"Awoooo..."
The mournful howls of the wolves shattered the forest's silence, carrying far in the night and spurring Mila to flee even faster.
"Dammit! That bastard! He's impossible to shake," Mila cursed. She used the tree trunks to propel herself forward, staying off the ground to avoid leaving tracks.
"Awoooo..."
Several hundred meters away from Mila, there was a clearing over two hundred meters wide. Bathed in moonlight, the ground was covered in the tender green sprouts of new grass, but at that moment, the grass was being irrigated with crimson.
In the moonlight, a dozen wolves lay dead on the ground. Some were hacked in two. Others had their heads twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees, their necks clearly snapped by brutal force. Tongues lolled from their mouths, twitching unconsciously.
Near the edge of the clearing stood a powerful figure. He was slightly hunched, holding a massive iron axe in his right hand. Blood dripped from the blade.
This was the terrifying bounty hunter chasing Mila—the one she called the "Giant Hunter." In the moonlight, he was clearly over two-and-a-half meters tall. He was a giant. A wolf corpse was slung over one shoulder, while his left hand gripped the head of another, living wolf.
"Yelp... yelp..." The wolf struggled desperately, a mournful cry caught in its throat. Its legs kicked wildly, trying to escape the Giant Hunter's massive hand.
"KRAK!"
"Arrrgh—!!"
The wolf's howl cut off abruptly. With a single, brutal twist of his wrist, the Giant Hunter snapped its neck. The wolf's body convulsed, and its limbs went limp. It was the alpha of the pack. Today, it had chosen the wrong prey, and its life was over.
"Heheheh..." The Giant Hunter let out a low laugh. The sound was hoarse and grating, like scraping glass, enough to make one's skin crawl.
Thud.
He casually tossed the dead alpha to the ground. He shrugged his shoulder, letting the other corpse slide off. His right hand blurred as the axe swung up, hacking the second corpse in two and sending blood fountaining.
"Run... keep running..." The Giant Hunter rasped. He hefted the axe onto his shoulder and slowly straightened up, his head rising from the shadows into the moonlight. He was wearing a cylindrical, bucket-like helmet, with only a three-finger-wide slit for a visor. Through it, a pair of bloodshot eyes blazed, filled with brutality and killing intent.
Snap, crack...
The Giant Hunter strode into the forest, his massive body crushing the dry branches underfoot. But as he moved, his steps grew lighter, until at last, his footfalls became completely silent, like those of a master hunter.
He soon found the tree where Mila had hidden. He crouched, touched the bloodstain on the ground with his fingers, and raised them to his nose.
"Alcohol? Interesting..." The Giant Hunter's mouth split into a grin, his voice raw. He stood and strode forward, once again tracking the faint traces she had left behind.
"You bitch! This time I'll follow your kin. Soon... we will meet... Heheheh..." The Giant Hunter let out a roar, like that of a wounded beast.
Snap, crack…
The Giant Hunter vanished into the night, his massive frame moving with impossible agility.
"Hoo... hoo..."
An unknown amount of time passed. The owl's hooting, which had fallen silent, began once more, now accompanied by the snarling of beasts fighting over the fresh kills.
*
"Chirp... chirp..."
Time passed. Dawn broke, painting the forest in a sheet of white fog.
"Ngh...?" Mila's eyes slowly opened. She blinked, then warily scanned her surroundings. Seeing no sign of the terrifying figure, she let out a breath of relief.
"Only rested a moment. I have to get back." Mila glanced at the sky. She had rested for less than an hour. After running all night, she had been unable to stand it any longer and had dozed off for a bit.
She had to hurry back. She wasn't far from Stone Mountain now, half a day's journey at most. Maybe she could finally shake the Giant Hunter. Honestly, she had no idea why he was so fixated on her. He was a Top 10 bounty hunter. Compared to her, an assassin ranked in the nineties, he was overwhelmingly powerful.
Snap.
"Hm?" Mila's feathered ears twitched. She whipped her head around. Her eyes constricted. That massive silhouette was standing just a short distance away, looming in the white mist.
"Dammit..." Mila's face went pale. She was terrified. If not for her sharp hearing, she would have never caught the sound of that snapping twig.
"Heh... Found you," The Giant Hunter's voice rasped. He raised his massive axe, his eyes locked on the figure perched four meters up in the tree.
"You bastard!" Mila leaped to her feet, drawing the knife from her belt. She had to find a chance to run. She couldn't win a direct fight. If he landed a single blow, she'd be dead or maimed.
"Get down here!" The Giant Hunter suddenly threw his massive axe.
Swoosh...
Mila's eyes constricted. She leaped from the branch, her wings snapping open as she glided away.
THOOM!
The axe embedded itself in the very branch she had just leaped from, the blade sinking deep, the haft quivering from the impact.
CRASH!
A moment later, the giant exploded into motion. His legs propelled him forward, and he scrambled up the tree in two bounds. He ripped the axe free with his right hand, grabbed a branch with his left, and swung back down to the ground.
THUD!
He landed in a crouch, his legs immediately exploding with power. He shot forward, crashing through the undergrowth in pursuit of Mila, hacking apart any branches in his way.
"That's right, run. Lead me there," The Giant Hunter murmured to himself. His eyes were locked on the fleeing figure, but his pace had actually slowed. He had been toying with her for days, just applying pressure. Otherwise, with his skill, there was no way this "little bird" could have escaped. He would have captured and sold her on the very first day.
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
300 Power Stones for 1 extra chapter.
5 New reviews for 1 extra chapter.