They stood opposite the beast, its muscles tensed as if preparing to attack, its dark, thick fur matted with mud.
"Since when did shengwu appear in this forest... Usually, they're found in swamps." A faint smile played on Lar's face; "So, what should we do?"
The beast roared angrily, its eyes gleaming, and it lunged forward to attack. Lar managed to dodge the blow, while Sera simply ran back. Various ideas raced through his head; fog creatures weren't at the top of the food chain, but they were typically found in swamps, meaning this beast was out of its territory. Sera didn't need this information, luckily, the fog creature was focused on Lar, not him, while Lar either fled or dodged its attacks.
"Hmm, a rope?" Sera's yellow eyes darted to a rope that, apparently, no one needed and had been lying there for a long time: 'That's an idea, if I don't screw up – I'll survive.' Sera smiled, almost maliciously and demonically, while Lar was trying to survive, he was already up in a tree.
Sera had already tied one end of the rope into a noose. Lar circled shengwu, a dagger in his hand. He was barely holding on, involuntarily, he surveyed the area and dodged another attack from the beast. 'Where's Sera? He couldn't have run away, we're in an illusion.' His eyes quickly scanned the forest around him. Lar saw Sera in the tree: 'What's he doing up there?'
Sera was making some gestures, then pointing at the beast and the rope. Lar understood nothing; all that got through to him was that he needed to lure shengwu to the tree. Lar was exhausted, but he did manage to lead the creature to the tree.
Just then, Sera threw the rope with the noose.
His plan succeeded; the noose was around the fog creature's neck. Without wasting a second, Sera jumped down from the tree, but he forgot only one detail: he was lighter than shengwu. The beast was bewildered; it was now on its hind legs, while Sera hung from the tree, gripping the rope tightly, surprise etched on his face. "You! Cut the beast with your dagger, its belly is exposed!"
Lar was shocked by Sera's thoughtless and frankly insane actions. Gathering his last bit of strength, he ran at the fog creature and plunged the dagger into the beast's stomach, piercing the thick hide and slitting its belly. Lar reeled back from the beast and fell to the ground, breathing heavily as the creature thrashed its paws.
For a while, shengwu struggled, but eventually, it took its last breath. Sera released the rope and plopped to the ground. "It worked... We did it! Sera, your plan succeeded! No one will believe us if we tell them."
Lar laughed loudly and breathed heavily, his hands covered in blood, but he was happy. Sera stood up; "Don't even say... But what are they doing here? There are almost no swamps in Rondon. We should get out of here."