With blood covering her body, Caitlyn struggled to walk as she stumbled and collapse to the ground. Right after she got away from the Ape King, Fire Monkeys suddenly started ambushing her, probably finding out the commotion as she fought her way out. Surprisingly, she managed to escape from them, but it did not come without a price as she suffered Major injuries. Now, she lying down in the middle of a dark forest waiting for a knight in shining armor to save her tonight.
"What happened to you, Viper?"
Caitlyn heard a voice as she looked up to see who it was. A black haired man with a pointy ears and clear blue ears wearing an eyeglass asked her. It was Night Raven, one of her colleagues.
Seeing that it was him, she just sighed as she buried her face on the ground.
"Nanya...."
"Nanya?"
She replied which the other guy replied with a question.
"Nanya business"
Caitlyn weakly replied, trying to not argue with this guy as she just try to catch her breathing. Surprisingly, the other guy did notnget offended, he just chuckled and helped her up.
"Got wrecked by the monkeys, eh?"
Night Raven asked Caitlyn as the other girl just groaned while the two of them were walking. She did not feel like talking because she was tired, but she had to.
"It was a cutie who did this to me...."
"Oh? Got outsmarted? Want me to Avenge you?"
While Night Raven was carrying Caitlyn on his back like he was her older brother, they conversed and walked towards a certain camp from afar. The Camp had a banner of a red skull without a jawbone on it, and as they neared it...a blindfolded man appeared.
"Someone was able to outsmart a member of the fox tribe? Or is it because you are incompetent?"
The Man stepped out from the shadows as Night Raven saluted him with a smile, Caitlyn also paid respects towards him quite weakly.
The man appeared to be a black haired beastkin who is also from the fox tribe. The most notable feature of the man was his blindfold and the Red Skull without a jawbone tattoo on his neck.
"Maestro...."
Caitlyn muttered quite weakly before the man called Maestro then turned his back on them.
"We, The [ Crimson ] will soon be stepping onto the stage after 20 years. If you are going to do something useless such as revenge, forget it. Blame your own incompetence and move on"
The Blind man uttered towards Caitlyn and Night Raven as the two then nodded in recognition. Caitlyn just kept silent, clearly not mad at those words....she was busy thinking about Roanoke.
'I wonder what the taste of his saliva is....'
——————
Hiding from my pursuers, I took a moment to catch my breath as I waited for a while until they are gone. The moment my pursuers were gone, I stepped out from my hiding spot and checked on my HP in my Life Bracelet.
[ Lucas Garvel: 40%
Points: 274 ]
Shit, I have less than a half HP after fighting all day. Those fuckers from Astrea Continent sure have a grudge on me, I don't even know if I did something wrong to them or they are just doing this for fun, but those guys are freaks....they have been chasing me all day, even teaming up against me, that is why I am very exhausted.
"I guess I should take a break for now...."
I heaved a sigh of relief as I looked around to find out where I am currently. I am currently nearby the large Dragon Skull Mountain...maybe at the foot of it? I can see its large snout infront of me.
—BANG!
Then all of a sudden, while I was trying to think of my next move. A bullet was suddenly fired from afar, and when I looked at the direction to where it came from...I saw a sniper on the right eye of the dragon skull.
Fucking bastard....!
Seeing the glint of their silvery barrel, I hastily activated the second technique of Valiere Swordsmanship to disappear from my current position.
"[ Valiere Swordsmanship: 2nd technique: Hunting Steps ]"
The second technique of Valiere Swordsmanship is a type of footwork where the user would move like they are hunting something. Their steps will be quiet and it will be very swift, they would feel like they have flickered from their previous position to the new destination.
Using that step, I ran to climb up the vertical surface of the dragon skull mountain. The other effect of this technique is that it also defy the law of physics, not entirely but more like because of their speed...not even gravity itself could pull them down, which made me able to run on vertical surfaces. Although using this is incredibly taxing as the more I run, the greater the stamina needed would be. My master is a monster for being able to use this very easily. Apparently, he can just walk on walls as if they are nothing all because he has mastered this technique.
