Chapter 93

The battle was quickly brought to an end. A powerful hammer descended, unleashing an invisible aura that dramatically increased its destructive range and lethality. The hound had no time to let out a howl of pain before it was struck mid-body, its body splitting into two pieces.

The move Fearless used is called [Elephant Hoof Leap Strike]. As a consumable skill, its learning requirement is Combat Proficiency D or above, which speaks to its considerable power.

Of course, One Sword didn't know these details. All he knew was that a monster roughly on par with his own strength had been ambushed and killed in one blow by the seemingly weak Fearless.

When One Sword reached level 15, he had also played a round of the "slaughter game." He was well aware that if this were such a mode, facing an opponent like Fearless, a single mistake would result in the same fate as the hound.

Seeing One Sword's expression, Fearless felt there was no need to keep up the act. Her innocent and cute demeanor vanished, and even her tone and pitch changed, sounding more like a delinquent girl: "Ah... I had no choice, I thought I wouldn't have to do it myself." She dragged the long-handled hammer with one hand, walking forward, the sound of the hammer scraping against the ground indicating its immense weight.

"I didn't expect you to be so weak..." She circled around to the side of the hound's corpse, swung the hammer with one arm, and it landed with a heavy thud. The hound, which had been cut in half and was still twitching, now had its head completely smashed in.

The brutal finishing blow splattered One Sword's face with blood. He stood there in shock, frozen like a statue.

"Hmm..." Up until now, One Sword had been acting like a big brother, but now he dared not speak too loudly, his voice cautious: "Heh... heh... I... I didn't know you were so strong... But... why did you act scared when we encountered the boar and the tiger?"

The last few words of One Sword's sentence were "you were hiding and pretending to be scared," but before he could finish, Fearless interrupted him.

"What did you say?" Her tone was no different from that of a thug: "Hey, are you looking down on me?" She tilted her head, glaring fiercely at him, the hammer standing upright. "Daring to talk to me like that..." A sense of oppression washed over him: "I'll kill you..."

"Big... Big Sister... I'm sorry." One Sword leaned against a tree, sweating profusely. Although teammates couldn't attack each other, in terms of momentum, he was already as good as dead. "That... with my strength, I can only kill those minor monsters. Big Sister, you letting me lead the way is a sign of respect... Ha... ha... ha..." He forced a laugh, his face showing signs of distress.

"That's better." Fearless put the hammer away, crossing her arms, looking like a gang leader giving a lecture: "By the way... that guy called 'Mad Fearless' seems to be doing pretty well. We haven't heard any news of his death, which means he took care of the hound on his own. His strength is clearly above yours..."

"How do you know he also encountered the hound?"

"Are you kidding? Didn't you see the number of dogs in the castle? I estimate that for each group of players, Zaroff releases a corresponding number of dogs, or even more."

"Uh... actually, if I fought the hound alone, I could have managed it..." One Sword meekly added.

Before he could finish, Fearless interrupted him with a loud shout: "Shut up, Baldy!"

"Baldy... Baldy..." One Sword, with his long hair, was inexplicably called Baldy.

"You have the guild's attribute bonuses, and your level is one higher than his. The fact that he can do what you can already shows he's stronger." Fearless wasn't being unreasonable; her words made sense: "Damn... I should have followed him. I miscalculated."

One Sword, feeling deflated, lowered his head and whispered: "S-Sorry, for being so weak and causing you trouble..."

"Ah, forget it, Baldy is Baldy." Fearless generously "forgave" him.

If the game had animated expressions, One Sword's head would definitely be shrouded in a cloud of dejection.

"Alright, now isn't the time to be down." Fearless pointed: "Northwest is that way, keep leading the way."

"Uh... I already know which way is north..."

"Shut up!"

"Yes... Yes..."

...

The forest ahead was still dark and gloomy, with undulating terrain and towering rocks. The ground alternated between dirt and winding, rocky paths.

