Snatching Prey from a Tiger's Jaws

The distance gradually closed.

The darkness provided the Rogue with perfect cover. Under the moonlight, Soren left no trace, not even barely visible footprints. Perfect Stealth required a combination of Spell and Spell-like Ability; besides Greater Invisibility, it also required advanced Lighten Spell and Greater Haste, among others. Soren hadn't yet reached those levels, but his strength prevented him from being easily detected by the enemy. It was now just before dawn, and the vigilant hunters had relaxed their guard slightly, narrowing their search area.

Two hundred meters, one hundred and fifty meters, one hundred meters.

When Soren closed the distance to about 80 or 90 meters, he slowly stopped. Then, his figure vanished mysteriously. He didn't hide in the shadows, but rather activated his ability to Shadow Shift, temporarily crossing into the Shadow Plane. The scenery before him was still gray and white, even the night was bathed in a hazy moonlight. The Shadow Plane seemed unchanging and deathly silent, leaving an extremely deep impression in that brief second.

The next moment!

The shadow of the High Gnoll twisted, the leaping campfire making it resemble a ferocious demon. Then it solidified into a hazy silhouette, and as it materialized, a Scimitar, gleaming with cold light, Backstab. The snow-white, fish-scale patterned blade reflected light, and the moment it pierced the High Gnoll's heart, it also alerted the other hunters.

A row of documents appeared before Soren's eyes:

"Activate Darkvision!"

"Activate Shadow Shift!"

"Launch Shadow Assassination!"

"Shadow Shift Successfully!... Cross-Plane Shadow Leap Ability Activated!... Shadow Assassination Successfully Performed!... You Gain 9 Points of Shadow Damage Bonus!... Backstab Initiated!... You Deal 154 Points of Piercing Damage to the Target!..."

Everything happened in an instant.

Awakened by the flash of the blade, the hunters pounced. When the High Gnoll opened his eyes, a Scimitar already pierced his chest, straight through his heart. But he didn't die immediately; instead, a bloodshot light appeared in his pupils, accompanied by a frenzied roar, and his muscles bulged. He swung his wolf claws back, aiming for Soren's throat. The metal blade on his claws sliced through Soren's cheek, but only left a shallow gash. He withdrew his blade and retreated the instant he struck his enemy.

The Scimitar was pulled out on the spot!

Blood gushed out like a fountain, and the High Gnoll froze for a moment. Then, with a roar, it pounced, seemingly determined to take the attacker down with it. Soren didn't hesitate for a moment. Even though he couldn't kill the enemy with a single blow, he quickly disappeared into the shadows and activated his [Hide from Gaze] ability.

Soren entered Stealth mode.

The High Gnoll seemed to have gone mad, attacking everything in its path indiscriminately. A Half-Orc, who had charged too close, was actually disemboweled by its claws!

A slight commotion broke out around the campfire. The other hunters watched helplessly as blood gushed from the Gnoll's chest, none daring to approach it too closely; it was clearly in a frenzied state. Nearby grass and trees were cut down by its claws, and the High Gnoll's blood-red pupils Search for its target, its chest now completely soaked in blood.

Rewind one second.

When Soren landed his strike, the lack of a kill notification made his heart skip a beat, and he immediately abandoned the idea of finishing off his opponent and retreated hastily!

"Improved Toughness? Or Legendary Toughness?"

Soren felt a slight pain on his cheek. Knowing he had been scratched by the enemy's claws, he immediately activated his Hide from Gaze and disappeared into the shadows after creating about ten meters of distance. As a seasoned adventurer, Soren was certain he had struck the enemy's heart. The fact that a heart strike hadn't triggered a lethal attack meant there was only one outcome!

The opponent possesses the [Improved Toughness], or even the [Legendary Toughness] Feat.

This is a pure Melee Class, nearing level 18, whose physical abilities have reached the edge of the supernatural.

The distance increased to about fifty meters.

All the hunters had awakened, their eyes scanning their surroundings with wariness and unease. The High Gnoll remained standing, its crazed and Blood Frenzy gaze searching for Soren's whereabouts. Blood gushed from its chest. Some tried to approach and heal it, but without the Divine Magic of a high-ranking priest, medicine alone could not alleviate such a severe injury. More blood flowed, staining the High Gnoll's feet. Its gaze grew increasingly frenzied, and its strength waned.

final.

Even after Soren pierced its heart, it stubbornly endured for another five or six minutes before finally collapsing with a thud, its blood drained and a roar filled with resentment.

A prompt appeared before my eyes:

"Target dead!"

