Chapter 773: The Suffocating Standoff, The Demon's Horn Magic Arrow

The young hunter drew his bow and nocked an arrow, holding his breath and focusing his entire spirit to aim at the young knight charging rapidly toward him.

"Heh, feast on blood!"

With a sharp shout, the well-crafted bow limbs were pulled to their maximum, and then, with a release of his hand, the brightly colored Magic Arrow traced a red-and-green trail of light through the forest at night, heading straight for Jier.

As for Jier, he had been using all his strength since a moment ago, running with long strides; he lowered his body, and his Shield gradually tilted forward with his run, shifting from his chest to in front of his head and face.

At the same time, the Hunting Sword was also drawn and hidden behind the Shield, with only the tip of the blade slightly exposed at the side of the Shield.

He ran faster and faster, the white light on the Hunting Sword even trailing into a long band of white light, aimed directly at the hunter suspended in mid-air.

Both of them launched their most lethal offensives against each other simultaneously, but the first to make contact with the enemy were actually the Crossbow Bolts fired by the Maomao.

From roughly the left and right directions of the young hunter, two Crossbow Bolts were fired with great force. The young hunter sneered at this "weak" offensive, which could not break through the Divine Protection on his body.

Tonight, he would not only hunt a formidable young knight, but these rare non-humans mixed in with the young knight would also become his excellent hunting trophies.

Honestly, although he did not know the names of the Maomao, he could sense that these furry non-humans were probably fine to hunt even as regular targets. It was just that since there were better hunting targets tonight, they could only be considered incidental.

Sure enough, the Crossbow Bolt fired from his right, just like the previous one, hit his chest and was immediately deflected by the Divine Power of his protection. It had no effect at all.

It could not be said that it had no effect, after all, the Divine Power of the Hunting God within the church amulet still consumed some energy.

But the amulet, which could withstand dozens of ordinary arrows and sword strikes, had no chance of being exhausted.

Thinking of this, the young hunter finally smiled triumphantly; his older brother was simply too cautious—one had to be bold enough to get ahead of others and win the hunt.

Let me end this church hunting event early!

But the young man's triumph did not last for even the blink of an eye before it was interrupted.

Because the Crossbow Bolt fired from his left did not aim at his torso as he had expected. Instead, it "deviated" significantly, actually grazing past him high above his body.

But this was not good news, because Yongqi Maomao had not missed; as a mountain forest non-human with better night vision than ordinary Humans, even on a night like this with only a small amount of moonlight and starlight in the forest, it could see many things clearly.

Perhaps it was a natural gift, or perhaps it had once had some peculiar experiences; in any case, the moment the encirclement was achieved, while vaguely seeing how the enemy was acting, it also roughly saw the Rope tied to the enemy's leg as he hung upside down.

Even though the Rope used by the Refining Qi hunters was specially treated to be dark so as not to attract attention, Yongqi Maomao still saw it, even if it was blurry and not very clear.

But it knew that as long as the Rope on this person's leg was broken, the enemy would have to fall to the ground, losing the height advantage for vision and shooting.

The powerful Human would then be able to quickly approach this enemy by using the cover of the tree trunks.

Therefore, the Crossbow Bolt it fired with its tail was not aimed at the enemy's body, but at the Rope wrapped around the enemy's leg!

Snap!

The sharp tip of the Crossbow Bolt cut through the taut Rope, and with this, the young hunter had to taste the sensation of gravity—in short, falling from a height.

But facing the soft forest floor drawing ever closer, the young hunter was slightly panicked yet also very confident; as long as he used the Magic Arrow to finish off that young knight, hunting the remaining non-humans would just be a matter of time.

At the same moment, Jier was fully focused, his body's range of motion about to reach its maximum; every push of his feet against the ground allowed him to increase his speed and move forward several meters rapidly.

Not only that, with his Life Energy operating at full capacity and his spirit highly concentrated, he even felt that his perception of time had undergone some alternative changes.

