NOVEL WEB 18. Into The Forest Part 6
Chapter 18: Into The Forest Part 6
Luo Ling clutched the bow in hand with an arrow nocked as his eyes vigilantly jumped around from bushes to trees. Even the slightest rustle of the leaves was not missed.
Being a bait was not a good feeling. Luo Ling much preferred to be the hunter instead.
Lord Ping and his apprentice had hidden themselves in the woods, laying in ambush for the maneater.
Luo Ling attempted to sense their presence but came up short. Without the aid of Inner Breath, he was just like any other mortal—albeit one with a touch more strength.
The capabilities of a 2nd-rate martial warrior were far from enough.
One breath. Two breaths… Ten breaths…
Luo Ling counted the numbers in his heart, keeping track of the time elapsed since the pellet was used. It would not do much as his only intention was to keep himself on edge.
On a tree in the distance, Luo Ling noticed something different. He squinted, focusing his sharpened vision on that flitting outline hidden among the dense leaves, but could not have a clear picture due to poor lighting.
There was something in that tree, hidden away from plain sight. The transmigrator could swear it was glaring at him. The palpitations in his heart were not to be ignored.
Luo Ling partook in many battles in his previous life. He crawled his way out from the sea of corpses and made a name for himself in the Murim as the youngest transcendent. His skills were honed into perfection through regular brushes with death.
After transmigration, he lost all his hard-earned abilities and only the sixth sense of danger remained. But Luo Ling could not be happier for it.
How many times had it saved his ass in these six months? Too many times to count.
~-X-~
The branches shook and leaves rustled as something heavy shifted within. At first, it was only one tree. But soon, another next to it had its branches rattle. Then another. And another.
Something was shifting among the branches and it was coming his way.
Luo Ling pulled the string of his bow to its limits and aimed at one of the trees rooted on the edge of the clearing. Given the course the stalker had taken, it would eventually step on it.
With the talisman defense in place, he didn’t have to worry about personal safety anymore.
Luo Ling toyed with the idea of shooting a warning shot. It might force the beast out into the open. But after thinking for a moment, he abandoned it. There was a plan in motion with him as the bait. He would not take any risky chances.
It’s here. Get ready.
A gentle voice whispered into his ears. The man in the child’s body bobbed his head; he already knew.
Grrrr!!
A deep, animalistic growl slithered out from between the leaves, raw and menacing. And that was all Luo Ling needed to accurately pinpoint the beast’s position.
His grip eased on the string, and the arrow sprang forward, disappearing into the tangled embrace of leaves. Penetration reduced the air resistance the arrow would face; hence the overall momentum was not affected much. In the blink of an eye, the metal-tipped reed disappeared into the veil of greens.
Grahhh!!!
A rumble erupted from the beast, its roar climbing into a pained shriek. The arrow had found its target, but whether it had done any real damage was still unclear.
Luo Ling was not about to wait and find out. Another arrow was taken out of the quiver and nocked on the bow. Penetration and Weakness were not the only rewards he obtained from upgrading Archery.
Knowledge of proper ways to handle a bow in different situations also appeared in his head in the form of memories. Some even assimilated into his muscles, becoming a part of his reflexes.
The branches squealed and groaned, then snapped with a sharp crack as a shadowy mass hurtled toward Luo Ling.
Without hesitation, the transmigrator was on the move—standing still when hunting a predator was a misstep for the naive.
He had long past his naivety.
Another arrow was shot at the beast, and this time, Luo Ling aimed for its eyes.
With the beast now exposed, Luo Ling finally got a clear view. As the cultivator had predicted, it was a panther cloaked in midnight-black fur, its eyes burning a vivid blood-red. There was a chilling glimmer of intelligence lurking in those predatory depths.
The arrow sailed close to the beast’s eyes, narrowly missing its mark. This beast's fleshy body seemed more durable than he had expected; even with 10% ignore defense, all that was left behind was a thin paper cut. And its reflexes were nothing to scoff at.
Luo Ling was caught off guard, but his years of experience took over, preventing a rookie mistake. In an instant, he dropped low and rolled swiftly to his left, hugging the ground as he moved out of danger’s path.
Grr!!
The maneater growled in fury, its nimble legs coiling tightly, poised for another pounce. A sinister black gas began to seep from its skin, sending alarm bells ringing in Luo Ling’s mind.
In one lunge, the beast was already on him, its sharp canines barely a few inches from his face. Countless ripples dispersed on the surface of the invisible shield as it faithfully served its purpose.
The panther was not big, barely reaching up to the size of an adult’s waist. But that tiny frame hid power disproportional to its body mass. Its mouth reeked of human blood, and Luo Ling’s heart sank into the pit. Anger boiled in his heart; the audacity of this beast!
But only anger would not achieve anything. Even his arrows imbued with Penetration that was supposed to ignore ten percent of defense could not cut a wound on its skin, let alone his melee attacks.
Luo Ling pinned his hopes on Lord Ping—the cultivator who hatched this plan.
And the man didn’t disappoint him.
From beyond the dimly illuminated bushes, a reflective object cut in. But Luo Ling accurately saw what it was—a sword. A sword without a hilt.
Confusion had room in between a life-and-death struggle. Even though he had a bellyful of questions, Luo Ling focussed on the matter at hand. The protective talisman was holding out well, but for how long?
Reaching for his back, Luo Ling pulled out the sharpened stone knife.
However, in the next moment, Lord Ping proved his trustworthiness as the flying blade made an arc in mid-air. The blade traced a shimmering trajectory, its edge flashing brilliantly as it approached the beast. The panther's eyes widened in a moment of startled recognition, just as the blade's deadly arc met its target. In a heartbeat, the flying weapon darted past the beast’s neck, its razor-sharp edge slicing through its neck like a hot knife through butter.
It all unfolded in an instant. One moment, the beast was a picture of feral rage, its growls echoing through the forest as it battered against the invisible shield with relentless fury, its claws and teeth clashing in a frantic symphony of desperation.
Then, in a heartbeat, the tableau shattered. The beast's immense, sinewy form twisted violently as if in slow motion, its powerful body collapsing to the ground in a dramatic cascade of crimson. Blood erupted from the wound in a fierce spray, painting the earth in a grim, splattered testament to the fatal blow.
The beast's head, severed from its muscular neck, tumbled away with a sickening finality. It rolled across the forest floor, its eyes wide in a frozen expression of surprise and pain, before coming to rest a few steps away—an eerie and silent testament to the swift end of its reign of terror.
The scene was left in stark contrast: the air, once thick with the beast's menacing growls, now lay still and heavy, marked only by the quiet aftermath of sudden and decisive action. The forest, a witness to the beast's dramatic fall, seemed to hold its breath in the wake of the violent spectacle.
“And done. Ling, let’s go back.”
Luo Ling broke away from his stupor as Li Hong’s upbeat tone tore through the uncomfortable silence settled down following the demon’s demise. He was still in disbelief at what transpired at that moment. The animal he barely wounded after risking his life died just like that!?
Is this the power of a cultivator?