Chapter 5: Crisis

The first place he visited was naturally the unlucky neighbor's house, which had suffered misfortune last night, and at this moment, it was very likely hiding an unknown monster, posing no small threat.

"I hope it's not a Goblin, let alone a Dark Skeleton!"

Seeing the front door entirely separated and shattered, no longer resembling its original form, Gu Ran's heart sank.

Such destruction could not have been caused by a Goblin. Based on the one he had killed yesterday, Goblins were similarly humanoid creatures, even shorter than average humans, and could not possibly possess such terrifying strength.

If it wasn't a Goblin, then what could it be—could it actually be a Dark Skeleton?

With a heavy heart, Gu Ran did not dare to rashly enter the house. If his guess was correct, the monster from last night must have been of the strong and sturdy type; entering a confined space recklessly, when facing such a creature, would be a true limitation on himself.

Of course, that's if the monster was still there!

Picking up a broken piece of the door from the ground, he tossed it into the house through the doorway.

"Clatter"!

The wooden plank hit the floor with a quiet thud, and at the same time, Gu Ran's gaze swept tightly across every part of the interior, his Mechanical Bow already drawn to full.

As it turned out, Gu Ran's response was textbook perfect; almost at the instant the plank hit the floor, a dark shadow rushed out from the adjacent bedroom.

Although its speed was not fast, its physique was extremely frightening.

Nearly two and a half meters tall, it was like a small giant, its bulging muscles could make the past champions of the world bodybuilding competition blush with shame, and its sharp, blood-stained fangs glinted with a cold light, ferocious and terrifying.

In its hand was a nearly man-tall Black Rock Axe; Gu Ran even felt that a casual swing could easily bisect his waist.

Without time to feel panic, his right hand, holding the bowstring, instinctively released, and the arrow shot out like a streak of cold light.

Because the monster was facing downwards, the arrow did not hit its head but plunged into its neck, which was also a precise hit to a vital spot.

However, Gu Ran did not feel the slightest joy at this. Compared to the creature's neck, which was as thick as his waist, the arrow seemed just like a slightly thick steel needle, piercing straight into the monster's flesh and skin, but as for inflicting serious damage, Gu Ran himself did not believe it.

What was more distressing was that after this arrow, he had successfully replaced the piece of wood on the ground and became the primary target of the monster before him.

After making eye contact with the monster's blood-red eyes for a second, the attribute pane about the creature also appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Ogre (Common)]

[Race: Ogre]

[Level: 1]

[Weapon: Black Rock Axe]

[Skill: Mighty Blow]

[Traits: Strong Body, possessing terrifying strength, prefers to eat humans, slower speed.]

...…

"An Ogre, huh."

After viewing the attributes panel before him, a gleam flashed in Gu Ran's eyes, feeling not alarmed but rather pleased.

This monster might be strong, but speed was its weakness. With a Mechanical Bow in hand, as long as he didn't confront it head-on, its threat was even less than the Goblin from yesterday.

Although it seemed like he was just analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the ogre, Gu Ran's thoughts never stopped for a moment. He quickly came up with a strategy, quickly retreating along the corridor and heading toward the staircase, all the while firing arrow after arrow without slowing his pace.

As for the target of his attacks, if it wasn't the ogre's eyes, then it was its neck.

Even though he could feel the thick scent of blood emanating from the ogre and couldn't help but feel a substantial amount of pressure, Gu Ran didn't lose his composure.

Compared to the goblin from yesterday, this ogre was obviously tougher, which also meant that it was extremely difficult to kill. This made his already limited supply of arrows even more precious—each shot had to hit its mark or else, what would he do once he ran out of arrows, engage the monster in close combat?

Rushing up to the fourth floor along the stairs, Gu Ran took advantage of the ogre's slow ascent to shoot two more precise arrows, adding two more arrows to its head, which prompted a fierce roar from the creature.

Gu Ran's actions didn't stop there; he drew his bow halfway again, ready to release a third arrow. At such a moment, he wanted to fire as many shots as possible.

However, he suddenly noticed the ogre's form pause abruptly below, and its arm—one as thick as a normal person's thigh—raised fiercely.

Right after that, the black rock axe in its hand turned into a dark blur and hurled toward him at an incredibly fast speed, catching Gu Ran by surprise at the entrance to the staircase.

He never expected that the ogre could throw its stone axe—a weapon nearly as tall as himself!

"Could it be its 'Mighty Blow' ability?"

Seeing the ghostly glow flashing on the axe as it approached, Gu Ran was about eighty percent certain.

There wasn't enough time to wonder why the words "Mighty Blow" suggested a ranged attack; the black rock axe had already flown close to him.

With no time to dodge, he could only lightly shift his body by instinct and the next second, Gu Ran felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder.

Immediately after, there was a loud "bang" from behind him; the stone axe embedded itself directly into the wall at the end of the corridor, stones flying everywhere.

Without the presence of mind to pay attention to what happened behind him, only two words surfaced in Gu Ran's mind at that moment.

"Finished!"

In his view, after that strike, his left arm was probably rendered useless. In the current environment, losing an arm was almost tantamount to a death sentence.

His head stiffly turned to look at the wound on his left shoulder, and Gu Ran's ashen face suddenly relaxed—the injury seemed much less severe than he had anticipated. The expected bone fracture had not occurred; though it was a bloody mess, in reality, only a layer of flesh had been shaved off without damaging the bone.

With this realization, his will to survive burst forth uncontrollably. He quickly scrambled up from his fallen position, not even bothering to pick up the mechanical bow lying to one side.

"Escape!"

This was the only thought that filled Gu Ran's entire mind at that moment.

Even though he moved hastily, it was still a bit too late—the ogre too had reached the entrance of the corridor and was close at hand.

Feeling the hot, foul breath from the ogre's nostrils and seeing the cold, gleaming nails of its large hand swinging toward him,

For some reason, at that instant, Gu Ran felt as though the whole world had quieted down, and the ogre's attack seemed to slow to a motion.

Of course, it was all an illusion. The ogre's swinging hand was still fast, but at that moment, Gu Ran's mind was operating on overdrive, his reaction speed greatly enhanced.

However, this didn't mean the crisis was non-existent. There's a saying that fits well here,

The body can't keep up with the reactions.

Gu Ran's current state was the truest reflection of this saying. Although his reactions were quick enough, with his current physical condition, there was absolutely no way he could perform an evasive move with extreme speed.