Leo's steps were hurried but deliberate as he ran backward, his sharp gaze locked in the direction he believed the Archer to be.
He was still invisible and the enemy could not perceive him directly, however, with the faint trail of blood that he left behind with every step, Leo knew that the enemy was still tracking him relentlessly.
The open road stretched endlessly before him, the sparse trees and open fields on either side offering little in terms of cover or safety, as Leo quickly rejected the idea of trying and misleading his opponents gaze by moving through various obstacles, as his current environment did not allow for such tricks.
Seconds passed, and his breaths began to come in short bursts, the burning sensation in his lungs a cruel reminder of his physical limits. Yet, he didn't dare turn his back entirely—not with a dangerous Master Archer stalking him.
'If I can't see him, I'll never stand a chance,' Leo realized, his eyes darting to every faint shimmer or shadow that might betray the Archer's location, but he had no luck.
Arlen was simply impossible to perceive when hidden, just as he himself was when using [Vanish] without the trail of blood.
All around him, the silence was deafening, save for the very soft rhythmic pounding of his boots on the dirt road and the faint rustling of wind through the fields.
It was a calm that made every hair on his body stand on end—a calm that could only mean death was near.
Every second he feared being impaled by an unseen arrow, his fear driving every muscle in his body to move faster.
******
Perched unseen a few hundred meters away, Arlen stretched the bowstring with the nocked arrow to its limit.
He admired his opponent's tenacity, even begrudgingly respected it, as under the circumstances, he recognised that running away was the best option.
The range and accuracy of his shots greatly diminished after 700 meters, and with the opponent retreating fast, Arlen knew that he had one good shot left in him, before having to abandon his current hiding spot and chase after him.
"I have to make this next shot count…" Arlen muttered, as he began channeling mana into the arrow to attempt yet another [Silent Shot].
On paper, the 'Silent Shot' had no weakness. It was truly an imperceivable attack that could kill any opponent, however, only Arlen knew that it had a major drawback.
The attack could only be used once every minute, as it had a 60 second cooldown time, making it impossible to use as a rapid shot.
This was the only reason behind why, after missing his first silent shot, he did not immediately follow it up with a second to finish the job, as he simply could not do it, even if he wanted to.
Thankfully, 60 seconds had already passed since the last time he used the move and hence, when Leo began to run again, Arlen decided to use it once more.
[Silent Shot]
The attack soared silently through the air, invisible and soundless, as it zeroed in on Leo's location with deadly accuracy.
For Arlen, he could not perceive Leo and his running movement since Leo was currently invisible and hence Arlen, based on his own observations of Leo's movements, made an educated guess of how he would be moving.
Observing the trail of blood, he could already imagine how Leo might be moving, however, while Arlen pictured Leo running with his back exposed, Leo in fact ran facing him, which caused Arlen's estimations to deviate by mere millimetres.
*Slash*
-650 HP
Imperceivable, the arrow slashed past Leo's left torso, piercing through his premium chainmail and plucking a few grams of his flesh.
If he wasn't running facing forwards, the shot was sure to pierce his heart, however, he survived because of his unusual running posture.
Nonetheless, the searing pain of the near-miss sent shockwaves through his torso, as he staggered but somehow managed to keep his footing, sheer adrenaline coursing through him as he continued to move.
"That was too close," Leo muttered, clutching his side, as blood trickled from his wound, joining the trail already marking his path.
From his hidden vantage point, Arlen's sharp eyes narrowed as he watched the assassin evade what should have been a fatal shot.
'He shouldn't have seen that coming. How the hell did he dodge it?' Arlen wondered, as seeing his enemy still moving, he felt furious.
Arlen's knuckles whitened as he gripped his bow tighter. He prided himself on precision, on certainty, and yet this boy had defied him twice now.
"You're just prolonging the inevitable," Arlen whispered, knocking another arrow, as he finally abandoned his hiding spot and began rushing after Leo.
Meanwhile, Leo's near-death experience only spurred him onward. With no time to dwell on the pain, he hastened his pace, forcing his legs to move faster despite the screaming protest from his body.
The plan was simple: force Arlen to move, to break his calculated stillness as Leo truly believed that if he could disrupt his enemy's rhythm, it could potentially buy him the precious seconds he needed to cross into rebel-controlled territory, as slowly but surely he inched closer.
Behind him, Arlen frowned, as he too picked up the pace, while still trying to move in a way where he wouldn't immediately catch Leo's eyes.
"Fine, boy," he muttered, "If you want the hunt… I'll give you the hunt" Arlen said, as he stretched the bowstring back, ready to unleash another shot.
—-------
/// A/N - Firstly, Congratulations to us all, For Lord Dumpy has crossed the preliminaries and is now in the quarter finals of the character voting event that starts in 3 days time.
In the quarters we go head to head against 4 other characters, but I'm sure we will prevail!
So for 3 days, hold your fan points, for we will need them soon!
Secondly, A special shoutout to patron Huuhhhh, for the 2000 coin donation, which brings the gift tally to 3290/2500, meaning there will be a bonus later tonight. ///