Even though the entire process from launching his assault to reaching the enemy only took three to four seconds, at this moment, time felt as if it were passing so slowly. Perhaps eating so many Red-eye Mushrooms earlier had brought some subtle changes to his body?

In his confusion, Jier suddenly discovered that a peculiar arrow had been fired from the enemy opposite him.

This feeling was strange; his intuition told him that if he blocked this arrow, nothing would happen. But if he failed to block it, he would surely die.

Subconsciously, Jier raised his left arm, which held the Elven Metal Shield, even higher in front of him.

Bang————!!!

That colorful arrow ultimately hit Jier, but it struck the front of the Shield he was holding in front of his body.

This arrow had great force; not only did it make a loud impact sound when it hit the Shield, but it even caused Jier's full-speed forward momentum to stall for a moment.

Jier then continued to push off the ground and charge forward; he felt fine, only feeling as if something extra was hanging on the front of the Shield?

"What..."

The young hunter, who had landed on his back, watched helplessly as his sure-win arrow was blocked by the opponent's Shield, and then he let out a muffled groan, bearing the full impact of landing on his back.

Fortunately, the ground was soft, thick, dead leaves; he crashed onto it and was only slightly injured.

But the next moment, Jier charged straight at him, the Shield shifted slightly, and the Hunting Sword in his right hand thrust forward rapidly.

Clang—shhh-shhh-shhh-clatter! With a chaotic sound, Jier's Hunting Sword pressed down at the last moment, thrusting straight into the young hunter's ribs. However, the opponent had a Divine Protection amulet on his body; at the moment of crisis, it erupted with powerful Divine Power of the Hunting God, constantly pushing and rubbing against the tip of Jier's Hunting Sword, preventing the sturdy metal of the blade from going any further to pierce the young hunter's body.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

Although the attack was temporarily blocked, the force of Jier's entire body charging at full speed was transferred through the contact between the weapon and the Divine Protection, pushing it all onto the young hunter. This guy was pushed directly into the trunk of the large tree he had been hanging from.

"Mmm... pfft!"

The metal Hunting Sword did not pierce the Divine Protection, but the subsequent violent impact caused the young hunter to suffer a heavy blow; he slammed heavily into the tree trunk, and because his left arm was in a bad position during the impact, it even snapped and broke upon collision.

His right leg was also twisted into a strange position, and as the young hunter opened his mouth, hot blood gushed out, splashing all over Jier.

But Jier did not even blink; after the collision ended, he stood firm on his legs, and the Hunting Sword, which had failed to pierce the enemy's body, immediately began to repeatedly Heavy Cleave the opponent's body.

The Divine Protection amulet desperately released the Divine Power of the Hunting God contained within it, blocking every lethal sword strike for its wearer, but no matter how much Divine Power it released, it would be carried away by the massive cleaving the next moment, turning into scattered rays of Divine Power.

In this instant, Jier swung his sword seven or eight times in succession; the dissipating rays of Divine Power even ignited and destroyed the tree the young hunter was leaning against.

"Ah! Ahhh! I'll fight you to the death!"

Although the young hunter was pinned to the tree trunk by the continuous, massive force and unable to move, because of the full operation of the amulet, he had not yet been directly harmed by the blade. He swung the fine Hunting Bow he held in his right hand, attempting to strike Jier's head.

But Jier simply pushed his left Shield forward, firmly suppressing the opponent's last possible counterattack.

"Aha, aha, aha, aha..."

The young hunter's eyes were filled with despair, blood and air intertwining in his mouth as he struggled to take desperate breaths.

He did not know—he did not know if it was this instant, the next, or the one after that, that the Divine Protection amulet would lose its effect. Presumably, what awaited him would be being hacked into pieces by this knight's sword, right?

What a pity, he hadn't started a family yet; when the beloved girl back home eventually received the news of his death, she would weep for him, wouldn't she?

"Sorry, Big Brother. I..."

His final words were not yet finished when a sharp shout rang through the Shulin.

"Stop—! I said stop!! Otherwise, everyone will have to be buried with my younger brother!!!!"

