SWNOVELXO Chapter 91 - Tiger Hunting (5)
Chapter 91. Tiger Hunting (5)
Yuri and the Woman in Leopard Print clashed in an instant.
And as soon as they began, Yuri was flung backward with a resounding explosion.
Bang-!
The first strike seemed to deliver a heavy impact, but Yuri was grinning widely.
‘As expected, first strike wins!’
The initial attack hadn’t inflicted much damage.
However, with the first move, Yuri had easily gotten past the opening exchange.
He hadn’t even revealed the hand he had prepared, nor had he used the Thunder Wing technique.
Even though he was being severely beaten and thrown back, there couldn’t have been a better situation than this.
He hoped things would continue to unfold this favorably.
‘Of course, that won’t happen.’
The Woman in Leopard Print chased after Yuri as he was flung backward.
Her fist was approaching right in front of Yuri’s face.
Seeing that, memories of his nosebleed from a few days ago came flooding back.
‘Do you think I’ll fall for the same thing again?’
Fzzzt-.
Thunder Wing layered over Cloud Step.
Yuri’s figure shimmered like a mirage, shrouded in lightning.
Whoosh-.
The Woman in Leopard Print’s fist struck Yuri’s head.
No, to be precise, it pierced through the afterimage of his head.
And at that moment…
‘…?!’
Sensing danger, she hastily jerked her head back.
Swish-.
A sharp pain flared up on the left side of her cheek.
Thud-.
“……”
The Woman in Leopard Print stopped in place.
She stared at Yuri, who had already moved over seven meters away, and rubbed her cheek.
A faint trace of blood stained the metallic gauntlet.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Seeing her own blood, a smile formed at the corner of her mouth.
“What?”
She hadn’t expected this.
In this dreadfully boring mission.
To be injured by a mere fledgling who had just entered the cradle.
Her smile took on a sinister edge.
“As expected… this is fun.”
Seeing Yuri still tense, even from seven meters away, the Woman in Leopard Print licked her lips.
Her red tongue moistened her lips.
‘Let’s play a bit more!’
A sharp fang was exposed.
A shiver ran down Yuri’s spine as he watched her.
It was a warning from his body.
‘She’s coming!’
And sure enough.
Whoosh-.
The Woman in Leopard Print, who had been far away, suddenly vanished.
And before he knew it, she was right in front of him.
The speed was such that it felt like teleportation.
Last time, this same trick had caught him off guard.
But now, Yuri was calmer than ever.
His mind was already calculating countless possibilities.
The Woman in Leopard Print’s gaze and subtle movements.
The surrounding environment.
His own movements and position.
From all this, he deduced the most likely direction and method of her attack.
In that brief moment, the best move the Woman in Leopard Print would make concluded in his mind.
‘Left!’
Yuri activated Thunder Wing a step ahead.
No matter how well he read her moves, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with her movements without Thunder Wing.
Fzzzt-.
It was an impossible move unless he was 100% sure of his prediction.
If his calculations were even slightly off, it would mean wasting one of his limited uses of Thunder Wing.
Fortunately, Yuri’s calculation was correct.
Swish-.
The punch aimed at Yuri’s left side barely grazed past.
In contrast, Yuri’s sword was flying towards her neck.
The entire exchange took no more than three seconds.
Anyone watching would have tilted their heads in confusion.
To them, it would have seemed like Yuri was standing still, and suddenly the Woman in Leopard Print appeared, missed her punch, and even offered her neck.
Yuri was convinced.
‘This will work!’
It was such a perfect prediction that it seemed like a certain victory.
But there was something Yuri hadn’t anticipated.
Just as he had the talent to read moves, his opponent could read his as well.
Especially after her cheek had been cut once; the Woman in Leopard Print was no longer careless.
Now fully recognizing Yuri as an opponent, she was giving it her all.
Swish-.
Clang-!
As if she had known, her gauntlet blocked the sword aimed at her neck.
At the same time, her thumb sprang up from the fist that was grazing past Yuri’s side.
If things stayed like this, her thumb would touch Yuri’s side.
‘……?!’
Yuri was startled by the sudden change in her attack.
Even though his mind was in a panic, his body instinctively used Thunder Wing to change direction instantly.
Fzzzt-.
‘Damn it!’
Yuri’s face stiffened.
His decisive sword strike aimed at her neck was perfectly blocked by her gauntlet.
And in response to her unexpected change, he had to waste another use of Thunder Wing.
Even after using it, he hadn’t managed to fully evade her attack.
Her thumb lightly, very lightly, brushed against Yuri’s side.
As a result…
Crunch-.
A sharp pain crept up, distorting Yuri’s expression.
Perched on a tree, Arin watched the figure facing Yuri in the clearing.
‘That’s… a tiger.’
Despite the distance, the intense aura it emitted made her skin prickle.
Arin’s face tensed as Yuri’s words replayed in her mind.
[“Unlike bear hunting, tiger hunting won’t take long—just a few minutes. And your task isn’t that difficult. Or is it?”]
A task that wasn’t hard, yet difficult.
Yuri had only one request.
[“You and Poppy just need to create two opportunities for me… twice.”]
If they did that, he promised he would handle the rest.
He had also given them a warning that wasn’t quite a warning.
[“I know you’re hiding something. So am I. But this time… don’t think of hiding it and give it your all. Otherwise, there’s no way you’ll create an opportunity.”]
