Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Tiger Hunt (3)
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“The beasts’ exchange count.”
Yuri gave that answer, but Arin and Poppi still wore puzzled expressions.
“What’s that?”
“Hungry...?”
Yuri let out a small sigh at the repeated questions.
He gave a brief explanation of how the Animal Forest operated.
Only after hearing it did the two finally nod.
“Wolves can only attack 200 times? Wow... How the hell did you figure that out?”
Yuri shrugged.
“That’s not what matters right now. Anyway, what I wanted to check was how the beasts’ exchange count works when multiple people gang up on them.”
“So, what happened?”
“It’s 200 exchanges per person.”
Yuri had Poppi and Arin jump in right at the razor-thin line under 200.
During that, the wolf man swatted away Arin’s arrow and traded a few blows with Poppi.
Afterward, Yuri jumped back in and took over the exchanges, but the ones between the wolf man and Yuri ended precisely at 200.
If the exchanges Arin and Poppi had with the wolf counted toward it, then the number Yuri tracked wouldn’t have hit 200.
In simple terms, it meant you couldn’t split the 200 exchanges across multiple attackers to burn it down.
Meanwhile, Arin, who had been listening to Yuri’s explanation, raised a question.
“But what if there are other conditions?”
“Other conditions?”
“What if our attacks didn’t meet certain criteria, so they didn’t count toward the 200 exchanges?”
Yuri shot back.
“For example?”
“For instance, my arrow wasn’t much of a threat to the wolf, and Poppi never directly clashed weapons with it. You were the only one who truly crossed blades or traded real threats, so maybe only those counted.”
Yuri nodded at her explanation.
“Yeah, that’s definitely possible. That’s why we need more testing.”
What Arin pointed out was exactly what Yuri had been thinking.
And the moment he heard it from her, a strange thought crossed Yuri’s mind.
‘Having someone else verify the things I’ve been mulling over alone... isn’t half bad.’
Feeling oddly sheepish, Yuri turned his gaze to the western sky.
The red glow of sunset was fading, and darkness began to settle.
With that, Yuri stood up.
“Let’s move.”
“Back to hunt wolves? More testing?”
Yuri shook his head at the question.
“Nah, no night hunts for a while.”
“Then?”
“We run. Dodge the tiger.”
Truth be told, even without that reason, there was cause not to hunt wolves.
But that could wait.
“Our top priority is surviving the night. Means we move without rest till dawn.”
“Do we really need to? Can’t we just hole up somewhere?”
“Against a tiger-woman... no, a tiger, staying put too long is riskier. Better to keep fleeing all night.”
The spiderweb demon arts he’d grasped before should let him sense and evade something like a tiger-woman prowling without hiding its presence.
“Sigh, looks like no sleeping at night from now on.”
“Hungry...”
Yuri smirked at Arin and Poppi, who already looked exhausted.
“Wanna go back to that training camp? If so, hole up and sleep.”
Arin and Poppi shook their heads vigorously at Yuri’s question.
“That’s worse! Better to run all night.”
“Hungry!”
Fatigue vanished from their faces in an instant, replaced by resolve.
Yuri nodded.
“Nice spirit. Let’s just survive this night first. Then tomorrow...”
With that, Yuri kicked out the campfire.
Amid the scattering embers, his eyes gleamed.
“...we start bear hunting.”
It would be the first step toward tiger hunting.
Crackle—crackle-crackle.
The campfire’s embers died out completely, and darkness fully engulfed the surroundings.
This marked the start of the long night.
And several nights passed after that.
* * *
Around midday, with the sun high overhead.
A Black Sword Soldier wearing a brown, round bear-ear headband scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes.
Anyone could see the tension radiating from him.
Indeed, beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
Rustle.
He flinched.
Even the tiniest sound from nearby made the Black Sword Soldier react sharply.
His grip on his sword tightened in tandem.
Sizzle.
His sword blazed with fiercely burning mana flames.
It was the Flame Sword, proof of his Certified Rank 3 status.
He kept it ignited, ready for anything, never letting his guard down.
And right then.
Whoosh—
Wind rustled the conifer branches.
Rustle-rustle-rustle.
A sound like a snake slithering through underbrush reached him.
“...?!”
The Black Sword Soldier swung toward the noise.
Snap—slash.
Something hard caught on his blade tip snapped off, and an arrowhead clattered to the ground nearby.
He’d blocked one arrow, but no time to rest.
Rustle—rustle-rustle.
The same sound came again in quick succession.
Above his head, behind his back, left shoulder, ankle.
Four spots total.
Each arrow aimed dead at his blind spots.
And they came simultaneously.
The ankle shot lagged a bit, but it was close enough to count as synced.
The Black Sword Soldier clicked his tongue.
‘Impressive archery.’
