raknovel Chapter 73 As an adventurer, how come your methods are even more insidious than those of monsters?
Chapter 73 As an adventurer, how come your methods are even more insidious than those of monsters?
Chapter 73 As an adventurer, how come your methods are even more insidious than those of monsters?
"You can just wait here to die."
Upon hearing Rod's words, Lily fell silent, unable to refute them for a moment.
It knew perfectly well that the ranger was right.
Using the piles of corpses and crevices in the cave for guerrilla warfare might work, but in a head-on confrontation, they simply couldn't stop three professionals.
Once they are released alive, the Adventurers' Guild's main force will flood in within a few days.
When this place is uprooted, its half-human, half-wolf body, painstakingly pieced together, will become as cold as the corpses on the ground.
Its hard-won new life must not be wasted here.
We can't let them go!
Thinking of this, Lily's sharp gaze swept over the location where the three people were standing.
At the entrance where they were, although there were some rubble scattered on the ground, there were no layers of corpses or intricate rock crevices like inside. There were far fewer blind spots, making it difficult for the creature to hide and continue its previous harassment tactics.
But so what?
If it can kill one first, the remaining two will be easy to take down.
The half-human, half-wolf girl lowered her body slightly, her limbs taut with muscles stretched to the limit, and her wolf eyes glowed with a faint green light in the darkness.
In the blink of an eye, the gray shadow suddenly sprang out from the shadow of the rock wall, its limbs striking the gravel with a crisp, cracking sound, its speed leaving a blurry afterimage.
This time, it didn't beat around the bush, but pounced straight at Rhodes, who was standing at the front, its wolf claws carrying a foul stench and a powerful gust of wind, aiming straight for his throat.
Once we take out the guy with the most combat experience, the remaining two are no threat at all.
But the instant it moved, Rod also moved, his reaction even faster.
As if he had anticipated that it would pounce from this direction, Rhode spun around and threw the dagger in his hand.
The blade, glowing with a faint bluish-gold light, pierced through the deathly darkness. The dagger, enchanted with [Armor Upgrade], thrust straight at the gray shadow, its sharp airflow whistling as it cut through the air.
"You think you can hurt me with this?"
Lily chuckled, a hint of ferocity and ruthlessness appearing on her face as she prepared to take the blow head-on.
Its current physical strength is not very strong; it would have to retreat if it were hit by that ranger's arrow.
However, even if a dagger was casually thrown at it and had some magic attached to it, it could clearly sense that the attack was not very powerful.
"Did you think this would save your life?"
Without dodging or avoiding, it raised its gray-furred right paw and slammed it down on the blade with a powerful gust of wind, intending to knock it away and then pounce on it to bite off Rhodes' throat.
But the moment the wolf's claws clashed with the dagger, the expected crisp sound of metal striking metal did not come; instead, a series of fine cracking sounds rang out.
Click—
The ordinary dagger that had been with Rhodes for more than two months finally couldn't withstand the enhancement of magic and the immense force of the wolf's claws. It shattered into countless tiny metal fragments on the spot, scattering like a handful of sand.
"?!"
'
Fine shards of razor blades rained down on Lily's face. Although they didn't cut her skin, they smeared all over her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, even blinding her.
"What is that?!"
It growled in alarm and anger, its attack paused for half a second before it raised its paw to wipe the dirt off its face.
Even during this brief pause, the cyan-gold magic clinging to the fragments did not dissipate.
Like living fireflies, they spread along its face, eventually coalescing into a pale blue mark between the human and wolf faces.
Hunter's Mark
"What is this?"
Just as it raised its hand to touch the strange coolness on its forehead, a sharp, piercing sound was already right next to its ear.
Buzz—
The iron arrow, gleaming with a bluish light, shot straight for his brow with a fierce gust of wind, several times faster than the dagger he had just thrown.
Lily's pupils contracted sharply, and she strained to turn her head. The arrow grazed her wolf ear, shaving off a tuft of gray fur that drifted through the air before embedding itself deeply into the rock wall behind her, the arrow's fletching vibrating.
Suddenly, the wandering swordsman found himself gripping the purple elven bow in his hand, and a second arrow was already nocked.
"So fast—"
Still shaken, it dared not linger in the fight and turned to dart back into the pile of corpses behind it.
Once it disappears into the darkness, it can regain the initiative.
"Milan, make your move," Rod said calmly.
