Alden walked for quite a while before he ca across a river.
The river's water seed clean and pure.
His senses didn't warn him much, so it was probably drinkable.
The Aura detection ability spirit eyes had before had been assimilated as passive after in his supre ability.
Unlike before, he didn't need to activate the skill and could sense aura passively.
He walked towards the water source as he scooped so water from it and gulped it.
He felt refreshed, feeling the cold water running down his throat.
For a brief mont, he allowed himself to relax.
Then—
Swish.
A sudden gust of wind.
His instincts scread at him.
Alden ducked—just in ti.
As an arrow flew past his head, slicing through the air cleanly.
Alden turned around to see the attacker.
His heart pounded.
Nothing.
There was no one.
No movent.
No archer.
He quickly activated his [Spirit Domain] and [Eye of Supre] as his senses expanded.
Then—
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Before he could think about sothing he saw a barrage of arrows coming towards him from many directions.
But in his current state he could feel the trajectory of all of them.
He effortlessly dodged them all with minimal movents.
The arrows missed him by inches.
Where the hell is the archer?
Alden scanned the surroundings, but he still couldn't find the location, and moreover, all the arrows were coming from different directions.
It was getting more and more dangerous for him.
The attacks were too precise and too relentless.
Either the enemy was absurdly fast—or there was more than one enemy.
He couldn't just keep dodging, he had to find the enemy, otherwise once the duration of his spirit domain is over, he will be a goner.
The arrows ca for him again, but this ti he didn't dodge.
He activated his [Shadow Step] as he lted into the shadows before appearing in the crowd of trees.
Alden hid behind the thick trees; his breathing was steady.
His Spirit Domain was still active, letting him sense even the faintest traces of movent.
The arrows had stopped for a mont.
Whoever was shooting at him was waiting.
Watching.
Trying to bait him into making the first move.
Smart.
But not smart enough.
Alden narrowed his eyes.
He already had a general idea of where the archer was, but he still didn't know if they were alone or if there were many.
Running away was an option, but—
No.
If I keep running, they'll just track down again.
I need to end this.
Alden picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it toward a tree a few ters away from him.
He had seen sothing like this in many movies in his previous life.
The rock hit the bark—
And the mont it did.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Three arrows flew at that tree instantly.
There.
Alden finally found the location from where the arrows ca.
Found you.
He could see a shadowy figure hiding behind a tree, calmly scanning the area for any movent.
A smirk appeared on Alden's face.
He activated [Shadow Step] as his body lted into shadows vanishing.
In an instant, he reappeared behind the archer.
His trusted sword was already in his hand.
The archer stiffened.
Alden didn't hesitate.
He slashed with the intent to injure the archer.
But the archer reacted with unnatural speed as it quickly blocked with its bow.
"Sh*t," the archer muttered.
The archer moved fast—before Alden could attack again, drawing an arrow in one fluid motion.
Alden barely ducked in ti as the arrow flew past, slightly grazing his cheek.
Alden's [Eyes of the Supre] were still active.
He had already analysed the archer's movent.
The archer was fast—but not fast enough.
The archer barely had ti to nock another arrow before Alden vanished again.
In an instant, he reappeared in front of the archer.
Too close for a bow and too late to react.
Alden punched the archer in the gut.
"Guh—"
The archer choked.
But Alden wasn't done.
With a swift and precise movent, he grabbed the archer's wrist and twisted it—forcing the bow out of their grip.
At the sa ti, he pressed his sword against the neck of the archer.
"Checkmate," Alden said coldly.
The fight was over and he had won with ease.
"Give up," Alden said, his voice still cold but steady. "I don't want to kill you."
The archer looked up at him, his expressions were unreadable for a mont.
He had noticed the hesitation on Alden's face.
'Another naive fool.' The archer scoffed in his mind.
He had killed many such fools. He knew people like this lowered their guards seeing their enemy's surrender.So he raised his hands as if surrendering.
But unlike what the archer had thought, Alden didn't lower his guard even by a bit. His Spirit Domain was still active, and he could sense it clearly.
The archer's heartbeat hadn't spiked in fear.
His breathing was too controlled.
He wasn't surrendering.
He was waiting.
For an opening.
For a chance.
For to lower my guard.
Alden didn't even blink but he played along as he lowered his sword a bit.
Then—
The archer moved.
Pulling a hidden dagger from his sleeves as he tried to attack Alden's ribs.
Too slow.
Alden had already seen it coming.
He lightly stepped to the side as the dagger missed him by inches.
The archer's eyes widened in shock.
He hadn't expected Alden to react to that surprise attack.
Alden didn't give the archer anyti to recover as he slashed.
And this ti his intent was not only to injure but eliminate him.
His sword cleanly sliced through the neck of Archer with one swift motion.
A crimson arc of blood sprayed through the air as the neck of archer rolled to the ground.
Alden stood still watching the limp body of archer crashing into the ground.
"You should've given up," he murmured.
This was his first kill.
But he didn't feel any regret.
Why would he?
There was no room for doubt.The archer had tried to do the sa to him.
If he had been even a fraction slower, those arrows would have pierced his skull.
He knew this wasn't a ga, this was a battlefield and hesitation ant death.
He took a final glance at the corpse before turning away and walking deeper into the forest.
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