Timing

The battle below has reached its climax and is nearing its end.

The Ant Queen and the Swamp Slippery Fish King, who had temporarily joined forces, launched a series of attacks, completely locking down any room for maneuver for the Black-Winged Kite.

No matter how fast the Black-Winged Kite flies, it's useless.

No matter from which angle it tried to infiltrate, probe, or ambush, the two beasts below could instantly fill the gap and block it. The Slippery Fish King's charge and crushing attack sealed off the low-altitude area, while the Ant Queen's pincer strike intercepted and blocked any gaps in its escape. The encirclement by the two high-level beasts gave it no chance to take advantage.

After several desperate struggles, Black-Winged Kite's injuries became increasingly severe.

Feathers fell out, skin and flesh tore, and each flap of wings was noticeably sluggish.

It tested the waters time and time again, only to fail each time.

After several rounds of real fighting, I didn't gain any advantage whatsoever.

On the contrary, the more you exhaust yourself, the more you get hurt, and your physical strength declines visibly.

In a brief exchange, the Black-Winged Kite had a complete grasp of the situation.

If this drags on, we'll just be worn down and killed here by the two overlords.

It no longer makes pointless attempts.

With a sudden, sharp turn, abandoning all offensive postures, it flapped its wings and retreated with all its might. In an instant, it broke free from the encirclement and attack of the two kings and desperately widened the distance between them.

Lu Heng, perched atop the tree, watched in silence the entire time.

He doesn't care about the spectacle; he only cares about the actions.

Lu Heng observed the bird's entire fighting style from beginning to end.

Avoid direct confrontation, only launch surprise attacks, seize opportunities when they arise, and run away immediately if the situation turns unfavorable.

An opportunistic predator as quintessential as can be.

Lu Heng instantly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

The Ant Queen and the Slippery Fish King are territorial beasts.

Both have fixed activity ranges and will only defend their own swamp territories. Apart from this special conflict zone, it is almost impossible to encounter these two overlords at the same time. Even when they meet alone, they do not interfere with each other and pose a limited threat.

But the Black-Winged Kite is different.

It flies erratically across the Global Region, has no fixed territory, is fast, daring, specializes in picking off weakened opponents, and targets the weakest.

Lu Heng was well aware of the consequences.

The fact that the two kings are besieging it today is a once-in-a-millennium coincidence.

If this thing gets away safely, there will be endless trouble in the future.

In the future, when I am searching for supplies in the mountains and forests or resting while traveling, I will be watched by it from high above at any time. If I am alone and it sees me, I will inevitably be attacked and harassed by this bird of prey, and it will steal my spoils.

Such troublemakers must not be allowed to live.

Lu Heng's eyes darkened, his killing intent hardening.

He raised his hand, his movements extremely subtle, and took out the Giant-Feather Crossbow from his back.

He steadied the crossbow with his fingers, slowly nocked an arrow, pressed himself against the tree trunk, completely concealing his form, and waited motionless for the right moment.

On the battlefield below, the Ant Queen and the Slippery Fish King did not pursue.

The Black-Winged Kite, now out of the fight, was completely safe, as the battle area had been expanded.

It flew further away, completely escaping the threat range of the two strange beasts.

But it didn't run away immediately.

It hovered in mid-air at the edge of the battlefield, its wingbeats slowing down and its posture relaxing.

Looking down from a high vantage point.

From a safe distance, it looked down at the two overlords who had just joined forces to fight against it.

Even though it was injured and had just been forced to flee in a sorry state, it still acted with extreme contempt.

His posture was arrogant, carrying a blatant mockery.

It was as if mocking the two giant beasts for expending all their strength, only to find they couldn't hold onto it even a fraction of its power.

Seeing this, Lu Heng's last bit of hesitation vanished completely.

This is your only chance.

If you miss today, you'll never see a scene like this again in your lifetime.

Lu Heng visually measured the distance and locked onto the Black-Winged Kite hovering in mid-air, completely unsuspecting.

The spine is fully exposed.

The posture is stable and there is no swaying.

The timing was perfect.

He did not hesitate for a moment.

The knuckles snapped the mechanism shut in an instant.

A soft buzzing sound.

The crossbow bolt pierced the air without the slightest hesitation, striking straight at the back of the Black-Winged Kite.

The penetrating force instantly tears through the skin and flesh.

The Black-Winged Kite abruptly, its high-pitched cry caught in its throat, its balance completely shattered, and its entire body plummeted uncontrollably downwards.