As he trudged on, Feng Jue gradually became numb to the discomfort in his body. This numbness led to a mental laxity, and fatigue weighed heavily on him like an unshakeable burden. His survival value did not recover at all during this continuous walking, and the depletion of his stamina was a cause for concern. Although his active skill [Hasty Repair] might not be useful in a script with no mechanical devices, the two remaining [Brat's Whip Kick] moves would each cost 200 stamina points. If his stamina dropped to a certain level, any sudden situation could easily lead to his death.

[Time until sunrise: 153 minutes]

By now, Zaroff had been out for an hour and a half. Theoretically, from the moment the players received the mission, they should have been fleeing for 146 minutes.

Of course, Feng Jue hadn't used all 146 minutes. Explaining the situation to his teammates and returning to the castle for tools had taken some time, but he was at least 40 minutes ahead of General Zaroff.

Killing the hound didn't cost Feng Jue much time, as he had run at an accelerated pace afterward. During his journey, he encountered two or three more events similar to the python hunting the boar. Fortunately, he was always alert and managed to slip away without drawing the animals' attention.

With five hours of survival time already halfway gone, even if one ignored the fact that Zaroff's speed was certainly faster than Feng Jue's, and assuming the boss wasn't intentionally holding back, he should have caught up by now.

If Zaroff didn't appear within the next twenty minutes, it would mean he hadn't come southeast but was instead pursuing the other two.

Therefore, Feng Jue genuinely, eagerly, and anxiously awaited the system notification of a team member's death...

It wasn't that he disliked his teammates, but the script was such that someone had to sacrifice themselves. The probability was 50% for each side, and he believed the others felt the same way.

After another ten minutes, Feng Jue stopped walking. He sat on a relatively flat boulder, massaging his sore legs, enjoying this brief moment of rest.

Clearly, by this point, the plan to trade space for time had been a success. Even if the general killed Feng Jue or the other two now, it would be difficult for him to catch the survivors on the other side of the island upon his return.

At this moment, Feng Jue's plan entered its second phase—focusing on survival and slowing down. This phase was independent of the other two, for a simple reason: they were two people, while Feng Jue was alone. If the general appeared and killed him, he would have no complaints. But if the general went northwest, Feng Jue would need to be extra cautious. If the general didn't come after him and he was killed by something else, leading to the entire team's demise, it would be a tragedy.

[Team member: One Sword, has died.] The system notification suddenly sounded.

Feng Jue's face showed a moment of shameful relief, but his smile quickly froze. "Why only one?"

He eagerly awaited the news of Fearless's death. Only when both were confirmed dead could he feel at ease. Feng Jue believed that with Zaroff's strength, no matter what skills the [Hide and Seek] girl had, they would be useless, at best buying her a little more time.

However, if Fearless's death was delayed, many variables would come into play. The probability of her escaping the general was very low, and a more likely scenario was that One Sword's death was unrelated to Zaroff, perhaps due to another monster or event.

Following this line of thought, the worst-case scenario was that Zaroff had actually come to Feng Jue's side, while One Sword and Fearless encountered other dangers, leading to one death and one escape. For the next two hours, Fearless would be on her own, facing various threats. As for Feng Jue...

Thinking about this, Feng Jue's stress returned. He pouted and blew a strand of hair from his forehead: "Damn... I can't tell which way the general went now."

[Team member: Fearless, has died.] The system notification sounded again.

"Huh?" Feng Jue was taken aback, then he let out a long breath: "Phew... I'm relieved. It seems they definitely encountered Zaroff."

With this conclusion, Feng Jue felt much better. His next step was to slowly move southeast while ensuring his own safety.

Staying put was also an option. In this script, remaining stationary would likely not be considered negative play. However, Feng Jue was wary of Zaroff. If the general suddenly accelerated and returned, the distance he had covered so far would not be enough to ensure his safety.

After resting for about ten more minutes, Feng Jue set off again.

This time, he only walked about 300 meters before stopping. After passing through a section of uneven terrain, he found something in a small hollow—human remains.