LIX: Sniper Battle.

It was quiet, too quiet, you couldn't hear the occasional bird song, the sounds of animals, or even the sound of the wind in the leaves of the trees. The atmosphere was filled with an absolute and eerie silence, but it all had a reason. 

Axel was in the canopy of a tree, with an energy bow in his hand and a posture that indicated he was about to attack; his eyes carefully checked the situation in front of him, and he even used some spiritual techniques to search for his target, but he was without a trace. 

This was a rather tense battle for the boy, who had to take on this mission because there was no good archer available to do it, and his mother was too busy fighting a rather troublesome elven army woman to take on such a task.

But that didn't take away from the difficulty of the task at hand, as his enemy was another talented archer like himself, and the battle quickly escalated into a classic sniper duel, where one arrow would be the end for the enemy. Sensing something faint, Axel was not alarmed, it could be a decoy of the enemy, so he wanted to confirm it before any offensive action.

A small mirror made of spiritual power appeared in front of him, reflecting the situation he wanted, but it was only a small rhinoceros rabbit, you know, the typical rabbit with a horn on its head that is usual in fantasy stories. But he didn't dismiss it so soon but marked that he focused on the rabbit, noticing something abnormal in its eyes. 

As he pondered what that could be, he felt an immense danger heading towards him, specifically towards his forehead, so he tilted his head, watching as an arrow made of crimson magical power passed in front of him and slammed into the tree. Without waiting any longer, his figure became a blur as he jumped from the tree, which ended up exploding exploding.

Swiftly he jumped from branch to branch, moving through the forest while evading several arrows with different shades, indicating their peculiar effects. No matter how he hid, he could always feel an arrow heading towards him, and the biggest warning sign was always placed on his forehead as if his enemy was provoking him by directing all his attacks on that part of his body.

As he moved, he noticed some birds flying in the sky, with his excellent eyesight he noticed that they were normal, but then he realized that they were 'too normal', then he launched an arrow upwards, hitting one of those creatures. When his whitish arrow hit the bird, it dissolved strangely, making Axel smile, as he deciphered one of his enemy's tricks.

The bastard could create projections of animals that were connected to his senses, so when he saw the rabbit through his technique, it was located. A good hunter needs to know when another creature is watching or sensing him, otherwise, he would not be a hunter, and that kind of extra sense can be extrapolated to things like projections, clones, or like Axel, his arrows. 

So he disposed of the remaining birds and nearby animals before disappearing in a flash and hiding again. This situation caused his hidden enemy, a beautiful blonde elf, to smack her lips in annoyance. She was holding a huge bow made of unknown materials and was looking at the last place Axel had been before he slipped away. 

"This human has a bow made of strange energy, the same energy as his arrows, plus the energy he uses for other strange techniques, so the use of artifacts can be ruled out and it can be said to be his energy. 

The human has excellent extrasensory perception, although it shows a little green, he is cautious enough, and he learns quickly, and his mind is flexible enough to realize one of my tricks. 

His power is not magical power or vitality, but it is similar to a strange energy that some beings on the eastern side of the continent occasionally use, and it could be considered the third most extraordinary energy in this world. 

This is... fascinating," the woman concluded, as she stood on the top of a tree and looked into the distance, trying to find Axel visually.

Here we can make a comparison regarding the size of his bow, as he was taller than her, the elf being 1.80m tall. But the arrows were of normal size, which could be explained by an excellent control of her magical power. 

Axel, who was hiding behind a tree, breathed a little excitedly as he tried to find out something more about his enemy, but apart from the obvious conclusion that his arrows had multiple effects and how flexible he was in using them, he couldn't get any more. Still, the flame of battle burned in his eyes, he could finally experience a battle to his liking, and it refreshed him. 

Since he was able to see his future path and implement it, even training with his companions did not allow him to do his best. He couldn't bombard his friends with thousands of energy arrows, could he? Moreover, he felt that his comrades had limited themselves in training, so the tendency to pick fights with suitable enemies spread to everyone, and everyone became a kind of fighting maniac. 

"One hit, I only need one arrow this time," Axel whispered as his spiritual energy retreated deep into his body, causing his bow to disappear and a pair of jewel bracelets to appear on his wrists. 

"Luckily, Seone always makes me train my body so I can do this," Axel taunted as he resumed his movement in the forest, using only the power of his own body for his movements.

