The cheating Rogue

For him, the greatest threats were the Rogue and the Beast Tamer.

The Rogue's Sprint was terrifying. Once he activated it, Yu Lin Bloodhawk would never outrun him. What was more, the Rogue was far stronger than him, comparable to the one he had killed earlier through sheer dumb luck.

Though the Beast Tamer had no Sprint skill, he had a pet Ghostclaw Lynx. Could a person outrun a leopard? The answer was no! Elves might be famous for their agility and speed, but that could not change the outcome either.

Once the lynx caught him, there could be only one outcome: death. Ignore it, and it would bite him to death. Deal with it, and he would lose speed, leaving him just as dead once the other trolls caught up.

As for the trolls of other classes, he was not worried about them. None could run as fast as him, a Ranger.

The Great Axe Warriors' heavy equipment slowed them down, while the Throwing Spear Throwers were burdened by the many throwing spears they had to carry. Unless they dared discard most of their throwing spears and pursue him with just one, they would never catch him.

But did these trolls dare? Would the Great Axe Warriors abandon their axes and shields to chase him? Would the troll Throwing Spear Throwers come after him with only one throwing spear? One throwing spear meant just one chance to attack, while Yu Lin Bloodhawk had more than thirty arrows on his back. Who would kill whom then was anyone's guess. Besides, throwing spears had nowhere near the range of bows, nor could they match their accuracy. Their only advantage was their power: a hit would leave the target dead or badly wounded. They could also serve as spears in close combat, but that was all.

Before seeing the troll pursuers, Yu Lin Bloodhawk had been extremely nervous. Now, as he watched them draw closer, he only grew calmer.

He had made every arrangement and laid every plan he could. Life and death were a matter of fate; wealth and honor lay in heaven's hands. Could he escape alive this time? He had decided to risk it all. He discovered that once a person threw caution to the wind and stopped worrying about life or death, the tension from before faded away.

The grayish-yellow Ghostclaw Lynx followed the path they had taken, sniffing as it trotted forward. Ten trolls followed closely behind it.

Of course, this was not the lynx Yu Lin Bloodhawk had shot earlier. This one was smaller, and around its neck was the troll Beast Tamer's Troll Rune Beast Collar. As it approached the Immolation Trap, Yu Lin Bloodhawk slowly drew his bow to its full extent and aimed at the collar.

The distance was too great. Yu Lin Bloodhawk was not confident he could shatter the collar on the Ghostclaw Lynx. But that did not matter. So what if he could not break it? Burying the arrow in the beast would do.

The arrow in his hand was coated with Paralysis Potion, originally intended for hunting lynxes. He only needed to hit it when it triggered the trap. The paralyzing poison would more or less eliminate the threat it posed.

With a soft pop, the Ghostclaw Lynx, which had kept its head lowered to sniff the ground, finally triggered the Immolation Trap Yu Lin Bloodhawk had laid.

Fiery-red Sacrifice Fire blazed across the Ghostclaw Lynx's body, burning away most of its fur.

"Aaargh!" The Ghostclaw Lynx let out a piercing howl.

Though the Sacrifice Fire could not do much damage, there was no escaping the searing pain.

The frightened Ghostclaw Lynx leaped up, then rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames on its body.

At the same moment, Yu Lin Bloodhawk, who had long been ready, released his fully drawn bowstring.

The arrow flew swiftly, but the sound of the bowstring also revealed his position to the ten trolls.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk sighed inwardly. The arrow struck the neck of the Ghostclaw Lynx as it rolled on the ground, but it had indeed missed the collar. How wonderful it would have been if he had shattered it and made the Ghostclaw Lynx turn on the trolls! But most things in life never went as one wished. How could everything work out exactly as he wanted?

Seeing that he had been discovered, Yu Lin Bloodhawk turned and ran without hesitation.

He knew very well that each burst of Sacrifice Fire on the Ghostclaw Lynx lasted only a few seconds. It would not inflict any real damage, merely send the beast into a brief panic. A few sharp commands from the troll Beast Tamer would calm it down, and then it would immediately chase him. He had to seize every second and put as much distance as possible between himself and all the trolls.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk was undoubtedly very fast. His light-footed figure darted through the jungle like a butterfly. In the blink of an eye, he had opened a considerable gap again and was about to vanish from the trolls' sight.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk secretly rejoiced. His ambush had succeeded, and he was making a swift escape.

Suddenly, that inexplicable sense of danger struck again.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk glanced back, and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

A blurred figure was racing toward him, moving far faster than he could even as a Ranger.

Rogue, you motherfucker! You're using Sprint to go that fast? Do you even know how to play? Yu Lin Bloodhawk cursed inwardly, running straight ahead with every ounce of strength he had.

One fled and the other pursued. In no time, both had vanished from the other trolls' sight.

