NOVEL NEXT Chapter 76 – Not the Hunter, But the Prey (3)
“Bastard!” The robber roared at me in rage. He tried to rush towards me, but several spiders jumped towards him, forcing him to fend them off.
“Get lost!” He shouted. In the next instant, his mana erupted.
Around him, several small explosions happened as his mana struck the spiders. He then swung his arms in both directions, using his fist to crush the head of a couple of spiders.
Every time he hit a spider, his fists created small shockwaves that smashed the spiders into pieces. In less than ten seconds, he crushed not less than ten spiders!
‘A skill!?’ I asked myself in surprise, but soon, I noticed that it was not a skill.
Instead, it was a clever application of mana. It was weaker than a skill, but it was several times stronger than using mana in a normal way.
My expression became serious. As expected, he is not an easy opponent.
I did not rush to attack him. Instead, I walked around him calmly, waiting for the perfect opportunity to land a decisive blow.
After several seconds, I finally saw an opening.
‘Now!’ I shouted in my mind and charged towards him.
But immediately, my instincts warned me of the coming danger.
Without any hesitating, I jumped aside.
One second later, the ground where I was standing just now was crushed by a surge of mana.
The leader of the robbers clicked his tongue and continued dealing with the spiders.
Cold sweat filled my back.
That was close...
To think that he still had the leisure to pay attention to me even in that situation.
However, I was not discouraged. Instead, I became calmer.
‘I just need to wait. Eventually, he will tire out.’
Like a patient predator, I moved around him slowly, observing every one of his movements and watching for the slightest sign of weakness.
The robber furrowed his brows when he saw that and his expression turned ugly.
He looked around, only to see that the number of spiders continued increasing. Right now, there were already over thirty spiders surrounding him.
Aware that he could not continue like this, he decisively kicked the ground and rushed in the direction of the exit, blowing away the spiders blocking his way.
However, I worked so hard to prepare this trap. How could I let him escape?
As soon as I noticed his movements, I lowered my body close to the ground and sprinted in his direction.
The robber noticed my movements immediately and threw a kick towards me. However, I was already expecting that and moved away, dodging his attack calmly and retreating again.
I had already accomplished my objective. That kick forced the robber to stop his movements for an instant, and the spiders took advantage of that to surround him again, forcing him to cease his escape.
“… Little bastard.” He cursed under his breath and glared at me with a murderous gaze.
However, I just smirked and hid behind the spiders, waiting for my opportunity.
The robber tried to escape a couple of times more after that. However, every time, he was forced to stop due to my intervention. And during that time, the number of spiders continued increasing.
By now, there were almost forty spiders surrounding him.
The robber did not panic. His expression remained calm the entire time. However, I could see that his forehead was filled with sweat and his flow of mana had become rougher than before.
It was clear that he was slowly being cornered.
But at that moment, the robber smiled.
“I never thought I would be cornered to this point by a little brat.”
I frowned, but I did not reply. I just continued observing him.
Seeing that, the robber let out a bloodthirsty smile.
“You are pretty good, brat. That will make killing you more pleasant!”
All of sudden, the flow of mana around him increased crazily.
Then, the robber released a powerful wave of mana, sending the spiders around him flying away.
[Careful, boy!]
Just as the demon’s words sounded, the robber bolted in my direction.
His speed was so fast that he closed the distance between us in less than one second.
I increased my focus to two hundred percent. My eyes did not blink as I tried my best to follow his movements.
The next instant, the robber’s leg struck my location.
*Boom!*
His kick was like a bomb, pulverizing the ground and creating spiderweb-like cracks that expanded to several meters. A one-meter-long hole appeared in the place where his leg fell, showing the power of his attack.
Fortunately, I had managed to move away one second before his attack arrived.
But before I could feel relieved, a second kick was coming in my direction from his other leg, cutting through the wind like a sharp blade.
*Boom!*
I barely managed to receive the attack with my spear, but even then, I was blown several meters away.
My blood churned, and my body groaned in pain. I felt as though a truck hit me.
But even then, I kept my gaze on the robber.
I knew that if I dared to close my eyes now, I would die.
Right then, I saw the robber grin.
“As expected! Even now, you didn’t use much of your mana!” He shouted and charged towards me again.
I did not dare to clash against him. Instead, I jumped backward and retreated behind the spiders.
But to my surprise, the robber ignored the spiders and continued chasing after me!
“The reason why the spiders don’t attack you is a skill, right? I don’t know how it works, but If I’m not mistaken, you can’t use your mana freely right now!” He shouted in a crazed tone and used his two hands to hammer down on my location.
My expression changed. I gritted my teeth and rolled aside, barely avoiding the attack.
At this time, several spiders jumped towards the robber. However, he knocked a couple of them away and ignored the rest as he jumped in my direction.
“I wonder what will happen if you use your mana. Will the spiders notice you!?”
His leg crushed the place where I was, creating another hole on the ground. Even though his attack did not land on me, it sent several rocks flying that left lacerations on my skin.
“Run, little rat!”
He growled and pounced in my direction, using his fingers as claws to tear my body apart.
I moved behind a spider and escaped from this attack, but that only made the robber’s grin wider.
He continued chasing after me like a cat playing with a mouse. He even ignored the attacks of several spiders just to attack me.
Even though he received a couple of wounds, he did not seem affected. Quite the opposite, he seemed fiercer and fiercer with every passing second.
But suddenly, he stopped and frowned.
Looking behind him, he saw a tier-five spider followed by several tier-four spiders coming towards him.
Even for him, getting entangled with these spiders was dangerous.
“What a shame.” He clicked his tongue and looked in my direction with eyes full of killing intent. “Consider yourself lucky, brat. However, you won’t be lucky for long.”
Following these words, he rushed towards the exit of the nest while opening a path through the spiders surrounding him.
My expression changed. With no hesitation, I charged towards him.
My body leaned close to the ground as I dashed in his direction. I then used every muscle in my body to thrust my spear forward.
The robber sneered.
“I was afraid of that before. But now that I know that you can’t use your mana freely, I’m no longer afraid. Without mana, your attacks can’t injure me.” He said as he filled his right hand with mana and used it to block my spear.
But all of sudden, his expression changed.
At that moment, all the mana inside my body erupted in an instant.
The Lightning Seed inside my body supplied me with lightning that surged towards my spear, and my mana guided the lightning to the tip of the spear.
This spear thrust was like a lightning bolt cutting through the air.
It was definitively my strongest attack up to date.
Just like that–
*Swoosh!*
My spear struck his unprotected hand.
It pierced his arm in an instant, blowing it into smithereens together with his shoulder and gouging a portion of his chest.
Even until the end, the robber could not understand what had happened.
