The night was dark, and the bright silver moonlight could scarcely dispel the deep shadows of the forest paths, and though the weeds and bushes were wide, the old trees still gathered in a thick canopy over Thorne's head.

It was perfect for him, though, and the half-elf ranger enjoyed the feeling of walking in the shadows, his hazy body gradually disappearing into the dark night as his figure walked through the woods.

"Flapping!"

After a while, an owl whose feathers seemed to melt into the night passed through the thick branches and leaves of the bushes and landed on the branches, making a strange 'gugu' sound, which was creepy.

"Has it started?" The figure of the Ranger emerged from the branches and whispered to himself. Then he stroked the owl's round head and waved his hand: "Thank you for your hard work, go back."

As soon as the words fell, the owl rubbed the Ranger affectionately, and it turned into a little light and dissipated in the night.

"Ow!"

Suddenly, a loud wolf howling sounded from far to near. This sound was like a fuse. Suddenly, all kinds of howls sounded in all directions, as if to announce to all the creatures in the Desolate Skull Mountains, Mara. The hunting ceremony began.

Although the voices were very mixed, Thorne accurately judged the owner of each call, and immediately noticed that there were two figures chasing and fleeing rapidly approaching him.

Thorne disappeared into the jungle, gently pulled out his long sword to kill the demons, held his breath, and quietly waited for the prey to arrive.

This tense moment didn't keep the half-elf ranger waiting too long.

It didn't take long for a calf-sized beast to appear in the ranger's sight, accompanied by the strong smell of blood drifting into the jungle.

It is a dire wolf with scars all over its body. The most primitive ferocity and ill will have been exhausted by Mara's admirers, leaving only fear and despair.

After Thorne saw the black shadow clearly, he was not in a hurry to shoot, because he saw a humanoid figure leaping among the trees not far away, with a wanton grin and a terrifying roar.

With every loud roar, the faint green light in the eyes of the Dire Wolf being chased dimmed. This ferocious beast was obviously frightened by Mara's admirers.

"Meet death in endless fear! My prey!"

The sturdy figure of the gnoll jumped down from the woods, wearing cold metal claws on both hands, facing the penetrating moonlight, the hideous figure shrouded the head of the dire wolf who was so desperate that he began to whimper in a low voice.

Suddenly, with the frantic swaying of the branches of the woods, a swift black shadow appeared behind the gnoll. He was like a swooping falcon. In the dark night, a sharp blade flashing with light orange flames instantly pierced the gnoll. His back, the wound was right in the middle of his shoulders.

The whole body of the grinning gnoll stiffened for a moment, the sharp claws that shone with cold metal light drooped down, and the whole body fell directly on the back of the sobbing dire wolf, swallowing his last breath, and never again. Moved.

"Ow!"

The dumbfounded Dire Wolf whimpered and shook his hair, throwing away the gnoll's corpse, the dim green pupils gradually became brighter after noticing the thin figure that appeared not far away, so that the most primitive ferocity burst out again. .

Immediately afterwards, the Dire Wolf bowed slightly, his front claws digged the ground, and his hind legs slammed vigorously, like a sharp arrow from the string, and bravely rushed towards the shadow.

"Pfft!"

A sharp blade was hidden in the light orange flame, which appeared on the Dire Wolf's soft neck at a strange and tricky angle. The huge wolf head rolled off the dust, and the hot blood splashed five or six meters away.

——“One Ring Divine Art: No Trace!”

Along with the undulating divine spell, a light green natural aura enveloped the Ranger's body until it disappeared.

"collapse!"

Suddenly, Thorne, who was standing there, caught the dull reverberation of the composite longbow, like a rough and continuous rhythm reaching his ears.

- "Spell Armor!"

The protective ring on Thorne's finger flashed a shimmer, and an almost invisible protective barrier emerged just as the arrow was about to approach.

"Clap!"

The sharp arrow splattered on the invisible force field and fell to the ground weakly.

