Monarch of Evernight - Chapter 606

Chapter 606: 606

Chapter 606: Obstinate Enemy [V6C136 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]

A dense rain of bullets flew over, however, a surge of demonic energy actually emerged from the forest and flushed away the projectiles . Thereafter appeared a silhouette with a long sniper rifle strapped to his back .

“It’s you?!” The two spoke at the same time . Although their languages were different, it didn’t deter them from understanding one another’s words and emotions .

Qianye’s joy regarding his imminent breakthrough had been wiped away entirely . Meanwhile, that pained expression on Eden’s face revealed his gloomy mood .

The many days of sleepless battles had long since become an endless torture for the two opponents .

Qianye simply picked a random defensive region from the vast Misty Wood, and it was quite a distance from their last battlefield, too .

There was a dagger in Eden’s right hand, while his left hand was shrouded in black demonic energy . At a glance, the latter almost looked like a round shield . There were two obvious bullet marks on his chest plate, but the bullets hadn’t penetrated his armor .

Apparently, his hurriedly activated defenses had blocked the attacks from the Bloody Datura and Mystic Spider Lily . Moreover, he was prepared to counterattack at melee range .

The demonkin’s so-called frail constitution was only relative to the other dark races . It didn’t mean a human could easily take advantage of it . Many demonkin were also quite powerful in melee battles by virtue of their odd but powerful abilities—these skills weren’t any less troublesome than human secret arts .

Dark Abyss was one of the famed demonkin clans . The corrosive power of their primary talents had inflicted distress upon countless enemies on the battlefield . Sometimes, a cloud of demonic energy would mow down a swathe of enemies . Moreover, it also served to diminish some of the special effects produced by human champions .

Eden was an important character in the Dark Abyss and the Evernight Council . What he relied upon wasn’t just his outstanding bloodline and his inborn talents—he was just as remarkable in melee combat .

The ambush this time had come at a fairly short distance, no longer within optimal sniping range . Since the other party couldn’t even blast through his defenses, Eden decided to eliminate the enemy at melee range instead of using a roundabout method .

This course of action couldn’t be more correct . In truth, the only problem was that he had encountered Qianye this time .

Qianye’s gaze fell upon Eden’s blade . The latter’s expression shifted yet again, almost as if the dagger was suddenly heating up in his hand .

The reason was simple . Melee battles might not be Eden’s weak point, but against Qianye with his heavy sword and armor, weak had become a gross understatement . The two had only ever engaged in a single meaningful close-quarter battle . Back then, Eden was nearly hacked into two along with his blade . From then on, he had made it his top priority to stay away from Qianye’s melee range .

But now, they had arrived at an awkward distance .

The two glanced at one another but neither made the first move .

Qianye was moved—this was the first time he had seen Eden clearly in full view . His first reaction was that the Li family’s sketch was about 80% accurate, and then a sense of familiarity emerged once again . He felt as though he had seen this demonkin somewhere .

Eden made the prompt decision to flee . Qianye, of course, wouldn’t let such an enemy escape so easily .

It was almost like they had gone back to several days ago . The two once again started their unending entanglement .

Perhaps an evenly matched opponent was the best grinding stone . Both parties felt that the other was becoming more and more troublesome . Every battle was incomparably perilous—a slight mistake would leave each combatant with a new injury .

Although Eden could hardly retaliate in melee combat, he could now block a couple of blows from Qianye . This was a stark contrast from the first exchange where he was almost killed . This difference was enough to give him some space to maneuver and extricate himself from melee range .

But similarly, Eden’s hiding abilities were no longer as effective as before . It was becoming difficult to maintain an optimal firing distance for the Carol of Shadows . Several times he had been discovered by Qianye even before he could pull the trigger . What ensued was a frantic tempest of counterattacks, effectively turning the hunter into the hunted .

Several days went by in this fashion . Qianye was starting to feel fatigued in both body and spirit . His aura was also growing empty, and he needed to rely on the Glory Chapter even after drinking the giant tree sap . Otherwise, the absorption would be reduced drastically .

But a battle could break out at any moment—a few minutes of cultivation time had become an extravagant activity . Moreover, there were significant risks involved .

Qianye was just planning to take a break when he suddenly turned back and saw Eden not so far away .

This was also a side-effect of their prolonged conflict . The safe distance between them was shrinking day by day—they would usually discover each other at the same time, and at a distance that was neither fit for sniping or melee combat .

For Qianye, he couldn’t break Eden’s defenses without merging the Twin Flowers . However, the time it would take to combine the guns was enough for Eden to escape . Eden’s handgun, on the other hand, did possess enough firepower, but that powerful heavy sword would descend upon him should he fail to injure the other party sufficiently .

This encounter was no different . Qianye had in his hand a piece of dried meat, a part of the empire’s standard field rations . Eden was holding onto a bottle of medicine and had just finished applying the contents to half of his wounds . The demonkin scion’s external appearance was even more miserable than Qianye . There were dark circles around his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken . Moreover, there were several bleeding wounds on his body that hadn’t yet healed .

