192 Vs the Vulture.

"...But first, tell me; why do you need it?" Ozul lied with a straight face. If he had asked normally, then the Vulture would have never told him the reason considering his nature.

"It isn't your business, human!" it spat with anger, trying to intimidate him.

"It's either you tell me and I will willingly give the artifact to you, or you can try to take it from me forcefully," Ozul felt the pressure weight down on him but in a fight, he was confident in winning if it really came down to it.

"Human!"

The Vulture glared at him for a few seconds before it gave up and began to state his reasons, "I have to take my revenge on that lizard!"

"Every time I go there, that slippery thing would always sneak attack me! If I get the artifact to conceal my aura, then it wouldn't be so hard to kill that lizard!"

Ozul did not know what the Vulture was talking about, but this lizard seemed to be another Rank-9 Beast. Only another Beast at this level can give the Vulture so much trouble. So this matter made him even more curious about the situation.

"What lizard are you talking about? And where is it?" Ozul asked, looking around to appear confused. Finding that Beast later might prove to be difficult. It was best if the Vulture could reveal its location now.

"That old Snake has a cave around the river. Every time I have to pass through it, it gives me trouble. Urgh! I can't wait to show that worm its place!" The Vulture said while eyeing to its right which was the direction deeper into the forest.

'Oh well, at least I have the general direction now...' Ozul thought that it was enough waste of time with this bird.

"Now that you know it, handover the artifact!" The Vulture realized that he had said enough as well.

The Vulture hadn't even thought that the human in front of it would back out on his words. If only he knew that the artifacts don't even work for Beasts. Ozul had learned from the book of formations that those kinds of artifacts are specifically made considering the Mana and the body structure of that person who wants it.

It might or might not work with other people, but it certainly wouldn't work for a Beast, especially in that giant form.

"I don't have it," Ozul replied, standing still on his spot. His words made the Vulture sharpen his eyes as he spoke, "It is not the time for jokes, human!"

"It is not the joke; I just don't have it," Ozul could have stayed silent like he always did, but he said these words in a nonchalant way to make the Beast more riled up.

"It seems that you would not understand it any other way..." The Vulture said as it spread its wings, ready to take flight or attack him.

But Ozul did not let him attack first as a spear made up of black material suddenly rose from the ground just below the Vulture.

*Khu!*

*Khreee*

The spear pierced one of the spread wings making the Vulture cry out in pain. It couldn't even sense anything until the final moment. But because of its big size, there wasn't enough time to block the attack.

"You.Dirty.Human!" The Vulture spat with venom oozing out of his every word. It wanted to fly at that instant, but the spear was still stuck in his wing.

Ozul noticed that the Beast couldn't free out of the spear, so he did not waste this opportunity and immediately created another spear that went for the Vulture's other wing.

However, he did not expect that the giant Vulture in front of him would be able to move its body so fast. Even if it was giant, it was a Rank-9 Beast that could cause countries to become ruins if not dealt with.

Immediately the Beast was also able to free its wing pierced by the spear by hitting its feet on the ground with such force that the whole ground shook as if there was an earthquake. As it flew in the air, there was a several feet deep mark on the ground because of the sheer force behind that strike.

There was a wound on the Beast's wing, but it did not seem to cause any difference to the Vulture who glared daggers at Ozul from above.

However, Ozul knew that the wound on its wing would definitely affect the battle. He did not wait for another second and jumped in the air following with several black spikes that came from behind the Beast.

This time, the Beast seemed ready for any kind of attack as it flapped its wings and seemingly generated hundreds of sharp winds that moved to intercept the black spikes.

Just the collision between the two attacks created loud booming sounds which shook the area all around.

'It would take forever this way...'

Although the forest was massive, their battle would attract many other Beasts if it continued for long. And as he knew it, the battle between them could even last for a whole day and it might not come to an end.

To avoid this situation, he planned to end it as quickly as possible.

Since the Beast thought that it was superior in strength and could easily win, Ozul aimed to flame its ego a little further and then strike when it expected the least

The Vulture seemed to have regained its momentum and began to attack Ozul with everything it had. On the other hand, Ozul stayed on the defensive which made the Vulture think that he indeed had the upper hand.

Ozul used half of the Ball of Purity to create a shield that he moved at will around him. No matter from where the sharp wind came, he would easily block it while taking a few steps back each time.

It continued for a little while as the terrain around them started to turn upside down. The thick trees which appeared to be unmovable with their thick trunks were uprooted in an instant the moment they got into a certain range of the two.

Only a while later when Ozul noticed that the Beast had become full of itself did he decide that he would attack. The Vulture had also been bleeding out, albeit a little. If the constant attacks did not exhaust it, the continuous bleeding did weaken it.

Before he could make a move, the Vulture stopped its attacks and when Ozul removed the shield, he noticed that the Beast not at all had given up, but it was readying a bigger attack instead!

The Vulture stopped flapping its wings, but it was still floating in the air using Mana. Waves and waves of Mana gathered around its wings before it looked at Ozul and waved them in his direction with all the force that it could muster.

Ozul knew that this attack would be lethal so he retracted all the Ball of Purity that he could and formed a shield in front of him, ready to take it head-on. 

*Whhoooo!*

Immediately, winds started to rotate and a huge hurricane was sent in Ozul's way!

"This will hurt a little..." Ozul ground his teeth to ready himself for the attack. He realized that he should've made a move earlier and not wait for this attack.

The winds were so strong that some of the weaker trees could not hold onto the ground and were torn apart from the base!

*Grmzz!*

In a moment, Ozul's figure disappeared in the hurricane. The Vulture had to take a breath after this attack as he had done it in full force expecting it to end the human.

Even now, the Beast thought that the human was being swept away with the storm, but his glee did not last for long as he felt a burning sensation from its side.

*Pikkuh!*

Something seemed to tear apart his left wing starting from the earlier wound caused by the spear!

*Khreeee!*

It again let out a painful screech because of the intense pain.

"DAMN HUMAN!" The Vulture cried out in hatred. Looking around to find where the human had been hiding, it could not find anything in sight.

But it did not have the time to find him when the spear that had ripped apart half of its wing continued with full force. It was only when the giant black needle was about to pierce the Beast's body did the Vulture manage to shake it off.

It was at that time when Ozul's figure was revealed after the giant hurricane got past him. The Vulture seemed to be shocked that the human was standing upright at his position as if its attack hadn't done a thing to him!

'Ha... That took out a lot from me...' Ozul thought while he maintained his outside nonchalant appearance. Although he did not really look exactly the same because most of his clothes were reduced to tatters after that attack.

The hurricane seemed to want to shred his skin into pieces! If it wasn't for the Ball of Purity, he would have most likely ended up dead.

He concluded that even a Rank-9 Mage wouldn't have been able to survive that last attack if he or she was caught off-guard.

Meanwhile, the hurricane that had gone past him razed the ground as well as everything above it from wherever it passed. More than half a mile behind Ozul turned into a wasteland just from that one attack!

"Ho-How did you survive that!? Human! What tricks are you playing- Aghh!"