Immediately afterwards, Thorne suddenly turned around and charged with his sword.

In the bushes ahead, a tall and burly human hunter held a composite longbow, took out a sharp silver arrow with flickering light, and locked the rushing figure of Thorne again with ferocious eyes. At the same time as the bowstring, the corner of his mouth evoked a cruel smile.

"call out!"

The composite longbow that was drawn into the shape of a full moon suddenly loosened its strings. The reverberation of the bowstring was like the low roar of a beast. A silver light cut through the night sky, and instantly hit the galloping figure of the Ranger.

Just as the human hunter showed a triumphant smile. The next moment, his eyes turned into astonishment.

Thorne glanced at the broken magic arrow that was scratched at the palm of his hand due to the force of the impact, but was still tightly clasped in his hand.

The blazing sharp sword first cut off the blocking compound longbow, and then slashed a terrifying bloodstain from top to bottom between the human hunter's forehead.

Thorne kicked the corpse and picked up the remaining arrow in the human hunter's quiver that could break the protective field.

——“One Ring of Divine Art: First-Class Natural Ally Summoning!”

With the flickering light of the magic circle, a pure black coyote came out. Thorne took out a piece of clothes that Alvie gave him before leaving from the dimension bag, and threw it directly on the ground.

The coyote immediately leaned forward and took a sniff. After a while, the dark green pupils locked the direction of the prey, whimpered, and galloped away.

Thorne followed the coyote through the bushes for about ten minutes, noticed three figures not far away, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Then he waved to the coyote who led the way, and the coyote rubbed his trouser leg obediently, turning into a little bit of light and dissipating in the air.

- "One Ring of Magic: Hunter's Mark!"

Thorne, who was hiding in the bushes, clenched the holy emblem and chanted in a low voice. Not far away, a blood-red five-star claw appeared on the head of the new lord of Twin Towers Town, who was protected by two guards. Imprint emblem.

"call out!"

In the darkness of the night, sharp arrows shone with magic light tore through the air and galloped away with a whistling sound.

"Pfft!"

A guard who was standing in front of the lord of Shuangta Town was caught off guard. He was shot directly in the heart, twitched, and then died.

The face of the lord of Twin Towers Town changed, and the whole family of Mara believers, who would invite him to the "Deer Herding Banquet" and told him that they were very safe, greeted him fiercely.

Then, together with the only remaining guards, they watched all suspicious motives around them vigilantly.

"call out!"

"Pfft!"

In the thick night, another guard of the lord of Twin Towers Town was shot again, wailed, and fell to the ground to his death.

The death of the last guard also made the lord of Twin Towers aware of the direction of the arrow, and saw that a protective ring he wore on his finger was quickly activated, and then he turned and ran in the other direction.

Noticing the escape of the lord of Twin Towers, Thorne took out the two demon-breaking arrows seized from human hunters, and chased with arrows while observing the blood-red mark on the top of the lord of Twin Towers.

As long as the mark on his head does not disappear, he will never escape his pursuit.

"call out!"

The two continued to chase after each other for a while, and the whistling arrow mercilessly hit the protective barrier of the lord of the Twin Towers Town, like a boulder hitting glass, making a crisp shattering sound.

About to escape the opponent's attack range, when the lord of Twin Towers Town was about to take a breath, another sharp arrow slid past. In his astonished eyes, it penetrated the heart and fell weakly to the ground.

When the prey died, Thorne retracted his longbow, and with his sword, went to scavenge the corpse for the spoils.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a tall and burly figure jumped out of the grass on the other side. It was an orc. His attack was more like preparing for a long time. The giant axe in his hand was wrapped in a cold murderous aura and a cold light hit Thorne's face.

Thorne, whose face was hurt by the strong wind, changed his face, turned around and barely avoided the slash of the giant axe, and then rolled on the spot, dodging the horizontal slash of the giant axe again.

- "Second Ring Magic: Web of Thorns!"

