Chapter 62: Here is the Hunter's Domain!

This man, named Xu Feng, was by no means some ignorant rustic from the mountains!

He was an existence far more terrifying than any enemy they had ever encountered on the battlefield!

An unprecedented sense of humiliation and rage churned like molten lava within Onoda’s chest, scorching his reason.

He, an Imperial Army Lieutenant of the Great Empire of Japan, Shiro Onoda, had actually been reduced to such a wretched state by a Chinaman using the most primitive bow and arrow, and right in front of his subordinates, no less!

A rifle destroyed, a man wounded, and the enemy allowed to retreat leisurely!

This was even harder for him to accept than defeat itself.

"A monster?" Onoda slowly stood up. His voice was low, yet tinged with a chilling, unquestionable madness. "No, he is not a monster. He is merely a cunning prey. And I am the hunter."

He walked over to Tanaka, glanced at his twisted wrist and the ruined rifle, and saw not a shred of pity in his eyes, only a growing, blazing intent to kill.

"Kill him," Onoda said, pronouncing each word as if delivering an irrevocable verdict. "He must be killed! His blood shall wash away the disgrace of the Imperial soldiers!"

Ito wanted to say something, but upon seeing Onoda’s bloodshot eyes, which resembled those of a starving wolf, he swallowed all his words back. He knew that the current Onoda was beyond any persuasion.

"Pursue!" Onoda picked up Tanaka’s ruined rifle from the ground and forcefully yanked out the arrow that had brought him such matchless humiliation. Gripping the arrow, he felt its cold iron arrowhead, as if he were clutching the beating heart of his enemy.

"He can't run far!"

***

Xu Feng sprinted through the forest like a startled black panther, silent yet terrifyingly fast.

He did not look back, nor did he need to. The multi-functional radar in his mind clearly showed that after the three light dots had paused in place for a moment, the two brighter ones had begun chasing after him in the direction of his flight without undue haste. The dimmest blinking dot, however, remained behind.

Two pursuers, two rifles.

And one of them was a consumptive ghost.

As he ran, Xu Feng rapidly assessed the balance of power between them.

The situation was slightly better than before, but still perilous.

Although the enemy’s numbers had been reduced by one, the one called Onoda was clearly a tough nut to crack.

Judging by his command and reactions moments ago, he was an experienced veteran, as well as extremely paranoid and unhinged.

Such a man, once provoked, would prove far more troublesome to deal with than a mad dog.

Engaging in direct combat remained a poor strategy. In open terrain, bows and arrows against rifles were no different than throwing eggs at stones.

He had to make use of the terrain.

Xu Feng’s gaze swept rapidly over his surroundings.

This was an ancient forest with towering trees, intertwined vines, a thick carpet of dead leaves on the ground, and natural cover and traps everywhere.

This was his home turf.

He altered his direction, abandoning a straight-line escape in favor of circling movements, weaving through the woods in a bewildering zig-zag pattern.

He intended to exhaust their patience and stamina, especially that of the sick man.

After running for about a quarter of an hour, Xu Feng had also expended a considerable amount of energy.

He stopped behind a natural fortification formed by several massive boulders and a fallen tree, breathing heavily.

The radar showed that the two light dots were now less than two hundred meters away from him, advancing with cautious searches.

He could not keep running. If he continued to run until his stamina was depleted, he would truly become meat on a chopping block.

He had to find a way to separate them and eliminate them one by one.

Or, at the very least, take down one more to completely strip them of their ability to pursue.

Leaning against the cold rock, Xu Feng’s mind raced.

He still had ten arrows left, nine of which were ordinary hunting arrows, while one was a specially crafted triangular armor-piercing arrow.

It was this type of arrow that had rendered Tanaka’s rifle useless just moments ago. Now that only one remained, it had to be used where it mattered most.

That Onoda was far too vigilant; the chances of ambushing him using the previous trick were virtually zero.

Thus, the target was narrowed down to the sick ghost, Ito.

Once he was eliminated, Onoda would be left isolated and helpless, drastically reducing the threat.

The problem, however, was that Onoda kept a tight leash on Ito, maintaining a mutual support distance at all times and leaving Xu Feng with virtually no openings to exploit.

Xu Feng’s gaze fell upon his own coarse cloth tunic.

A daring plan slowly took shape in his mind.

The Arisaka rifle was a bolt-action rifle.

After firing a shot, one had to work the bolt to eject the spent casing and chamber a new round.

This process, even for the most proficient soldier, required two to three seconds.

Those two or three seconds were his only chance.

He had to create that chance.

Xu Feng took off his tunic, found a tree branch about half a person's height, and propped the clothing up to create a crude dummy.

Then, he took a deep breath and began to wait.

***

Onoda held his rifle, scanning every inch of the surrounding terrain with the vigilance of a lone wolf searching for prey.

