Chapter 597: The Hunting Game of You Chase and I Flee, I Flee and You Chase: The Arrival of Jier

Hearing the monster that was gradually rising to its feet say this, Xueya Site felt his scalp tingle.

One must know, he had just shot through this monster with a heavy crossbow bolt! That was a weapon capable of punching a fist-sized hole in a person with a single shot; how could this monster not be dead after being hit like that?

He looked at the enemy's chest, but the enemy had a thick crossbow bolt hanging from it, with only a tiny amount of black liquid oozing from the wound, and none of the usual red blood.

Xueya Site immediately set the heavy crossbow down and used his foot to step on it and reload, but the shapeshifting monster in front of him did not charge over immediately; instead, it took its time using the sharp claws on its fingertips to cut at the shaft of the crossbow bolt in its chest.

"That hurts, although it's not fatal, but how should I 'repay' you for the pain you've caused me?"

"Should I chop off your head while you wail? Or should I help you peel off your skin while you're still alive? Or would you like to see what the viscera inside your own belly look like?"

"Seriously, you must have never seen what the viscera in your belly look like! Aren't you curious? If it were me, I would be very curious, and I have indeed done exactly that!"

"Come on, let me help you open your belly; I guarantee your liver will taste sweet! Do you know why?"

"Because when humans are afraid, all the blood in their bodies flows back into their internal organs to avoid losing too much blood when injured. Haha, this actually makes your viscera fresher, softer, and more delicious!"

The shapeshifting monster, which looked like a human but was not, walked toward Xueya Site casually while saying terrifying things. It said this on purpose, not just to enjoy the atmosphere before killing its prey, but as it said, to bring fear to the human so that it would become tastier.

Tastier, by its own definition.

Meanwhile, Xueya Site was breathing heavily, taking small steps backward while trying hard to cock the string of the heavy crossbow, then taking a new heavy crossbow bolt from behind him to load onto the heavy crossbow.

But he was too nervous, and after trying several times, he failed to succeed.

And this monster had already walked right in front of him.

"What a pity, you couldn't fire another attack, although this thing doesn't do much damage to me. But it still hurts!"

Speaking to the end, the shapeshifting monster roared, its mouth opening wide, as if it were about to bite off Xueya Site's head in one go.

"Damn it!" It was too late; Xueya Site threw the heavy crossbow in his hand directly at the monster. The thing was not light, and although the monster was tough and did not fear the piercing damage of the heavy crossbow bolt, its own body weight was not that heavy. When it raised its arms to block the incoming heavy crossbow, it was actually knocked over by the object.

"Huh?" Xueya Site was stunned for a moment, but he turned and ran anyway.

After the monster got up, it immediately exerted force to give chase; it moved much faster, and its legs were far more powerful than a human's.

But Xueya Site had the head start after all. He did not rush blindly into the woods, but headed straight for the corpse of the sentry soldier he had just killed. Sure enough, the enemy had a quiver hanging on them and was still clutching a Soldier Bow in their hand.

He abruptly lowered his body to get close, picked up the bow and arrow from the enemy's hand, and immediately drew an arrow from the quiver on the corpse, raised his hand, and fired.

Compared to a crossbow, a bow and arrow were much more reliable. The shot he fired while raising his hand went straight for the enemy's head. Although the monster raised its arm and let the arrow hit its arm instead, it still brought the opponent's pursuit to a halt.

Xueya Site continuously drew arrows from the quiver, firing one after another at the enemy. In this life-or-death situation, he could not care about the soreness in his arms or the coordination of his breathing; he just kept drawing and firing in one breath.

Not until he could no longer hold his breath and had fired all the arrows from the quiver on the corpse did he stop.

The shapeshifting monster was kneeling on one knee not far away, its whole body covered in arrows. However, the opponent had both arms raised, blocking in front of its head and face, which made Xueya Site feel a bit uneasy.

"Did I get him? I should have, right? So many arrows, heh, if that didn't finish him off, then I can only say it makes sense that shapeshifting monsters are used to scare children."

After muttering this, Xueya Site stood up, panting, and was just about to go forward to check if the monster was dead or alive.

The shapeshifting monster laboriously lowered its arms, its pair of pitch-black eyes staring fixedly at Xueya Site: "That really hurt like hell!!"

Pitch-black, suspicious liquid was flowing down the arrow shafts from its arms and every place on its body that had been pierced by arrows; these things seemed to be its blood. However, the significant blood loss did not seem to affect its combat power. Even after being shot like this, the monster still stood up, using its claws to cut the arrow shafts off one by one, though the metal arrowheads had to be left in its body for the time being.

"I've decided, I'm going to give you the most terrifying death! I want you to stay conscious the whole time, watching yourself being swallowed into my belly bit by bit! I want you to watch yourself being eaten by me, hahahaha!"