Just as he was about to stand up to attack, the surrounding bushes sounded like a sword unsheathed, and immediately all the withered grass, bushes and even trees around him grew sharp thorns, bent into thorns, and swayed wildly towards him. Entire body.

- "Desert Wind Sect (Stance Skill): Flames!"

Thorne's thoughts moved, and a raging flame instantly burned within one meter of his body. The raging flames directly burned all the thorns around him, and also blocked the attack of the orcs.

Then Thorne took the opportunity to get up, turned into a Hokage and rushed towards the orc holding a giant axe.

"Pfft!"

The orc felt the scorching heat spreading to his whole body, and was so panicked that he was about to distance himself from the flame barrier, but his movements were too slow, the beheading sword swept through a cold light, and the hideous head flew into the dust.

- "Three Rings Magic: Thunder Roar!"

Just as Thorne put away the conspicuous flame barrier and was about to attack the caster hidden in the dark, his ears instantly echoed the common roar of thousands of dinosaurs, and even the ground on which he stood trembled with the sound.

——“Steel Soul School (response skill): Spiritual Body!”

Thorne, who steadied his swaying body on the trembling ground, immediately launched a steel soul pie move to resist the loud noise that echoed in his mind like a thunderbolt.

Suffered from the sonic attack of "Thunder Roar"!

Making Fortitude saving throw...

Fortitude save passed!

You are immune to the deafening effect of "Thunder Roar"!

...

Then Thorne, who was as pale as paper, endured the huge pain of his head being hit by the sound wave, and his figure flashed and disappeared into the dense bushes.

——“One ring of magic: entanglement!”

When Thorne, who was hiding in the dark, locked the enemy's position, he immediately cast the Ranger Magic with a faint sound.

From the moment when the crazy vines surged, a low wolf howl sounded.

The dire wolf transformed by the Druid was shocked, and all the vines wrapped around his body broke.

"Pfft!"

The dire wolf, who was about to escape from the battle field with his sturdy body, was directly penetrated by two sharp arrows that shone through his soft waist.

The Dire Wolf whimpered in pain, and the moment he raised his head, his scarlet pupils saw a cloud of shadow energy emerge in front of it, and a black shadow jumped out of it, followed by a sharp blade.

"Pfft!"

The ferocious wolf, who was caught off guard, was torn apart by the sharp sword, wailed, and turned into a thin human figure, motionless.

Thorne, who was pale, glanced around warily at first, his humming ears still catching each other's undulating howls.

He knew very well that it was the thunder-like sound of the three-ring magic "Thunder Roar" that attracted the nearby Mara believers here.

So with a thought, he endured the pain of a splitting headache and disappeared into the shadows.

...

It was late at night, and the bright full moon also began to dodge back and forth in the jagged clouds, but the howls that undulated each other in the Desolate Skull Mountains did not mean to stop.

"call out!"

The bowstrings reverberated, the sharp arrows rang, and a werewolf who was chasing the beast twitched a few times, then wailed and fell to the ground dead.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a dark elf man with long dry white hair jumped out from behind Thorne, and the two machetes in his hands were wrapped in a ferocious wind and slashed towards his back.

Thorne rolled on the spot, threw the longbow aside, and pulled out two sharp blades, one long and one short, to attack at great speed.

"Clang! Clang!"

Thorne, who was lying on the ground, struggled to block the dark elf's two sharp scimitars, kicked his legs, and while pushing the opponent back, he also stabilized his body and jumped up.

The dark elf's pale red eyes glanced at the ranger coldly, with disdain in his eyes, then raised two scimitars, turned into a black shadow, and greeted him.

Thorne took a deep breath and clenched his two swords to fight against him. Most of his skills had been exhausted after a long battle, and even the energy of Qi flowing in his body had dried up, and the dark elf that appeared in front of him, It made him feel invisible pressure and a fatal crisis.

The dark elf's blade swung in a deadly rhythm, and every attack of Thorne was easily picked up by the opponent with subtle blocks and clever dodges.

