Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 222 What a Shitty Decision (Part 1)

Engaging an opponent like Fleeting Time in combat was very taxing to one’s physical and mental strength. After two short minutes of fighting, both of the combatants were exhausted. Fleeting Time was panting slightly, while Ye Ci, with a slight disadvantage due to her female character, could even feel fatigue on her limbs.

Despite that, Ye Ci refused to give up.

They were within 8 yards of each other. In such a range, a Hunter’s bow or crossbow would be rendered useless, and melee weapon would be the Hunter’s only option to engage the enemy. Ye Ci tried her best to keep Fleeting Time 8 yards away. Without the skill ‘Backwards Leap’ employed by Fleeting Time earlier on, Ye Ci could only maneuver under her own power.

However, Fleeting Time began closing in on her.

In Fate, a character that was moving forward would always have a faster speed than a character that was going in reverse. No matter how hard Ye Ci tried to shake Fleeting Time off, he was able to follow her movements. “What are you doing?” Ye Ci creased her eyebrows.

A smile appeared on Fleeting Time’s lips. Truth to be told, Gongzi You was not a very pretty girl. One might even say that her expression was stiff most of the time. However, she could be very intimidating when she was angry. For reasons unknown, Fleeting Time enjoyed looking at that expression.

“Aiya, shooting arrows at each other could be quite boring sometimes. Why don’t we fight at melee range?” Fleeting Time offered Ye Ci a suggestion.

He knew that his proposal would anger Gongzi You. After all, she was not a person who would do something as senseless as that.

As expected, Gongzi You erupted into a fit of anger, “Fleeting Time, are you crazy? Why would you engage me in a melee combat when you know that our class excels at range combat?”

“Well, isn’t this more fun?” Fleeting Time ignored the anger he was already expecting from Ye Ci, and drew his short sword, stabbing it at Ye Ci.

Ye Ci dodged the attack reflexively, and drew her own sword to parry yet another blow from Fleeting Time.

The weapons met in midair with a loud “clang!”. Fleeting Time did not hold back against Ye Ci, who was also putting her entire strength into the swing of her weapon. Ye Ci’s hand went numb with the force of the impact.

In Fate, the stats of the character in Fate would automatically be distributed according to the character’s class when players leveled up. In other words, when players from the same class with the same level would have similar base stats. The differences in their combat strength would be determined by their equipment and mechanical skills.

There was not much of a gap between the combat capabilities of Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. They share the same class and level. The difference in their equipment was not significant as well due to their character’s level. The only differences laid in their gender, and the stats of their weapons and jewelleries.

A female character suffered from an inferior strength, but a male character would have more trouble in sustaining a prolonged battle. Both of the characters did not have an absolute advantage over one another.

Both of the combatants shoved with all their might, but neither of them was able to push each other back. Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She would never allow the pace of the battle to slow down. She cast “Leg Trip” at Fleeting Time in an attempt to throw his balance off.

However, Fleeting Time was able to avoid Ye Ci’s move. In his attempt to avoid Ye Ci’s Leg Trip, Fleeting Time’s grip on his sword faltered slightly, and Ye Ci seized the opportunity to force his sword away. She them stabbed at Fleeting Time, aiming at his vitals.

Fleeting Time made a slight miscalculation in his attempt to dodge the blow, and Ye Ci’s sword stabbed into a spot near his heart.

It was a near miss.

This near miss was enough to shake Fleeting Time. He had poured a lot of effort into mastering the art of feigning his moves. He was confident that no one would be able to see through his feint, which gave him the confidence of using it on Gongzi You. However, she was able to see through his maneuver, and dealt an effective blow.

If he was not careful, Gongzi You would have hit his heart. Even if the blow might not be enough to kill him, it would definitely take away a huge chunk of his hitpoints.

Did Gongzi You see through my move? Or was it sheer luck?

With the question nudging at Fleeting Time’s mind, he decided to test Ye Ci out one more time.

He swung his short sword at Ye Ci. Despite its simplicity, Fleeting Time’s attack was deadly. Even a single swing contains countless dangers.

