Stray Arrow

"Hey, Uncle Zack, don't be impulsive! Leave this to us—"

Seeing the old man suddenly ignite a fierce fighting spirit, looking as if he wanted to tear the Demons apart and rip him to pieces, Galan was genuinely worried that he might charge forward recklessly, since in the current situation, it would be difficult for him to spare any attention to protect the old man.

However, the old man didn't seem to hear him. He raised his hand, leisurely pulled an arrow from behind his back, and skillfully nocked it into the bow.

"Do you remember me?"

"Um?"

Seeing the old man suddenly start talking to him and reveal that he had seen him before, the Demons looked confused.

It seems she doesn't have any impression of him.

Frieren and Lia, standing behind, exchanged a glance and shook their heads, unsure of what grudge existed between them.

Galan, standing between the two, seemed to have realized something. He glanced at the Demons, then looked back at the old man, and his heart skipped a beat. In the blink of an eye, he understood the reason for Zack's strange behavior earlier.

"Ridiculous... How could I possibly remember a human? After all, do you humans even remember how many loaves of bread you've eaten?"

His lips slowly parted, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth in a smug smile.

He looked at Zack with undisguised contempt, as if he were looking at an ant.

... Decades ago, in a village not far from here, you attacked it on the night of the Harvest Festival. Zack raised his hunting bow again, drew the string taut, the muscles bulging on his arms straining against his sleeves, and aimed the arrow at the Demons.

You killed my wife, but let me go... Even after all this time, I have never forgotten this grudge!

His pupils suddenly contracted, a flame of vengeance burning in his eyes. His jawbone...

The skin, which was originally full of wrinkles, taut out with sharp lines, as if it wanted to crush teeth.

At that moment, Galan seemed to understand something.

Why does Uncle Zack still have such boundless energy at his age? A person's age depends on their inner desires. Although he looks wrinkled and hunched over, at an age when he should be preparing for his funeral, tending to his vegetables and fruits in his field and feeding his cattle and sheep in the morning, his hatred for the Demons has taken root in his heart like an obsession. From a sapling, it has grown into a towering tree that supports his life. And that wildfire-like desire, after seeing his enemy tonight, exploded like a lit oil drum. The anger and resentment that had been suppressed for decades acted like a powerful stimulant, fiercely piercing his heart and giving him renewed vitality at this moment.

Whoosh--

The arrows flew through the air like falcons fixated on their targets, whistling fiercely as they hurtled towards the Demons.

Zack is an excellent hunter.

He had inherited all the hunting skills from his father and once used this hunting bow to kill a bear in the forest with just three arrows. But now, that arrow, flying at high speed, was easily caught and held in the hand of the Demons.

"You don't really think you can get rid of me with this, do you?"

He mockingly snapped the arrow in half and tossed it to the ground.

They were completely unconcerned about this near-impossible act.

"Now that you know I let you off the hook, shouldn't you be keeping a low profile and trying to survive?"

"Surviving by hiding is not something a hunter would do," Zack said coldly. The other party sneered, "You seem to have misunderstood the current situation." He stretched out his arms, and three black ghost hands swelled up again, growing larger and larger than Galan by a full size.

It wasn't just a matter of size; Frieren could clearly feel that the three hands, amplified by Mana, now contained power far exceeding what they had before.

Although this Demons's total Mana didn't reach the level to be called a Greater Demons, the magic he developed was indeed very troublesome, clearly the type that enhanced close combat. It was something I didn't get along with at all; dealing with him would be quite tricky if I didn't take it seriously.

Now you are the prey, and I am the hunter!

One of the ghost hands flew out from behind him and attacked Galan, while the other two flew towards Frieren and Lia.

Upon seeing this, the two immediately separated and used Flight Magic to fly into the air, using a barrage of [Ordinary Offensive Magic] to restrict the Ghost Hand's movements.

Those hands, as if sentient beings, would slither through the beams of light like snakes, cunningly dodging the attacks from the two after sensing the pain from the magical attacks.

However, it seems that controlling three ghostly hands at once might be the limit for this Demons, since he didn't spare any new hands to deal with Uncle Zack standing in the distance.

Hu Galan held his longsword horizontally in front of him, let out a long breath, and used the [Sanzu River Style] once more.

Seemingly because it had a strong resistance to this kind of physical damage, the ghostly hand that attacked him did not dodge like the other two, but instead roared and attacked him like a fierce tiger.

However, Galan isn't a kitten that anyone can bully.

With a roar, a chaotic barrage of blades swung through the air with a deafening crash, colliding with it like two vehicles colliding at high speed with their accelerators floored. The powerful airflow rippled outwards, causing Galan's clothes to flutter wildly behind him.

Strike after strike, like an ever-flowing river, swept across the interface. With the force transmitted from the blade growing ever stronger, Ghost Hand gradually fell into a slump.

The opponent had clearly misjudged his strength, resorting to using only one hand against him.

Even in the battle just now, Galan did not use his full strength.

Through so many life-or-death battles, he has completely mastered this body.

He was even confident that the strength he had cultivated now surpassed that of the original owner of this body.

The palm wind skillfully slipped through the gaps in his sword shadows, faintly flashing with a bright light. In a moment of distraction, the Demons had already arrived in front of him. "Boom!"

A huge explosion rang out, and Galan's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string. But just as his head was about to hit the ground, he quickly twisted his body in mid-air and pushed off the ground with both feet, landing steadily on the ground.

Just moments ago, in the nick of time, he used his sword to block several of his vital points.

The flying motion also neutralized most of the killing blow's power.

"Puff!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground, stood up, twisted his neck, and then struck a pose again, his eyes as sharp as blades, his imposing manner undiminished.

Although he still felt a slight pain in his chest, it was clear that the blow had not had a significant impact on him.

"You actually survived that attack... It seems you're different from those trash who died at my hands before."

The Demons looked at Galan indifferently and casually waved his hand.

He had just seized the opportunity, intending to unleash a [blast magic] attack at close range to eliminate Galan's previous human soldiers, almost all of whom had died from his sudden attack. Unexpectedly, he had blocked it.