Life and death duel?

Fang Moqi walked forward leisurely to the bank, where the 'log' was only a meter away.

He extended his bamboo pole to poke the 'log', provoking it.

"Swish!"

The scene shifted from extreme stillness to extreme motion. The log sprang out, its gaping maw lunging at Fang Moqi. It was indeed a large crocodile.

Including its tail, the crocodile was about 2.5 meters long, an adult Malai Crocodile.

Fang Moqi reacted swiftly, having anticipated this, and retreated, narrowly dodging the crocodile's first bite.

The bamboo pole struck the crocodile's belly with a crack, causing it to stiffen. As it landed, it scrambled on its limbs, charging rapidly with its mouth opened to its maximum.

Fang Moqi bent low to dodge the frontal attack. Simultaneously, he thrust his bamboo pole into the crocodile's upper jaw, hitting its sharp teeth. The impact deflected the crocodile's head, and its second bite missed again.

Immediately after, Fang Moqi agilely pounced, landing on the crocodile's back. He pressed down on its jaws with both hands, riding it.

Fang Moqi had provoked the crocodile twice and dodged backward, luring it onto the shore and into a more advantageous combat zone.

"Stop squirming. You're today's lunch!"

Fang Moqi drew a Senuai knife, pressing his chest and right hand onto the crocodile's mouth with all his might.

His remaining left hand held the knife, positioned under the crocodile's foreleg, ready to stab its heart.

Suddenly, a commotion of splashing water erupted from behind him. Every hair on Fang Moqi's body stood on end.

Without looking back, he knew another crocodile was attacking him from behind!

Fang Moqi's current position was precarious, his entire body pressed onto the Malai Crocodile. His left hand was already exerting force with the knife, right at the critical moment of a new exertion.

Without turning his head, without the slightest hesitation, he rolled. He thrust the knife into the Malai Crocodile's heart with his left hand and, using that momentum, rolled to his left, releasing the crocodile beneath him.

The Malai Crocodile's heart was pierced. It thrashed its massive body wildly, its tail swishing a few times before it died with its mouth half-open.

The crocodile that had attacked him from behind, measuring three meters long, had missed its target. It was now lying on the dead Malai Crocodile's back with its mouth closed.

At that critical moment, had Fang Moqi been a second slower, he would have been bitten.

Being bitten by a crocodile was almost a death sentence. Their bite force was astonishing, and once they latched onto prey, they would never let go, even performing a death roll.

A human's fragile body would be torn apart in an instant and then dragged into the water to drown, with no means of self-rescue.

Fang Moqi had dodged the attack from behind and finally had time to assess the situation. He then realized with a shudder that there was more than one crocodile charging at him.

Another Malai Crocodile, over two meters long, burst out of the water, almost immediately following the first one, with less than a two-second interval, giving Fang Moqi no time to even stand up.

Fang Moqi pushed off with his legs, executing a backflip. However, his upper body remained on the ground as his lower body soared into the air. While dodging the crocodile's bite, Fang Moqi used almost only his shoulders and the back of his neck to support his entire body's force.

He tumbled, landing back on the ground. Lifting his head, he faced the crocodile's gaping maw that had missed him.

These consecutive dodges were extreme maneuvers for Fang Moqi. Anyone else would have been dead by now.

Having used the force of stabbing the knife to roll, followed by consecutive backflips, he had already abandoned the knife.

Now, Fang Moqi was empty-handed, his face less than two feet from the crocodile's mouth!

The two crocodiles scrambled forward with their limbs, their short-distance sprint speed incredibly fast, their mouths opening, emitting a foul odor.

This seemed to have sealed off all possibilities of escape for Fang Moqi, and he had no weapon, leaving him in a desperate situation.

As Fang Moqi was about to be swallowed by the crocodiles, his eyes suddenly changed, becoming exceptionally sharp, like those of a maddened beast.

His muscles tensed, veins and sinews bulging, like a wolf about to pounce.

Just then, an arrow shot through the air with lightning speed, hitting the crocodile closest to Fang Moqi. The arrow entered diagonally from the crocodile's mouth and exited through its skull.

Fang Moqi's eyes widened in surprise at the fierce arrow, but his body exploded into action without any delay.

Fang Moqi, now moving explosively, punched the crocodile's jaw, forcing it to close its mouth. Then, his right leg instantly coiled and struck out again.

He stabilized himself in a peculiar stance, leaning forward and using his shoulder to push the crocodile, flipping it over.

Fang Moqi didn't stop. His hand speed was astonishingly fast. He grabbed the crocodile and slammed it to the ground, pinning it down.

His right hand reached out, grabbed the knife still stuck in the first Malai Crocodile's heart, and with a swift motion, plunged it into the second crocodile's heart, killing it instantly.

After dispatching the crocodile, Fang Moqi let out a breath and stood up. His first glance was towards the river, ensuring no fourth crocodile appeared, before he smiled at everyone.

Everyone stared at him in amazement, unable to believe these were actions a human could perform.

His movements throughout were too fluid, agile, and sharp, representing the absolute limit of human reaction from start to finish.

From the moment he began fighting the first crocodile until all three were dead, the entire process took less than seven seconds.

It was a dazzling spectacle; many people hadn't even seen clearly what had just happened.

Because the crocodiles' attacks and Fang Moqi's counterattacks were so fast, perhaps only Zheng Hui on the scene understood what had occurred.