"Clang clang!"

As the two battles became more frequent and compact, the dark elf's slashing became faster and faster, while Thorne's double swords gradually slowed down, and there was a tendency to be unstoppable.

"Pfft!"

Thorne, who was forced to retreat by the other's two airtight machetes, was inadvertently slashed by the machete in two cold light, one slashed in the chest, the other slashed on his arm, and the surging blood could not stop. Lives flow.

Thorne, who has the "tenacity" expertise, endured the pain of the wound and stumbled to the ground on his back.

The chasing dark elf suddenly showed a cold smile, and took advantage of the situation to swing two machetes towards Thorne's head and abdomen again.

——“Desert Wind Sect (Strike Skill): Flame Star!”

Just when the dark elf was not yet approaching, Thorne, who fell to the ground, mobilized the last trace of energy and jumped up suddenly, followed by a burst of white light.

"what!!!"

The dazzling white light pierced into the pale red eyes of the dark elf like a thousand sharp knives, and suddenly let out a mournful wailing.

"Pfft!"

Thorne's eyes showed a stern look, and he took the opportunity to raise the last bit of strength, and with a very fast speed, a sword slashed across the dark elf's neck, and a sword stabbed into his abdomen, completing the counter-kill, and the wailing dark elf fell to the ground instantly. died.

Seeing that the dark elf fell to the ground and died, Thorne half-knelt on the ground and took a few breaths, then put away the composite longbow that had been thrown aside, and drew a holy emblem from the sleeve. Leave immediately.

He is seriously injured now, but the one on his arm is okay, not that serious. If the bleeding in the chest is not stopped in time, it will be life-threatening due to excessive blood loss, so he must leave quickly.

After wandering in the wilderness for nearly two hours, what made him miscalculate was that Mara's followers kept appearing one after another like a lifeless man, overwhelming him. .

There were at least 40 Mara worshipers who died in his hands tonight, which was considered a considerable amount of experience and practice points.

During this period, if he hadn't met three Tier 3 rangers from the Temple of Merika, which gave him a chance to breathe, he would have died in the wheel battle in the wilderness.

In the final analysis, he underestimated the most important holy day of the God of Hunting and Killing. The mad believers were not afraid of death. With his second-order strength, he was completely over his head.

As the druid said, he has paid the price for his arrogance.

Moreover, he also secretly spied the battle between a high-level druid and a high-level fallen druid. He just glanced at it from a distance and left with interest.

The high-level druid who fought was the extremist wood elf he met in the upper city, and the mentor of the player Qingchen, who was called: Storm Bear Walker.

It was his reminder that made him aware of the small village hidden deep in the canyon.

However, even though he was seriously injured, he still forcibly retained the last second-ring magic, which allowed him to directly summon the flying hippocampus and leave.

——“Second Ring Divine Art: Second-level Natural Ally Summoning Art!”

Accompanied by the surging light of the magic circle, a hippogriff with the head and front legs of an eagle, the hind legs and body of a horse, flapping its pale white wings, appeared in front of Thorne.

Thorne squeezed the bleeding wound on his chest, struggled to climb onto the hippogriff's back, and disappeared into the darkness.

[Hunting Ritual: Toril Era, Heskan Calendar, Year of the Emergence of the Outcasts, Moon at the End of the Year, 2nd, Corina Peninsula, Barren Skull Mountains. 】

Followers of Mara, the **** of hunting, the annual "deer feast", the hunting ceremony held on this most solemn holy day was interrupted because of your participation. You personally killed 46 Mara believers who participated in the hunting feast, including 3 professionals who reached the hero level.

Your heroic deed will be known by more and more adventurers wandering in the Barrenskull Mountains, and will gradually spread to all nearby civilization settlements.

And you yourself will receive extra attention from many evil beings. At the same time, as a stalker of the Way of Silent, you have successfully attracted the attention of the stalking god.

…………