"Understood." Milan had already gathered magic power in his palm. Upon hearing this, he pointed his staff forward, and an orange-red fireball, carrying a scorching heat wave, roared out and accurately struck the location where the monster was hiding, following his guidance.
boom-
The moment the fireball exploded, the blinding light illuminated half of the stone platform.
The smell of burnt fur mixed with the stench of decay from the ground filled the air. Lily let out a piercing howl of pain as half of her wolf fur was roasted, curled, and charred, her flesh sizzling.
It was propelled backward several meters by the blast wave, plunging headfirst into the thick shadow of the pile of corpses, intending to take advantage of the blinding light of the fire...
He escaped during a brief lull in the smoke and dust.
But it had only taken two steps when the sound of something cutting through the air followed closely behind.
*Pfft*
The first iron arrow pierced its right shoulder with precision, the immense force causing it to stagger forward, black blood instantly soaking its gray fur.
"Hoichi"
Lily let out a muffled groan of pain, but she didn't stop, gritting her teeth and continuing to charge forward.
The second arrow followed closely, striking its left leg in the bend. The sharp arrowhead pierced the tendon and embedded itself in the bone. Its leg buckled, and it slammed its knee heavily onto the gravel, sending up a spray of stone chips mixed with blood and foam.
"Damn it!"
It cursed viciously, and just as it was about to push itself up, a third arrow whistled through the air and pierced its side before it disappeared into the darkness.
*Pfft—*
Three arrows in quick succession, each hitting a vital spot. If it were an ordinary monster, it would probably have already lost its ability to move and collapsed to the ground.
However, this body, which had been modified by dark magic, possessed a vitality far exceeding that of ordinary creatures.
"Hiss—" It gripped the arrow shaft on its shoulder with its backhand, its knuckles turning white from the force, and pulled it out suddenly. Black blood spurted out from the wound and splashed onto the cold gravel.
Without stopping, it gritted its teeth and pulled out the arrows from its knees and waist one after another. The three blood-stained iron arrows were casually thrown on the ground, making a crisp clanging sound.
Although the wound was deep, it contracted at a visible speed under the nourishment of dark magic, the bleeding slowed down rapidly, and even the damaged tendons were slowly healing.
It slowly stood up, its body swaying slightly, but it remained firmly in place, its wolf eyes filled with resentment as it stared in the direction of Rhodes and the others.
Once it recovers, it will definitely teach those damned adventurers a lesson!
It suppressed the stinging pain all over its body, and using the mutilated corpses beside it as cover, it crouched down and retreated, its toes barely making a sound as it touched the gravel, intending to silently slip into a side path deep in the mine tunnel.
As long as it can survive, as long as it can escape from these guys, with its powerful regenerative abilities, it still has a chance to take revenge.
But it had barely retreated three steps when a scorching wave of air, accompanied by the sound of the wind, rushed towards it.
boom-
Another fireball slammed into its side, the exploding sparks scorching the newly grown downy fur on its back, causing it to flinch in pain.
? !
Lily was both shocked and furious. She hurriedly rolled behind a boulder to hide, her heart pounding wildly.
No, that's impossible.
She had used this trick to dodge countless attacks before, and the mage couldn't pinpoint her location at all. So why was it that this time, the opponent suddenly seemed to have eyes and accurately followed her footsteps to attack?
It looked down at its back with a puzzled expression, its heart pounding wildly.
"This is----?"
In its spiritual perception, the pebbles beneath its feet reflected faint blue light, which gradually emerged along its footsteps.
It glanced upwards and noticed a bluish light emanating from between its brows; the mark was stuck to the seam between its human and wolf faces like a malignant tumor.
The magical mark was like a bullseye embedded in the forehead, guiding the archer to aim and fire.
"A tracking spell?"
Lily was both shocked and furious. With a swipe of her paw, she tore off a large chunk of flesh from her forehead.
Black blood splattered all over the ground, but the magic seemed to have seeped into the flesh and showed no signs of fading. It was something that could not be erased by physical means.
"Could it have been around that time—?"
Thinking of the dagger that had smeared its face with debris, its half-wolf, half-human face twisted in pain.
How could an adventurer be more cunning than this monster?
This tracking spell is firmly bound to the caster, and it will probably only disappear when the caster's magic power is exhausted.
Or—kill the spellcaster.
Thinking of this, it couldn't help but bare its teeth.
If it could kill that damned ranger, it would have done it already. Why wait until now?
How long will it take for this damn mark to disappear naturally?
It's fine if it's for a short period of time, but what if it's for several hours or even several days?
With this mark as its guide, wherever it goes, the arrows will follow it like a persistent leech until the body is exhausted.
