Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 82: Chapter 82 — An Unexpected Encounter

Chapter 82 — An Unexpected Encounter

Victor was currently jogging through the forest.

A few hours ago, he had been fairly confident about where he was going. He had been following the map and making steady progress toward the lava rock region.

Then he had an unlucky encounter with a Jagged Wasp nest.

Jagged Wasps were known for burrowing underground and building their nests beneath the forest floor. More importantly, they were extremely territorial.

Once angered, a colony wouldn’t stop chasing something until either the target was dead or it somehow managed to escape.

Victor had learned that lesson firsthand.

He had stepped directly onto one of their underground nests.

The moment his foot broke through the mound, the buzzing began.

At first, Victor hadn’t understood what was happening.

Then he turned around.

The sight of hundreds of Jagged Wasps pouring from the ground had been enough for him to immediately take off.

For nearly two to three hours, Victor had sprinted through the forest with a swarm of angry insects following behind him.

Eventually, the wasps had finally given up.

Unfortunately, by then Victor had completely lost his sense of direction.

Which brought him to his current situation.

Victor walked through the forest, occasionally glancing down at the map in his hand.

He studied it for another few seconds.

Then he sighed.

”I have absolutely no idea where I am.”

He folded the map.

There wasn’t much point in continuing to stare at it.

Victor put it away and continued walking.

He figured that as long as he kept moving forward, eventually he’d either recognize something or stumble across the area he was looking for.

A few minutes later, Victor noticed something unusual.

The sound of fighting.

Victor carefully moved through the trees, keeping his presence concealed as he approached.

When he reached the edge of the clearing, he slowly looked around the corner.

The first thing he noticed was the man standing in the center.

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

He immediately recognized the species.

A Lava Rock Monkey.

Even in human form, the creature was impossible to mistake.

He was a large, muscular man who stood close to six feet tall. His reddish hair was wild and swept back from his face, while his pointed ears gave away the remnants of his monkey heritage. His body was covered in intricate tattoos, and beneath his skin were faint reddish markings that resembled cracks running through heated stone.

His appearance was imposing.

Powerful.

Yet at the moment, he wasn’t attacking.

He was defending himself.

Because across from him stood a woman.

Victor’s eyes moved over her.

She looked nothing like an ordinary human.

Long black hair flowed around her face and down her back, framing a pair of unmistakable black fox ears. Her eyes carried a faint purple hue, and there was something almost unnatural about the calm beauty of her features.

Victor noticed something else.

She wore dark clothing that moved effortlessly with her body. The same intricate tattoos that covered the Lava Rock Monkey could be seen across parts of her body as well.

And in each hand, she held a blade.

They were too long to be called daggers and too short to be called swords.

Victor watched silently.

The woman moved.

For a moment, Victor almost forgot to breathe.

She was fast.

Every movement flowed into the next as if she had practiced it thousands of times.

She moved like a graceful assassin.

Her body twisted.

One blade swept forward.

The Lava Rock Monkey raised his arm to block.

The second blade followed immediately.

He barely managed to defend himself.

She spun around him like a tornado, her blades flashing through the air from different angles.

The Lava Rock Monkey continued retreating.

Step after step.

He was constantly on the defensive.

Victor narrowed his eyes.

He’s barely keeping up.

The woman suddenly disappeared from where she stood.

Victor’s eyes followed her movement.

The Lava Rock Monkey took another step backward.

And then—

His foot shifted slightly.

It was barely anything.

But against someone like her, barely anything was enough.

The woman appeared beside him.

One blade flashed.

Slash!

The blade cut across his shoulder.

Blood immediately appeared.

Before the Lava Rock Monkey could react, she moved again.

She planted her right foot firmly against the ground and spun.

Her body turned away from him as her left leg came around in a powerful, acrobatic motion.

Bang!

Her heel slammed directly into his jaw.

The force of the kick lifted the massive man off the ground.

He flew backward and crashed into the earth, rolling several times before finally coming to a stop.

The Lava Rock Monkey lay there, completely dazed.

Victor’s eyes widened.

That was one hell of a kick.

Then the woman disappeared.

Victor blinked.

Where did she—

His instincts screamed.

Victor moved.

He shifted his body slightly to the right.

A blade passed through the space where his neck had been a moment earlier.

A thin line of pain appeared across his throat.

Victor felt warm blood begin to trickle down his neck.

His eyes widened.

That had been close.

Far too close.

If his instincts hadn’t reacted in time, his head might have been separated from his shoulders.

Victor didn’t hesitate.

Flash Step had already become second nature to him.

His body disappeared from the woman’s reach and reappeared several meters away.

He immediately put more distance between them.

The woman turned toward him.

For the first time, her attention fully settled on Victor.

Her purple eyes slowly traveled across his body.

Then her expression changed.

A faint look of displeasure appeared on her face.

She seemed almost disgusted by what she was seeing.

Victor stared at her.

The woman tilted her head slightly.

”Well, if it isn’t a human.”

Her voice was calm.

Almost casual.

Victor’s eyes remained fixed on the two blades in her hands.

Victor took a slow breath.

He had been hoping to simply pass through the forest and continue toward his destination.

Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen.

He had stumbled across a battle that had nothing to do with him.

Then, somehow, he’d managed to become the next target.

Victor pulled his dagger out.

His eyes narrowed.

There was no way he was getting out of this without a fight.