A short sword different from a blade, nor was it similar to a double-handed sword or a longsword. Despite its setting as a Western Fantasy game, there was a huge number of developers from the east, filling the game with characteristics from the eastern culture. Although swordplay might not be considered as an important factor in Western Fantasy games, it was something that was very important in Chinese culture.

Due to their size, blades and two-handed swords could deal devastating damage when they were swung at targets. As double edged weapons, swords tend to be more agile than blades. Their sharp point meant that they could be stabbed at an opponent as well.

Such cases are especially true when it came to short swords.

There was no distinct difference between short swords and daggers in traditional Chinese martial arts. One could even say that in the age of traditional weaponry, daggers and short swords referred to the same thing.

However, for the benefit of the players, the developers of Fate made a clear distinction between daggers and short swords.

But there one similarity between the two weapons was certain. Both daggers and short swords were used mainly for stabbing. Of course, they swinging and slashing were still viable options for such weapons, the users of the weapons could deal the most damage by stabbing their opponents.

Of course, the wielder of a weapon is free to use it however he or she pleases.

In a battle between experts, however, reckless attacks would spell death for a combatant. In the eyes of an expert, every move could be the turning point of a duel.

Fleeting Time’s attack was a feint. Despite the swinging motion of his weapon, he could quickly follow up with a stab should his opponent fell for the trick. As long as an opponent attempted to dodge the same way he or she would evade a slash, Fleeting Time’s attack would hit its mark.

His attack, although swift and deadly, was meant as a test for Ye Ci. He wanted to know if Ye Ci was indeed capable of dodging his blow, and how good she really was.

He attacked with the full intention of testing Ye Ci out.

Ye Ci, however, was entirely serious. She saw Fleeting Time’s action as a potentially fatal attack. Will she yield? No! No no no no! Ye Ci would never do such a thing!

She was a person who would always repay the misdeeds of her enemies, giving them a taste of their own medicine. With the slightest of movements, she was able to dodge the attack from Fleeting Time, and the sword slid harmlessly across her armor.

The lvl60 Hunter equipment set was made up of sturdy metal instead of leather. Despite its lack of defensive capabilities compared to a Warrior’s armor, it was still way more durable than armor made up of leather. As a player who emphasize on dishing out the highest amount of damage, Fleeting Time was armed with the best weapon. He would not allow himself to carry an inferior weapon at any time. Of course, the same could be said for Ye Ci.

Sparks flew in all directions when Fleeting Time’s short sword brushed against Ye Ci’s chest with a loud screech.

Micro dodge.

Fleeting Time’s eyes widened at the realization.

He had never expected Gongzi You to know such a move, he did not expect her to be able to dodge his attack, and he certainly did not expect that Gongzi You would be dodging his attack with a micro dodge. He paid close attention to every detail of Gongzi You’s movement. He did not even blink out of fear that he might miss even the slightest detail that might help him in analyzing Ye Ci’s moves.

She was swift and agile in her movements. It was apparent that it was not a skill that she had just recently acquired. Fleeting Time was filled with glee. It was the happiness of being caught up by a rival. He studied the intense expression of Gongzi You’s face and thought to himself, just what else does she have hidden up her sleeves?

Fleeting Time’s thoughts wandered off for the fraction of a second.

And in a duel between experts, victory and defeat can be decided in the moment it took a person to blink.

After slashing his weapon at Ye Ci and missing his mark, Fleeting Time immediately followed up with a stab to Ye Ci’s face. Even though there was no risk of disfigurement in the game, a blow to the head would still be fatal to Ye Ci. She leaned backwards, dodging the incoming attack while kicking out with her legs.

Fleeting Time felt a sharp pain on his chest as he fell backwards onto the ground. He instinctively grabbed at the culprit that caused his fall: Ye Ci’s ankle.

“Kyah!” Ye Ci did not expect such a move from Fleeting Time. With her body already leaning backwards, she immediately lost her balance.

However, Ye Ci did not have the chance to even yell at Fleeting Time as she fell onto the ground along with Fleeting Time.