That statement about things not going smoothly.
The request to reveal what they were hiding made Poppy nod in agreement.
However, Arin wasn’t too pleased.
‘Is the tiger really that strong?’
How strong could a tiger be for him to ask her to reveal her hidden hand?
But that doubt faded quickly as she watched the tiger emit an intense, ferocious aura.
‘If it feels this strong even from a distance… then the one facing it directly…’
The pressure Yuri was facing, while confronting the tiger, had to be several times stronger than this.
Yet, Yuri was fiercely burning with determination against the tiger.
For some reason, that image of Yuri’s back remained oddly intense in Arin’s mind.
And at that moment…
Yuri’s figure blurred and disappeared.
Bang-!
Soon after, the sound of a fist and sword clashing rang out like thunder.
‘It’s begun.’
From now on, everything would be decided within a few minutes.
And now, the only time she could intervene in that fight would be for a fleeting moment.
So, Arin had to prepare for that moment.
‘Reveal everything I’m hiding?’
Swish-.
She drew out an arrow.
‘If that’s what you want, I’ll do it.’
Then, she closed her eyes softly and whispered briefly.
“『Pursuit』.”
Arin’s voice was short and quiet, but strangely vibrating.
She gently brought her lips to the arrowhead.
Then…
Wooong-.
A faint, ivory light began to radiate from the arrow.
Arin immediately nocked the arrow on the bowstring.
Creak-.
The bowstring, pulled to its limit, groaned.
Her blue eyes focused on the fierce battle happening in the clearing, waiting for the right moment.
Her eyes widened.
Her breathing slowed.
In that instant, it felt as if the world had stopped.
‘Now!’
Her white hand released the bowstring.
Whoosh-!
The arrow, glowing with light, shot forth.
‘Ugh, my rib’s cracked!’
It was just a slight graze from the fingertip.
But it seemed to have caused a small crack in one of his ribs.
If he had been even slightly slower in dodging, it wouldn’t have just ended with a crack.
Although his rib was cracked, the real danger was just beginning.
‘Regain my stance!’
Yuri’s stance had been thrown off by the sudden, unconventional move, but the Woman in Leopard Print seemed ready to launch her next attack immediately.
Desperately unprepared for the next move, Yuri quickly activated Thunder Wing.
Fzzzt-.
‘That’s already the fourth time.’
Now, only one use of Thunder Wing remained.
He needed to use this remaining one not just for evasion but as an offensive measure, but the situation wasn’t favorable.
‘An opening… just a small opening.’
A tiny gap.
In that desperate moment, an arrow imbued with an ivory light appeared.
As if by teleportation, the arrow suddenly materialized between Yuri and the Woman in Leopard Print.
‘Huh?’
‘…?!’
In the slow-motion flow of time, Yuri and the Woman in Leopard Print both wore puzzled expressions.
It was only natural, as the arrow seemed to pass between them without any apparent purpose.
But in an instant, those puzzled expressions turned into shock.
Creak-.
The arrow moved.
No, it wouldn’t be right to just say it moved.
It was…
‘Is the arrow… bending?’
The arrow that had been flying straight was now bending, as if someone was holding and twisting it.
It was an utterly unbelievable sight.
An arrow that had been flying straight was suddenly curving?!
And this happened because the arrowhead abruptly changed direction, and the shaft couldn’t keep up with the rapid turn.
Creaaak-!
Eventually, the arrow bent into an ‘L’ shape.
The arrow that seemed to pass between Yuri and the Woman in Leopard Print slowed down to a near stop, and then finally…
Ping-!
The arrow that had bent into an ‘L’ straightened and shot in the direction the arrowhead pointed.
And naturally, the target of the arrowhead was…
“…?!”
It was the Woman in Leopard Print.
No matter how experienced she was, having gone through countless battles…
Seeing an arrow bend into an ‘L’ shape and fly at her was certainly a first.
Naturally, she was taken aback by the absurd situation and reached out to grab the arrow.
At that moment, Yuri’s eyes lit up.
‘An opportunity!’
He didn’t need to think too hard about who had created this chance for him.
He wanted to raise his thumb in Arin’s direction, but taking advantage of this golden opportunity she created was thousands of times more important.
Crack-.
As the Woman in Leopard Print snatched the arrow flying toward her chest and crushed it in her hand…
Fzzzzzt-.
The Thunder Wing that Yuri had charged up long ago burst forth with intensity.
At the same time, Yuri swung his sword with a fierce strike, aiming for an opening.
His target was the right side of her chest.
Seeing the Woman in Leopard Print still as if frozen, Yuri felt exhilarated.
‘It landed!’
The opening Arin created.
His sword finally reached the Woman in Leopard Print by exploiting that gap.
He believed it was definitely a fatal strike.
And one second later…
Clang-!
Yuri and the Woman in Leopard Print passed each other.
Both of them had their backs turned to each other.
Tiny drops of blood dripped from Yuri’s sword.
The blood was not his.
This meant the attack had hit the mark.
Yet Yuri’s face was set in a hard expression.
He even muttered a small curse.
“…Damn it.”
It was because of the odd sensation he felt at the tip of his sword.
“Hm… is that so.”
Hearing the voice behind him, Yuri turned around.
Only then did Yuri understand what the strange feeling on his sword tip was.
Her clothing was torn from her chest to her shoulder.
And beneath the fabric, a solid metal breastplate was revealed.