The moon hung high in the night sky as Herag sped through the forest, with Sean closely trailing behind.
His speed surpassed Herag’s, but the trees and other obstacles in the forest hampered his progress.
"Damn it! How does this guy know the area so well?" Sean cursed under his breath.
Herag moved at full speed throughout, as if he was intimately familiar with every tree and hiding spot, like someone who had grown up there.
More crucially, Herag would occasionally turn and shoot an arrow.
Each shot was timed with incredible precision, just as Sean was about to burst forward with speed. A cold arrow would come his way, forcing him to twist his body to dodge, widening the distance between them again in the blink of an eye.
This made Sean feel as uncomfortable as swallowing a fly, and he couldn’t shake off the odd feeling: "Could it be a coincidence?"
After several such instances, Sean finally couldn’t take it anymore: "Die, kid!"
"Detecting unknown energy surge in the opponent’s body, predicting an increase in strength by 0.7, agility by 1.1, and constitution by 0.5."
A chill ran down Herag’s spine; it was the first time he’d heard such a sound from someone advancing in his direction.
"Dodge to the left front!" Shenlan advised.
Herag didn’t hesitate. He had just dodged when Sean arrived, stabbing the air with his dagger.
"Hmm? Impossible!" Sean was incredulous; his supposedly infallible killing blow had been evaded.
Herag accelerated forward once more, feeling like he had reached his speed limit.
Sean had used a special method to significantly enhance his physical abilities; his speed was now far beyond Herag’s.
"Duck and roll forward!" Shenlan advised again.
Herag immediately followed Shenlan’s advice. Executing such evasive maneuvers at high speed required great physical demand.
This is where the benefits of practicing the Earth Breathing Technique came into play. Herag had been diligently doing the technique’s set movements daily, mastering control over his body.
Sean’s dagger barely missed Herag’s head, grazing off a lock of hair. His strike had missed again.
"This kid is peculiar!" Sean couldn’t believe it. How could someone who wasn’t even at the Knight Level dodge his killing blows twice in a row?
"Dodge behind the tree on the right, draw your sword to block behind!"
Herag complied, slipping behind a tree while bringing his Longsword up behind him to block.
The crisp sound of metal clashing rang out as Herag turned to see Sean’s dagger piercing through the tree trunk and hitting his blade. The violent impact left Herag’s hand numb.
Sean witnessed the scene in disbelief: "How does it seem kid knows what I’m about to do every time?"
In theory, it was possible. His attacks were always preceded by subtle changes in muscle activation and movement, which could be observed and predicted beforehand.
But these were instantaneous events, and the kid was running forward the entire time without looking back. How could he possibly know all this?
"Hold your sword to block in front!"
Suddenly, Sean appeared in front of him, dagger aimed directly at Herag.
This attack too was anticipated, and Herag steadily blocked it with his Longsword.
"Damn it!" Sean was getting frustrated. It was as if this kid could see through his every move.
"Wait!" Suddenly, Sean’s breath became erratic as he clutched his forehead painfully.
Herag let out a sigh of relief: "Finally, it’s taking effect. I thought that kind of poison wasn’t working on you. With your recent burst of attacks, your blood circulation must have sped up, so the poison acted more quickly."
"That arrow was poisoned..." Sean remembered; he had only been hit by an arrow once.
Herag’s quiver held two kinds of arrows, one ordinary, and the other coated with poison.
The poison came from an inconspicuous herb outside the castle. After Shenlan analyzed it, its root could be processed—dried, distilled, and refined—into a colorless and odorless deadly poison.
Sean, as an assassin, was also an expert in poisons, but this one was colorless and odorless, with no initial symptoms, so he hadn’t noticed.
It was a neurotoxin, and Sean’s vigorous activity had hastened its effects.
"Die!" Sean launched a frenzied attack with his dagger. He knew that only by killing Herag would he have a chance to find the antidote.
But under the influence of the poison, his abilities declined sharply, and Herag easily blocked every attack.
"I have to escape." Feeling his breath becoming rapid and his limbs losing coordination, Sean knew he would die at Herag’s hands if he didn’t escape soon.
Sean shot a fierce glance at Herag, then vanished into the darkness; as an assassin, he had many escape tricks.
Herag stood still with a slight smile, calmly drawing his bow and taking aim at a clear spot not far off.
With a scream, Sean reappeared, an arrow lodged in his back.
Even at full strength, Sean would have needed to focus entirely to dodge Herag’s arrows under Shenlan’s precise calculations, let alone now, while poisoned.
"How did you find me?" Sean’s voice turned calm, accepting his fate.
Herag said nothing, drawing his bow again.
Sean stared directly at Herag, neither dodging nor hiding. In truth, his legs had gone numb. He murmured, "How do you always dodge my attacks? You’re not even a Knight."
Expressionless, Herag released the tense bowstring and said, "Because... I’ve hacked the game."
His words and the arrow pierced Sean’s head simultaneously, a spray of blood blossomed, and Sean fell backward onto the ground.
His eyes were bewildered in death: "Hack... game, what does it mean..."
These cryptic words baffled Sean even in death.
After Sean had fallen, Herag shot two more arrows for good measure. Only after Shenlan confirmed his death did Herag slowly approach the body.
Herag searched thoroughly, finding neither a Gold Coin nor even a Copper Coin on Sean.
All Sean had were a pair of decent daggers, nothing else.
After dealing with Sean, Herag slung his Longsword on his back, held the Longbow, and gazed quietly into the depths of the forest, as if in contemplation. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt
Moments later, he chose to return in the direction of Emil.
He recalled that Jimmy and the others had fled under his cover and should be heading to the castle for reinforcements.
But the round trip to the castle took six days, far too long.
Even Emil, strong as he was, couldn’t possibly handle two Knight Level masters alone and the lurking threat of snipers from afar.
He darted swiftly through the forest, his shadow like a phantom, quick and silent.