The monster opened its mouth, a mouthful of sharp teeth flipping out from its simulated human oral cavity. Its pitch-black eyes were locked on Xueya Site, and as it approached, it used its claws to cut the arrow shafts on its legs.

Xueya Site was not one to sit and wait for death. Although the content of the monster's threats was terrifying, the end of fear is often anger.

Xueya Site let out a roar, gripped the body of the Soldier Bow with both hands, and swung it forcefully at the shapeshifting monster: "Die! You monster!"

The monster had many uncleared arrows on its body and arms, limiting its movements, and it was struck solidly on the head by Xueya Site's swing, warping half of the monster's face.

But then Xueya Site discovered that the monster's warped half-face was actually recovering to its original state very quickly.

It did not seem to fear this kind of injury.

Dropping the Soldier Bow in his hand, Xueya Site drew his Long Sword from inside his Cloak. This was a captured Soldier Sword, and he raised it for a two-handed Horizontal Slash.

Facing this, the shapeshifting monster had to dodge, and seeing that the opponent feared this, Xueya Site immediately pursued.

But soon Xueya Site discovered that the opponent's movement speed was much faster than his. The shapeshifting monster ran and jumped a few times, putting distance between them, and then worked to remove the cumbersome arrows on its body. By the time he caught up, the monster had run off again.

But it wouldn't run far, just 'waiting' for him to catch up at a distance of ten-plus meters from Xueya Site.

After this happened two or three times, Xueya Site stopped his footsteps. He realized something was wrong and prepared to stop the pursuit and flee the area. But the shapeshifting monster, having finally chopped off all the cumbersome arrow shafts on its body, now turned back to chase Xueya Site: "Isn't it interesting? This game of mutual hunting? And the ending of this game must be the death and consumption of one party."

Xueya Site stopped after running two steps. He backed against the trunk of a large tree, knowing he could not outrun the opponent, so he had no choice but to fight. Fortunately, the opponent did not seem able to block slashing attacks; he still had the strength to fight.

As long as he could chop off the opponent's arm, this monster would have no way to harm him.

"Come on! It's not certain who will kill whom! Come!"

With a roar, Xueya Site held the Soldier Sword high, assuming a stance of trading injury for life.

The shapeshifting monster was not afraid, charging up with a ferocious grin, dodging the sword swing from Xueya Site with agile and powerful movements, and then the claws on the tip of its left hand swiped across Xueya Site's arm.

The Plant Concealment Cloak draped over him was immediately damaged, but the thick Plate Armor under the Cloak perfectly blocked the monster's claw attack.

"Tsk! A bug wearing a hard shell!" With a curse, the monster was unwilling to give up, suddenly circling around the tree trunk Xueya Site was leaning against, and clawed at Xueya Site's right waist from the other side.

First the Cloak tore, then came the sound of sharp claws scraping against the sturdy Metal Armor Plate, emitting a short but sharp noise.

"Ha! You can't hurt me! Thanks to the Armor Jier made!" Xueya Site shouted in pleasant surprise, swinging his Long Sword in a full arc for a Horizontal Slash. Although the monster tried hard to avoid it, its left hand, which had just attacked, was grazed by the blade, and two fingers with sharp claws were immediately severed.

Seeing this, Xueya Site felt victory was in his grasp: "You're dead!"

He lunged forward, thrusting his sword straight into the center of the monster's chest.

But unexpectedly, the monster let Xueya Site's blade pierce into it, then grinned, grabbed Xueya Site's arms with both hands, and slammed its head fiercely toward Xueya Site's skull.

With a muffled 'bang', the monster stood there swaying, while Xueya Site, due to the impact, felt his whole person go dizzy and fall to the ground backward.

He still wanted to swing his sword, but as soon as his hand was raised, it was kicked away by the monster.

"Looks like I won this hunting game after all?"

Shaking its head, the shapeshifting monster said triumphantly.

Xueya Site, with a look of despair, pulled out the Dagger at his waist and plunged it fiercely into the enemy's knee.

The monster's body tilted, but this minor injury was nothing to it. It bent down, pulled the Dagger out from the back of its knee, and threw it far away.

"Whatever other tricks you have, use them all. After all, watching the prey's final struggle is also a wonderful enjoyment! It will make the subsequent meal even more delightful."

Xueya Site kept punching the leg of the monster that was stepping on him, but it was useless; as soon as the monster applied force to its leg, he felt a wave of stifling pressure, making it hard to breathe.

With his breathing restricted, his strength vanished, and the force of his counterattacks grew weaker and weaker.

"Is this it? If this is all, then I shall prepare for a delicious meal, and the object of this meal is you, and the only spectator of this meal is also you!"

The Shapeshifting Monster seemed to thoroughly enjoy this moment of victory after battle, and its mouth was particularly talkative.

But just as it prepared to strip the heavy armor off Xueya Site, a deliberate sigh came from not far away.

"Sigh, good partner, your combat skills still need to be practiced well."

