The silver moon hung high.
Fang Zheng raised his head to look, and before him lay a land covered with white flowers. In the distance stood a withered old tree, and beneath that tree, an old man sat in a wheelchair, supporting himself with a walking stick, his expression complex as he watched Fang Zheng.
The moon here wasn’t the Blood Moon that Fang Zheng had seen before, but a normal silver-white one. Even so, Fang Zheng could still feel the foul stench of the Abyss permeating the air.
"You shouldn’t have come here, outsider."
The old man watched Fang Zheng coldly, a flash of cold light in his eyes.
"This place is not yours, leave here, and I can help you end it all..."
"Usually, only villains who sense a bad situation beg for mercy."
Fang Zheng raised his greatsword high and swung it violently, pointing at the old man in front of him.
"I can smell the disgusting stench of the Abyss oozing out from here. Call out your master behind you, old man, and I might consider giving you a dignified death. I don’t know who you are, but that doesn’t matter. Since you’ve chosen to be a watchdog, you probably know what comes next."
"Hehehe..."
Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the old man laughed softly then slowly stood up — it was only at this moment that Fang Zheng realized the old man had lost his right leg and that it was replaced with a wooden prosthetic.
"Since you’ve refused my offer, none of this matters anymore... Ultimately, it’s up to the Hunter to settle everything..."
With those words, the old man suddenly drew a scimitar from his waist, stabbing it behind him, then his left hand grasped the long handle behind him, slowly lifting a massive scythe. Afterward, holding the scythe in his hand, the old man looked towards Fang Zheng.
"Tonight, Gehrman joins the hunt..."
"Interesting."
Watching the old man, Fang Zheng raised his dual swords.
"Then, let me show you the power of the Abyssal Watcher!"
Before he had finished speaking, Fang Zheng flashed forward, rushing toward the old Hunter. He clenched the greatsword in his right hand and threw it forward, and the black greatsword in Fang Zheng’s hand "swished" and spread out, transforming into a gigantic black serpent that pounced toward the enemy!
"Haah!!"
Facing Fang Zheng’s sudden attack, the old Hunter’s response was quick. He sidestepped to dodge Fang Zheng’s strike, and then swung his scythe fiercely towards Fang Zheng. But before the scythe could land, Fang Zheng had already raised his silver short sword with his left hand, aiming it at the old Hunter and pulling the trigger.
"Bang!!"
A blast of gunfire exploded on the old Hunter, momentarily pausing his movements, yet he still swung his scythe down fiercely, but Fang Zheng rolled away to avoid it.
Wrong timing? It seems like learning Bounce Back likewise requires practice.
Seeing his Spear Reversal fail, Fang Zheng didn’t particularly mind, as mastering such skills also required practice, and it was his first time using it, so it was normal not to grasp it fully. He dodged the old Hunter’s attack again, then swung out with his sword, colliding with the old Hunter’s massive scythe.
"Clang!!"
The greatsword clashed with the massive scythe and rebounded. Clearly, the old Hunter was also a battle-hardened warrior; although he was missing a leg, it didn’t hinder his movements in the slightest. The scythe carried his body to one side, then Fang Zheng saw the old Hunter raising his scythe again, stretching it forward, and its curved blade transformed into a beast’s vicious claws aiming for Fang Zheng’s shoulder to pull him closer.
Of course, Fang Zheng wouldn’t let the old Hunter succeed so easily. He lifted the short sword in his right hand again and swung it forward, blocking the sharp edge of the blade. Then, rolling on the ground, he closed the distance from the side and struck another blow with his sword at the old Hunter’s body.
But the old Hunter was unexpectedly agile, jumping back to avoid Fang Zheng’s attack, then lifting his scythe again...
"Bang!"
Just then, a gunshot sounded, and the old Hunter, who was gathering strength, trembled involuntarily and stopped.
Got you!
Watching the old Hunter’s movements halt, Fang Zheng quickly advanced, raising his greatsword and chopping down at the old Hunter!
"Splat!!"
The sharp greatsword descended diagonally from right to left, deeply cleaving into the old Hunter’s body. Although Fang Zheng’s strike didn’t split the old Hunter in two, it created a gash that no human could survive.