He felt that sooner or later his enemy would find him by sensing his energy, so he simply stopped using it and better started preparing for the single attack he wanted to perform, while he actively searched for her. Along the way, he encountered several strange animals in his perception, but he did not observe them directly and used his stealth ability to avoid them. 

Soon, although he did not know if he was close to his enemy, his sex sense indicated that he was, so he quickly slipped behind some dense bushes and began to wait. His body became rigid, his heart barely beating and his breathing almost nonexistent.

A good hunter has patience, he can stay as long as it takes to strike the fatal blow, and he was the son of the best hunter in the army, he wasn't going to let that name go to waste. 

At first, the elf felt something strange in her area, but after several magical scans and then checking with her animal projections, she found nothing strange or different. No smells, no signs of heat, and even no changes in her memory, so she dismissed the thought.

In her arrogance, she did not think that her enemy would actively seek her out, let alone hide in the vicinity of where she was since she had a strong bias against humanity. Humans are cunning, maybe this guy had already fled the battle and didn't stay with her. 

Still, she waited and had her creatures check the area and nearby areas where she could keep her animal projections, but finding nothing, she felt she had won the battle. Preparing to leave, the woman braced herself and jumped into the air, and it was at that moment that everything became painful for her and then .... disconnected, there was no more pain, there was no more anything else. 

Her life disappeared the moment she relaxed, confident in her success and that she was superior to the human who could only run away. Her body became a mist of blood, but the most special thing about that moment was not that, nor was it her. It was Axel's attack.

You see, when the elf retracted her senses, dispelled her creations, and prepared to jump, Axel did not look at her but relied on his perception to know what his enemy would do. He never saw his opponent, he never even knew that she was indeed a beautiful woman. No, he did everything simply trusting that he would hit, and he did not doubt that his arrow would kill her with one blow.

When she jumped, Axel made his bow appear and quickly drew it, creating a white arrow, but strangely, neither Axel's presence nor the presence of his energy could be felt. The bow and arrow they were holding were made of super-compressed spiritual energy, and nine orbs were floating around his arrow as if orbiting it.

"Houyi shot into the sky and knocked down nine suns, I'm not as skilled as him yet, but shooting down an enemy would be easy, right?" his arrow was released, and there was no sound, no sonic boom, no remnant flash or anything like that.

Just a nondescript arrow, followed by nine bullets that flew and immediately hit the elven woman's back, then the nine bullets exploded one after the other, amplifying the explosion of the next one. 

The last explosion was really special, as if a sun had descended to earth, the vision of this attack was seen and felt by many beings, not only those who were in the forest, but in a large part of the continent. This effect was intentional, for that sun conveyed something that everyone who saw or felt it understood. 

Today an elf, tomorrow gods' in a very arrogant way, Axel raised his middle finger to every intelligent being with arrogance, why? Because he wanted to go crazy for a moment, he felt that elves were too arrogant for his taste.

They're always made out to be the best archers in fantasy, and it's always ignored that humans also have excellent stories, even if they're fictional. Well, Houyi was something like a god, but he was mortal, ergo human. Well, that's the reasoning of Axel at that moment, who looked at the spectacle he had created with an arrogant smile, but then calmed down and left the place.

He knew that what he had done was somehow very stupid, and that's why he ran away after removing his traces, he didn't want to expose himself, not now. So even though he did it, he was very careful to remove his tracks and any clues that it was him. Along the way, he picked up some remnants of the elf, a special medal in fact, that could prove that he had indeed completed his mission.

Although the humans could tell it was him, his caution was not directed at them, yes, Axel knew how terrible his compatriots could be, but in this cruel world where humans were not the only intelligent creatures, some things were not as shady as on Earth or in some fantasy stories he read. 

But Axel complained that his attack was not supposed to leave any debris, but he had to limit himself just to get that stupid medal, but hey, at least he could take a break shortly. Besides, he wondered if Jessica had finished her homework and if he could see her at the camp, he wanted to tell her everything that happened to him that day.

As he jumped from branch to branch like certain ninjas in fiction, Axel couldn't help but be jealous of Seone.

"Ah, he got his waifu soon, I'm just working on getting Jessica's hand..., if you compare things, you'll always lose in the end," Axel said self-critically, but with a smile on his face, he liked how slow it was going with Jessica, he felt things were nicer and more to his liking.

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AN: Today's first chapter~ Please comment and give stars so more people can read this!