Chapter 7: The Savage Slaughter of the Wild Boar Demon

The wild boar demon had long been captured by hunters, its aggression simmering beneath the surface. Now, seeing yet another intruder step into its territory, it was instantly enraged, bellowing furiously as it charged forward like an armored rhinoceros.

Fortunately, Li Yi had not attacked first, leaving himself room to maneuver. With agile grace, he rolled aside, and the enormous boar demon thundered past, crashing directly into a towering tree. The thick trunk bent under the impact, its roots wrenching out of the earth in a terrifying display.

The forceful collision left the boar demon unbalanced, tumbling to the ground. Li Yi seized the opportunity, lunging forward with his spear aimed at the creature’s throat. The sharp tip pierced its tough hide, but before the pungent scent of blood could fill the air, muscle clamped down on the wound.

Despite its seemingly corpulent form, the beast’s body was all sinew and muscle, with little fat beneath its hide. Li Yi barely had time to react before the boar demon twisted around and sent him flying. His crude spear snapped with a sharp crack; pain shot through his shoulder, and his body, as if coming apart, rolled a great distance across the ground.

“Heh, overestimating yourself,” Liu the Hunter remarked with satisfaction, nearly shouting aloud at Li Yi’s misfortune.

“Master!” Li Guo could no longer restrain himself. He drew his bow and fired at the boar demon, but his arrow merely bounced off its armored skin.

A boar in armor—so formidable that even tigers and bears would fear it. Ordinary arrows could not penetrate its hide.

Li Yi noticed this. While the boar demon was still struggling to rise, he drew a short spear and hurled it fiercely at its belly. As expected, the unprotected abdomen, lacking the covering of mud and pine oil, was pierced, the spear sinking deep.

The boar demon howled in agony, thrashing madly and charging at Li Yi in a rage. Li Yi hurriedly threw a second spear, this time striking the soft spot at the base of the creature’s neck. Blood poured out, staining the shaft.

Clutching a third spear, Li Yi had no time to throw it before the boar demon barreled into him, sending him flying like a rag doll against a tree. No sooner had he tried to move than blood began to gush from his mouth and nose.

Life-and-death struggles are like this: no prolonged contest, no tacit rhythm of attack and defense; fate is decided in a single moment.

The boar demon showed not a shred of mercy, approaching Li Yi with blood-soaked fur on its jaw, snarling and stamping its hooves to display its strength.

Liu the Hunter and his companions retreated in terror. This boar demon was so dreadful that none of them felt the courage to face it. If it charged, they would flee without hesitation.

“Damn it, I thought I could really overturn the order and become a hero,” Li Yi muttered bitterly, spitting blood from his mouth. Every breath hurt his broken ribs, pain searing through him.

His confidence and sense of invincibility—once bolstered by his martial prowess—had vanished like smoke.

“Who would have thought I’d die on my second day after crossing over, holding back the other transmigrators?” Li Yi was strangely at ease now, feeling as if all this were but a dream of Nanke, and the dream was about to end.

“Master, I’ll save you!” came a tearful cry from afar. Li Yi’s eyes snapped open, looking toward the sobbing youth nearby.

Li Guo shouted, firing arrows in an attempt to distract the boar demon, but it was useless. In despair, he discarded his bamboo bow, gripped a crude wooden spear, and charged forward with terror written across his face, like a moth to the flame.

This foolish boy—why didn’t he run?

Li Yi’s eyes reddened instantly.

Thinking of the hardships of his previous life, and now, just after crossing over, about to die at the hands of a beast, frustration and unwillingness churned in his heart, tightening into a burning rage. A fire blazed in his chest, and an earth-shattering fury erupted within him.

“Damn you, heavens! Curse your ancestors!” With a bestial roar, Li Yi seized his short spear and sprang forward, mad with rage.

Li Guo’s rusty spearhead couldn’t pierce the boar demon’s hide, and instead provoked it further.

