The Urban Dao Child

Athena finished speaking and the group started to use all the talismans and communication methods they had. However, the barrier around the valley prohibited them from establishing contact with the elders outside.

Shakti snarled and spat, "Dimwits, there is a barrier around here, the only way to find an elder is to get outside this place from either the entry or the exit. Three of you, go pass the word to those at the entry point, the rest help Dao to hold back this thing. The strength of the Daemon is far too unpredictable."

She sure was a veteran, her instructions were issued in a jiffy and the rest of the people followed, three of the fastest people left the scene quickly to relay the word. Amil said, "Do not jump in the battle quickly. Dao can hold the creature, for the time being, wait till he is tired out, then switch in with him."

The big hunk, whom Yang Dao talked to outside the valley asked, "Why shall we wait till Dao is tired out? We can move in and help him end this thing faster."

Amil said, "Cal, do you think I do not wish to do that? However, look carefully at the fighting style of the daemon. We have no idea how to face it head-on, we need to analyze the intensity of the current before we can ride it."

Shakti nodded and said, "He is correct, watch for a bit and then react."

...

Yang Dao could hear their voices, the only reason he was able to keep up with the Daemon was his senses. He was not only using his elemental eyes (a new term for Make shit Dao Eyes), but also his elemental senses and spiritual senses.

His blade attacked the Daemon, the creature which seemed to be fighting him with no battle familiarity was slowly getting better at attacking and evasion. Yang Dao had been using his basic sword attacks till now. These attacks did not seem to be enough.

He slashed out and the Daemon returned the attack with a claw slash of his own. This exchange pushed back Yang Dao by a significant distance. The boy took a deep breath and mumbled, "Enough."

The Daemon did not take the initiative to charge at him like a rabid dog, as it did earlier. It waited for Yang Dao to attack. The red bulbs on his skull locked at Yang Dao's stature. Suddenly, Yang Dao heard a voice in his head, "Do not hesitate, do not hold back. Do not doubt yourself for you are strong. You are as strong as you believe yourself to be."

Yang Dao instinctively replied, "Strength is not imaginary."

"Strength comes from within. What lies within you? Strength can be accumulated, even an ant can take down elephants, then why not you? Fight, do not hold back." replied the voice.

Yang Dao blinked his eyes and his temperament changed. Shakti, Amil, and the rest sensed something but they did not make out a big deal of it. Athena mumbled, "His temperament changed."

Amil asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"You will see," replied Athena back with a faint smile. At the moment, Yang Dao was not his cherry self. His eyes were unusually sharp and his aura had become cold. He raised his feet and walked to the daemon.

Cal opened his eyes wide, "Is he walking to that thing?"

His words had dropped when the Daemon roared. The next moment it charged forward, Yang Dao looked down on it and thus he deserved the hatred. The claws of the Daemon grew longer, like metal knives, the muscles on his arms bulged, and the speed became faster.

CLINK

This was the sound of Yang Dao parrying the incoming claw slash. The sound was still echoing when another Clink was heard. The attacks of the Daemon made their way towards Yang Dao like a river to the sea. The Dao Child also did not disappoint and parried all the attacks.

The shocking part was that the boy did not even move an inch from his spot. His sword was like a wall, obstructing and reflecting all the attacks. This scene was noticed by Amil and the rest. Shakti said, "Willow Sword art."

Athena nodded and said, "He is finally willing to let it all out."

Amil asked, "What is willow sword art?"

Shakti replied, "This art is derived from the Spring style sword skill set. The arm is locked while the wrist is used to move the sword to parry attacks. An integration of hard and soft martial style."

Cal said, "I remember when he showed this art to me. The main intention is to deplete the energy reserves of an opponent. And he is very good at it. But the energy inside a Daemon exceeds that of a human or a demon." he sighed at the end.

Athena said, "Their energy may exceed us, but the patient does not. Look at Dao's sword." her voice was calm and soft. Yet the pride in her eyes could not be hidden.

When the people turned their gaze at Yang Dao's sword, they discovered that the blade was not only parrying the attacks but also stabbing the daemon, and all the stabs were being directed at one point only. The heart.

Athena asked, "Do you think, Dao, is aware of the weakness of these creatures?"

Shakti shook her head and said, "He is following his instinct."

Amil nodded and said, "Dao will always attack for the nape first to end the fight sooner, then he will try to restrict the motion, then followed by a chain stab at the heart. If none of these worked, he will use, arrays, grapple, boxing, and at last everything."

Cal and the others nodded, as Shakti said, "His skill set is so wide, that I am afraid, his energy is not sufficient to let him display all of them, this is why he takes it slow and selects his attacks based on the effectiveness."

...

Yang Dao was busy parrying the attacks while delivering a soft stab in between. The stab was not a normal one, everytime the attack landed on the pale skin of the daemon, he would channel the fire energy inside the wound. The source of energy would travel inside the body, burning it little by little. Every attack made by the Daemon would burn him even more.

Since he could handle the external attacks, then Yang Dao decided to turn to the inside. His method was working because the speed of the daemon was getting slower and his eyes were showing signs of irritation and unease. A creature who follows instincts, how could its face hide all that going on inside of it?

Yang Dao was keeping a close eye on all the movements of the Daemon. From breathing to facial expression, even the twitch of his shoulder was not missed. Suddenly he spoke in a low voice, "Seems like you are weak against fire. Then accept my gift to you."

His demeanor went another change, he shouted, "Fire Sword, Cleaning Ember."

The sword, which was moving like a willow wisp suddenly became a flutter. The stabs landed all over the daemon's body and set him on fire. The creature let out horrifying roars. Those who were watching the scene at the side were surprised.

Amil spoke, "This is one of the elemental sword styles that he told us about?"

Shakti nodded and said, "He has trained with my master, and only he is capable of using this skill. It seems to be working."

The fire sword skill made his sword an indomitable force that no one could defy. The attacks were strong, giving the other party no chance to counter. The tip of the blade was channeled with fire attribute spirit energy, making it glow with an ember-colored light.

Yang Dao was not hesitant, he did not care if the thing in front of him would turn to ashes, he only knew that the repulsive feeling in his heart was too strong at the moment. He did not like this feeling. The chaos in his heart defied the control of his emotions. He did not like this impulse. He was curious, but that was only when he wanted to and never was he like this because of any external element.

The creature was covered with an orange glow as it roared and used its claws to go on a rampage. Athena mumbled, "When will the elders arrive. This is not looking good."

The claw slashes of the creature were strong enough to tear apart the wind in the surroundings. At such a movement, Yang Dao stood in front of this creature, they were concerned about the child.

It was as if sensing their concern, the Daemon turned its attention from Yang Dao to the peanut gallery and slashed at them with both hands. Yang Dao shouted, "Bastard."

He finally uttered his first cuss word in this life. The peanut gallery was not expecting this but they were not rookies on a battlefield.. They all cast their best technique to fend off the attacks, but the result wasn't much to their liking.