To shoot or not to shoot?

To shoot or not to shoot?

The question lingered in Pokkle's mind for less than three seconds.

The answer was yes.

Dignity was a Hunter's last line of defense.

When Luo Ye exposed his chest to him without any protection, this hunt had already changed from a matter of "survival" into an "insult."

If he lacked even the courage to draw his bow, he had no right to call himself a Hunter.

"Good. I like that look in your eyes."

Luo Ye sensed the mixture of fear, anger, and grim resolve emanating from the cave.

The smile on his face grew wider.

"Come on. Show me how deep a bite a desperate little rabbit like you can leave."

"Hah!"

Pokkle let out a stifled roar of fury.

He pulled a specially made arrow from his quiver, pitch-black from end to end, with a triangular pyramid-shaped head.

Forged from a high-hardness alloy specifically to pierce armor, it was his weapon of last resort.

He drew his compound bow all the way back.

The powerful bowstring groaned under the immense tension.

He aimed and locked on.

At Luo Ye's heart.

"Die!"

Whoosh!

With a piercing whistle, the arrow, powerful enough to punch through an iron plate, tore through the night like a bolt of black lightning.

Yet Luo Ye simply stood still before this lethal shot.

He did not even blink.

The instant the arrow left the string, his body had already begun evolving at tremendous speed.

His muscle fibers reorganized and strengthened on a microscopic level.

The cells on the surface of his skin rapidly transformed into a keratinized structure with extremely high resistance to physical impacts.

His blood flow also reached an astonishing speed, ready to repair any damage that might occur.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Clang!

A sharp ring sounded, like metal striking rock.

The lethal armor-piercing arrow struck Luo Ye squarely in the chest.

But the expected spray of blood and flesh never came.

The instant the arrowhead touched Luo Ye's skin, the immense reactive force shattered and deformed it.

The shaft fell limply to the ground with a sharp clatter.

Luo Ye's chest was completely unharmed.

There was not even a hole in his clothes.

"Hmm. Decent power."

Luo Ye glanced down, then raised his head with a slightly disappointed expression.

"But it barely tickled."

"That was your first arrow. You've got two chances left."

"No... impossible..."

As Pokkle stared at the impossible scene before him, his mind shut down completely.

His strongest attack couldn't even touch the man's skin?

What kind of terrifying physique was that?!

He finally understood that Luo Ye was neither toying with him nor laying a trap.

He was merely stating a simple, brutal fact.

-You're too weak.

"What? Giving up already?"

Luo Ye's voice rang out again.

"I was really looking forward to seeing what you'd do next. Let's see, do you have any other kinds of arrowheads? Barbed ones, maybe? Or ones that explode?"

Fear seized Pokkle's heart once more.

He instinctively stepped back, wanting to flee.

But when his gaze met Luo Ye's eyes, filled with "anticipation," an even deeper despair pinned him in place.

He knew he could not escape.

His only chance of survival was to finish this absurd game.

"Aaaah!"

Pokkle roared like a wild beast and nocked another arrow.

This time, he chose a heart-piercing arrow with an extremely slender head and aimed at Luo Ye's eye.

He refused to believe even his eyes were impervious to weapons!

Whoosh!

The arrow shot straight toward Luo Ye's eyeball like a venomous snake darting from its hole.

Fast.

So fast the naked eye could barely follow it.

But this time, Luo Ye had lost even the interest in letting it hit him.

He merely reached out casually with his right hand.

Then he effortlessly caught the lightning-fast arrow between his index and middle fingers.

As though he were catching a fly that happened to be flying a little fast.

"Too slow."

Luo Ye shook his head and applied a little pressure with his fingers.

Crack.

The alloy arrow snapped.

"Second arrow."

"Now for the last one."

"My 'lucky fellow,' you'd better make it count."

Pokkle broke down completely.

He dropped his bow and slumped to the ground, his eyes vacant as he muttered unconsciously.

"Monster... you're a monster..."

Dignity, willpower, fighting spirit...

Everything had been crushed to dust before this absolute gulf in strength.

He had lost even the courage to fire a third arrow.

"Tch. How boring."

Luo Ye pursed his lips and walked into the cave, his enthusiasm gone.

He approached Pokkle, bent down, and took the number badge from his breast pocket.

[191]

"Game over. Thank you for your patronage."

Luo Ye waved the number badge in his hand, then turned and walked out of the cave.

He never spared another glance at the man who had fallen into a complete daze.

For Luo Ye, this "hunt" was over.

For Pokkle, perhaps his life, too, had come to a premature end at that very moment.