Chapter 69. Hunting Competition (2)
Boom!
The red-headed fire centipede was chasing Radel, knocking down trees with its massive body.
"Is it because it has many legs? Huff, it's fast."
The centipede was fast.
Faster than the one he had encountered in his past life!
He felt like he wanted to cut off a few of its legs.
However, all Radel could do was lure the centipede as much as possible and run far away.
That way, he could be easily spotted by others.
Shashashak!
The red-headed fire centipede stopped while it was moving.
Radel knew very well what that meant. It was an attack signal.
Whoosh!
A massive flame spewed out from the centipede's mouth.
The red-headed bug could spew out a flame as long as its own body.
The forest burned and smoke billowed up.
It was impossible not to know that he was fighting a monster even from afar.
"Yes, good job!"
This will definitely make me stand out.
Hoping that the assassin somewhere in the hunting ground would find him, Radel ran, avoiding the flames.
But what if the assassin wasn't in the hunting ground?
'I can still catch it on my own.'
Just in case, he had made some preparations.
"Over here!"
Radel shouted to make sure the centipede didn't lose sight of him.
It was to lure it to the waterside he had spotted earlier while collecting ingredients.
* * *
Shashashak!
The red-headed fire centipede swung its long antennae as it chased Radel.
Rumble!
The trees hit by the whip-like antennae fell in succession, and dust flew in all directions.
Radel was horrified at the sight of the enraged monster destroying the forest without mercy.
To completely eliminate any place to hide!
The situation was already difficult to handle without the help of the terrain, as the creature was fast for its size.
He still had a long way to go to reach his target, the waterside.
"This is too much."
The moment Radel avoided a falling tree, the centipede rushed at him with its poisonous fangs open.
'Fast!'
As soon as he dodged the tree, Radel put his hands on the ground and retreated.
The centipede's poisonous fangs cut through the air.
Crunch!
As soon as the red-headed fire centipede felt that it had missed Radel, it immediately turned its head and attacked again.
This time, Radel did not avoid it and swung his sword to block the attack. It was to see how much of a chance he had if he faced it head-on.
Clang!
However, he soon couldn't withstand the centipede's strength and was thrown back violently.
'A frontal confrontation is disadvantageous.'
Radel corrected his posture and turned back towards the forest.
He had to go to a place with many obstacles to buy even a little more time.
But the red-headed fire centipede was not one to just watch.
It immediately spewed flames to block his escape route.
Whoosh!
Radel couldn't avoid it in time and rolled on the ground.
The moment he rolled on the ground, a flame grazed past him. The flesh where the flame had grazed melted away in an instant.
"Ugh!"
At the same time, an alert sound rang in Radel's ears.
Tiring.
[User's body has been damaged.]
[Trait, Troll's Heart, activates.]
[Caution! A strong pain is coming!]
As the Troll's Heart activated to heal the wound, a pain that felt like his flesh was being carved out washed over him.
First, he had to get away before the next attack began.
Without a moment to feel the pain, Radel quickly hid behind a rock in front of him.
He intended to hide as much as possible so as not to be seen and wait for his body to recover.
- Kkieek!
The sound of the red-headed fire centipede, which had spewed flames, roaring was heard.
The centipede, which had been destroying the surroundings in search of Radel, soon judged that he had fled back into the forest and turned its massive body and disappeared.
Shashashak!
'Barely made it out alive.'
Radel, who had waited for the centipede's presence to disappear, caught his breath.
For now, the red-headed fire centipede had gone into the forest, but he couldn't be complacent. There was a high probability that it would track the scent of its prey and return.
'Still, I was lucky.'
It was a stroke of luck that there was a place to take shelter right in front of him.
It was the moment he leaned his head back and relaxed for a moment.
Tiring.
[Skill, Superhuman Intuition, activates.]
[Someone's killing intent is felt.]
[The threat of death approaches!]
'This is activating now?'
At the incessantly ringing alarm, Radel immediately ducked his head.
As soon as Radel ducked his head, he heard the sound of something flying at a high speed.
Swoosh!
And then he also heard the sound of something freezing.
Crack!
A hidden weapon covered in ice fell in front of Radel's feet.
Clink!
So, the hidden weapon that had been aimed at Radel was hit by magic that had flown from somewhere else and had frozen.
Radel raised his head and looked around.
'What is this situation?'
* * *
Rustle.
A figure wearing a mask appeared from a tree.
Seeing the hidden weapons between their fingers, they were undoubtedly an assassin.
Radel examined the assassin.
Even though they were right in front of him, he could barely feel their presence.
'That's the one.'
Somehow, he was certain that this was the one who had been targeting him at the academy.
Knowing that his plan had worked, Radel smiled. Having lured out the assassin, he had pretty much achieved his goal for this hunting competition.
'Smiling?'
The assassin, Tunia Fiore, hardened her face behind her mask upon seeing Radel's smile.
She was dumbfounded to see Radel smiling even in this situation.
'......He must be crazy.'
Radel, who was smiling and looking at Tunia, did not budge from his spot.
He was unable to move due to the pain because the Troll's Heart had activated, but to Tunia's eyes, he even looked relaxed.
Was he not afraid?
Or could it be...