————
Seeing the man approaching from below and running very swiftly, Francine's right eye start to glow into a golden hue. Her solemn expression was soon painted with a grin.
"Yes, come up here...you idiot"
She chuckled as she shifted her position and took aim at the man climbing up the Mountain.
Putting her golden right eye on the sight of her Musket, Francine slowly traced the man's movement with her blessing.
[ Blessing of Hunting:
—You are blessed by the God of Beasts, the King of Hunting. With this eye, you can see through the movements of your prey in a very slow motion and be able to lock onto them or predict their path. ]
It did not take long for her blessing to finally lock onto the man running on the mountain's vertical surface, Despite him being so swift on her normal eye, he appeared very slow in her eyes as she soon then tried to take the shot by pulling the trigger.
"Buh bye~"
She made a popping sound with her lips as the trigger on her musket was pulled and the man—Lucas' movement path was soon predicted by her bullet and will soon hit him.
But unfortunately, it didn't. Lucas' figure flickered as she soon saw that there was no one there, right from the start. Her bullet only hit the air.
"I admit, that was one terrifying ability"
A voice appeared behind Francine which made the blonde girl react swiftly and take aim at the person behind her, but the moment she did so, she was shocked.
With the stars and the moonlight shining down upon the man's figure, she saw that the one she was facing was...Lucas Garvel.
"H-how?!"
She asked with a gritted teeth, her barrel was lock onto the figure of Lucas. But the blue haired man just smiled and shrugged.
"I am a cheat character which has a blessing of immunity"
He answered, remembering his blessing.
[ Blessing of the Stars:
—By night time, where the stars are bright. You can never be affected by the blessing of others. ]
Right, the person that Francine saw on the foot of the mountain was actually none other than Lucas' afterimage after he used the 2nd technique of Valiere Swordsmanship to the limit. He was exhausted by that too, but he did not show it infront of Francine.
Afterimages only last for not even a second, but because of Lucas' blessing of the stars and Francine's Eye which can see the movements of her targets in a slow motion...she, hallucinated. Since the Stars are bright tonight, Lucas' blessing caused for her eyes to malfunction and give out fake images.
"That's....Impossible!"
Francine gritted her teeth as she swiftly charged her musket and then shot onto Lucas' figure.
"Unfortunately. Cheat Characters make the impossible, possible"
Lucas replied with a smile as he draw out his sword and deflected the musket's bullet very easily. He was even amused at that too, that he let out a whistle.
"I am Lucas, Nice to meet you and Goodbye~ Milady~"
Lucas chuckled and then lunged onto Francine to cut her down with his blade, but the moment his sword was about to hit her, the blonde girl just raised her musket as a bayonet soon appeared on the musket's tip and deflected the blow of Lucas.
"Hah, you think that I am weak at close combat? Too bad for you, we ain't that stupid!"
Francine replied to Lucas with a gritted teeth and pushed away Lucas' sword, as the man just smiled st her and let out an amused whistle.
"You even got bayonets? Damn cheaters. Who designed this world for you to get coolass drops like that?"
Lucas replied with a sigh. Francine, just stared at him with a frown on her face and thought that this man might have a few screw loose in the head. Design? Cheaters? He is the Cheater with that damn Blessing! Drops? What the fuck is he on about?
Either way, she knew that she cannot win against him in close combat. She can stand her ground, yes, but she is weak against him in one. That is why.....
Taking aim at Lucas' figure with her musket again, Lucas just stared at her with a bored expression as if he was telling her:
"Seriously? Guns do not work against my sword"
But she went on and pulled the trigger anyway. As the man soon then prepared to deflect the bullet once again....
But she was not aiming at him.
"Eat shit, fucker"
Francine said to Lucas before her bullet soon hit the ground that Lucas was standing on, and then an explosion occured.
Francine had already planted traps in the dragon eye crave, She knew that sneak attacks will come from behind if someone passes through the other eye of the skull....so, she put up mines just in case.
And the moment the mine exploded, she then jumped out from the mountain cave with a maniacal laughter and pulled open her glider.
'That man is powerful, there is no way he will die from that....so I must get away and attack him when he is vulnerable"