Whoosh!
At such close range, the wooden thorn soaked in dark green venom arrived in an instant.
If it had been a sneak attack, even an elite knight would have struggled to block the venomous spike already before their eyes, let alone a child.
But something unexpected happened.
The trembling child seemed to have been watching the hunter all along. The instant the poisoned thorn flew toward him, he raised his left hand. A faint blue-green glimmer flashed, and an invisible force blocked the venomous spike aimed precisely at his eye. Then, it was caught between two pale fingers.
"Not even roadside children are spared?"
Ian, who did not know much about the natives' ways, was full of confusion. That strike had startled him too. After all, even he, who had been preparing an ambush, had not expected someone to beat him to it.
He rose to his feet. Though he had blocked the enemy's attack, what came next would be a direct confrontation.
If it had been Ian from two months ago, unable to ambush his opponent, he would have simply run away and then used Precognitive Vision to find another chance to strike from the shadows.
There was no need to rush a battle. Even if the enemy pursued him, it would not matter. In Harrison Port's maze-like streets and alleys, with his ability to see through obstacles, he could run circles around the natives.
But now, there was no need for him to waste time.
He tossed aside the poisoned thorn caught in his left hand. Pale green traces had already begun spreading across his fingers, but the poison of this poison-arrow tree posed no threat to Ian, whose liver had already begun to Sublimate.
What he held in his right hand was a flat strip of