A tall man appeared not far away; his breathing was rapid, and his straight-standing body was just like the large Hunting Bow he held in his hand.

At this moment, everyone stopped their actions after this sharp shout, including Jier who was swinging his sword, the young Hunter speaking his last words, the Mao Maos preparing to gather around the powerful Human to cheer, and a Bandit lying behind a tree root not far away, peeking over.

Another Bandit had already fainted from excessive blood loss due to a severed hand. But his companion could not care less about his comrade's life or death, as he was staring into the depths of the pitch-black Shulin, trying to catch a glimpse of the details of this battle that was far beyond his level.

Everyone stopped their actions at the same time not because of what the man said, but because of the Magic Arrow the man had nocked on his bowstring.

It was a red Magic Arrow that radiated red light throughout its entire body, with a massive arrowhead shaped like the sharp horn of some animal.

That's right, this thing was actually the juvenile horn of a Flame Demon that this Hunter had discovered in a hidden treasure location of a powerful enemy during a Hunting activity. It is unknown how that enemy obtained this thing, but after finding this item, this tall Hunter had the Priests of the church help him craft it into a powerful Magic Arrow that would destroy both friend and foe.

Once this arrow was shot, it would release Demon Flame that did not distinguish between friend and foe to the surroundings, and after the arrowhead hit an object, it would burst into a large, circular, three-dimensional vortex of fire.

Once this vicious fire made contact, it would not extinguish unless it burned up every life it contaminated. Its fuel was not any substance in the world, but the souls of living beings.

If it were shot at this moment, not only Jier and his fellow Humans, but even the various animals in the Forest, as well as the foundation that made up this Forest—the vast expanse of trees—would all be incinerated by the Demon Flame.

When this tall Hunter nocked this Magic Arrow on the bowstring, not only was he himself feeling terror and trembling, but the surrounding Forest, including Jier and the others, felt that a catastrophe was imminent and ceased all movement.

"I don't want to say much more. This is a powerful Magic Arrow made from a Demon horn, capable of releasing a devastating Demon Flame Storm. Release my brother, and everyone can live. Otherwise, I don't mind if all of us, including our souls, are destroyed afterward!"

The tall Hunter finished speaking slowly, and when he finished, his whole person calmed down, looking as if he had prepared himself for death.

Jier remained silent, not knowing what he was thinking, or perhaps listening to something.

Then he spoke: "It was you who kept following me, and you were the ones who attacked my subordinates first. This is the evidence!"

Jier tugged at his waist and threw two special arrows tied together with wild grass onto the ground in front of him.

He knew that these Hunters, who held the advantage at night and could shoot arrows with precision, must have the ability to see in the dark.

"It is my arrow; I must say I am sorry."

The tall Hunter said loudly: "Then please leave, or release my brother."

Jier did not say anything more; he waved his hand, signaling the Mao Maos that were closing in to retreat.

"Let, Mao Mao, reach, where?"

The fur all over Yongqi Maomao stood on end, and the other Mao Maos were the same; it asked Jier in a trembling, low voice.

Jier did not speak, pointing casually at the route they had come from, then put away his Shield and grabbed the young Hunter who had collapsed on the ground. At this moment, an inconspicuous triangular Beast Bone Amulet on the Hunter's chest seemed to have exhausted all its Divine Power, and due to excessive intense use, it gradually disintegrated and burned from within the amulet.

The young Hunter was burned by the high temperature on his chest, but he bit his lip so hard it tore without letting out a wail.

Jier glanced at him, placed his Long Sword, which was wreathed in white light, against the young Hunter's neck, and walked toward the tall Hunter step by step, slowly.

Such a tough attitude did not look like he was intending to negotiate for the release of the hostage.

The Mao Maos fled from here as if escaping; of course, before leaving, they did not forget to swipe the Hunter's bow, arrows, and other items on the ground. After picking up the things, they fled toward the direction of the Yingdi without looking back.

They had a premonition that something particularly terrifying was about to happen here.

