Deep in the overgrown forest, two figures darted between the trees—one fleeing, the other in pursuit.
Davy's expression was hard, his eyes cold. Sharp branches tore countless new wounds across his arms, legs, and face, but he didn't slow for even a heartbeat. He ran as if death itself nipped at his heels.
"Gu-huhuhu… Why're you running? That glare you gave earlier was terrifying—I almost thought you wanted to kill me."
The mocking voice echoed behind him.
Davy ignored it completely, weaving left and right, slipping into the densest patches of foliage.
"Bang! … Bang! … Bang!"
Gunshots cracked through the forest, sending flocks of birds screaming into the sky.
Bullets punched into tree trunks beside him, scattering splinters that embedded deep into his back. Each impact left dark streaks of blood as he kept running.
When the pirate paused to reload, Davy spun around in a fluid motion—bow raised, arrow drawn—and fired without hesitation.
He didn't check whether it hit; he merely turned and sprinted again.
Behind him, the pirate slashed the incoming arrow in two, rage flashing across his face. His unkempt beard trembled as he snarled.
"Bastard! If I catch you, you'll beg me to let you die! I'll make you regret not killing yourself when you had the chance!"
Davy's expression remained icy, unmoved.
Shouting threats while sprinting was nothing but stupidity—it gave away one's location, made breathing uneven, and disrupted stamina.
"Hiss—ha…"
"Hiss—ha…"
His chest burned as though flames roared within, evaporating every drop of saliva in his throat. His raw airways felt like they were being scorched from the inside.
The wind howled against the cuts covering his body, stinging like fire.
His limbs, neck, face, wrists, ankles—all of them were covered in thin, crisscrossing wounds, each small but together forming a constant, suffocating ache.
His ragged breathing sounded like sandstorms rushing through a broken bellows.
Anyone hearing it would feel their scalp tighten in sympathy.
And yet…
There was no pain on Davy's face.
He moved calmly, silently, slipping through the forest like a ghost.
If not for the slight twitch of his cheek when sweat dripped into an open wound, one might think he couldn't feel pain at all.
Time stretched strangely while he ran, like an unwelcome guest refusing to leave.
After leading the pirate through a labyrinth of twists and turns, Davy finally reached his destination.
"Here."
Through each exchange earlier, he had already gauged the gap between their abilities.
A direct fight held no chance of victory.
But surrender?
Never.
A hunter's strength wasn't in frontal combat—it was in tracking and ambush.
He could never overpower the massive beasts lurking in these woods.
But he could trap them.
He could bleed them out.
He was weak.
Even a stronger wild boar could kill him with a single strike.
But so what?
Those arrogant beasts ultimately ended up as meat roasting over a fire.
Physical power mattered, but in a true life-and-death struggle, brains and psychological fortitude mattered more.
Davy slowed to a stop and supported himself on his knees, greedily gulping down the cool air.
Once his breathing steadied, he raised his bow again—aimed at the pirate crashing through the brush moments later.
"Why aren't you running? Go on—run!"
The pirate sneered and lifted his flintlock.
Before he could fire, Davy released the string.
"Whsshh—"
The arrow shot forward with a low hum, headed straight for the pirate's face.
The man jerked backward just in time, dodging the shot.
Seeing Davy turn and flee again, his fury surged.
"You little shit! I'll kill you!"
He roared and fired.
Pain exploded in Davy's right thigh. Blood splattered across the forest floor. His steps faltered, his speed dropping sharply.
The pirate hesitated, then lowered his gun.
No—he wouldn't shoot again.
He wanted to catch Davy alive.
He wanted to break him.
He wanted revenge.
A twisted grin crawled across his scarred face.
"I'll make you regret being born, boy."
His imagination ran wild—how to torture him, how many bones to break, how long he could make him scream.
Pretty boy like that… break the limbs first. That'd last a while.
Just as he let his fantasies swell—
His right foot stepped onto something strange.
Before he could react—
Agony tore through his leg.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
The pirate collapsed, shrieking.
He reached out to support himself, but his right hand was yanked upward violently instead.
Hearing the wail behind him, Davy finally stopped.
Expression blank, he raised his bow again.
"No—wait! I was wrong! Please! Don't kill me—I don't want to die!"
"Whsshh—"
"ARGH!"
Another scream.
The arrow pinned his right arm, crippling his last functioning limb before he could struggle free.
"Bang!"
The pirate's flintlock hit the ground and discharged from the impact, kicking up soil.
Suspended in the air—his legs mangled inside the iron jaws of a bear trap—the man finally understood he would not survive this encounter.
His eyes reddened, bloodshot, trembling with pain and hatred.
Then—he laughed.
"Hahaha… I already enjoyed everything I wanted in life. The captain will avenge me."
With a sudden jerk, he wrapped the trap's hanging rope around his own neck.
His scarred face turned purple as he strangled himself—but he kept laughing, hate burning in his eyes as he glared at Davy.
These monsters… were no longer human.
Davy inhaled deeply.
No hesitation remained.
He drew his bow one last time.
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