That did not mean they had already run very far. Visibility in the jungle was limited to begin with.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk ran with his breath coming in ragged gasps, yet the troll Rogue behind him kept drawing closer. As the gap shrank, his heart rose into his throat.

Damn it, can't you slow down a little? You bastard, are you cheating? Since when does Sprint last this long? Yu Lin Bloodhawk had lost count of how many times he had cursed like this in his head. If the heavens of Azeroth could hear him, the sky would surely have filled with dark clouds, flashing lightning, and rumbling thunder!

It was as though Yu Lin Bloodhawk's foul language had angered the heavens. The troll Rogue's Sprint seemed endless. When he found a moment to glance back, he nearly died of fright.

With Sprint active, the troll Rogue had closed to within bowshot.

So fast! Yu Lin Bloodhawk trembled with fear.

He knew that at such a short distance, unless the Rogue's Sprint wore off, the troll would catch him very soon. He also knew he was absolutely no match for this troll Rogue, whose class rank was higher than his. Being caught was as good as a death sentence.

If he could not come up with something before this Rogue's Sprint wore off, his death would be certain.

But who the hell knew how much longer the fellow's Sprint could last?

Yu Lin Bloodhawk could only grit his teeth and run for his life. That was his mindset now: gamble with his life and bet that the troll's Sprint would expire before he caught him. Win, and he would escape alive. Lose, and he would die right here.

Fancy kiting? Come on, let us forget that childish notion! What living person would take the same attack countless times

and then die an aggrieved death? This was not a game, and the others were not brainless NPCs!

He had only one chance to attack behind him, and it had to catch his opponent by surprise. Otherwise, if the Rogue dodged it, he would never get another opportunity.

Just then, a large tree felled by the wind lay across the path ahead, blocking Yu Lin Bloodhawk's escape.

The troll Rogue saw the fallen tree too, and a victorious smile appeared on his face. Yu Lin Bloodhawk was gambling, but so was he.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk had originally lain in ambush at the very limit of his bow's range, then run a long way before the Rogue could react and activate Sprint to pursue him. After covering so much ground, he was finally about to catch up, but he could barely sustain Sprint any longer.

Sprint was not merely a skill. It placed enormous demands on every aspect of the body, particularly the legs, and was also closely tied to the strength of one's fighting spirit. Both determined a Rogue's Sprint duration and speed. Without sufficient leg training, forcing oneself to keep running could ruin both legs. Strong legs paired with weak fighting spirit would likewise result in a slower Sprint that could not be sustained for long.

Seeing the tree blocking Yu Lin Bloodhawk's escape route, he felt he had won his gamble.

He knew that such a height was nothing much to an elf, but he did not need long. One or two seconds would suffice. Given that tiny delay, he was completely confident he could catch this cunning elf and kill him.

Meanwhile, Yu Lin Bloodhawk was secretly delighted as well. He, too, believed his opportunity had arrived. This was his only chance. The fallen tree was indeed too high for him to clear in a single leap.

But since he had scouted this route beforehand, how could he have overlooked it? Who ambushed someone without first choosing the best escape route? How could someone who cherished his life as much as Yu Lin Bloodhawk fail to consider that?

Indeed, Yu Lin Bloodhawk had initially considered this fallen tree the greatest obstacle on his best escape route. But he could not abandon that route simply because one fallen tree blocked it. Besides, he had not had much time then.

So he had moved a thick branch into place halfway up the broken tree. That way, he could step onto the branch and use it to spring up onto the fallen trunk, overcoming the obstacle.

At the time, he had only wanted to make his escape faster and had not thought much more about it. Now, however, with his life hanging in the balance, this had become the perfect place to make his gamble.

Perhaps it was his intense concentration. Perhaps it was his determination to stake everything on one final attempt. Perhaps his mind had gone completely blank. Whatever the reason, this time, for the first time, Yu Lin Bloodhawk displayed a perfect example of an elf's agility pushed to its utmost limit.

He pushed off with his right foot and planted his left on the thick branch he had positioned earlier. Then he drove upward with his left leg, bringing his right foot onto the top of the broken trunk. Finally, with his right foot firmly planted on the tree, he used all his strength to launch himself high into the air.

In midair, his body spun through a full turn like an agile monkey. At the instant he turned, an arrow infused with magic shot straight toward the troll Rogue pursuing him.

Everything happened in a flash, with astonishing speed.

"Hm!" The troll Rogue stopped abruptly and swung the dagger in his hand at the incoming arrow.

The change was too sudden and far too unexpected. Though the troll's class level was considerably higher than Yu Lin Bloodhawk's, he had no time to dodge and could only block.

But the arrow did not behave as he had expected. The moment his dagger touched it, the arrow burst into a blaze of arcane light. After the glow flashed past, the troll discovered that the shot had no power at all.

When he looked for Yu Lin Bloodhawk again, the elf had already vanished behind the great tree. I've been tricked! The troll Rogue sighed inwardly, even as he began to admire the fleeing elf before him.