But this was not reality.
"Huff!!"
The old hunter raised his head, and his scythe swung at Fang Zheng once again. Having just struck, Fang Zheng quickly rolled back, then raised the dagger in his right hand and aimed at his opponent. It seemed the old hunter had realized Fang Zheng’s attack was coming; he stopped and warily watched Fang Zheng.
"Bang!"
Fang Zheng pulled the trigger again, but this time the old hunter quickly rolled away at the same time as the shot, dodging Fang Zheng’s firing. Simultaneously, Fang Zheng saw the gashes on the old hunter’s body quickly melt and then, like putty, fuse back together.
It seems there are benefits to being a lapdog for the Abyss.
Facing the old hunter’s renewed regeneration, Fang Zheng was not surprised. The Abyss itself was an extremely difficult race to deal with and destroy. The best way to annihilate Abyssal creatures was with fire. However, Fang Zheng was not yet desperate enough to resort to flames against the old hunter, who was merely infected by the Abyss. His regeneration ability was limited.
Fang Zheng believed that as long as he ground this old hunter into mush, no amount of regeneration would be of any use!
The battle began anew.
For Fang Zheng, defeating this old hunter was not difficult if he so wished. However, Fang Zheng chose not to do so. He was even using the other as a means to refine his own skills, given that the modifications to his dual weapons had just been completed. In the midst of battle, he still needed to get a firsthand feel of the effects they could have.
Compared to the freely striking Fang Zheng, the old hunter in front of him seemed greatly unlucky. Initially, due to Fang Zheng’s unfamiliarity with Spear Reversal, the old hunter managed to maintain a certain advantage. But as Fang Zheng gradually learned how to use Spear Reversal against him, the old hunter started to struggle greatly.
He attacked from distance, Fang Zheng countered with Spear Reversal.
He tried to dodge, Fang Zheng countered with Spear Reversal again.
This was simply too much!
Watching from a distance, one hand holding a greatsword, awkwardly maneuvering the strange firearm in his right hand, the old hunter’s inner rage was about to erupt. Who was he? He was Gehrman, the Church’s first hunter, nearly all hunter skills were inherited from him. And now, a youngster dared to play with firearms in front of him? And with such an arrogant demeanor?
This was outrageous!
Accompanied by the raging fire in his heart, Gehrman’s desire for battle intensified. He rushed forward with a speed that no disabled person could possess, his scythe swiping at Fang Zheng once more. And seeing the old hunter’s actions, Fang Zheng once again raised his right hand and pulled the trigger at him.
Now!
Just as Fang Zheng was using this battle with the old hunter to hone his skills, Gehrman was also searching for this young man’s weaknesses during their fight. He had noticed that the firearm used by his opponent was faster and more powerful than his own firearm, with longer range, yet fundamentally the same. He just needed some time to judge the timing of the other’s shots.
And now, he had clearly seized the moment!
"Bang!!"
Just as Fang Zheng pulled the trigger again, the old hunter suddenly rolled forward. He could feel a strong force grazing over his spine, even leaving a burning wound on his body. However, the old hunter was unfazed because he had captured the young man’s vulnerability!
"Click!"
Gehrman stood up again, his scythe in that moment folding into a one-handed axe, swirling with the wind as it chopped toward Fang Zheng whose firearm was still aimed forward, obviously not having the chance for another Spear Reversal.
But, to Gehrman’s surprise, what he saw on Fang Zheng’s face was not the expected surprise or panic. Instead, the young man appeared quite calm, even Gehrman glimpsed a strange smirk at the corner of his mouth.
What was this?
As Gehrman puzzled internally, he saw the young man raise the "firearm" in his right hand, then spin it around, meeting the blade swinging down on him.
"Clang!"
The moment the blade and sword clashed, Gehrman felt his body’s strength disappear in an instant!
How was that possible? What sort of skill was this? This wasn’t Spear Reversal!
Gehrman could no longer control his body, and with a "thump" he collapsed to the ground. He could feel that this skill resembled Spear Reversal, but wasn’t the same. Regardless, he had miscalculated!
Not good!
The last image Gehrman saw was a flash of the silver blade.
The next moment, his head leapt high, soaring into the air.

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