Chapter 283: The Kidney-Sniper
Sumeru.
In the depths of a lush jungle, a young girl carrying a white-and-green hunter's bow carefully slipped through the gaps between the leaves.
In this seemingly vibrant world, there weren't just friendly little mushrooms—there were also… people harboring malice.
They concealed themselves well beneath the broad leaves, watching every passing life with ill intent.
Including the girl with the hunter's bow.
"Heh…"
The moment she entered his attack range, he chuckled softly and moved.
Cyro element gathered along his curved blade, the biting cold frosting the leaves around him.
But the girl reacted even faster. Because she had spent many years wandering, her sense for danger was extremely sharp.
Bong—
The bowstring snapped, and the arrow shot out like a falling star, piercing toward the approaching figure.
Arrow and curved blade collided, bursting into a spray of icy crystals.
"It's you again!"
Seeing the man in traditional Sumeru clothing, head wrapped in a turban, the girl's gaze grew sharp.
Grass-element energy had already gathered in her hands.
The next arrow she fired wasn't just any arrow—this one carried the power of Dendro.
"I was waiting for that."
Instead of showing fear, the man with the twin curved blades actually smiled.
His face was covered by a mask, hiding his subtle expression.
A woman wielding a strange double-edged weapon, dressed similarly to the man, joined the fray.
But she used Hydro.
Seizing the moment while the girl was focused on her companion, the woman sent a sudden surge of water toward the girl's bow.
Whoosh—
Stimulated by Hydro, the grass element erupted wildly. The girl was thrown backward by the burst of energy.
Her bow, however, was caught by a muscular man.
Sparks of Electro flickered around his hand—clearly, he was Electro-aligned.
"You little brat… always hiding in the forest shooting sneak-attacks. We finally caught you."
With the girl now unarmed, the bandits stepped out from their cover, eyes filled with hostility.
Men and women alike glared at her with barely concealed hatred.
Her archery was undeniably unparalleled, and she shot without caring about gender—each arrow aimed straight at their kidneys.
Who the hell could stand that?!
But without her weapon, even if she could still wield Dendro energy, she shouldn't be able to make much trouble.
"Today, we avenge our kidneys!"
"For the kidneys!"
The man with the curved blades shouted, and the entire group echoed him passionately.
Their futures had once held promise—until an arrow ruined their kidneys.
The girl looked at the enraged group without the slightest hint of fear.
After thinking for a moment, she steadied herself against a tree and rose to her feet.
She glanced at the hunter's bow in the strong man's hand, then slid her hands along her waist.
Her Dendro Vision glowed faintly, and two oddly shaped daggers materialized in her hands.
Whether illusion or not, the moment she drew those daggers, everyone felt the temperature in the jungle drop.
And the girl herself… had changed.
If she had been like a nimble squirrel or wildcat leaping through the branches before, now she was a viper lurking in the undergrowth.
The two strange daggers were her fangs.
Just looking at them made one's spine crawl.
Someone unconsciously took a step back.
Her green silhouette blended seamlessly into the jungle.
She remembered someone's advice—use every scrap of the environment to your advantage.
"Where did she go?"
The moment she vanished right under their noses, panic spread through the group, and they rushed forward.
Curved blades hacked through layers of foliage—but the girl was already gone.
The lush jungle fell silent, broken only by the occasional rustle.
"My kidney!"
While everyone remained on guard, a man standing near the edge of the group suddenly clutched his lower back.
Before the others could react, it seemed something had wrapped around the man's foot, yanking him off balance and slamming him into the ground.
He tried to grab onto something, anything, but under that overwhelming force, all his attempts were futile.
"Help him!"
With curved blades clearing the way, the group rushed toward the sound of his screams.
Moments later, they finally saw him—hanging upside down from a tree, ensnared by vines. But by then he was already on the brink of death.
Blood from his lower back had stained the plants beneath him a deep red.
"Help me!"
The man with the curved blades raised his weapon, ready to cut him down, when another scream erupted from within the group.
This time he didn't hesitate. Ice element flowed onto his blade as he swung it toward whatever was dragging their comrade away.
Clang—
To his shock, the blade didn't cut through the thing wrapped around his companion's ankle. Instead, it rang like metal striking metal.
And then he realized what it was.
"Steel wire?"
Staring in disbelief as his companion was dragged into the depths of the foliage, he wondered if his eyes were deceiving him.
But that thin line gleaming with metallic sheen was unmistakably steel wire.
Zzzt… zzzt…
The soft whirring of wire echoed through the forest. More and more people were dragged screaming into the jungle.
She was careful. Whether it was a strong, bulky man or a frail woman, she never forgot to slip behind them and deliver a finishing stab—right to the kidneys.
Some had more than one wound in their lower back.
And compared to the arrow wounds from before, her dagger strikes were far more vicious—deeper, cleaner.
Until… only the man with the curved blades remained.
"M–Monster!"
He had thought that knocking away her hunter's bow would finally let them avenge their kidneys. But she had become even more terrifying than before.
At least before, they had only hated her with clenched teeth. But now, all that remained was fear.
Zzzt—
A combination of vines and steel wires wrapped around the man as he tried to flee, binding him completely.
She couldn't let him escape. If he ran… what would happen to all those people she had hung up?
If they died here, this place would become a haunted grove known far and wide—and that was something she did not want.
"You have half a day to clean up this mess. If not… you'll end up just like them. Understand?"
Despite having stabbed so many kidneys, her daggers were still spotless—clearly very well maintained.
"I–I understand!"
Feeling the cold sensation at his lower back, the man didn't dare defy her. He nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.
As for the girl, she picked up her fallen hunter's bow from the grass and looked toward the direction of Mondstadt.
How are you doing in Mondstadt now…?
Teacher.
. . . . .
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