Seeing the buzz-cut man try to run, the two rangers did not spare him another glance.
The next second, an almost invisible shadow swept out of the darkness.
"Whoosh—"
The fleeing buzz-cut man's pupils suddenly dilated. His body remained in a running posture, but a line of blood had already sprayed from his throat.
He did not even have time to scream before all strength seemed to drain from his body. His legs gave out, and he slammed heavily onto the ground with a thud.
Blood quickly spread, staining the fallen leaves and soil beneath him red.
At the same instant, the straps of the Spatial Backpack on his back, which held two Altaria Eggs, snapped—they had been precisely sliced apart by that invisible shadow.
The moment the backpack fell, a Ninjask appeared beneath it. Its transparent wings vibrated at high speed with a faint hum as it steadily caught the bag before it hit the ground.
Ninjask turned and flew to the valiant-looking female ranger, handing the backpack to her.
The young female ranger took the bag one-handed and swept a cold gaze over the remaining poachers.
"I told you," she said. Her voice was not loud, yet it rang with particular clarity through the deathly silent forest. "Don't move."
The remaining poachers' pupils contracted sharply, as though ice water had been dumped over their heads.
Elite level—Ninjask was definitely Elite level!
They had not even caught sight of Ninjask's movement before the buzz-cut man died.
With that speed, that precision... if it attacked any one of them, who could dodge?
"Chirp—"
Seeing the two rangers recover their children, the two Altaria cried out in delight and flew swiftly toward them.
They were injured, their feathers disheveled, yet their pitch-black eyes held a trace of joy at having survived