Following the sigh and the voice, both Xueya Site and the Shapeshifting Monster turned their heads to look in the direction the sound came from.

Over there, there were no footsteps.

A Human wearing armor covered in heavy armor plates was floating through the air from a height of over two meters.

The speed of the floating was very fast, even in the complex woodland on the ground, and not a single sound of movement was made; if the person arriving hadn't taken the initiative to speak, it is estimated that no one would have discovered that someone was passing by there.

"Jier...!"

Xueya Site managed to call out in pleasant surprise.

The Shapeshifting Monster retreated a few steps cautiously, but immediately realized this was improper; it should have been holding a hostage.

But just as it moved, Jier saw through its intention; he brushed his right hand across his left waist, and with a flick of his hand, the Long Sword emitting a white light flew like a swift ribbon of light, directly hitting the monster's chest at high speed and pinning it to the ground.

"Cough, cough, be careful, Jier. It isn't very afraid of piercing damage!"

Xueya Site hurriedly reminded his companion.

After Jier floated over silently, he seemed to jump down from something, and only then did his feet land on the ground with a thud.

He used the Dwarf Soldier Spear he had been holding in his left hand to strike the monster again, pinning it even more firmly to the ground.

The monster struggled twice, but the place where its chest was pierced by the Long Sword was quite strange; a counter-pressure force kept the Long Sword fixed to the ground, and the Metal Spear that had pierced its abdomen made it impossible for it to escape the result of being pierced through the abdomen, no matter what, because of the length exposed above the ground.

Struggling like this, it was like an insect made into a specimen, unable to do anything.

Jier pulled up his dizzy companion from the ground, patted the dead leaves off his body, and looked with regret at the damaged Plant Concealment Cloak on Xueya Site.

Xueya Site also realized that the Cloak on his body was damaged, and let out a scream more painful and fearful than when he was almost killed and eaten just now: "It's over, it's over! This thing was borrowed from the Agricultural God Church for us to use! It was damaged by the monster just like this; do we have to pay compensation or what?"

Jier shrugged: "Although the item was borrowed, its damage during battle is also an expected result. Don't worry, damage isn't the same as losing it; if they can make it, they can certainly repair this piece of equipment. Besides, with the merit of rescuing hundreds of civilians, what does this little bit of equipment damage count for? Stop being nervous."

After soothing him, Jier looked curiously at the Shapeshifting Monster on the ground that was still struggling continuously, trying to use its claws to destroy the Long Sword and the Metal Spear.

"This guy, isn't it a Shapeshifting Monster? How did you manage to provoke it over here? Sigh, wasn't it agreed that these two monsters were left to me, and you would focus on dealing with the enemy's six hidden sentries?"

Jier looked at this Shapeshifting Monster in confusion and even raised his foot to step on the monster's body; for a moment, he didn't find much difference between this monster and a Human.

"I don't know either; it just suddenly popped out on its own. At that time, I had just narrowly solved the third hidden sentry. By the way! It's terrible, it's terrible; when I was solving the third hidden sentry, the enemy discovered me, and as a result, he blew the Wooden Whistle for the alarm. Sigh, this battle, I estimate, will not have the effect of a surprise attack. It's all my fault!"

Xueya Site hammered himself twice fiercely, feeling unreconciled.

Jier smiled meaningfully: "You are overthinking it; perhaps things are not that bad yet."

"What do you mean?" Xueya Site's eyes lit up; he knew Jier could bring good news.

Jier touched his chin: "After dawn, I returned to the Forward Camp, explained the battle plan to everyone, and immediately rode the Spirit Dog, Big Nose, over here. I discovered in the enemy's outpost that those Defeated Soldiers were already in chaos. Ha, I added fuel to the fire; I had Big Nose, whom others cannot see, carry poisonous Mushroom powder and added some of that stuff to the food every enemy was making, and for the Bread in some grain bags, I also had Big Nose add some delicious Mushroom powder inside."

Jier touched and patted the empty air next to him, as if there were something there: "I found that it is really too convenient for Big Nose to do this poisoning work. Because it is ethereal, it is not afraid of this Mushroom powder, and it doesn't need to carry a bag containing the powder; it can just hold a little bit of powder in its mouth. Plus, it can penetrate matter, so ordinary Tents, bags, and such cannot stop it from adding the powder to the enemy's food. And it is not easy for the enemy to notice."

While the two were talking, no one paid any attention to the Shapeshifting Monster on the ground, and this monster no longer struggled but was sizing up Jier, the newcomer. It sniffed its nose and could barely smell an extremely strong vitality from Jier.

It knew it was finished and would not be the opponent of the other party at all. It now only hoped that its companion would not be attracted by the smell of corpses and blood, and thus fall into the same fate as it.

But just as Jier and the other were talking, not far away, a person looking like a Soldier, with a smile on his face, sniffing his nose hard, and guided by the smell of blood drifting in the air, was walking slowly toward this side.

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