Chapter 180 - Driven

As Ao Wen picked her way through the jagged rocks, a guttural growl rumbled from the depths of a nearby crevice. The sound was low and menacing, vibrating through the air like the warning of an oncoming storm. Slowly, a squat, hulking figure began to emerge from the shadows, its movements deliberate and heavy with the promise of violence.

The creature that pulled itself into view was a nightmarish fusion of ape and bear, standing upright on two short but powerful legs. Its body was thick with corded muscle, the broad, barrel-shaped torso rippling with strength beneath a coat of shaggy, matted, dark fur. The beast's arms were long and heavily muscled, ending in wickedly curved claws that looked capable of tearing through solid rock.

As it stepped fully into the dim light, Ao Wen could see the creature's face, a twisted mask of primal rage and barely restrained savagery. Deep-set, malevolent red eyes glowed with a feral intensity, boring into her with a gaze that promised nothing but violence and destruction. Its maw was filled with jagged, yellowed fangs, a string of saliva dripping from its snarling lips as it fixed its attention on the intruder in its domain.

The beast took another step forward, its short, powerful legs ending in feet that resembled gnarled, oversized hands, each toe tipped with a razor-sharp claw. The ground seemed to shudder beneath its weight, the trees shook and leaves fell from branches overhead, slowly drifting away from the creature on their way to the ground as if they feared its power.

As Ao Wen stood her ground, the creature let out a savage roar that echoed off the rocks and sent the few birds close enough to hear the shout fluttering into the air to escape the beast's rage and perhaps its appetite. It beat its chest with its massive fists, the sound echoing through the forest like a thunderclap. The display was a clear warning, a show of dominance and strength meant to intimidate and drive away any who would dare to challenge its territory.

Despite the beast's overwhelming presence and the promise of violence in its every movement, Ao Wen noticed that it seemed to be holding its ground, never straying too far from the entrance to the rocky crevice from which it had emerged. Its eyes darted back to the shadows behind it, a flicker of something almost resembling concern crossing its brutish features.

As the standoff continued, the creature's fury seemed to mount, its roars growing more frequent and more intense. It lashed out at the rocks around it, gouging deep scars into the stone with its powerful claws as if to demonstrate the fate that awaited any who dared to defy it. Yet still, it refused to close the distance, maintaining a defensive position that kept Ao Wen at bay and the entrance to its lair safely behind it.

"I see," Ao Wen muttered, maintaining her distance and circling around to look for a place to launch her assault from. The terrain provided not only boulders that she could conceal herself behind but a number of outcroppings and ledges that could give her the opportunity to leap on the creature from above. Both of those things came with significant risks. What she wanted more than anything was a good place to sprint from and a clear line to dash for cover after her attack. "It's protecting its den," she realized. That meant it wouldn't chase her too far from the entrance lest it risk her slipping past it. Unfortunately, it also meant that it was powerfully motivated to defend its home. 

"It doesn't matter," she reminded herself. More than anything, right now, she needed to find something to eat to stave off the gnawing hunger that tore at her stomach and her mind. Already she had difficulty maintaining her focus and she could feel her body weakening the longer she went without food. The beast's roar had all but sealed its fate by driving off any other prey Ao Wen could have hunted. "Right now, it's no different than cattle," she told herself. 

Crouching down behind a smaller boulder, Ao Wen fixed her amber gaze on the roaring beast. In the end, everything would come down to her rush. Her daggers weren't anything like her two handed saber. She couldn't afford to clash with those powerful arms and wicked claws. In this fight, blocking was an act of desperation, the only real hope of surviving lay in evading it's assault and slipping past its greater reach to inflict meaningful damage. 

Matching her gaze from just over a dozen meters away, the beast seemed to realize that she'd settled on an assault of her own. It slammed its meaty hand-like feet into the ground taking a wide stance and stretching its arms wide while unleashing an ear-splitting bellow of challenge, thumping its chest and beckoning for Ao Wen to make her move. 

Deep within the core of her being, anger and pride rose up in response to the beast's challenging roar, surging forth from her chest until a deep, rumbling dragon roar of her own spilled from her lips like an avalanche falling from a mountain. The beast flinched back at having its roar answered in kind and Ao Wen sprang forward at the opportunity its movement gave her. 

The world fell away from Ao Wen's vision, the trees, the sounds of her feet grinding through the dusty, rocky soil, the smell of decay and unsavory things that had filled her nose, all of it fell away until there was nothing left but her killing ground and the beast she'd come to kill! The creature moved as well, recovering from its startled movement, pushing off the ground with its thick, powerful legs and swatting down at Ao Wen with a claw spread wide to tear at her flesh. 

