In the next second, a spark of realization flashed through his mind.
Could it be that the upgrade to the King of Elves bloodline in Ethereal had activated a new attribute?
He quickly recalled the description he had seen:
[Special Attribute: In human form, you can use certain Druid-form abilities at 20% effectiveness.]
The description specifically ntioned "human form."
Could it be…?
Ethan's excitent surged as he looked up at the man who had just gotten back on his feet.
The man's right hand had transford into a long blade, which he swung at the vines around his legs.
Ethan leapt out from the hollow in the hillside, startling the man. Clearly, the guy hadn't expected soone to be hiding less than ten ters behind him.
But the man recovered quickly, slicing through the vines with his blade. Without hesitation, he swung his transford right hand—now a long blade, toward Ethan.
As Ethan sprinted, he attempted to shift into Panther Form. He didn't have much hope for it, but he figured it was worth a try.
Buzz…
As expected, he didn't transform into a panther. But Ethan's excitent only grew.
Because he felt his body suddenly beco incredibly agile. His movent speed increased dramatically, allowing him to dodge the incoming blade with a quick sidestep.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between them. The man's blade was too long for close combat, and this proximity beca his fatal blind spot.
The man with the blade hesitated. He knew his own striking speed was impressive, yet Ethan had dodged it as if he had teleported. The speed was unreal. But the man reacted quickly, thrusting his left hand toward Ethan. As he did, his left hand morphed into a short, sharp blade.
He was fast, but Ethan was faster. With a swift motion, Ethan slapped him across the face.
Smack!
The speed and angle of the slap sent the man staggering. The blade that had ford on his left hand grazed past Ethan's side, narrowly missing him.
Ethan broke out in a cold sweat. The speed had been so intense that he almost lost control, nearly impaling himself on the blade. Thankfully, he'd managed to land that slap in the nick of ti.
Encouraged by his success, Ethan followed up with another slap. The man couldn't dodge. He couldn't even see Ethan's hand moving.
Ethan was starting to love this fluid, almost effortless feeling.
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Smack! Smack! Smack!
Ethan unleashed a flurry of slaps, each one landing squarely on the man's face. In just three seconds, he lost count of how many tis he'd struck him.
By now, the man's face was swollen like a pig's head in a butcher's shop, shiny and bloated, looking as if it might burst at any mont.
The man was utterly humiliated. He was known as one of the fastest blade masters in Terracotta City, yet here he was, unable to keep up with a barrage of slaps.
His swollen face had squeezed his eyes into narrow slits.
Squinting through his swollen eyes, the man saw Ethan's excited expression. Clearly, Ethan was on a roll, and the man's last thought before passing out was, 'What the hell…'
He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, not only from the beating, but also from sheer frustration.
Ethan's next swing missed as the man's body slumped, narrowly avoiding the slap. For a mont, Ethan thought the man had sohow figured out how to counter his super-speed slaps. But then he realized the guy had simply fainted, his collapse coincidentally dodging Ethan's strike.
At the sa ti, Ethan sensed through his Soul Sense that Leo had just finished his fight, taking down two Mutants with brutal efficiency.
Ethan hesitated. He'd never killed anyone before, and the thought of doing so now made him uneasy.
But then, a soft thud ca from behind him.
Ethan knew it was Victor. He'd fired his sniper rifle, equipped with a silencer. The bullet whizzed past Ethan's shoulder and struck the unconscious Mutant right between the eyes, killing him instantly.
Ethan turned and gave Victor a grateful smile, then spoke into his walkie-talkie: "Thanks, Vic!"
He understood—Victor knew this wasn't sothing Ethan was used to, and he'd stepped in to help.
"Go help Leo!" Victor said, shifting his scope away from Ethan.
Victor was just as stunned as Ethan. He'd been watching the entire ti, and it was the first ti he'd seen soone move that fast. The way Ethan had delivered those slaps—it was almost… satisfying.
Through his scope, Victor had seen Ethan's hands move like blurs. And there was sothing else—a faint, shadowy outline of a panther surrounding Ethan's body. Was that so kind of Innate Ability? But Ethan was a Soul-Wielder, wasn't he? How could he have an ability like that?
There was no ti to ask. Back at the camp, three Mutants had already launched an attack on Leo and Williams.
As Victor adjusted his scope, he noticed a man with a rat-like face standing at the edge of the camp, staring directly at him.
Victor froze. This must be the Mutant Ethan ntioned, the one with enhanced hearing. Despite being 280 ters away and using a silencer, the rat-faced man had still detected the shot.
Looking at the man's face, Victor was reminded of another creature: a bat.
At the sa ti, through his scope, Victor saw Ethan charging into the camp. His speed was astonishing—faster than even Leo's bursts. Victor had never seen Ethan move like this before. In the ti it took Victor to lift his rifle, Ethan had already covered 40 ters and entered the camp.
Shocked but focused, Victor pulled the trigger, aiming for the bat-faced man.
But sothing unexpected happened. The mont Victor fired, the bat-faced man tilted his head slightly, and the bullet missed, embedding itself in a tree behind him.
Victor reloaded and fired again, but the man sidestepped, dodging what should have been a heart shot.
As Victor prepared to fire a third ti, the bat-faced man smirked at him, a look of pure disdain.
Victor's confidence took a hit, but he knew he had to change tactics. He moved his finger away from the trigger and spoke into the comms: "Ethan, that bat-faced guy can dodge bullets! Keep him busy while I help Leo and Williams with the other two!"
By now, Ethan was already in the thick of it, helping Leo and Williams take on the other two Mutants. He noticed that even with two against two, Leo and Williams were already injured.
When Ethan had first charged into the camp, he'd seen the bat-faced man standing there and thought, 'What an idiot, just standing there like a target.' He'd ignored him and gone straight to help Leo and Williams.
But now, hearing Victor's warning, Ethan realized: That guy's the real threat.
Ethan stepped back from the fight. He wasn't used to working with Leo and Williams, and his attempts to help had only made him feel like he was getting in the way.
At the sa ti, the bat-faced man turned his gaze toward Ethan.
Both Ethan and Victor saw it at the sa ti and spoke into their comms simultaneously: "He can hear us!"
The bat-faced man grinned, his smile twisted and ugly.
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