BOOM BOOM BOOM...
Hayato Gokudera stood at the stairway entrance and bombarded the floor wildly—all kinds of missiles, light arrows, and projectiles flying everywhere.
In an instant, artillery fire roared, smoke filled the air, and endless shockwaves rolled with flames, sweeping the entire floor, causing the whole building to tremble.
Victory!
In his heart, Hayato Gokudera declared the battle over.
Under such firepower coverage, without corresponding defensive measures, no matter where someone hid, it was useless.
But at that moment, Barton emerged from behind... To be more precise, from the upper floor accessed by the stairs at the back.
In the previous battle, Barton had fully observed Hayato Gokudera's fighting style and firepower, so when he'd hidden on this floor, he'd anticipated the opponent's choice to carpet-bomb from outside.
Therefore, after hiding behind a concrete pillar, he'd immediately climbed to the upper floor through the pipe hole reserved in the building's construction. While Hayato Gokudera concentrated on bombing the floor, he descended the stairs and attacked from behind.
Drew the bow, shot the arrow...
Barton, like a ghost, silently fired three arrows.
There were still six scopes floating around Hayato Gokudera, but the space at the stairway entrance was too cramped—the six scopes couldn't distribute properly, leaving many gaps.
And Barton had aimed for precisely these gaps.
Hayato Gokudera's attention was entirely focused forward, and the explosion's roar covered the sound of the bowstring and arrows cutting through air. He was completely unaware of the attack behind him.
Seeing that the arrows had passed through the defensive gaps and were about to hit, a roar resounded through the sky. Immediately afterward, a black shadow flashed—the leopard that had been swept away by the explosion leaped from downstairs and passed through the scopes... Worth mentioning here:
Although they looked like scopes, they weren't real scopes. They had no lenses, and there was considerable space in the middle of the sight rings. The leopard could easily pass through when curled up.
After passing through the scopes, it threw Hayato Gokudera to the ground and used itself in place of its master to endure three arrows.
Fortunately, Barton hadn't wanted to kill anyone, so what he'd shot were just ordinary armor-piercing arrows with no explosive effect. They simply pierced through the leopard's shoulder, waist, and thigh.
Are you kidding me!?
Seeing the leopard appear intact and save Hayato, Barton's pupils widened slightly.
To deal with different targets, he'd crafted arrows with different functions and power levels—his explosive arrows were divided into four grades by destructive capacity.
When dealing with the leopard before, he'd used the most powerful explosive arrow, and in a narrow space like that corridor, the explosion's destructive power would be maximized. Forget a leopard—even an elephant should have died.
He'd thought the leopard had been swept away by the blast wave and blown out from the balcony at the corridor's end!
Yet it appeared intact now.
Compared to Barton's surprise, Hayato Gokudera was distressed and angry. Distressed that Uri had shielded him from arrows, angry at his own incompetence that caused Uri to suffer injury protecting him.
Although Uri was created from a box weapon, was usually stubborn and disobedient and liked fighting against him, they'd been together for several years, fought together countless times. They'd already formed a deep understanding and unique bond.
"Sorry, because of my misjudgment, you're in such a tragic state..." Hayato Gokudera clenched his fists, his face determined. "But there won't be a next time, so go back and rest!"
Uri showed a humanized expression of relief, then transformed into crimson flames and returned to the box.
Hayato Gokudera stood up and looked at Barton firmly. "I underestimated you. You're not only a sharpshooter but also a master tactician. As the right-hand man of the Tenth Boss, making such a mistake is too disgraceful!"
"..."
Barton didn't speak, just watched him silently.
"Hoo~"
Hayato Gokudera took a deep breath, a red disc appeared beneath his feet, and he slid toward the floor. "Let's continue—our battle!"
After speaking, his figure disappeared into the thick gunpowder smoke.
"Blind combat!"
Barton took a deep breath and walked in calmly.
Because of Hayato Gokudera's previous bombardment, the floor was filled with smoke and fog, the ground full of craters. Without keen senses, one couldn't navigate it safely.
But Barton didn't care.
His five senses were stronger than ordinary people's. Although he didn't have radar-like hearing ability like Daredevil, perceiving enemies in such a space was still easy.
In such an environment, he actually held the advantage.
But since the opponent chose to fight in this environment, it meant the opponent also had the ability to fight here—whether through five senses as sharp as his own or something else.
Therefore, Barton didn't let his guard down.
He eased his footsteps and walked slowly.
Suddenly, a flame arrow shot from the thick fog, multiplying and splitting midway, forming a network like tree roots and branches, covering the nearby three-meter space.
Barton was already prepared and hid behind the concrete pillar beside him with a quick stride.
BOOM!
Accompanied by the violent roar, the cement column shook fiercely.
Barton spun around and rushed out, drew his bow and shot an arrow toward where the attack had originated.
WHOOSH!
The moment the arrow roared out, Hayato Gokudera slid out from the thick fog on the right, raised the skeletal gun in his right hand, and fired at Barton indiscriminately.
Barton had just released the bowstring and didn't have time to adjust his posture to dodge, so he could only curl up as much as possible to avoid being hit in vital areas.
BANG BANG BANG!!!
The flame arrows hit him one after another, like heavy punches, sending him flying backward.
As soon as Barton landed, he tried to endure the pain and get up.
But Hayato Gokudera arrived first, stepped on his chest, and pressed him back to the ground, then raised his skeletal gun aimed at his head.
Looking at the dark muzzle above his head, Barton was stunned briefly, then gave up resistance. "I lost!"
Hearing this, Hayato Gokudera put away his skeletal gun in relief, then pulled Barton up. "You're very strong. I almost lost!"
Losing was losing—no matter how small the difference, it was the distance between defeat and victory.
However, although he thought so, Barton didn't argue with him on this point but asked, "Why were you in that position?"
"It was just calculation!"
Hayato Gokudera explained as if showing off: Barton had wanted to get close to him, but why wouldn't he also want to take down Barton?
Although Barton didn't have defensive measures like his, peak human physical fitness and speed, combined with neural responses and thinking speed exceeding human limits, made him difficult to hit.
Therefore, it had to be done at close range or by surprise attack.
Then he'd used the strategy he predicted Barton would use against him—hide behind a pillar and wait for the opponent to approach, then shoot.
To distract Barton's attention, he'd first attacked with curving arrows, causing Barton to misjudge his position, then attacked when Barton counterattacked to secure victory.
"I see!"
After listening to Hayato Gokudera's explanation, Barton also understood where he'd lost and couldn't help feeling somewhat annoyed.
But this feeling was quickly swept away.
He looked at Hayato and asked, "So about the meeting?"
"You can send someone anytime!"
"Okay, then I'll go back and report my mission status."
"Take care, won't see you out!"
After one battle, the two seemed to have developed different feelings toward each other.