Woosh!
As soon as Reilei's gaze met with the kitsune, Xiao Liang appeared above the creature with his arm engulfed intense and wild flames.
Xiao Liang swung his arm downward full force at the kitsune.
But, at the last moment, the creature's figure vanished from Xiao Liang's sight.
Crash!
Xiao Liang's fist slammed into the ground where the kitsune had just been, and the instant his hand came into contact with the earth, the area he touched immediately disintegrated.
After seeing that his attack missed its target, Xiao Liang clicked his tongue in frustration.
Fast—that was the first word that came to Reilei's mind. It was also the first time that Reilei ever ran into a monster she had trouble following with her eyes.
Of course, the most shocking part was the type of monster that appeared before her—an epic boss!
"Epic… If I remember correctly, that's only one rank below a legendary boss, the most formidable monster that exists in RML. Can I fight something like that alone?" Reilei internalized.
The fiercest boss monster Reilei ever encountered was the Corrupted Ouroboros, a hidden boss in the dungeon Lair of Serpents.
However, even that hidden boss was only a rare boss monster. In addition, the Corrupted Ouroboros was level 35. But, the creature that attacked her had its level hidden.
According to what she learned from Phoenix, Reilei knew that this often meant the boss was of a much higher level than the player viewing its system information.
Regardless, Reilei was aware that an epic boss monster was not meant to be confronted without an entire party present.
But, judging from its speed, Reilei did not believe that it would be possible to escape outright. Therefore, she was left with no other choice but to confront it if she wanted to survive. Or, at the very least, create an opportunity to escape safely.
After the Failed Kitsune vanished, it reappeared several meters away from Reilei and her summons.
At this point, Reilei was finally able to get a clear look at the monster that attacked her.
The kitsune had light beige fur with black highlights at the edge of its ears, paws, and tails.
Speaking of tails, moving about freely at the kitsune's back were a total of eight tails—each that was approximately 1.5 meters long.
The Failed Kitsune stared at Reilei with its pale blue eyes that gave off a frightening amount of killing intent. But, instead of following up on its previous attack, the kitsune appeared to be somewhat wary of Reilei.
She was the first creature to avoid its attack and not fall immediately under its assault. So naturally, it was momentarily confused as it took some time to size up Reilei.
Furthermore, the kitsune felt a strange aura from the two smaller creatures next to the one that evaded its strike. For some reason, they caused the kitsune to be on guard instinctively.
Reilei was taken aback by the cautious nature of the kitsune; however, she did not attempt to run away. She believed that the kitsune would immediately toss aside its conservative nature and rush in to eliminate her the moment she turned her back on it.
"I'm not sure why it decided to withdraw after its first attack, but it gives me some time." Reilei thought to herself as she held her right arm forward.
"Xiao Liang."
When he saw Reilei's arm and heard his name called, Xiao Liang quickly understood Reilei's intentions.
Xiao Liang reverted to his small lizard-like form and jumped up to latch himself onto Reilei's right arm.
"Amalgamate." The instant that word left Reilei's mouth, Xiao Liang's body lit up.
At the same time, Reilei's right arm burst into blue and violet-colored flames as the summoner's orb sunk into the palm of her hand.
By the time the flames calmed down, Xiao Liang was no longer anywhere to be found.
As for Reilei, her appearance underwent significant changes.
Her right arm was enveloped in purplish-blue scales, and her hand had transformed into a claw.
The far right side of Reilei's face was now covered in beautiful silver scales, and the pupil, as well as the color in her right eye, matched that of Xiao Liang's.
In addition, one of the biggest physical changes was the silver tail that emerged at Reilei's lower back.
The tail resembled the one that belonged to Xiao Liang in his smaller form, but it was one meter long and appeared to be much sturdier in design.
"Ayanellia, stay here. And, please wait for my word." Reilei said as her eyes never left the Failed Kitsune.
"…"
"Do not worry. I will be careful. I promise." Reilei smiled to ease Ayanellia's worries.
After seeing that Reilei did not attack or pursue it, the creature became bold.
The caution that was once in the Failed Kitsune's eyes could no longer be seen as it lowered its whole body.
Zeeeut!
In the blink of an eye, the Failed Kitsune vanished from the spot it stood. But, it was not alone.
Reilei, who was just next to Ayanellia, also seemingly disappeared into thin air!
Less than a breath went by before Reilei, and the Failed Kitsune reappeared several meters away from their previous positions—both of which were within an arm's length of one another.
All of a sudden, a large build-up of mana gathered at one of the kitsune's eight tails as a thin white veil of energy encompassed it.
Swoosh!
Without warning, the kitsune flicked its tail forward as a powerful blade of wind shot towards Reilei!
The blade of wind carried a great force as it crashed into her. But, it was then that an unfamiliar scene developed in front of the Failed Kitsune's eyes.
Rather than the blade of wind cutting through its enemies as it always did, it abruptly scattered in all directions once it came into contact with Reilei.
To the kitsune's surprise, its mighty blade of wind had been effortlessly dispersed!
Not expecting its wind magic to be brushed off at such close range, the Failed Kitsune was unprepared to defend itself. And, Reilei took advantage of this opening.
Reilei extended her right arm outward and grabbed ahold of the Failed Kitsune's head with her claw. She tightened her grip and twisted her body as the kitsune was suddenly hoisted off its feet!
If other players were there to witness this scene, they would have fainted from shock!
The kitsune was not the largest boss monster in RML by any means, but it was still a reasonably big creature spanning three meters! To sweep such a creature off its feet using only one hand—how much brute strength would that require?!
As Reilei lifted the kitsune off the ground and rotated her body, her claw became engulfed in purplish-blue flames.
SWOOSH!
Her actions did not stop there as the flames around Reilei's claw intensified.
The flames converged to a single point in a split second and formed into a sphere of purplish-blue fire that resembled a miniature sun.
"Ayanellia! Now!" Reilei declared.
Simultaneously, the spherical flames raced after the Failed Kitsune as Ayanellia held her hands out.
A white aura formed around Ayanellia's palms as a group of thick vines erupted from the earth and followed close after Reilei's spherical flames. It, too, was headed in the kitsune's direction!
But, instead of waiting to see the kitsune's fate, Reilei swiftly returned to Ayanellia's side and swept the young girl off her feet!
Reilei knew that she couldn't fight a prolonged battle against an epic boss monster alone with her current strength.
From the beginning, her goal was never to defeat the Failed Kitsune but rather to create an opportunity to escape!
Without looking back, Reilei carried Ayanellia and moved at full speed in the opposite direction of where she threw the Failed Kitsune.
…
Just seconds after the Reilei's departure, the Failed Kitsune emerged from under a pile of thick charred vines.
The creature immediately scanned its surroundings but found that it was empty.
RAAAAAAAWR!
The Failed Kitsune was furious!
It unleashed a mighty battle cry after seeing that its prey had fled right after attacking it!
The kitsune bared its fangs as its pale blue eyes turned pitch black, and all eight of its tails produced a radiant light!