There is no escape.
Rather than being slowly worn down, it's better to give it one last shot.
Once the wandering swordsman is killed, the mark will naturally dissipate.
Without the tracking mark, the remaining mages and warriors are like blind men; it can still escape in the darkness, and even kill them outright.
"Even if I can't escape, I'll bite you to death." A frenzied crimson light flashed in the wolf's eyes.
"Lily" let out a low growl, gathering the last bit of strength in her small body.
Those wounds that had already slowed down and were healing suddenly contracted and reopened.
It suddenly pushed off the ground, using the boulder as cover to make a tricky arc, instead of escaping into the depths of the mine, it changed direction and pounced straight at Rhodes like a madman.
Rhodes seemed to have anticipated this.
He slightly stumbled, and instead of retreating, he advanced, walking straight behind Don Quixote.
The thick, heavy armor stood before him like a moving copper wall, positioned precisely between him and the approaching gray shadow.
bite-!
The sharp wolf claws slammed into the breastplate, scraping out a string of dazzling sparks.
Lily's final, desperate lunge sent Don Quixote staggering, pebbles tumbling from his feet, but she couldn't break through the heavy armor's defenses, not even touching the hem of Rhodes's clothes.
After the outburst, there was utter emptiness. The attack missed its mark, and the strength in his limbs seemed to have been drained, even his claws became weak.
"How dare you attack the esteemed wandering swordsman! Take this!"
Don Quixote roared, lowered his stance, and channeled all his strength into his shoulder armor. He stomped his feet and charged forward like a cannonball encased in iron armor.
The heavy armor, carrying immense force, slammed down on that thin, small body.
Click—
The crisp sound of bones shattering could be heard clearly.
Lily crashed heavily onto the rock wall behind her. She felt as if her whole body was about to shatter, and she couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of black blood, which slid down the rock wall.
"you----"
Just as it was about to say something, the sound of something cutting through the air reached it.
*Pfft*
The iron arrow pierced her right shoulder blade with pinpoint accuracy, the immense force of which pinned her to the rock face.
The arrowhead was deeply embedded in the rock, and black blood meandered down the shaft, accumulating into a thick mural on the rock face.
"It's not over yet."
Milan swung his staff, and a long-awaited fireball roared out, striking it squarely.
With a loud bang, a wave of scorching heat, carrying the smell of burning, instantly spread out. Lily's wolf fur was burned and turned black, and her flesh sizzled.
The wound, which was slowly healing, stopped contracting immediately after being scalded by the high temperature, and emitted a burnt meat smell and stench.
Its whole body was convulsing, its limbs hanging limply, and its once fierce wolf eyes had dimmed.
The successive heavy blows and complete exhaustion of physical strength meant that even the strongest self-healing ability of this modified body could not hold on any longer. Only the faint rise and fall of her chest proved that she was still alive. Her eyes were full of resentment and unwillingness, but she no longer had the strength to struggle.
Don Quixote walked over with his greatsword, nudged her drooping wolf paws with the scabbard to make sure she was powerless to resist, and then turned to charge at Rhodes.
"How do you know it will come out and attack you, instead of running away?"
"Desperate prey likes to make a last-ditch effort."
Rhodes put away his bow, walked to the rock wall, and let the light fall on the pale blue hunter's mark between his brows, speaking in a calm tone.
""
Looking at the culprit in front of her, Lily almost fainted.
Don Quixote slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "I see! You, sir, have even considered the prey's thoughts! Amazing!"
"This is what I need to learn during my adventures." She casually spun her greatsword on the ground and propped it up, silently reciting Rhodes' words, as if trying to memorize them.
"This guy's vitality is really strong."
Milan, who was walking over, glanced at the extremely slow-healing wound on its body and couldn't help but feel surprised.
This is far more powerful than the goblin leader they encountered before; they're on a completely different level.
It's hard to imagine that such a small body could contain such terrifying power.
The cave fell silent for the time being, with only the occasional drop of water falling from the rock wall and hitting the blood pool, making a soft, rustling sound.
Just then, Rod's brows furrowed slightly.
He turned his head to the side, his ears twitched slightly, and his gaze fell into the darkness deep within the mine tunnel, his expression strange.
"Speaking of which," he suddenly said, "did you hear Chuan Yao's voice?"
Don Quixote paused, craned his neck to peer into the darkness, listened for a few seconds, and scratched his head: "A sound?"
"Nothing? Besides the monster's breathing, there's nothing else."