it toward the Dragonfang Hound.
When he got within three meters, he threw the Soldier with full force.
Although Bai Qiu's D-ranked strength was only one rank above the Dragonfang Soldier, in raw power he was probably more than ten times stronger.
Besides the boost from the Enhancement Card, each level-up was a qualitative leap for him.
The Dragonfang Soldier died instantly, turning into a flash of light and disappearing.
The Dragonfang Hound still clung to life, but it was already beyond hope.
Bai Qiu rushed forward and kicked it, and only then did it finally take its last breath.
As the white light rose, Bai Qiu leveled up twice in a row.
Picking up his dagger and spear, he began to examine the loot dropped by the Dragonfang Hound after its death.
Loot obtained:
Enhancement Card (Rank D)
Fusion Card (Rank D)
Can fuse three identical cards to raise them by one full rank. Fusion quality can also be enhanced by consuming rare materials.
Flame Orb (Equipment Card, Rank D)
When used, it stores mana and converts it into fire-elemental energy. Activating the Flame Orb imbues all attacks with magical fire damage. Duration: 10 seconds.
Current energy: 0%
Rare Dragonfang ×4
Precious Dragonfang ×2
Mana Manipulation (Special Skill Card, Rank D)
After learning this skill, the user can control the mana within their body.
The description was short, but Bai Qiu learned the skill without hesitation — after all, he had plenty of mana but was still fighting purely through brute force.
Sanctum Coins ×15
Elite Emblem ×1
One of the reasons he had to hunt elite monsters was because of his terrible luck.
No matter how many monsters he killed, he always got the bare minimum drop.
He even suspected that the Enhancement Card from before only dropped because some kind of pity system was triggered.
And even when fighting elites, the items he got were likely the lowest possible guaranteed drops.
Meanwhile, luckier people might kill one elite and instantly get a full set of equipment plus all sorts of rare items — maybe even graduate on the spot.
The Fusion Card, of course, was meant to be used on the Enhancement Card.
Enhancement Cards were the most common type, boosting the basic four attributes.
Despite being simple, they were the most practical — after all, no amount of skill could make up for low stats.
However, since Fusion Cards could use rare materials to improve fusion quality, Bai Qiu didn't plan to use them yet.
He decided to hunt three more elite monsters first, then perform the fusion using his best materials — the Precious Dragonfangs.
He still didn't know how to recharge the Flame Orb, but he didn't plan to study it now.
His Fullness Buff had about two and a half hours left, so he had to make the most of it and hunt three more elites before nightfall.
Pulling out his map again, he locked onto the nearest elite monster location and dashed off without hesitation.
The Dragonfang Hound had been a rare special variant; the next three elite monsters he found were all Dragonfang Generals.
These creatures loved standing on high places all day — Bai Qiu had no idea why, and their levels hadn't increased in the slightest.
With his specialized armor and weapon, Bai Qiu completely overwhelmed the Dragonfang Generals—creatures poor at one-on-one combat—and crushed them without suspense, slaying each one with ease.
As for the loot, there was nothing new—just basic Enhancement Cards and more pieces of the Dragonslayer equipment set.
Not a single skill book dropped.
The sky was already growing dim, and Bai Qiu decided it was time to head back.
Unfortunately, he still hadn't reached level ten.
Since the elite monsters were all level ten, defeating ones just a level higher than himself didn't grant much experience; his progress bar still lacked about forty percent to reach the next level.
Killing ordinary Dragonfang Soldiers—whose levels were far below his—only yielded a sliver of forced experience.
To level up on those alone, he'd probably have to stand there and fight all night.
"Help… help me!"
The cry for help made Bai Qiu stop in his tracks.
He turned toward the sound.
If it had been an adult, he might've pretended not to hear and just walked away—but a child…
Bai Qiu sprinted toward the source of the voice.
At the end of a narrow alley, two Dragonfang Soldiers were gnawing on a small child.
With a swift flick of his dagger, he slit both their throats.
The Dragonfang Soldiers died instantly.
He looked down at the child lying on the ground—she couldn't have been more than ten years old, probably a little girl.
Her body had been chewed until there wasn't an inch of unbroken skin left; blood seeped continuously from her wounds, and she was barely clinging to life.
Bai Qiu glanced at the dagger in his hand.
Perhaps… he should grant her release.
In a world like this, for most people, death might be the kinder fate.
"H… help me…" she pleaded again, her faint voice filled with desperate longing for life.
That cry made Bai Qiu freeze—the dagger he had been ready to use to end her pain stopped mid-motion.