Chapter 89. Tiger Hunting (3)

"Number of beast attacks."

Although Yuri gave this answer, Arin and Poppi still had puzzled looks on their faces.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Are you hungry?"

Yuri sighed softly at the repeated question.

He briefly explained how the Animal Forest operated.

Only then did the two nod their heads.

"The wolf can only attack 200 times? Wow... How did you figure that out?"

Yuri shrugged.

"That's not the important part right now. What I wanted to find out was how the number of beast attacks applies when multiple people attack together."

"So, what did you find out?"

"The number of attacks is 200 per person."

Yuri made sure Poppi and Arin joined in just before the 200 attack limit.

During this process, the wolf man deflected Arin's arrows and exchanged a few blows with Poppi.

When Yuri re-entered the fray, the number of exchanges between him and the wolf man ended exactly at 200.

If Arin and Poppi's exchanges with the wolf were counted, Yuri's count would not have reached 200.

In other words, it was impossible to share the 200 attack limit among multiple people.

Arin, who had been listening to Yuri's explanation, asked a question.

"But what if there are other conditions?"

"Other conditions?"

"Maybe our attacks didn't meet certain conditions and weren't included in the 200 exchanges?"

Yuri asked back.

"For example?"

"For example, my arrows weren't particularly threatening to the wolf, and Poppi never directly clashed weapons with it. Only you had direct, threatening exchanges, so maybe only yours were counted?"

Yuri nodded at her explanation.

"You're right; that's definitely a possibility. So, we need more verification."

Arin pointed out something Yuri had also been thinking about.

At that moment, Yuri had a strange thought.

'Having others verify what I've been thinking alone isn't as bad as I thought.'

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Yuri turned his gaze to the western sky.

The red glow of the sunset was fading, and darkness was beginning to fall.

With that, Yuri stood up.

"Let's move."

"Are we going to hunt wolves again? For more verification?"

Yuri shook his head.

"No, we won't be hunting at night for a while."

"Then what?"

"We need to run and avoid the tiger."

In fact, there was another reason they shouldn't hunt wolves, but that was for later.

"Our top priority is to survive the night. To do that, we need to keep moving all night."

"Do we really need to? Can't we just hide somewhere?"

"Against the tiger... no, the tiger, staying in one place for too long is more dangerous. It's better to keep moving and run all night."

The spider web-like mana flow he had discovered earlier would allow him to detect and avoid the tiger, who wouldn't hide her presence.

"Ugh, I guess I won't be getting any sleep at night anymore."

"I'm hungry..."

Seeing the already tired faces of Arin and Poppi, Yuri chuckled.

"Do you want to go back to that training camp? If you do, just stay in one place and sleep."

At Yuri's question, Arin and Poppi shook their heads vigorously.

"I'd rather run all night! That's better."

"I'm hungry!"

In an instant, the fatigue on their faces disappeared, replaced by determination.

Yuri nodded in response.

"Wow, you guys have good willpower. Let's just survive this night. And starting tomorrow..."

With that, Yuri kicked the campfire, extinguishing it.

In the flying embers, Yuri's eyes gleamed.

"...we'll start bear hunting."

This would be the first step toward tiger hunting.

Crack. Crack.

The embers of the campfire were completely extinguished, and the surroundings were soon enveloped in complete darkness.

This marked the beginning of a long night.

* * *

Midday.

A black swordsman wearing a brown, round bear ear headband scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes.

Anyone could see the wariness in his demeanor.

Indeed, small beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead.

Rustle.

Startled.

The black swordsman reacted sensitively to the small sounds around him.

His grip on his sword tightened.

Sizzle.

His sword was enveloped in a blazing mana flame, proving he was a certified 3rd Rank.

He maintained the fire sword, ready to respond at any moment, and never relaxed his vigilance.

And at that moment.

Whoosh.

The wind blew, and the branches of the conifers swayed.

Sssss.

A sound like a snake slithering through the underbrush was heard.

"?! "

The black swordsman swung his sword in the direction of the sound.

Snap. Slice.

A hard object caught on the tip of his sword was cut off, and an arrowhead fell to the ground around him.