As for Lan Mu, he hadn't seen much clearly at first. It was only when Fang Moqi was being surrounded by two crocodiles that he instantly transformed and fired an arrow, killing one.

With the keen eyesight of an Elf, he was finally able to understand how Fang Moqi had managed to kill one crocodile in the end.

Everyone cheered and rushed forward to greet Fang Moqi, scrambling to help drag the crocodile carcasses.

Only Zheng Hui and Du Yu looked at Lan Mu, because while everyone else had been foolishly watching, he was the only one who reacted in time to fire an arrow and instantly kill a crocodile.

Zheng Hui, unaware of Lan Mu's prowess, looked at him with disbelief, unable to believe that arrow came from him. Zheng Hui himself hadn't even reacted quickly enough to help.

Du Yu blindly admired Lan Mu, showering him with praise, but Lan Mu remained indifferent.

Fang Moqi approached, covered in blood, and ignored the cheers of others. He reached out and patted Lan Mu's shoulder.

"Thanks. This arrow wasn't much use, but I owe you one."

Hearing this, the others remembered that someone had shot an arrow earlier. It was too fast, instantly killing the crocodile. Fang Moqi's subsequent flurry of counter-kills had then distracted everyone.

"He shot that arrow? I thought it was Zheng Hui!"

"Isn't he a reporter? He killed a crocodile with one arrow?"

"It really seems like it. If Zheng Hui had shot it, he would have been bragging by now."

Lan Mu ignored their chatter and said to Fang Moqi, "Owe you one? From the sound of it, you don't need my help."

Fang Moqi smiled, not answering Lan Mu immediately. Instead, he called out to the others to deal with the crocodile carcass.

"Zheng Hui, show everyone how to process the crocodile. I remember you know how."

"Start a fire here. We'll have a crocodile feast for lunch. Hurry, the carcass will rot in five hours."

"Lan Mu and I will be right back. You all get started on your tasks."

With that, Fang Moqi picked up his bow and arrow, pulled Lan Mu along, and walked into the jungle. The large trees obscured them from view. The others looked at each other, then obediently didn't follow.

"What is it? What couldn't you say in front of everyone?" Lan Mu was surprised that Fang Moqi had pulled him into the small grove.

Fang Moqi smiled mysteriously. "Your reaction speed is very fast. I'm talking about your reaction speed in critical moments."

"Without actual combat experience, even someone with exceptional talent might not be able to unleash their true strength in a pinch."

"I've seen many skilled archers panic when facing truly fierce beasts honed in combat, unable to even display half their strength, leading to death, crippling injuries, and ultimately, a lifelong psychological scar that prevents them from ever becoming true hunters."

Lan Mu nodded. "That seems to be the case. As the saying goes, 'talking on paper is easy, but practice is hard.' Even the most powerful theorists might not be strong in actual combat."

"Exactly. The body gets used to the training intensity, but when facing a life-or-death struggle, muscles can go slack, reactions falter, or fear can shatter composure, leaving the mind blank. All of this stems from a lack of practical experience," Fang Moqi said, looking at Lan Mu with a smile.

Lan Mu asked, confused, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Fang Moqi raised the bow and arrow in his hand. "I want to have another duel with you! A true archery duel that separates practical shooters!"

"A duel? You shoot me, I shoot you, see who's faster?" Lan Mu was even more bewildered.

Fang Moqi chuckled. "Of course not. Did you know I came second in the Global Amateur Archery Competition?"

Lan Mu nodded. He had heard of it, but the name alone suggested it wasn't an official major tournament.

Fang Moqi said seriously, "It's true that it was just an amateur competition. Although it was global, the sponsors were just a group of tycoons who funded it. It had no public welfare significance; it was purely a ranking match for non-professional archers worldwide."

Lan Mu asked, "To determine who's the best in the world?"

"Yes, you could understand it that way." Fang Moqi suddenly seemed lost in thought for some reason.

Seeing his dejected mood, Lan Mu thought that someone as skilled as him only managed second place in an amateur competition. Who was first?

So he said, "Don't be discouraged. It's just second place! What do you think those who lost to you feel? It's okay, you'll win first place next time."

Fang Moqi shook his head with a wry smile. "There won't be a next time. I'll never have the chance to be the true number one."

"Why?" Lan Mu asked.

"Three years ago, I was still 29 and already renowned, becoming a world-famous Extreme Hunter. I was invited to participate in the Global Amateur Archery Competition. I initially refused, but later heard that this competition wasn't just any amateur event; it was the highest honor for true practical archers."

"The participants were all top practical shooters, the elites from various countries. They engaged in life-and-death duels, engaging in practical archery duels in various terrains, each being both hunter and prey. It tested the contestants' hand speed, movement speed, reaction time, strength, awareness, technique, experience, strategy..."

Lan Mu exclaimed, "Life-and-death duels? Practical archery duels? You mean killing each other until one dies, with rivers of blood?"

Fang Moqi sighed. "Not exactly. The organizers ultimately didn't want too many people to die, so they required everyone to wear a steel plate over their heart to protect it from being pierced from the front or back. Other than that, any part of the body could be targeted."

"Actually, such protective measures weren't very effective because, in the eyes of true practical shooters, the human body has far too many vital points."

"So, that kind of competition was ultimately considered amateur and not recognized by any official body, as there were always fatalities each time."

"After all, only in a true life-and-death duel can two equally matched masters determine a winner."

"Some people, for the sake of glory, have long since cast aside their own lives."

Fang Moqi sighed deeply at this point.