Chapter 49: Sniping from the Front Gate
In the center of the Twisted Jungle, on a plain so vast it seemed boundless, the Mad Hunt Heaven stood on high ground, overlooking the hunting game unfolding below like a statue.
The master of the hunting grounds acted solely on instinct and Law.
Facing an existence that had trespassed into its domain without engaging in a hunt, the Mad Hunt Heaven’s response was as always—it drew its bowstring, and a destructive arrow rained down from the heavens.
Previously, Yonglan had been in a desperate situation dealing with the Mad Hunt Heaven’s attacks. Even though he could see the landing point of the arrows, the immense difference in Stats made it difficult for him to resist, leaving him with only evasion, and occasional, extremely risky parries.
But things were different now. Yonglan looked up at the colossal arrow descending from the sky, slowly raising the Bow of Chasing the Distant Hunt, and then…
“Twang—”
Just as the arrow was about to hit, Yonglan activated his bowstring.
With a sharp crackling sound, the arrow shot from the Bow of Chasing the Distant Hunt collided with the destructive light, transforming into a gale that swept across the plain, tearing the earth apart for hundreds of meters.
The Celestial God’s arrow had been completely deflected, not weakly resisted, but squarely neutralized by a force of equal caliber.
It was a case of the enemy and ally sharing the same origin.
“Hahaha, this is how it should be played!”
Yonglan exclaimed, having keenly sensed a chance for victory from that brief exchange.
There was a possibility of winning! An absolute possibility of victory, not a slim chance existing only in theory.
The Mad Hunt Heaven’s overwhelming power came more from its near-instant kill and invulnerability mechanics. It wasn’t particularly fast, let alone intelligent.
As long as he could find a way to significantly damage the Mad Hunt Heaven, it would simply be a boss battle fought with minimal damage taken.
“Ain, get closer first, and then I’ll need your cover!”
Yonglan shouted to the Platinum-haired Dragon Maiden, then gripped his bow in one hand and his sword in the other, charging towards the Mad Hunt Heaven.
“Understood!”
Enesyin responded loudly. She looked at the majestic divine figure, once again feeling the crushing difference in life levels.
But this time, perhaps due to her promotion or the surge of anger within her, the Platinum-haired Dragon Maiden no longer felt fear, only a thrill that made her tremble, spurring her to chase after Yonglan’s retreating figure.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—”
What awaited them was a rain of arrows. Light arrows scattered by the Fiend’s greatbow obscured the sky, the dark purple projectiles bathing the plain in their glow, a wave of sound formed by their passage crashing towards them.
Yonglan, however, did not dodge. He intended to meet all the attacks head-on.
He dared to do so because he had something to rely on.
“Creak, creak—”
With crisp sounds of construction, Yonglan’s armor was covered with a temporary layer of protection. True Red light seeped from the seams, and the Cinder Knight’s Straight Sword in his right hand was widened with pure silver metal.
Not only Yonglan, but Enesyin’s Knight’s armor also received the same enhancement.
Soul Forging Technique!
Although praised by Ate as inferior to Light Forging, Yonglan found it to be quite excellent in practice. As long as Spirit Matter was consumed, armor and weapons could be condensed at any time, and their effectiveness was terrifying.
It was enough to deal with the onslaught of Fiend phantoms.
“Ain, watch this, just like this!”
Yonglan laughed, raising his straight sword, and then…
“Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack—”
Parry! Parry! Continue parrying! Frenzied parrying!
Facing an arrow rain more dense than a bullet storm, Yonglan used his Embers-wrapped straight sword to defend. The excessively fast swings even distorted the space in front of him, leaving only blurred, illusory afterimages. In a dizzying storm of counterattacks, a solid halo of energy surged from the deflected arrows in front of Yonglan.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands… Yonglan could no longer count how many times he had swung his straight sword or parried arrows. He could only feel his Soul Forged armor and blade rapidly wearing down, forcing him to replenish Soul Forged armor for himself and Enesyin in the gaps.
As they approached the high ground, Yonglan finally stopped amidst a gap in the arrow rain. This was about as far as he needed to go; he wasn’t aiming for close-quarters combat.
Looking up at the Mad Hunt Heaven on the high ground, Yonglan could now clearly see the immense size of this Fiend.
A colossal being, standing tall like a mountain before him. Its upper body was upright and majestic, while its lower half, a phantom beast body, revealed a ferocious beastly form within the thin mist.
The oppressive aura of this giant was suffocating, to say nothing of the boundless power that divine beings could unleash at any moment, as if to choke the very life out of him.
“This is truly… truly amazing!”
Yonglan laughed, trembling with excitement in the face of the Fiend’s oppressive presence.
This was how it should be! Bosses should possess such pressure!
This way, fighting them would truly get my blood pumping!
“It’s up to you now, Ain.”
Enesyin stepped in front of Yonglan, taking on the task of parrying all incoming arrows and attacks, while Yonglan planted his greatbow upright on the ground, aiming at the Mad Hunt Heaven.
Yonglan was at a disadvantage in long-range duels. He didn’t have the Mad Hunt Heaven’s ability to unleash arrow rain at will. However, at this range, the Fiend could no longer shoot arrow rain and could only point its greatbow at him, firing in the most straightforward manner.
Perfect. A one-on-one exchange was most advantageous for Yonglan.
Come on! Let’s snipe from the front gate!
As Yonglan had expected, the Mad Hunt Heaven aimed its greatbow at the two individuals, who were as insignificant as ants below, drew its bowstring with great speed, and unleashed dark purple light arrows.
Yonglan reciprocated with the Bow of Chasing the Distant Hunt, each shot colliding precisely as they duelled. The aftermath of the divine neutralization swept across the plain.
And due to the rapid firing rate, he was even gaining an advantage! The frequency of triggering Blessed Release was too high. The sudden flashes of light often outshone the Fiend, leaving white scratches on its body.
Conversely, any shots by the Mad Hunt Heaven that occasionally overpowered Yonglan’s were blocked by Enesyin at any cost, preventing her from crushing Yonglan, the ant.
With this accumulation, more and more flaws appeared on the Mad Hunt Heaven’s body.
Finally, a dazzling light arrow shattered a corner of the Fiend’s pale mask, causing a chaotic, star-like substance to fall.
It was the most immediate and impactful blow, unlike the other ‘scratch damage’ attacks.
“Hmm?”
After taking this hit, the Mad Hunt Heaven suddenly stopped drawing its bow.
It paused, then raised its hand, conjuring a long spear that also seemed to be formed from aggregated dark stars.
The Mad Hunt Heaven thrust the spear into the ground, and then, purple-black pillars of light erupted from the earth, like the roars and clamor of volcanic fire accumulated over eons.
“Buzz buzz buzz buzz—”
Space was peeled away, and the domain contracted. The thin mist covering the land, along with the curse domain and hunting grounds, rapidly spun and converged, all drawn into the Mad Hunt Heaven’s body.
The twilight mist around the Fiend became even more substantial, almost enveloping the Mad Hunt Heaven entirely. When the latter reappeared from the mist, it possessed eight arms.
Both the greatbow and the hunting blade were doubled, and the divine weapons formed from aggregated dark stars flowed with a sinister and brutal sheen.
