Chapter 333:A tricky fight
It attacked again. He threw himself backward the moment it’s claws came for him. The claws struck the wall, packed earth exploding frim the sheer impact if it.
Silver raised the handgun.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two suppressed shots were released concurrently. One struck the creature’s shoulder while the other hit its skull.
Silver expected blood; instead...
Ting!
The bullet ricocheted off its body. His eyes widened.
"Great."
The creature charged but Silver ducked the moment it drew close. Its enormous body scraped against the narrow tunnel. For the first time, he got a proper look.
It resembled the Tier Two burrowers he’d fought earlier, only much larger.
Its body was nearly bear-sized, thick and low to the ground, with enormous forelimbs ending in curved digging claws.
Dark overlapping plates covered its head, shoulders and upper back, while smaller armored sections protected its legs.
Silver’s eyes narrowed.
"Insight."
The system reacted.
[Insight Activated.]
Information appeared above the creature.
[Ironclaw Burrower]
[Tier: Four]
[Type: Subterranean / Strength]
[Primary Traits: Reinforced Cranial Armor, Stone-Breaking Claws, Enhanced Vibration Detection, High Physical Strength.]
[Primary Weaknesses: Eyes, throat, lower abdomen, forelimb joints.]
[Threat Assessment: High.]
[Warning: Target exceeds Host’s current Rank.]
Silver stared at the Tier designation.
"Of course you’re Tier Four."
The Ironclaw Burrower roared as though mocking him. The sound was deafening inside the confined tunnel.
Silver’s ears rang, he could even feel his eardrums shake.
He fired the moment the beast attacked.
[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated.]
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The first struck armor, the second missed the eye by centimeters and the third buried itself near the creature’s jaw. For the first time, blood appeared but it wasn’t enough, it seemed to have enraged it even more.
The burrower lowered its armored head and charged. Silver had nowhere to dodge. On the left was a wall while on the right was another wall.
Behind him was only a few meters before the narrow section created by the collapse. He couldn’t use Short-Step blindly or comfortably swing his sword.
Space Slash could cut the beast but it could also cut through enough of the surrounding earth to bring the tunnel down. He had no intention of being buried again.
He raised his arms.
[Primal Strength Lv2 Activated.]
The burrower hit him but Silver caught its head. For one absurd second, man and beast stopped by each other’s momentum.
Silver’s boots slid backward. His muscles screamed from the stress as the Tier Four creature pushed. He gritted his teeth.
"You’re..." His back hit the wall. "...heavy."
The burrower suddenly jerked its head upward and Silver lost his grip. A claw struck his side in that confusion.
[Iron Bones Lv2 Activated.]
The impact threw him sideways. Silver hit the ground as pain tore through his ribs. The beast turned and raised its paws but he rolled. A claw smashed into the place his head had been and stone cracked.
Silver fired from the ground.
Pfft!
The bullet struck its eye and the burrower screamed. Silver didn’t celebrate, he fired again while it was distracted. The beast twisted its head and the second bullet hit armor.
He scrambled backward as the Ironclaw Burrower slammed its claws into the ground, then disappeared.
Silver froze.
The creature dug straight into the wall as earth collapsed behind it.
"Seriously?"
He immediately activated Spatial Sense.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated.]
His awareness expanded. The burrower was moving fast through the earth.
Silver turned around constantly following its movement; to the left, then right and then circling him.
He couldn’t track it perfectly through the dense material, but its movement disturbed enough space for Spatial Sense to detect.
He slowly backed toward the wider section he’d passed earlier. The beast changed direction, coming from behind.
Silver moved as the wall exploded but he was too slow as claws tore through his shoulder.
He staggered from the impact. Blood immediately soaked through his shirt. He raised the gun but the burrower disappeared again.
Silver’s breathing became heavier.
"Alright."
He continued retreating. He knew exactly what he needed.
Space.
Twenty meters behind him, the passage widened. If he reached it, he could use his sword properly. He might even risk Short-Step.
The ground moved. He jumped as the burrower erupted beneath him, its armored head striking his leg, making him lose his balance. He spun through the air and crashed against the wall.
His handgun slipped away.
"Fuck!"
The beast lunged almost immediately. Silver was forced to draw his sword. He barely got the blade between himself and the claws, before the two met.
Silver was thrown backward again. His injured shoulder hit stone, pain flashing through him. He nearly dropped the sword, almost instinctively from the sudden pain.
The burrower attacked.
Silver thrust toward its throat but the creature twisted, and the blade scraped armor.
He stepped back.
As expected the claws came again. He ducked and the wall beside him shattered, loose earth raining down.
He looked upward. There were cracks spreading everywhere which wasn’t good. He couldn’t fight here since the entire tunnel was unstable. If the burrower continued attacking, it would eventually fall on them. He would be the suffocated one in this tunnels.
Silver retreated.
The burrower followed, clearly unwilling to let it’s new prey out of its sight. A few moments later if observations, it disappear underground since it believed it had him trapped. That confidence helped Silver.
He continued backing away, one step after another, until the tunnel gradually widened. He recognized the rock formation, and knew he was almost there.
The burrower charged at that point, maybe noticing what he was doing. Silver didn’t block but turned and ran. He needed to get there if he wanted a small advantage over it. The creature followed, its claws striking the ground behind him.
Hr reached the wider section with only his sword at hand The tunnel expanded enough for him to move several meters sideways.
He turned and watched as the burrower came through with a smile.
"Much better."
The beast lunged but Silver sidestepped and the claw missed. His sword came down almost immediately, striking the creature’s forelimb joint.
Blood sprayed everywhere while the burrower roared from the pain. He twisted, attacking it but the beast’s armored shoulder blocked it.
He jumped backward avoiding an incoming blow. He activated Insight again briefly, the earlier information still visible at the edge of his interface as he red it’s weaknesses.
Silver watched the creature.
One eye was already destroyed and its left forelimb was injured but it was still dangerous. The burrower charged.
He waited as it got closer until its claws rose before vanishing.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated.]