Having deflected one arrow, he couldn't rest.

Sss. Sss.

The same sound continued to come from different directions.

Above his head, behind his back, on his left shoulder, and at his ankles.

A total of four places.

Each arrow aimed for a blind spot and came in almost simultaneously.

The arrow aimed at his ankles was slightly delayed, but the difference was negligible.

The black swordsman whistled.

'Amazing archery.'

He recognized it immediately.

How could he not?

The aura of the arrows was so identical.

This meant that the arrows were shot by a single person, not multiple.

Yet, that single person was making the arrows arrive from different directions and almost at the same time.

Truly amazing archery.

Of course, technically, it was indeed impressive...

'But there's no power behind it.'

It wasn't a significant threat.

Slice. Slice. Slice.

Three arrows were cut with a single slash.

Then, to deflect the arrow aimed at his ankles, which arrived slightly later, the black swordsman's upper body bent slightly.

In that moment, his posture was momentarily disrupted.

Whoosh.

A dark shadow loomed over his head.

"..."

The sun was clearly high in the sky.

Yet, a large, round object suddenly appeared, blocking the sun.

It was like a solar eclipse.

The black swordsman soon saw what caused this phenomenon.

'...A shield?'

It was a truly massive shield.

And it was falling toward him in a parabolic arc.

'Danger!'

He knew what would happen if he was crushed by that massive shield.

So, the black swordsman stepped back.

And as if waiting for this, an arrow appeared.

'...?'

As if by teleportation, an arrow suddenly appeared, aiming for his thigh.

The black swordsman realized.

'My movement was predicted. No, I was led to move this way!'

The arrow aimed at his ankles was deliberately delayed.

This forced him to deal with it last, disrupting his posture.

Taking advantage of this, the massive shield flew in.

And the person even predicted where he would dodge and shot an arrow in advance.

All of this was someone's calculation.

'Impressive.'

A certified 3rd Rank black swordsman, but he was looking at a 4th Rank.

A seasoned veteran among black swordsmen.

Even he had never experienced such a precise combination.

The black swordsman gritted his teeth.

Grind.

He had to make a choice.

The massive shield falling to crush him.

Or the arrow appearing from behind.

It wasn't really a choice.

Being hit by a few arrows was better than being crushed by the shield.

This decision was made in an instant.

It was also the optimal choice made by his instinctive senses.

Unfortunately for the black swordsman, someone had predicted even this choice.

Thud!

An arrow pierced the thigh of the black swordsman, who had stepped back.

Despite the considerable pain, he didn't flinch and continued to step back.

At the same time, the shield that fell in a diagonal line embedded itself in the spot where he had been standing a moment ago.

Crack!

The shield was so powerful that more than half of it was buried in the ground.

And at that moment.

Zap.

Suddenly, a dark shadow like a cloud appeared in the air and released lightning.

The shadow, which swept the ground in an instant, soon transformed into a black-haired boy.

The black-haired boy, Yuri, maintained a low stance and quickly launched a series of sword strikes.

Despite the unexpected ambush, the black swordsman calmly defended against Yuri's attacks.

After exchanging a few blows with Yuri, the black swordsman, who had taken the arrows without flinching, gradually darkened his expression.

'This kid...'

Since a while ago, the boy's attacks had been putting an unusual strain on his right leg, which was pierced by an arrow.

'Could it be?'

Just as he had a slight suspicion.

Grind.

Yuri's form suddenly changed direction.

To follow this movement, the black swordsman had to forcefully change direction, putting strain on his right leg again.

This confirmed his suspicion.

So, the black swordsman couldn't help but chuckle.

'Was this also intentional?'

The arrow in his right thigh, especially in the back of his thigh.

It was clearly an intentional attack to create the current situation.

'Oh, my!'

For a seasoned black swordsman like himself to be outmatched by a mere rookie.

Especially by a 50th recruit who had just joined, it was absurd.

But being so perfectly outmaneuvered was actually enjoyable.

'I didn't expect much from a mission to deal with mere rookies...'

To create such an entertaining situation!

The black swordsman, who had been suffering from boredom for the past few days, smiled brightly.

"More... More! Push harder! Hahaha!"

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