Chapter 722: [Flames of Antipathy]
The taotie’s physical abilities have increased with [Flames of Antipathy]… It’s troublesome, but in exchange, its HP and MP face a constant drain. The taotie is the one with more to lose in the long run.
So long as I continue to refrain from creating distance, I have nothing to fear from the taotie’s flashy skills. I can spot the wind-up movements and evade them, or cut off their activation by attacking.
Even though it’s gotten stronger, I shouldn’t have any reason to change my strategy. The attacks I should worry about are the swift reaching tentacles, the [Hungry Curse Orb] that can be used as a time-lagged attack, and… [Extreme Poison], I guess.
Speaking of what’s different from earlier, it’s probably just whether he will continue to freely use [Flames of Antipathy] and consume its HP and MP as time goes on. I’ll focus a little more on defence, but mostly fight as I have. There shouldn’t be any problem with that.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOh!”
The taotie bellows as it leaps at me.
…Its speed has increased more than I expected. But I’m still faster.
Flying backwards in an arc, I maintain the same distance from the taotie, and fire a [Dimension Claw] into a gap in its guard. Its tentacles shear off and its flesh is gouged out.
Its defence has become lax, perhaps because it’s worried about the consumption of [Flames of Antipathy]. Even though this fighting distance has been difficult for the taotie, it hasn’t attacked in such a simple manner until now. If anything, it's gotten easier to fight.