1500 meters, that was all that seperated Leo from the safety of the rebel controlled territory.
From the corner of his eyes he could see the water bridge that demarcated the boundary between Empire controlled central lands and Rebel Controlled South and the faint glint of the Yakasa River Stream that flowed under it.
Yet, while the bridge was so close, it seemed so far with a mad Archer on his back.
"Oh fuck you Archer…. Once I reach the safety of the rebel zone and ain't afraid to die, then I'll show you who 'TheBoss' is!" Leo said, as he ran at top speed, pushing through the pain in his upper body.
Meanwhile, Arlen loosened another shot, this one not silent, as Leo with his heightened senses heard it coming from a 100 meters away.
"Oh no you don't!" Leo muttered, as at the last second, he moved his good right arm, slicing the incoming arrow in half, as it cluttered harmlessly by his side.
At this point, he deactivated [Vanish] as apart from draining his mana constantly, the move did not seem to do much else.
For a normal individual, slicing an arrow in half, mid-trajectory would be impossible, however, for Leo with his superior agility and reflexes, achieving this feat was nothing much.
However, for Arlen this was a big shock, as he peered towards Leo with his eyes wide open in shock.
"No wonder he killed Denver, this kid is a bit of a monster…" Arlen murmured, as his eyes finally met those of Leo.
Tracing the path of the incoming arrow, Leo finally spotted the enemy who was somehow matching him step for step while carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows.
His mixed gray and brown bearded appearance and receding hairline told Leo that he was an old monster, most likely one of the game's legendary NPCs, however, Leo was not impressed.
Narrowing his eyes, Leo bared his teeth to show that he was not afraid of the opponent, although he seemed to be on the run.
In response, Arlen pulled out yet another arrow from his quiver and without missing a step notched it on, as he prepared to take aim while running.
"Oh no… no… no, now that I see you, you're fucked" Leo muttered, as he began to run haphazardly.
Sometimes he ran straight, sometimes he randomly veered to a side, before explosively changing direction and speed to make tracking him more difficult.
From a distance, Arlen frowned, as much to his surprise, he could not get a lock on Leo, his haphazard movements throwing his pursuer off.
"It seems I can't get a confident shot on this fast prey from this distance, first I'll have to close the gap–" Arlen muttered, as he picked up the pace and tried to close the gap between himself and Leo from over 700 meters to under 100.
This was of-course easier said than done, as while he was fast, so was Leo.
For every meter that he gained on Leo, they seemed to have ran four, as it did not take long before Arlen realized that at this rate it would take him a good hour or two of constant running before he could actually catch his opponent.
"Very well then, I'll catch you on the bridge…." Arlen muttered, as while Leo moved erratically on the road, he would not have so much freedom while on the bridge, giving Arlen the chance he needed to shoot Leo down.
Freezing, he hence nocked another arrow, and prepared to unleash yet another Silent Shot.
Meanwhile, observing the enemy's change in demeanor after he paused, Leo too got a read on what was going to happen next.
Picking up his pace, he turned his back towards the opponent and began running at his top speed in his natural posture, as suddenly, he began to widen the gap between himself and Arlen at an absurd pace.
The Archer shook, Realized only then that the only reason he was even keeping up with the young Assassin's speed was because he was running on his heels, but now that he assumed his natural posture, his true speed came out.
"What a beast!" Arlen commented, as he steadied his breathing and prepared for the shot, visualizing it's trajectory and exact distance.
828 meters, he thought, visualizing the point of contact at precisely the halfway point of the bridge, as he let go of yet another [Silent Shot].
********
Meanwhile, Leo ran like a madman when he approached the bridge, the smell of freedom filling his nostrils already.
"Just 20 more meters…." He muttered, as he dashed at full speed, covering half the length of the bridge in just under two breaths.
However, then the arrow hit!
-1700.
An arrow pierced through his back right through the middle and came out of his chest, as he felt his vision nearly black out from the pain.
His legs wobbled and for a second he felt like they could not support his weight anymore. However, crawling on all fours, he continued to move, pushing through those last 10 meters like a man possessed.
[System Notification:- Congratulations to 'TheBoss', for reaching the 'Rebel Zone'. The hunt has been called off! Your location will no longer be exposed during the next gaming day!]
Only when Leo saw this notification flash past his screen, did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Only 30% of his HP bar remained, however, he was no longer afraid of death.
Instead, he stood back to his feet and faced his chasing opponent defiantly, as he clenched a dagger with his one good arm hard and pointed it towards Arlen.
"Come…. I'm ready to face you now" Leo declared, as with the psychological pressure of reaching the safe-zone now gone, Leo once again returned to his ruthless best.
The opponent had dared make him run like a chicken for so long, it was finally his turn to make the enemy pay!