"Extracting Soul Energy!..."

"You have gained 5200 Slaughter Experience points!..."

Soren has returned to the shadows.

He circled the hunter's perimeter, watching the fallen High Gnoll before him, and thought in astonishment, "Such a high Fortitude Save!"

In his memory, aside from those Legendary Domain Warrior, the only creatures capable of a last-ditch effort after being pierced through the heart were probably some creatures with abnormally high Hit Points. The High Gnoll had just been designated as his primary target, did not trigger a lethal attack when pierced through the heart, indicating that it probably had few vital points left on its body. To kill it in one blow, he would either have to pierce and destroy its brain or launch Decapitation Attack!

High-level pure melee fighters can develop extremely high Fortitude Feat. Soren had seen a Legendary Melee Class with [Legendary Toughness] and [Absolute Toughness] fight for nearly ten minutes after his heart was ripped out. Relying on his final burst of power, he killed a large number of enemies in the last moments of his Hit Points. If a high-ranking priest had cast a level nine [Greater Restoration] spell on him during this time, his ripped heart could have been restored by Divine Magic.

High Gnoll is close to level 18, and its Hit Points is conservatively estimated to be around 300 points.

Soren's strike, without triggering a lethal damage threshold, only inflicted around 150 damage. While it didn't kill it instantly, the subsequent bleeding and internal organ damage rapidly reduced its Hit Points. Even a high-level Warrior's formidable Hit Points couldn't withstand such severe bleeding and internal organ damage for long. The God of Hunt had withdrawn its Divine Magic; without a priest of class level 15 or higher casting Greater Restoration, even Cure Critical Wounds would only prolong its life a little longer.

Its Hit Points was rapidly fading, eventually exhausting its last remaining Hit Points.

Although Soren had killed the most dangerous High Gnoll among the hunters with a single strike, he felt little excitement. The strength of his enemies had exceeded his expectations; he simply didn't have the ability to kill them all. During the attack, the enemies had already alerted him, closing the distance between themselves and expanding their perimeter, essentially eliminating his chance for a sneak attack. His Shadow Shift ability had already been activated; without this Extraplanar Supernatural Ability, it would be extremely difficult for him to Stealth approach and Backstab.

Once he takes down one enemy, he'll be surrounded by other hunters!

but.

Soren did not leave.

He was a very patient Rogue, and his determination to kill the enemy before him was unwavering. He crept back into the surrounding area, silently waiting for a new opportunity.

As long as these hunters continue to perform the rituals, he can wait for a new opportunity.

For Soren, who is already above the third rank, just one such opportunity is enough for him to kill an enemy!

The light of dawn gradually appeared.

The hunters dared not make a move; to deal with a rash rash action against a skilled Stealth Rogue would only expose them to danger.

They are waiting for dawn, when it will be a good time to search for the Rogue's tracks.

The Half-Orc was cursing angrily, seemingly ready to tear its enemy apart once it found them. However, the surrounding area was still very dark, and no matter how foul its curses or how furious it was, it dared not stray more than fifteen paces from the others. If it went beyond that distance, it risked being ambushed by a high-ranking Rogue, as the shadows and darkness nearby were simply too great.

The sky became increasingly brighter.

Soren increased the distance to more than two hundred meters, because as daylight arrived, his ability to Stealth was weakened, and the hunters might break into small groups to search for his tracks.

Rogue should never engage in direct combat with more than three enemies whose class level is not significantly different from their own.

Sudden.

Just as Soren was about to further increase the distance, the hunters ahead let out an excited roar, and then they pounced towards the foot of the mountain. There, where a large number of vines had once grown, were now withering in large swaths, their power exhausted. These vines, which had been nurtured by the mysterious force, were dying rapidly.

A loud eagle's cry rang out.

The hunter was a fraction of a second slower, and Soren also looked up at the sky, where he saw the druid's figure.

A joyful sob came from within the vines; after holding out for three whole days, a druid had finally found them. The Half-Orc -orc roared, then pounced on the vines without hesitation, trying to kill their target before the druid could get close.

Slurp!

An arrow struck the foremost Half-Orc, followed immediately by a lithe figure leaping from hundreds of meters in the air.

It was a beautiful and very tall female Elf. Her exquisite armor had a crescent moon Crest on it, which made everyone's expression change. Soren also stopped and hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and suddenly bursting into Stealth mode, Crest into the vines.

A shadow streaked out!

He knocked the Elf Noble inside the vines unconscious with a single hand strike, then quickly began to search.

...(To be continued~^~)