Chapter 80 80 – First Hunt As A Party



The trio approached the beast slowly and carefully under Diana's concealing technique.

"Diana, are you going to take the shot?"

Ken whispered in a low voice. They didn't discuss their strategy, but he figured they will open with an arrow to wound the beast.

"Yes. Don't speak, I will shoot once we are 200 meters away."

Thanks to her ability to sense movements in the wind, she could lock on her target even when it was inside a dark cave in the middle of the night. The only limitation was that she could only sense it as a large lump on the ground but not its shape. 

It meant that her best shot was aiming for the middle of the body where the torso should be, or else she would be risking aiming for the tail instead of the head.

"It's a peak fourth-rank beast, we can do it."

Diana told the other two once they were 500 meters away. Beasts didn't hide their rank, and Diana could determine the beast's rank from that distance. Even stealthy beasts didn't hide their ranks, and as long as one could sense them, they'd be able to tell the rank as well.

When the trio got to the shooting range they agreed on, Ken placed his hand on his belt while Jane summoned her greatsword from her storage ring.

Diana aimed carefully as she pulled the string back as much as she could. Since she had time to prepare for the shot, she didn't hasten to shoot it only to show off.

Ken looked intently at her pulling the string and waited for the arrow to be released. Silently, she let the string go, and the arrow darted to the sky. 

'I really couldn't hear anything.'

Ken thought to himself as he and Jane instantly dashed toward the cave and Diana readied the next arrow.

*Growl*

A loud growl bounced off the cave's walls as the echo could be heard in a radius of a kilometer.

'It's a bear.'

Ken quickly judged from the growl while he and Jane waited outside the cave. Although the bear's movements will be restricted inside, they won't have much room to dodge themselves.

Red-furred bear straddled out of the cave, and its color almost made its enemies miss the blood gushing from its side. Apparently, its left side was facing the exit of the cave, and the arrow pierced through its skin to the stomach.

Although this arrow would leave a hole with a 20 cm radius in a human's body, it was barely enough to stab the bear's guts, displaying its powerful body.

Although it wasn't enough to take the bear down, it was a considerable wound. As it moved, the arrow only twisted in its body and the sharp barbs on its shaft kept causing the bear internal injuries.

*Wishhh*

Another whistle resounded and a second arrow pierced the bear's right eye. The bear was focused on the two enemies in front of it and didn't consider the possibility of a third enemy hiding in the distance.

It growled in fury again and dashed toward Jane. Diana purposely blinded its left eye since Ken was to the bear's left, making Ken relatively safer as he would attack from the beast's blind spot.

Ken could go in for the kill, but he wanted to see how Jane would deal with this type of opponent. In a way, Jane and the bear had similar fighting styles; they were both brutes that tried to exchange blow for blow.

Swordsman stayed true to her style; she rushed to the bear without backing off despite its greater strength. She ducked under the bear's paw and swung her greatsword down with all her might.

The bear was fine with this result; it still had its other paw unoccupied. The sword cut through the bear's fur, leaving a bloody gash across its torso. The bear's paw crushed on Jane from the side, knocking her off her legs and sending her twirling in the air a few dozen meters.

'Ah, is she okay?'

Ken thought to himself as he watched Jane land on the ground. He knew he couldn't delay his attack anymore, and he wasn't worried anyway because he felt a pulse of Qi coming from Jane the moment she was struck, an indication of a talisman activating.

'One Step.'

'Flash Unwind.'

Ken performed his two signature skills and slashed at the bear's left leg. Coming from the bear's blind spot swiftly, he caught the beast by surprise and unprepared. With a clean cut, the bear lost one limb. Ken left a deep cut in the bear's left leg, and a pulse of Sword Qi made all the blood veins explode and the bone break in multiple spots.

*OWWW*

The beast growled with fright and pain. It just thought it got rid of one of its attackers, yet it lost control over one leg the next moment. Even if it won this fight, it'd remain crippled forever. It could keep most of its might without one eye, but not without a leg.

*Wishhh*

Instantly, another arrow appeared next to the bear's right eye, trying to blind the bear completely. This time, the bear was prepared for the arrow and managed to lower its head before the arrow hit it.

'Tsk, I couldn't blind it.'

Diana thought with frustration as she saw her arrow hitting the bear's forehead. It couldn't pierce through the animal's skull, but it doesn't mean it didn't leave any damage. It cut through the skin and left a crack in the bone.

At that moment, the bear swung its huge paw and attempted to crush Ken under it. To its dismay, Ken dodged with a sidestep, letting the paw move so close to him he could feel the fur brush against his face.

"Haaaa!"

A tanned girl came out of nowhere and slashed her sword violently behind the bear. Jane came out nearly unscathed from her exchange with the bear other than some bruises.