Sensing the incoming attack, Jules held his sword vertically and positioned it at his side.
Gripping Warforged, he gathered mana using it as a staff and cast a tier-2 barrier!
The claw slammed into him like a heavy hammer.
Jules let the impact send him flying through the air!
The barrier reduced the damage, but he could feel the internal impact.
Still, it was better than being crushed outright.
Now standing at a considerate distance, Jules body was battered, but he rebalanced as he got accustomed to his body's state.
He was currently pushing his Body Enhancement to the limit to catch up to this beast and soon, his body will give in.
He could almost hear his muscles whining.
Nevertheless, Jules was satisfied—he survived long enough to get used to its speed!
With a click of its claws, the Crab skittered forward on its spear-like legs, closing the distance in seconds.
It repeatedly shot its claws at Jules, forcing him to alternate between jumping back and parrying.
As soon as Jules got close to where the trees became dense, the Crab fluidly leaped forward, its two front legs falling down like a snake's fang.
Jules narrowly avoided a crippling blow as the spear-like leg dug into his feet, the distance between him and the beast barely evident.
He could feel the heat of the beast on his face!
Instead of yelling in pain, he smiled at the beast, a sense of calm settling over him despite the chaos.
He could feel the intensity of the fight building, but he kept his focus. His hand shot forward, a fireball forming as he cast it directly at the Crab's face.
A tier-2 fireball hit the beast directly in the face, causing it to grunt backwards.
Twisting his body, he hit the Crab's front left leg as it moved back.
The Crab tilted downward slightly upon attack and Jules used its falling weight to allow it to dip into his sword.
The sword was now stabbed into the front leg joint!
"Sshhh–!"
A screech was heard and green blood spilled.
Jules was about to step back, but he felt the weight of the Crab press on him.
The Crab used the moment to pierce deep into his thigh with its claw.
"Ah-rk!" Jules grunted too, his strength skyrocketing as he cleanly cut off one of the beast's legs.
Swiftly retreating, he fell into the midst of dense trees, his leg shaking heavily.
The Crab took a moment to balance as it retreated back a bit into the sparse region, all its eyes staring at Jules.
It let out a deep groaning sound as it stood tall and menacing; retreat was not and option and hoping into the forest was in its disadvantage.
Jules glared back too, an annoying smile crossing his features.
"You're damned," he said, the red markings on Warforged's hilt coming to life as they dug into Jules's skin.
The red markings pulsed along his forearm, and he could feel the rush of vitality filling him up.
His wounds didn't hurt as much anymore, and his aura flared back to life.
He had mostly recovered using blood stored in Warforged!
Stepping out of the forest, Jules smirked, feeling the blood pumping through him like fire.
Now, the advantage was his.
"Round two, bitch."
Jules pointed his black blade forward, a blue magic circle appearing.
Using a quarter of his mana, he shot a barrage of Water Bullets directly at the beast.
They were compressed, fast and heavy.
The Crab could only raise its two claws in an X to block.
Upon this, Jules darted forward.
Warfored reacted to Jules's determination, its edge sharp with excitement and bloodlust.
Empowered by the spilled blood, Warforged thrummed with energy, and Jules could contend in speed with the unbalanced Crab.
As the Claw shot at him, Jules hit them to deflect the attack.
Before he could even think of stepping closer to it, its remaining front leg shot in arcs, even managing to inflict a few cuts.
They seemed to remain in stalemate for a while as Jules parried the desperate attacks of the Crab, blood dripping from its wound like a tap.
Jules chose against magic for the rest of the battle, only using his sword.
After a while, the Crab shot an exaggerated attack at him with its right Claw.
Seeing this, Jules seemed to have a burst of power.
He timed the claw's descent and at the right moment, he used all his power to swing with full-power at the incoming attack.
Like a boulder shattered by force, the claw exploded, releasing muscles and blood like a firework.
Jules had focused on weakening the claws with this moment in mind!
The Crab let out a screech as it's other claw shot at Jules.
Using the movement of the full-swing, he turned around and stepped a foot back.
The claw dug into where he stood a second ago and he immediately ran at it.
As the Crab retracted its claw, Jules stepped on it and used it as a foothold to jump higher.
Now airborne, Jules saw the grassy carapace and identified the weak spot Ryan told him!
He lifted his sword high above his head, its tip point downward.
Jules laughed as he drove the sword into the center of the beast's carapace.
He twisted the sword slightly and drove it in deeper.
Blood gushed, drenching Jules in a hot spray.
The crab's body quaked heavily, its remaining claw struggling to hit Jules.
Feeling the intense bloodlust and blood of the beast at that moment, Jules felt true strength for the first time.
He laughed as Warforged drove deep in, his body quaking along with the beast.
After a few heartbeats, the quaking reduced until the Crab ultimately fell with a thud.
Jules fell silent, staring down at the beast beneath him, his knees on the carapace with his hands holding his sword.
I did it… I did it! With power, I can do it!
Then, a triumphant yell tore from his throat as he looked up at the sky.
- - -
Walking out of where he hid, Ryan's mouth was left open as his eyes shook.
"He…did it…" He muttered as he watched Jules yell.
"One has to be an Elite Orange stage to kill a C-rank alone…" Ryan really couldn't understand this. "He's just at the Solid stage too…"
At that moment, Ryan heard his father's voice in his head.
"You ask me why I believe in the Evanava family so much? Because I've seen their strength.
"Ryan, go with the young master, and I assure you'll be enlightened."
Ryan looked as if he was in a trance as he thought:
This is no longer the boy who flinched at blood, this was Jules, an Evanava through and through.
Positioned in between trees, he fell to one of his knees and brought his palm to he chest as he said:
"Glory to Noctharis. Glory to Evanava."