Instantly, Ao Wen altered her charge, springing to the side and kicking off a nearby boulder to change the angle of her assault. Dirt and rock exploded into the air when the beast's massive claw slammed into the earth where Ao Wen should have been were it not for her sidestep! Half a breath later, Ao Wen darted into the dust cloud, using it for concealment as her twin blades flashed out. The first blade plunged deep into the beast's thick palm, sliding between the bones of its hand and giving Ao Wen a handle to use to pull herself closer to the beast. The second blade flashed an instant later, slicing deep into the beast's forearm before Ao Wen sprang away, flicking dark, noxious blood off her blades as she raced for cover before the dust cloud cleared. 

The creature roared in pain and frustration, lashing out with its other hand but failing to come within half a meter of Ao Wen's retreating figure. With a fierce growl, the beast retreated back toward the entrance of its den, glaring around malevolently as it sought the person responsible for inflicting so much pain and threatening its young. 

Hunkering behind a boulder, Ao Wen slowly peeked out at the creature, her eyes noting the way its bleeding arm hung limply at its side. Not only had she crippled the beast's right hand, she'd severed the tendons of its forearm making it all but impossible for the creature to fight with that arm! Pain, rage and a hint of desperation swirled in the creature's deeply sunken red eyes as Ao Wen looked for her next opportunity. 

Patience. Despite the fiercely gnawing pain in her stomach and the splitting headache that made it increasingly difficult to think, she forced down those sensations and made herself wait for a better moment. Looking at the ground beneath the beast's hand-like feet, she could already see blood pooling where it dripped from the injuries she'd inflicted. It wasn't likely that the creature would bleed out, but now, it too had to cope with the flow of time sapping its strength and pain clouding its mind. Her next move needed to exacerbate that problem and weaken the creature further. 

"How smart are you," Ao Wen wondered, returning one knife to its sheath and using her now free hand to pick up several small stones. With an overhand throw, Ao Wen launched a small stone in a high arc, dropping it behind a boulder in the opposite direction from the one she'd retreated in after landing her first blows. Instantly, the beast's attention shifted to the boulder her rock had landed behind, but other than looking in that direction, the beast made no move. "Let's try again, hopefully this one is believable," she said to herself, selecting a smaller stone and tossing it to land behind the same boulder. She hoped that the sound would be fainter and that the beast was clever enough to interpret it as someone who was trying to be quieter than they were a moment ago even if their movement was still making noise. As the stone sailed through the air, Ao Wen readied herself for another sprint, this time leaping off of a nearby boulder so her first footfalls would be closer to the creature than if she started from a standard sprint. It wouldn't make a huge difference but at this point, every centimeter closer and every second of delayed reaction mattered! 

With a sharp -CLICK- the stone hit the ground and skittered a bit, successfully drawing the creature toward it by two large steps. Ao Wen sprang into action as soon as the beast began to move, sailing through the air and then sprinting along the ground. Confusion flickered across the beast's face as it realized its enemy wasn't where it thought it was, then confusion gave way to rage as it brought a wide open claw swinging in an arc toward the charging Ao Wen. 

This time, Ao Wen didn't change the direction of her charge but instead threw herself into a tight forward roll, springing forward from the roll in a low dive, her knife leading the way. Fur and flesh parted before her sharp blade as she sliced at the vulnerable tendons of the beast's left knee. Without looking closely at the success or failure of her attack, Ao Wen's other hand retrieved the second dagger and shot upward, it's point sinking deep into the creature's groin before the edge sliced at the arteries of the thigh as she ripped the dagger out of the wound. 

Suddenly, a wall of black fur and muscle filled Ao Wen's vision before slamming into her, flinging her away from the beast and sending her smashing into one of the nearby boulders. Pain flared in her shoulder blade and numbness shot down her left arm. Helpless against the injury, her arm hung limp at her side, her fingers losing their grip on the knife. 

Still, the beast was in far worse shape as it tried to drag itself toward her flailing about with its crippled arm and dragging one leg through the dirt even as blood spurted from the severed artery. 

At this point, Ao Wen could have taken her chances on another charge, a final one to swiftly put the beast out of its misery. In the end, however, she refused to, opting instead to retrieve her fallen dagger and to retreat from the beast's line of sight, keeping boulders between herself and the thing lest it manage to find something to throw at her. 

In a few minutes, the beast would lose consciousness along with the vast quantity of blood spurting from its injured thigh. At that point, she could make a clean kill without risking further injury. Until then, she saw no reason to risk herself just to give the creature an honorable fight to the death. The fight was over, she'd won and this wasn't an honored enemy, it was just her prey.