Right now.

Without further hesitation, Lu Heng braced his feet against the tree trunk and leaped directly from the high branch.

Then it rushed toward the falling black-winged kite.

He gripped the Hunting Blade tightly with one hand, his arm muscles tensing to their limit as he slashed out with all his might.

A cold glint flashed.

The blade embedded itself firmly into the wing root joint, then slashed down with devastating force due to the downward momentum.

With a soft "pfft".

Half of its wing, along with its flesh and bones, was forcibly severed.

The tattered blood feathers, along with fragments of blood, crashed into the swamp below.

The Black-Winged Kite in the air completely lost control, tumbling and crashing to the ground.

This entire clean, decisive, and perfectly executed hunting maneuver, without a single second wasted, was completely observed by the Ant Queen and the Swamp Slippery Fish King.

Both high-level overlords remained completely still.

They could sense that Lu Heng's level was far lower than their own.

At first, when people were hiding in the trees, they didn't pay any attention to them.

In the minds of all wild high-level beasts, these low-level humans hid in high places with the sole purpose of waiting for the two kings to finish fighting so they could pick up some remnants of the battlefield.

But no one expected it.

This human didn't covet any of their spoils from beginning to end.

Instead, they seized the fleeting opportunity and abruptly killed the third-party predator that had been harassing the battlefield and maneuvering around them for so long.

The limbs of the two swamp kings froze.

A deathly silence instantly enveloped the entire swampy depression.

Lu Heng had no time to pay attention to the stalemate between the Ant Queen and the Slippery Fish King.

The Black-Winged Kite currently only has one wing left and is not completely dead yet; keeping it alive would be a potential hazard.

He gripped his Hunting Blade and walked to the bird lying paralyzed in the mud. The Black-Winged Kite convulsed uncontrollably, its torn wounds oozing blood, and sharp cries pierced the air one after another. It struggled with all its might to kick its claws, trying to prop itself up, but its body, missing half a wing, crashed heavily back into the mud, unable to get up no matter what it did.

Before it could struggle out of any chance to fight back, Lu Heng raised his hand and swung his knife, swiftly severing its only remaining wing.

Its wings, along with flesh and blood, fell into the mud. The Black-Winged Kite writhed violently in pain, its struggles only intensifying.

Lu Heng exerted force with his fingertips, and three Phantom Claw hidden in his wrist sprang out, their metal tips gleaming coldly. He bent down and plunged the three claws deep into the Black-Winged Kite's neck, pinning its head firmly to the wet, soft mud.

The intense pain caused the bird to kick its limbs frantically, its body tumbling and twisting uncontrollably. Its sharp claws locked onto its neck, severing its trachea and blood vessels. After several violent convulsions, the Black-Winged Kite's movements gradually slowed, its cries grew weaker, and its limbs drooped completely, leaving it motionless.

Lu Heng withdrew the Ghost Claw from his neck.

Three sharp claw tips, stained with warm blood, dripped slowly down the metal's grooves and into the black mud beneath their feet.

The Black-Winged Kite on the ground became completely still.

The violent struggles, convulsions, and shrill cries from before had all vanished. Its body lay limp in the mud, the wounds from which its wings had been severed were bloody and mangled, and it had completely lost all vital signs; it was utterly dead.

Lu Heng gently retracted his fingertips, and the three Ghost Claw on his wrist instantly snapped back, settling securely beneath his skin.

He raised his hand and put the Bronze Hunting Blade and Giant-Feather Crossbow back into their places, storing them all in his Storage Wristband. There were no unnecessary movements, nor the slightest sign of relaxation after slaying the alien beast.

Only after all his weapons had been stored away did Lu Heng raise his eyes to look straight ahead.

The Digger Ants Ant Queen and the Swamp Slippery Fish King, who had been frozen in shock, had completely recovered from their momentary daze.

With the brief external crisis completely resolved, the hastily cobbled-together understanding vanished in an instant.

The two swamp overlords slowly turned around, all their oppressive aura and ferocious bestiality no longer directed at the dead Black-Winged Kite, but instead fixed their gaze firmly on Lu Heng under the tree.

The atmosphere in the air changed instantly.

The lingering stench of blood hadn't even dissipated when a new, oppressive atmosphere of confrontation descended upon them.

Lu Heng's expression remained completely unchanged.

He knew it perfectly well.

Hunting Black-Winged Kite was just the end.

The real battle is just beginning.