The two didn’t move immediately and proceeded to standoff in silence .

“Pfft!” Qianye spat out the remaining meat in his mouth . Eden poured the remaining medicine onto his wounds and placed a hand on his handgun .

Qianye was often more cautious of those handguns than that ridiculously shaped sniper rifle . In Eden’s eyes, there was a sense of great danger emerging from Qianye’s body . It was as though a primordial beast were hiding within .

Qianye had also noticed how the safe distance between them was shrinking constantly . This meant that both of them were walking on the razor’s edge—the competition was no longer just about strategy and techniques, but also involved a great deal of luck . And the latter was the most unreliable of resources on the battlefield .

Qianye pondered briefly whether or not he should just use the Shot of Inception and finish off this powerful enemy . However, Eden’s abilities were growing endlessly, especially the ability to extricate himself from being targeted and flee at great speeds . Qianye wasn’t quite confident that he could strike Eden squarely, at which point he would be at the mercy of the enemy .

Both sides were apprehensive . After a while, they retreated at the same time and faded into the mist . Since neither was confident about their chances, it was best to restart the round and see who would become the hunter .

Their combat styles had changed unknowingly . They were no longer going all out with their lives on the line but patiently probing each other from afar . Both of them would retreat after missing a shot .

Their combat skills were also being tempered on the verge of life and death . Presently, any small movement by one of them would be promptly detected and countered by the other .

They were like brilliant chess players . They kept sounding out their opponents repeatedly but produced no killing moves . They simply couldn’t find the right opportunity, and neither would they give one to their opponents . The end result was the exhaustion of stamina without any serious injuries .

Perhaps they themselves hadn’t quite noticed how their combat skills were improving by leaps and bounds . Their battle, at this point, could already be called a form of art .

Qianye had gradually formed a strategy—what he had to do in order to finish Eden off was to pay the price to approach melee range, and then end the game with a Nirvanic Rend . This price, however, was bound to be a grievous injury . But Eden was no slouch, either . He definitely wouldn’t give Qianye this opportunity .

Not long after retreating, Qianye rushed back toward the battlefield . This time, he made no attempt at concealing his aura, making himself a prime target for Eden and his heavy sniper . Qianye believed that Eden wouldn’t let such an attractive target pass by .

It was indeed extremely enticing . Eden hesitated several times but finally decided to take action . He knew that this was a trap, and he had no intention of going too deep . He didn’t expect to kill Qianye in one shot, either—it was enough if he could injure the other party and tip the scales slightly in his favor .

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Eden knew that they were no longer evenly matched, and this only worsened after he was injured . Qianye’s defenses were ridiculously powerful, and his regenerative abilities were almost unbelievable . If this were to go on, he would have to either admit defeat and retreat, or become the loser in this blood-letting strategy .

Blood sprayed out from Qianye’s body following the crisp rumble of a gunshot, the impact throwing his entire body back by a meter . But Qianye neither rushed forward as Eden had expected, nor did he draw East Peak . Instead, the Twin Flowers appeared in his hand and merged into one .

An area of crystalline ripples appeared on Qianye’s palms . There were vaguely enchanting flowers pulsing in and out of view, seemingly on the verge of blooming .

A sense of extreme danger emerged in Eden’s heart . What he saw wasn’t the beautiful scene of the merging Twin Flowers, but instead, the aura in Qianye’s body awakening like a primordial beast .

Eden couldn’t care about anything else and fled immediately with a loud hiss . He erupted with power and pushed his speed to the extremes, covering a thousand meters in the blink of an eye . He was virtually flying at this point, leaving behind billowing waves of demonic energy .

A beam of light appeared silently on his trail . Nothing in the way could stop it, be it the giant trees, the purple substance, or the mist—everything vanished quietly, just like the shrinking demonic energy .

The light quickly devoured the demonic energy trail, but Eden’s fleeing figure deviated slightly at this point . The light brushed past his body in silence and produced a hole in the giant tree trunk up front .

Even so, Eden didn’t manage to evade the entirety of the attack . The armor on his arm was completely destroyed, and a large patch of his flesh was charred black . The dark area soon turned into a greyish white powder which quickly scattered in the wind . A large part of his arm had actually been shaved off, even revealing the bones .

Eden howled loudly as his demonic energy erupted yet again . The threads of energy shot toward the front where they formed a hexagonal tunnel of sorts . This peculiar tunnel completely ignored the trees and branches in the vicinity, as though it had appeared in a different dimension altogether . Eden moved twice as fast after stepping into this tunnel and soon vanished into the distance .

When Qianye arrived, all he saw were a few strands of undispersed demonic energy .

“Demonic Traversal! Goddammit!” Qianye halted his steps hatefully .