The forest was calm. Ambient sounds of crickets and birds chirping could be heard. However, to the five people standing around a corpse, the world was anything but calm. They all wore various expressions as they stared at the dead body of their commander.
Green Kirin was the absolute commander and backbone of the present hunting parties. They had all been handpicked and trained by him, and they were immensely loyal. To them, the man had been a godly existence, and they never once did the thought of him dying so miserably ever cross their minds.
However, reality was, the man had been hit right on the carotid artery. Based on the angle of entry, the man had bled out in seconds, his vision fading before his nearest allies even got close to him.
Before they even had a chance to react, the nobleman overseeing the operation had already contacted them. From his tone, they could tell that Maxiell was extremely pissed off.
Looking at her team, Harriet had a complicated expression. On one hand, she was overwhelmed with grief. The man lying dead before her had been her idol. Whenever he was around, she felt there was nothing they could not achieve. On the other hand, she was extremely wary of the enemy they had been sent to kill.
As the second in command and the team's best shot, Harriet had been the one holding the smart rifle, firing off smart bullets. Since she had received the rifle more than five weeks ago, she had been training with it nonstop.
Smart bullets were expensive, but with special virtual technology, she could scan the weapon's design. After that, she could practice with the rifle as much as possible, without worrying about wasting the precious real world bullets.
By now, Harriet was very familiar with the weapon. She had managed to cut down her loading and locking time to 0.8 seconds, and she was very confident of her shots. In her mind, this should have been an easy task to waste the group.
However, not only had they failed in their assassination attempt, but the group had also counter-attacked while fleeing. This was why Golden Kirin had been caught off-guard.
As the main assailant, she did not even understand how the group had managed to escape their grasp, despite her continuous onslaught. The only explanation was that the man who had managed to block her attacks was one of those rumored superhuman experts. In that case, her team of five might not stand a chance.
"Everyone, pack up the gear, store away the kills," Harriet said. After the death of Golden Kirin, she was the second in command. Naturally, it fell to her to calm down her colleagues and lead the team. "We are going after them."
"Hold on, are we sure they did not drown?" Justin asked. He was one of the melee battlers in the team. While hunting usually involved seating on a high position and sniping the targets, sometimes, you needed to get down and get your hands dirty, and this was where he came in.
There were three long range hunters and two melee battlers. Golden Kirin had been so good that he could fit in either group.
"We have our orders. In any case, we still have to find their corpses, and avenge our commander." Her words reminded the group that the people they were going after had the gall to kill their commander. The group quickly organized themselves and started following the river bank.
"Watch your six, the enemy this time is not simple," she whispered. If he was what she suspected him to be, there was no way in hell such a person would perish from drowning in the river, especially considering that he could still counter-attack as he dove, and the river's current was not that great.
Step by step, the team moved forward. They were very well coordinated, each person watching the other's back. Even an expert would have a hard time sneaking up on them, or so they thought.
The river was quite wide. Its banks also has pocket water, places were the river rocks obstructed the turbulent and chaotic currents, leading to calmer water. These places were particularly attractive to fish and all manners of river flora. Reeds were very common.
In one of these pockets, Cate was crouching while tightly holding the bamboo stick she was using to breath underwater. As a skilled hunter, she had the patience and timing to pull off one successful ambush. She was relying on Haiser and the others to take down the rest of the group once she had subdued the last person in the group.
Patiently, she waited. Several minutes had passed since they had chosen this place. By now, her skin was already wrinkly from all the water around her, but she still held on. After watching her people die one after another, she had a cold determination. In her mind, she could help thinking that this would be a sweet revenge for them.
Soon, the first person among the assailants appeared in her vision. They held a powerful looking long gun. Looking at the weapon, her face grimaced. They were hopelessly outgunned. Her team did not have a single weapon. Even Haiser had lost his gun in the river.
Critical seconds passed, as she waited for the group to make their way past her. She was the one to initiate the attack, but her timing had to be perfect. If she screwed up, she would be demolished by those powerful weapons the enemies were holding.
Finally, she caught sight of the last guy, since there was no one else behind them. He too was holding a long gun, which made sense. As he got closer to her, her heart was madly beating and her breath was becoming shot and sharp. She almost caused the bamboo stick to let out a whistle, but she managed to hold back.
Soon, the man would be right above her, the perfect opportunity to strike. She had to be patient, now more than ever. Her attack had to sudden, unexpected, and full of shock and awe. She readied herself.
30 feet .... 20... 10... 2 ...
Splash!