Lisa let out a sharp yelp through the mental link, losing her balance for a millisecond after the heavy blow she had taken. "Halon! My ribs... the impact went right through you!"
Lohan was shocked. His defense, which until then had seemed invulnerable against physical impacts of a similar level, had reached its qualitative limit.
He quickly activated [Microscopic Focus] and [Instinctive Perception Lv 15] to analyze the attackers circling the pair at high speed, leaving trails of scorched earth behind them.
Upon carefully analyzing the targets, Lohan realized that among the group of five rabbits, three were slightly slower and weaker, while the other two were slightly more powerful.
And based on the force of the impact he received from one of the slower rabbits, he deduced that this group consisted of three Level 9 Rabbits and two Level 10 Rabbits.
As monsters focused on a single attribute, the explosive force of their paws, these creatures’ kicks possessed a kinetic piercing power that partially ignored his defenses. If they fought at their own pace, Lisa would be riddled with internal fractures in a matter of minutes.
"They’re too fast for a head-on confrontation, Lisa! If we try to chase them, we’ll be kicked to death before we tire them out." Lohan transmitted, feeling the [Parallel Processing Core] working at full speed to formulate a strategy. "We need to take the ground out from under them. Literally."
Taking advantage of the fact that he was still in symbiosis as Living Armor, Lohan expanded part of his biomass into the ground beneath Lisa’s paws. He didn’t use the exoskeleton this time; instead, he activated [Selective Viscosity] in its most extreme form of Adhesion.
At the same time, he used [Magic Weaving Lv 3]
"Lisa, use [Spectral Step] to lure them to the center of this quadrant!" Lohan commanded.
Lisa understood the plan!
Ignoring the internal pain, she shot off like a white blur, but the two Level 10 rabbits, sensing the movement, slammed their paws on the ground simultaneously, launching themselves in a charge that distorted the air.
The moment the first Level 10 rabbit struck the [Magic Weaving Lv 3] net, it didn’t stop. In a purely instinctive reflex, the monster unleashed an explosive kick against the mana-infused threads themselves. The small detonation generated by its hind leg created a shockwave that, while it didn’t sever the mana-infused threads, loosened the trap’s tension enough for it to use the recoil and launch itself backward, escaping the initial entanglement.
Meanwhile, the second Level 10 rabbit, sensing the danger on the ground, changed course mid-air. Using the explosive force of its paws to kick off a nearby tree trunk, it executed a maneuver that defied inertia, leaping over the webbed area and landing in a blind spot behind Lisa.
"Halon, to the right! He jumped over the net!" Lisa transmitted urgently, but the pain in her ribs [from previous interactions] made her hesitate for a split second, preventing an immediate new [Spectral Step].
Lohan didn’t need Lisa’s warning; with his 360-degree vision, he saw perfectly the movement the rabbit made and the approach of its attack once again.
The rabbit hit the ground with a thud, and before Lisa could even turn completely, it delivered a side kick. Lohan reacted instantly, activating [Non-Newtonian Resilience] and the [Obsidian Exoskeleton Lv 7] on Lisa’s right flank.
-- BOOM! --
The impact was tremendous.
Although Lohan’s membrane had hardened like steel at the point of contact, the "explosive" nature of the blow transformed the kinetic energy into a high-frequency vibration that pierced through the armor once more.
Lisa was hurled sideways, her feet losing traction on the ground as she screamed in pain through the mental link.
The three Level 9 rabbits, seeing their advantage, began circling the pair at high speed, pounding their paws on the ground to maintain their high velocity.
To Lohan’s senses, the thermal signatures picked up by [Thermal Perception Lv 9] were blurred, frantic shapes surrounding his 360-degree field of view.
"Damn, they’re using the trees to avoid the ground!" Lohan analyzed, realizing that the creatures’ numerical advantage and aerial agility were overwhelming their defensive strategy.
Even though these rabbits were low-rarity creatures, far inferior to a Legendary Fox and a Mythic Slime, fighting these monsters on their home turf, while at a numerical and level disadvantage, was greatly diminishing their advantage!
Through the [Parallel Processing Core], Lohan attempted to coordinate two tiny clones to grab the Level 9 rabbits’ paws, but their speed was so great and the force of their kicks so powerful that the gelatinous masses were simply "run over" before they could apply [Selective Viscosity].
For the first time since entering the deep forest, the duo felt they were struggling not to be overwhelmed by sheer speed.
The rabbits maintained the initiative, attacking in coordinated bursts that didn’t allow Lisa to catch her breath enough for an effective [Spiritual Fire] counterattack, while Lohan’s mind raced at top speed to devise a plan for dealing with these rabbits without getting caught up in their speed game.
"Lisa, stop chasing them. Let’s change the frequency of this fight. I’m going to saturate your system with Natural Energy!" Lohan commanded via mental link.
Through the symbiosis as Living Armor, Lohan activated the [Natural Energy Core Lv 2], forcing energy pathways to open through his biomass to channel the raw essence of this energy directly into Lisa’s circulatory system.
He utilized the [Weaver Mother Lv 2] to act as a bidirectional conduit, injecting Mana as well, in addition to the massive charge of refined vitality.
Lisa felt an overwhelming heat course through her muscles. Her white flames of the [Spiritual Fire] took on a slightly greenish, stable hue, and the pain from the microfractures caused by the previous impacts receded under the flow of Lohan’s [Bio-Synthetic Mana Circulation].
With that newfound strength within her, Lisa’s confidence returned.