The Bandit peeking from not far away also felt that things were going badly. He had seen his leader's demeanor when negotiating with Village or Caravan leaders; how could this Knight be looking to negotiate properly to release someone?

It was clearly the look of someone about to make a move!

He turned around, hoisted his companion, and ran out of the Shulin without looking back.

Everyone noticed these two, but at this moment, no one cared.

"It seems you don't want to live anymore."

The tall Hunter's expression was calm; he looked at his stubborn younger brother with pity and nodded at him: "Don't be afraid, I will accompany you on your way."

And his young brother also gave a miserable laugh and shouted loudly: "Life does not cease, hunting does not stop. Big brother, let this Knight be the final prey for us brothers, sacrificed to the great God of Hunting!"

His elder brother also followed up: "Yes, great God of Hunting, please witness this. This is our brothers' final hunt; are you satisfied with this prey? Life does not cease, hunting does not stop. When the hunt ends, life ceases. In this great hunting ground of the world, we two brothers will be excellent Hunters!"

"We are excellent Hunters!!"

The younger brother shouted at the end.

Jier was wearing his Helmet, his face obscured by a thin Steel Face Mask; the other two people present did not know what this young Knight, who was seeking his own death, was thinking at this moment.

In reality, Jier's ears were being constantly "bombarded by words" from the big bird Spirit: "Are you crazy? Crazy? Run! Run! You don't want to live, but I don't want to disappear just like that! Although I won't die so easily now that I have other Statues of the God, you are different. You are a mortal; once your body is destroyed, you are gone directly, finished, dead!"

But Jier muttered a sentence in his mouth in a low voice: "When I defeated that guy, the King of the White Wall, you were watching me fight, right?"

The big bird Spirit seemed to recall something, and then, belatedly, let out a long bird cry: "Gaa————, is that so? You want to do it again?"

"Can't I?" Jier muttered in a low voice, communicating with the big bird Spirit in a voice only a Spirit could hear. The young Hunter, who was only a dozen centimeters away from him, could not hear a thing and still wore an expression of fanaticism.

"You can, but once you go in, how will you come out? This is Demon Flame. I have seen Demons run rampant before, but there is no set standard for how long they burn. I heard that the more souls there are and the purer they are, the stronger and longer the Demon Flame burns."

Jier looked left and right; it seemed that because of the terror that might descend at any moment, everything around them—except for the immovable large trees, the birds in the sky, the small animals on the ground, the flying insects, and even the insects underground—was trying its best to flee this place.

Jier felt that if there were only two idiots and a patch of Shulin around, it shouldn't take too long, right?

Thinking of this, Jier sneered and made his decision.

If he got any closer to that tall Hunter, there would be absolutely no chance to negotiate for the release of the hostage.

But he still took a step forward.

He was close enough, because that Magic Arrow, which was emitting bursts of red light, seemed to feel that its mission was about to be accomplished and was emitting an ominous red light that illuminated the surroundings.

Jier did not know that this kind of red light represented the color of the Abyss.

Many years ago, the Magic Emperor accidentally tinkered with devils to create a Space Channel to the Abyss, and because of this, some Demons in the Abyss set their sights on this world.

It was just that this world was not weak either; the Demons invaded once, but as a result, they were not only beaten back but many were also captured by various races.

As for the fate of these captured Demons, each race had its own way of using them.

Those who coveted the vastness of the Abyss made contracts with Demons, using the price of sacrificing souls to obtain the qualification to enter the Abyss.

Of course, the Demons were willing to accept such free benefits, and they could even be released freely.

As for those who coveted the Demon body structures that were different from this world, most of those Demons did not have a good end; most were killed and their body materials taken, while a few were placed in sealed, locked spaces, changing from wild to domesticated.

And the knowledge and technology of Demons were also objects of desire for some people. This portion of Demons was sealed within various things; they were not free while alive, and they could not die, so they were endlessly drained of their wisdom and knowledge.

Even their power.

At this moment, as Jier took the step that challenged the tall Hunter's bottom line, the Hunter finally loosened his fingers and shot the Demon Arrow that could release the soul-burning fire.