Jerry encountered several teams, and after a brief discussion, they used an expensive scroll to summon a spirit dog. The spirit dog sniffed out several crossbow bolts and then ran wildly through the woods with the dog.
The spirit dog was indeed effective, leading the group through the forest along the Aruru people's route. Although they were adversaries, everyone was amazed by Barbaro's escape skills. Near the edge of the forest, the spirit dog suddenly stopped, circling back and forth between several large trees. Finally, it stopped under the largest tree and barked a few times.
Overjoyed, the group quickly dispersed and surrounded the large tree. They divided the tasks efficiently: four men stood on the outer circle, guarding their surroundings with crossbows; five men in the middle pointed their crossbows at the treetop; and three men in the inner circle—Jerry and two others—fired crossbow bolts with nets attached, completely enveloping the tree trunk.
After doing all this, the three men began shooting arrows into the treetops, but there was no response.
Everyone was puzzled. Finally, Jerry mustered up his courage and climbed the tree, only to find a few crossbow bolts and a cloak.
Their large commotion had already alerted Yun Zhe in the tree, who was quite surprised that they had caught up with him. But when he heard them mention the word "good dog" in their conversation, he instantly understood. Time was of the essence, so Yun Zhe quickly changed into a new cloak he had bought at the night market, moved to another tree further away, and then sprayed all the spices he had bought all over his body. Everything was ready; all he had to do was pray that the hunters wouldn't find him.
With the results evident, Yun Zhe felt much more at ease. Seeing that they had no luck, the hunters, along with their hounds, rushed towards the woods on the other side of the road. Yun Zhe thought of those Aruru people and felt uneasy, but figured their escape skills were top-notch, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
At this point, he felt he had finally escaped a disaster. Yun Zhe jumped down from the tree and approached the large tree. He was curious about what those nets were, but before he had taken two steps, several crossbow bolts were shot from the opposite side. Yun Zhe hurriedly dodged them. Then he heard a shout, and the group of hunters rushed back, pouncing on Yun Zhe.
"How did they find me?" Without time to think, Yun Zhe pulled back the crossbow and began to fire back. A chase ensued.
Vampires are naturally much faster than humans, but unfortunately, Yun Zhe could only hide in the shade of the trees. Luckily, the forest was dense with branches, so Yun Zhe could manage. However, the hound was annoying and impossible to kill, making it a persistent nuisance for the hunters.
Yun Zhe ran back and forth through the woods, trying his best to avoid being surrounded. He returned fire with crossbow bolts, killing and wounding several people. But the forest was only so big, and soon Yun Zhe was surrounded by seven or eight people at the Aluru people's camp.
Besides the three hunters with crossbows, the other five hunters drew various weapons and surrounded them.
Yun Zhe crept stealthily among the bushes and fallen trees, when he saw a dark-haired figure beside him, a heavy crossbow in hand, aiming to the other side. Yun Zhe leaped up, tackled the man to the ground, and covered his mouth. Before the man could struggle, he bit down, killing him instantly. He tried to be as quiet as possible, but it still alerted the others. A crossbow bolt struck Yun Zhe in the back, and he was thrown forward as if struck by a heavy blow. A chill ran through him; he immediately thought he was done for.
But there seemed to be no adverse reaction. Yun Zhe rolled away, retaliating with his crossbow bolts, killing a hunter who had come to scout ahead. Then he dodged behind another tree, and several crossbow bolts were fired, clanging and rattling as they struck the tree. Yun Zhe waited...
"He's not a vampire!" one of the hunters shouted.
Jerry spat. He glanced at the black-haired man lying on the ground and retorted loudly, "How could someone who isn't a vampire kill like this?"
"Then why aren't the crossbows working!" The hunters were just ordinary people, and things beyond their comprehension were indeed hard to accept.
"Damn it, what the hell?" Jerry drew his short sword and sprinkled the grayish-white powder from his pocket onto it. "Didn't you see he was wearing leather armor? It's probably some good stuff; ordinary wooden arrowheads can't penetrate it." Jerry continued shouting, trying to reassure his men.
"Mithril, mithril! Load mithril arrows! This guy's tough!"
Jerry flicked his wrist, and the white powder in his pocket spilled onto the ground, like a gray snake stretching out its slender body.
One of the hunters, a burly man wielding two short axes, pulled a scroll from his robes, unfurled it like a cloth, and wiped it across the axe blades, causing flames to erupt rapidly. The hunter twirled his axes, grinning maliciously as he charged from another direction.
Except for the last two who had crossbows, the others also drew their longswords, maces, and other weapons and surrounded Yun Zhe.
Yun Zhe took a deep breath. Without turning around, he knew there were four people, two directions, and two crossbow bolts aimed at him. The good news was that Yun Zhe could sense the thoughts of the four people nearby, but since they were vampire hunters, Yun Zhe didn't dare to trust the sounds he sensed.
Yun Zhe pulled a dagger from his shoe and threw it at the big man with two flame axes, but it was a feint. The crossbow bolt was fired and shot towards the guy behind him with a two-handed sword.
However, both attacks were blocked by the big man. Yun Zhe suddenly ran to the other side, ignoring the marks on his face caused by the sunlight. The sound of crossbow bolts rang out behind him, and Yun Zhe was hit by two arrows. He rolled to the side and landed under the shade of another tree.
A piercing pain shot through his back. Yun Zhe reached down and pulled out the crossbow bolt; the silver arrowhead was completely bent. Yun Zhe wondered if the mithril armor had played a role.
The hunters cheered.
Yun Zhe felt two strong thoughts: "This vampire is mine!"
Yun Zhe sneered, nocked his crossbow, and sensed that the person on his left was coming even faster. Just as he thought of this, a giant flaming axe was already whistling as it slashed towards Yun Zhe's neck.
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