He realized it instantly.
How could he not?
The arrows carried the exact same aura.
Meaning a single archer had loosed them all.
Yet that one person had them arrive from different directions at nearly the same time.
Truly astonishing archery.
Of course, technically impressive as it was...
‘No power behind them.’
Not much threat.
Slash—slash—slash.
One swing cleaved three arrows clean.
Then, with a slight delay, he leaned to bat away the ankle shot.
In that instant, his stance faltered just a bit.
Whoosh.
A heavy shadow loomed over his head.
“...?”
The sun was still high at midday.
Yet suddenly, something huge and round blotted it out.
Like a solar eclipse.
The Black Sword Soldier soon saw what caused it.
‘...A shield?’
A massive shield.
And that massive shield arced down toward him in a parabola.
‘Danger!’
Getting crushed under that huge shield? No need to calculate—the outcome was obvious.
So the Black Sword Soldier pulled back.
As if anticipating it, an arrow appeared.
‘...?!’
Like teleportation, it suddenly loomed there, targeting his thigh.
That’s when the Black Sword Soldier realized.
‘They predicted my move. No—they baited me into it!’
Of the first four arrows, the ankle one was deliberately delayed.
Forcing him to handle it last, disrupting his stance.
Seizing that gap, the huge shield flew in.
Not content, they’d predicted his panicked retreat and fired ahead of time.
All part of someone’s calculation.
‘Damn impressive.’
A Certified Rank 3 Black Sword Soldier, eyeing Rank 4.
A veteran among them, with real experience.
Even he had never faced such precise coordination.
He gritted his teeth.
Grind.
He had to choose.
The massive shield crashing down to flatten him.
Or the arrow from behind.
But it wasn’t much of a choice.
Better a few arrows than that shield.
A split-second decision.
His instincts’ optimal pick.
Unfortunately for him, someone had even predicted that choice.
Thuk!
An arrow lodged in the thigh of the retreating Black Sword Soldier.
Pain shot through, yet he didn’t grimace, just kept moving.
Simultaneously, the shield slammed diagonally into where he’d stood moments ago.
Kwang!
Such force—half the shield buried into the ground.
And that instant.
Crackle-zzt.
Black shadows like thunderclouds rippled in midair, spewing lightning.
The shadow sweeping the ground morphed into a black-haired boy.
The black-haired boy—Yuri—kept low and unleashed rapid sword strikes.
Despite the surprise attack, the Black Sword Soldier calmly parried Yuri’s onslaught.
After a few exchanges, the man’s face darkened—him who hadn’t winced even taking an arrow to the body.
‘This kid...’
From earlier, blocking the boy’s attacks strained his right leg, where the arrow stuck, more than it should.
‘No way?’
Suspicion flickered.
Slash.
Yuri’s form suddenly pivoted.
To follow, the Black Sword Soldier strained to turn too—burdening his right leg again.
Suspicion turned to certainty.
He could only chuckle bitterly.
‘This was planned too?’
The arrow in his right leg—specifically the back thigh.
Clearly aimed to create this exact scenario.
‘Heh!’
A veteran Black Sword Soldier like him, pushed by mere Cradle knights.
Fresh 50th Cohort rookies at that.
Absurd on paper, but getting outplayed this perfectly? Thrilling.
‘Didn’t expect much from babysitting fledglings...’
To make things this fun!
Plagued by boredom these past days, the Black Sword Soldier grinned wide.
“More... MORE! Push harder, you bastards! Hahaha!”
Laughing despite being on the ropes.
He yanked the arrow from his thigh without hesitation.
Blood spurted from the reopened wound.
His right leg was already compromised—Yuri had targeted it relentlessly.
Yet the Black Sword Soldier moved on as if it were nothing.
No—his movements sharpened, pain forgotten.
Yuri ground his teeth.
‘Damn battle maniacs.’
Just a little prod, and their eyes go feral.
Nor was it just this guy.
Every Black Sword Soldier they’d faced went berserk midway.
‘Like they’re possessed by war ghosts!’
How do they charge so suicidally?
The world’s strongest combat unit.
Or mad warriors—no empty title.
Every Black Sword Soldier Yuri fought turned aggressively feral.
And naturally, once their eyes flipped, the fight got tough.
‘Argh! These guys don’t know moderation!’
Same here.
Ignoring wounds and pain, the charging Black Sword Soldier flipped Yuri’s advantage to disadvantage.
‘Damn it!’
Predict all you want, set perfect traps.
Feral eyes bulldoze through with raw skill.
‘Makes me so mad... I’ll hit Rank 3 soon enough!’
Clang—ka-gagang—kang!
Yuri gritted his teeth, battling on.
The exchange count steadily climbed.
And finally.
“...Fifty!”
The exchanges hit fifty.