Ito followed closely behind, struggling somewhat. His breathing grew increasingly heavy, and every few steps he had to pause, leaning against a tree trunk to cough violently.

"Onoda-kun..." Ito panted, his complexion sallow. "Should we... should we still pursue? That fellow... is too cunning, and this forest is his territory. We..."

"Shut up!" Onoda barked in a low voice without turning his head, cutting him off.

A flash of humiliation crossed Ito's eyes, but he closed his mouth nonetheless.

In truth, Onoda was feeling no less vexed. He knew Ito was right. They were out in the open while the enemy remained hidden. The adversary had a master's understanding of this mountain forest, whereas they were like moths stumbling into a spider's web, every step potentially leading into a trap.

Yet he could not retreat.

The mere thought of the arrow that had pierced a rifle, and the adversary’s mocking laughter, stirred an irrepressible fury in his heart.

Today, either he dies or I do!

He signaled for Ito to halt, then crouched down to examine the traces on the ground with meticulous care.

The dead leaves on the ground showed signs of having been stepped on, and quite recently at that.

He was nearby!

Onoda’s heart instantly leapt to his throat. He pointed toward a dense patch of bushes ahead and to the left, signaling Ito to execute a flanking maneuver.

Ito nodded, suppressing the itch in his throat as he raised his rifle and cautiously moved toward that designated direction.

The mountain forest was terrifyingly quiet.

There was only the rustling of wind through leaves and Ito’s suppressed panting.

Right at that moment!

From behind a rock roughly fifty meters ahead and to their right, a figure clothed in coarse fabric suddenly swayed!

"There!"

Ito blurted out almost instinctively, raising his rifle, aiming, and firing all in one fluid motion—an instinct honed by thousands of hours of military training.

"Bang!"

The gunshot exploded through the silent mountain forest.

The bullet struck the human figure with pinpoint accuracy, sending the coarse cloth tunic flying upward.

Yet, at the exact same instant of the gunshot, from their blind spot on the left—the very patch of bushes Onoda had judged to be the hiding place—a black shadow suddenly vaulted out like a ghost!

It was Xu Feng!

He had been hiding here all along! That figure moments ago was nothing more than a decoy!

Onoda’s pupils shrank instantly to the size of needlepoints!

Damn it! It was a trap!

He wanted to shout, to warn Ito, but it was already too late.

Xu Feng’s target was never the firing Ito; it was him, Shiro Onoda!

The moment Xu Feng sprang out, the longbow in his hand was already drawn to a full moon. Nocked to the bowstring was none other than that final triangular armor-piercing arrow!

His gaze was as cold as Siberian ice, all his killing intent concentrated upon the darkened arrowhead.

"Whoosh!"

The bowstring vibrated like the sigh of the Grim Reaper.

That single arrow, bearing all of Xu Feng’s hopes, transformed into a black bolt of death, tearing through the air with a sharp whistle straight for Onoda’s throat!

Fifty meters was a distance crossed in the blink of an eye!

Onoda felt a freezing chill shoot straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. He could even see the cold light flickering on the triangular arrowhead.

The shadow of death had never enveloped him so clearly.

In that instant, every ounce of his survival instinct erupted. With no time to think and no time to aim, he lunged desperately to the side in an ungraceful dive!

"Thud!"

The arrow grazed past his neck, kicking up a trail of hot blood. He could even feel the sharp fletching stinging his skin as it brushed by.

Ultimately, with a solid thwack, the black arrow drove deep into a thick tree trunk behind him, its fletching vibrating and humming as if mocking his wretchedness.

Onoda crashed heavily to the ground, dead leaves and dirt smearing across his face.

Ignoring the pain, he instinctively reached up to touch his neck.

A hand full of hot blood.

A half-finger-long laceration was oozing blood.

Though shallow, it left his entire body ice-cold.

Just a fraction... just a tiny fraction more, and his throat would have been pierced through by that arrow!

Having missed his strike, Xu Feng cursed his bad luck inwardly.

He knew his best opportunity had slipped away.

Ito had already reacted, fumbling clumsily with the bolt to chamber a second round.

He could wait no longer!

Without a moment's hesitation, Xu Feng executed his cardinal rule forged from years of combat: when a strike fails, withdraw immediately.

He rolled into the nearby underbrush, vanishing without a trace like a fish diving into the boundless sea.

"Bang!"

Ito’s second shot was ultimately a step too slow, kicking up only a puff of dust where Xu Feng had been standing just moments before.

The mountain forest returned once more to a dead silence.

Onoda climbed to his feet. He stared in the direction of Xu Feng’s disappearance, then looked down at the blood on his hand. The frantic rage on his face slowly receded, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and... fear.

For the first time, he felt his resolve to kill this man waver.