Only, with his vision obstructed and searing pain wracking it, the Tusk Mountain Boar's already dim-witted brain could not fathom what had caused such grievous injuries. It could only vent its fury wildly upon the ancient trees around it.
Its massive body rampaged through the forest, brutally smashing one ancient tree after another to the ground.
Yet the Beast Hunter Hall hunters hiding in the trees had long since used ropes to shift themselves to more distant trees.
Instead, as the Tusk Mountain Boar's huge body continued crashing about, hunters concealed in other trees hurled their iron spears one after another, leaving wound after wound across its massive frame. Though they were only flesh wounds, drops of water could pierce stone; they could not be ignored.
Lin Sheng stared fixedly at the Tusk Mountain Boar rampaging below. Seeing the savage beast charge in his direction, he tightened his grip on the iron rod and took a deep breath. Once it drew close, he would throw the rod, then use the rope to leave the ancient tree where he was hiding.
When the Tusk Mountain Boar was only five meters from the tree he occupied, nearly all his attention was focused on the enormous creature beneath him.
Now!
Lin Sheng silently cried out. He raised the iron rod, locked onto the Tusk Mountain Boar's neck, and viciously hurled it.
But at that very moment, the sound of something slicing through the air rang out behind him. His old strength had faded while new strength had yet to arise. Though he did not know what the whistling object behind him was, he did not need to think to know it was nothing good. He had to admit that the timing of this sneak attack had been grasped with exquisite precision.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Sheng forced his body to move and slid straight down from the tree. His body displayed agility and flexibility beyond that of an ordinary person, narrowly evading the object behind him by a hair's breadth.
With a muffled bang, an indentation over an inch deep appeared in the trunk of the ancient tree before him. A smooth pebble was embedded solidly within it.
He had no time to inspect it closely. Though he had avoided that sneak attack, he could no longer maintain his position and was rapidly sliding down the tree.
The ancient tree was more than ten meters tall. Even a Body Tempering martial artist would inevitably suffer serious injuries from a solid fall from such a height.
Just as Lin Sheng's body was five or six meters from the ground, it abruptly stopped falling. Veins bulged across his left hand as his palm clenched tightly around a rope.
"Whew..."
Letting out a breath, beads of cold sweat appeared on Lin Sheng's forehead. Less than two meters below him, the Tusk Mountain Boar was wreaking havoc in a frenzy.
Fortunately, as he fell, his left hand had already grabbed the rope fixed in place beforehand. When he saw Ma Qiang and the other man approaching his location, he had not thought much of them, but for the sake of caution, he had still chosen to let the White Ape enter his body.
The two-point Agility Boost was enough to give him a chance to react in a crisis. It was precisely this move that allowed him to evade the sneak attack from behind and still have enough strength left to grab the rope.
Otherwise, it was not hard to imagine what fate awaited him.
After being wounded in a sneak attack, falling from a tree more than ten meters high, and then facing the crazed Tusk Mountain Boar head-on, there was no way he would have come to a good end. He might truly have left his life here.
With that thought in mind, he drew in a breath, gripped the rope hard, and nimbly climbed back up the tree. Before the Tusk Mountain Boar crashed into his ancient tree, he used the rope to land in another ancient tree not far away.
Only then did the heart hanging in his throat finally ease, though the lingering fear in his heart had yet to fade.
"Sure enough, one must always judge the human heart by its most vicious thoughts. In times like these, there can be no room for the slightest luck..."
Lin Sheng muttered, his gaze turning indescribably sharp. He turned his head and looked toward the two men in an ancient tree about twenty meters away, who were staring at him with astonished expressions. Then he turned back, seemingly unconcerned, and once more focused his attention on the Tusk Mountain Boar below.
Yet two names slowly rolled across his tongue.
"Ma Qiang, Liu Jie..."
"How is that possible? That brat actually dodged it!!"
Liu Jie's face was filled with astonishment, and confusion showed in his eyes as he looked at Lin Sheng.
He had entered the Body Tempering realm two years ago. Aside from the Raging Bull Fist he cultivated, he also possessed a remarkable throwing technique.
Though it could not be considered any martial art, through his daily practice, coupled with the powerful arm strength brought by cultivating the Raging Bull Fist, the force he could unleash with his throwing technique was considerable, and his accuracy was quite high as well.
Previously, he had used this very technique to ambush a Body Tempering martial artist with whom he had a grudge, directly inflicting severe injuries upon him before easily taking his life.
He had never expected to miss against an ordinary person who had yet to enter the Body Tempering realm.
Noticing Ma Qiang's gaze beside him, Liu Jie immediately said,
"That brat was just lucky earlier. I refuse to believe he can dodge it again this time."
As he spoke, he pulled another smooth pebble from his clothes. But before he could throw it again, he saw Lin Sheng flip to the other side of the ancient tree and hide himself amid the dense branches.
"Damn it!"
At the sight, Liu Jie could not help cursing. He could only put the pebble away again. Under these circumstances, the other party was clearly on guard, so striking again would not be so easy.
Seeing this, Ma Qiang could not help furrowing his brows.
"Brother Liu, that brat has already noticed something. If he exposes what happened just now and reports it to Tian Hu, I'm afraid it could cause some trouble."
Ma Qiang was somewhat worried. After all, Beast Hunter Hall's rules strictly forbade attacking fellow members, especially while carrying out a mission. Once conclusive evidence was found, they might have their martial arts crippled and be expelled from the Beast Hunter Hall.
After all, the hall placed missions above all else. If even their own people could not be of one mind, how could they possibly devote themselves to completing missions?
Liu Jie, however, quickly calmed down and patted Ma Qiang on the shoulder.
"Brother Ma, don't worry. Absolutely no one else saw me act just now, and that ancient tree has already been smashed apart by the Tusk Mountain Boar. Even if he wanted to find evidence, there would be no way he could."
"So even if that brat brings this matter to Tian Hu, what can he prove with his word alone? Besides, before long, you and I will leave the Ninth Squad. With your brother here, this little matter amounts to nothing."
As he said this, Liu Jie seemed to think of something and added,
"This time, that brat got lucky. But he is just a rookie who has not formally stepped onto the Martial Way; he cannot stir up much trouble. At worst, have Captain Ma issue a transfer order and move him to the Third Squad as well. When the time comes, how we deal with him will be ours to decide with a single word."
Ma Qiang's eyes lit up at this.
"Right, how did I not think of that? To prevent trouble from growing with time, once we return from this mission, I'll ask my brother to transfer that brat to his squad."
With that, the last traces of worry in Ma Qiang's heart completely vanished. Looking at Lin Sheng hidden amid the thick branches in the distance, he gave a cold sneer.
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