Did he create this situation on purpose?
She had thought it was strange.
When Tunia had given up on waiting for Radel and went to look for him, she honestly hadn't thought she would find him so quickly.
The hunting ground was wider than she thought, and she could have hidden herself if she wanted to.
But then, from afar, she heard the sound of something breaking, and smoke rose from the forest.
It was a commotion that she couldn't ignore even if she wanted to.
It was as if he was shouting, 'I'm here.'
Tunia had come this way just in case.
But the 8th Prince was really here.
'He didn't lure me here on purpose, did he?'
But it was clear that he had something to rely on.
Otherwise, he couldn't be so relaxed when an assassin appeared before him.
'And the way my attack was blocked earlier...'
Tunia's gaze fell on the hidden weapon that had fallen to the ground.
The hidden weapon was lying there, frozen.
It was an attack that should not have missed.
Magic skills that could accurately hit a thrown hidden weapon.
It wasn't the 8th Prince.
He was not skilled enough to shoot magic in that short moment.
'Then who was it?'
Rustle.
Just then, someone walked out from the bushes on the opposite side.
Tunia was convinced upon seeing his identity.
'As expected, he had something to rely on.'
The one who had walked out of the bushes was the 9th Prince, Leon Silvert Cretian.
On his hands, water element magic and fire element magic were spinning and deploying.
The genius of magic who possessed the 'Dragon's Blessing'.
She had seen his innate magical abilities many times while attending the academy. If it was the 9th Prince, he was capable of blocking Tunia's attack.
'I didn't think he would help the 8th Prince.'
The rumors about his relationship with the 8th Prince that had been known until now were revealed to be a complete lie. Tunia gritted her teeth, looking at them, who looked exactly the same except for their hair length.
'To deceive people so perfectly!'
Tunia had thoroughly investigated the relationships of the people around the 8th Prince while preparing for the assassination.
According to publicly known information, the relationship between the 8th Prince and the 9th Prince was worse than that of strangers.
But to think that they were close enough to set a trap together in a moment like this.
The 9th Prince brazenly opened his mouth.
"I'm the one who's going to kill that guy. What are you?"
A cold expression that made it seem like he really wanted to get rid of the 8th Prince.
A tone of voice that made it seem like his target had been stolen.
It was an act that almost fooled even Tunia, a first-class assassin who thoroughly controlled her emotions.
But she was not fooled.
She had already figured out their dark intentions.
'I won't let either of them get away with this.'
* * *
Meanwhile, Radel was still watching the situation.
The appearance of the assassin was what he had hoped for.
But the sudden appearance of Leon was completely unexpected.
And he even blocked the attack thrown by the assassin.
'Did he have a change of heart?'
He wondered if it was a signal to get along as twin brothers from now on, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Radel could guess what was going on after hearing Leon's words.
That guy didn't come here to hunt.
He was planning to kill me from the beginning if he had the chance!
He had been so quiet at the academy lately, not even picking fights, so I thought he had gotten better.
Could it be that he has a disease where he periodically wants to kill his brother...?
Radel decided to understand it with his broad mind.
No matter how talented Leon was at using magic, he was only 17.
It was a time when one was dissatisfied with the world.
'I was like that too.'
Radel alone understood Leon's actions and came to a conclusion.
I'll watch for a bit, and if it seems like it's not going to work, I'll have to do something.
I hope physical therapy is effective...
To be honest, he was still not confident that he could beat that guy with brute force.
In the meantime, Tunia and Leon were in a tense standoff.
"You'd better stay out of it. Get out of here. Or your life is forfeit too."
At Leon's threat, Tunia did not flinch.
Rather, her heart was sinking even colder.
'He really cares about his one and only brother, doesn't he?'
She couldn't help but laugh at the way he was trying to protect the 8th Prince.
Tunia silently pointed at Radel with her finger and then made a throat-slitting gesture. It was a clear declaration of challenge.
Leon accepted the challenge.
"Foolish."
To throw away the chance to live even when it was given.
"I really hate it when someone interferes."
No sooner had Leon finished speaking than the water and fire elements revolving around him began to increase in size.
Radel admired Leon's way of pouring in pure magic power in a ridiculously large amount. It was a simple but best way to increase the power of element magic.
Indeed, having a lot of magic power was the best.
Leon shot the greatly enlarged element magic at Tunia.
Bang!
Swoosh!
Tunia dodged and threw poison needles at Leon.
Dozens of poison needles sparkled and decorated the air.
Each one was a poison needle coated with a deadly poison.
But Leon was not to be trifled with either.
Clang!
He immediately cast wind magic and freezing magic simultaneously and froze all the poison needles.
The frozen poison needles rained down to the ground. The power was so strong that steam came out of Radel's mouth, who was behind them.
Radel could not stop his admiration as he watched the terrifying exchange of blows between the two.
'They're both amazing.'
Tiring.
[User's body has been restored.]
Just then, an alert was heard that his recovery was complete thanks to the Troll's Heart.
Still, it somehow felt like he should stay still.
Looking at them fighting, it seemed that Leon and the assassin had forgotten that Radel was here.
'Anyway, I should just stay still.'
Radel decided to wait quietly for now.