Fleeting Time laid on the ground, staring at the blue sky as he gasped for air. Despite his condition, his mood was extremely well. The smile on his lips could be said to be a manifestation of his extremely good mood.

Unlike Fleeting Time and Ye Ci who were engaged in intense combat, Returning Winds had been a bystander for the duration of the fight. With his character crippled, he could only seek medical attention from NPCs in the city after the battle in the arena.

Of course, he was not the only audience of the duel. His party members had already respawned by that time, and have made their way to Returning Winds.

“Where is he? Where’s Fleeting Time?” sand Glistening Moonlight as she studied her surroundings. She was to first to arrive, driven by her desire to spectate a battle between her idols. As a Sorceress, which was the character with the lowest speed in the game, she was able to arrive on the scene faster than a Warrior and a Cleric.

“Moonlight, aren’t you a lil’ too fast?” gasped AppreciatingTheScenery, who arrived with Beauty’s Grave later. He then cast a healing spell on Returning Winds, who was rapidly losing his HP, “What is it? Were you crippled?”

“Yep.” Returning Winds nodded at the direction of the basin where Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were locked in combat, “I could’ve sworn that my attack would land on Fleeting Time, but he was able to dodge it. And…” he shrugged, “Before I knew it, I’ve been crippled.”

“Gongzi You took out four of them right?” Beauty’s Grave was very mindful of the outcome of the battle. He was relieved that Returning Winds was not killed by Fleeting Time.

“Yup.” Returning Winds was still staring at the ongoing battle, “If Fleeting Time is not able to kill Gongzi You, we’ll win this match.”

With the assurance from Returning Winds, Beauty’s Graves and AppreciatingTheScenery could finally calm down and pay close attention to the combatants.

“Wow, they’re fast!” observed AppretiatingTheScenery. As a Cleric who was used to highly paced battles, he was still shocked by the swiftness of Fleeting Time and Gongzi You.

“Spectating their battle live is way better than watching a video recording of the thing.” sighed Beauty's Grave. Even when he was not a Hunter, the battle between the two top players was still a very captivating. “Is it common for Hunters to maneuver and jump around like that? How are they even running on the wall of the basin? Isn’t Fate a game that is 100% realistic? Won’t that be a BUG?”

As the saying goes, “different trades, world apart.”

Returning Clouds rolled his eyes at the question of Beauty’s Grave. He was a Rogue, who share certain similarities with classes like the Hunter and Ranger. This provided him with some insight of the Hunter class. “Every Hunter could pull that off. Of course, what Gongzi You and Fleeting Time are doing requires practice. As for their ability to literally run up walls…” said Returning Clouds with a sigh, “It’s because of their Balance. Hunters have higher Balance stats than all of the classes in the game. With a high Balance and sufficient amount of training, one could eventually pull that off, but…”

“But what?” asked Beauty’s Grave, who was immersed in Returning Winds’ explanation, annoyed by the sudden pause.

“But you need a high movement speed for that to build up a momentum. You’ll need a high Balance and some basic knowledge on how inertia works as well.” said Returning Winds as he shifted his gaze towards Beauty’s Grave. The words that followed were like a bucket of cold water that was splashed onto the burning spirits of Beauty’s Grave, “As a Warrior, your Agility is too low for that. Hell, even a Rogue like me with high Agility is not able to pull that off. So just give up, don’t even think about it.”

“What a bummer. I thought I might be able to do that.” Beauty’s Grave was filled with disappointment.

“Eh? Why are they engaging each other in melee? I thought Hunters are supposed to be weak at melee range?” Glistening Moon’s curiosity was piqued. Of course, she was quick to lose interest in that question. For a person like her, a good gossip is always the most important. A sudden realization flashed across her mind, and her eyes immediately lit up. “Why do I smell a scandal going on?” asked Glistening Moon with excitement written all over her face.

Hiya minna-san! Here's an awesome chapter of the awesomesauce novel translated by an awesomtacular translator(which is me, by the way)! Hope y'all enjoy!

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