Terrified, he fell to the ground, paralyzed at the sight of the monstrous beast before him.

“Run!” Li Yi barked urgently. Li Guo, jolted awake, scrambled up and bolted down the mountain.

But the boar demon, now utterly enraged, barreled after him like a tank, howling to knock him aside.

Li Yi, eyes bloodshot, charged toward the beast. At the critical moment, he leapt skillfully, his left hand gripping the boar’s tusk while his right plunged the short spear into its right eye.

The boar demon convulsed, roaring in agony, while Li Yi, dangling like a kite, struggled in midair before crashing heavily to the ground.

He staggered to his feet, feeling leaden and slow, blood pouring from his wounded shoulder.

The boar demon, still furious, lumbered toward him, its massive body battered and now one-eyed, filled with hatred and cruelty.

Li Yi dragged his broken body forward, glaring fiercely at the beast, showing not the slightest fear.

This display actually startled the boar demon. It licked its bleeding wounds and paced, unwilling to approach.

Li Yi burst into laughter and beckoned mockingly, “Come on, then.”

Such contempt infuriated the beast. It roared and charged. Li Yi’s eyes flashed cold; suddenly, with a flick of his foot, he snatched up the wooden spear and hurled it, striking the beast’s neck.

The boar demon crashed to the ground, its momentum snapping the spear as it hit the earth. Blood sprayed from the torn wound, dyeing the ground red, and it rolled away, howling in pain.

Seizing the moment, Li Yi rushed over and slammed his fist into the beast’s head.

The boar demon staggered upright, but Li Yi grabbed its tusks with bare hands, veins bulging in his neck, and with a furious roar, wrestled the seven-hundred-pound monster to the ground. As it struggled, his fists rained down mercilessly on its head.

After several blows, Li Yi felt his blood surge, even his eyes tinged with crimson, cold and fierce.

Pinned beneath him, the boar demon could only emit earth-shaking cries, unable to break free as dust flew everywhere. Li Yi’s glare was so savage that Liu the Hunter and the others felt chills, their breath suspended for several seconds.

The beast, losing blood and battered by Li Yi’s iron fists, weakened in its struggles.

Li Yi wiped the blood from his nose and mouth, picked up the broken spear, gripped the boar demon, and drove the spear tip relentlessly through its ear, deep into its skull until the shaft was buried to the hilt.

Warm blood spurted out, soaking Li Yi’s side, but he held the beast firmly, no matter how it thrashed in its final moments.

After an unknown time, the white mist from the boar demon’s mouth faded, and it lay dying on the ground, breath slowly ceasing.

Li Yi rose from the pool of blood, his whole body stained red, his cold eyes above a blood-smeared face, cruel and demonic.

Liu the Hunter’s pupils contracted, and he instinctively gripped his spear as if facing a mortal enemy.

Even Li Guo felt a chill, unconsciously stepping back.

Turning to the enormous corpse, Li Yi suddenly laughed, the sound growing louder until the pain in his wounds made him grimace.

In that moment, all his worries and pent-up frustration vanished, leaving only the ambition to carve out a new destiny, his spirit soaring.

Relying on his robust body, Li Yi ignored his injuries. Glancing around at the lack of tools for transport, he decided to carry the boar demon down the mountain himself.

Looking at the skinny Li Guo, Li Yi grabbed the boar demon by its legs, hefted it onto his shoulders with a grunt, and began his descent.

Bear in mind, the boar demon weighed over seven hundred pounds. Liu the Hunter and his companions’ eyes widened in shock. As they came to their senses, Li Yi strode toward them.

“The five taels of silver for the deposit—hand it over,” Li Yi said, baring his teeth in a grim smile.

Liu the Hunter’s face darkened. He took the silver from his pouch and tossed it to Li Yi, forcing himself to speak, but in the end, he was too intimidated to utter a word.

Only after Li Yi had passed did he feel relief. Touching his back, it was soaked through with sweat.