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n95 An “Out in the Open” Ambush

nLumian meticulously wrapped his left hand in layers of white bandages. He gathered his supplies: Fallen Mercury, his iron-black axe, gray amber perfume, biscuits, cheese, bloodied mutton chops, rope for traps, and a bag of cooled boiled water. Slipping his shotgun over his shoulder, he left his semi-subterranean dwelling.

nThrough the thin gray fog, he ventured into a barren wasteland, riddled with cracks. He entered the dreamlike ruins and strode toward the clearing where the flaming monster often lurked.

nHearing a distant noise, Lumian veered towards a path he anticipated the creature would take, arriving at a natural trap he’d discovered earlier.

nA deep pit lay beside the road, with collapsed walls to the front and left. Stacked rocks bordered the right side, and behind it, a mostly collapsed house loomed.

nSuch a trap was difficult to spot. Lumian had found it only after scouring the area multiple times.

nHe crouched behind the pit, tossing in a few sharpened wooden stakes. He covered it with a rope net he’d woven earlier and camouflaged it with soil.

nWith the simple trap set, he placed his bait: two blood-soaked lamb chops, half on solid ground and half suspended above the pit.

nLumian stepped back, assessing the precarious balance. He retreated into the mostly collapsed house, perching himself on the remains of an outer wall.

nHe adjusted his position to watch the trap without being seen by passing monsters.

nNext, he took out the gray amber perfume and sprayed it on the wall.

nA delicate, sweet scent wafted through the air, carried by sporadic gusts of wind that blew through the ruins.

nThe fragrance clung to the wall and to Lumian.

nWithout hesitation, he leaped away, looping back to the path where the flaming monster would appear, positioning himself closer to its hunting grounds.

nOnce more, he changed direction, crossing the path and entering the ruins of a building opposite.

nReaching the rear of the crumbling structure, he stopped, leaned against the wall, and waited.

nAs with his strategy against the shotgun monster, Lumian never expected his trap to fool the flaming monster or wound it severely.

nThese decoys and alarms targeted the creature’s keen senses, observation, and behavior.

nOnly a Hunter knew how to exploit a Hunter’s strengths!

nOf course, all this relied on the target operating primarily on instinct, its intelligence limited to combat.

nLeaning against the wall, Lumian gripped Fallen Mercury in his bandaged left hand, tearing off the pitch-black cloth shrouding its surface.

nHe couldn’t know how long it would take for the flaming monster to arrive; all he could do was be patient.

nPatience was his strong suit—a remnant from his vagrant days.

nTime crawled by. Unseen by Lumian, a charred, flame-tinged monster entered the path.

nAfter walking over 20 meters, its nose twitched.

nIt detected the faint scent of blood.

nThe monster didn’t immediately turn. As it continued, it surreptitiously scanned the source of the smell.

nPassing the collapsed wall, the bloody lamb chops caught its eye.

nTempting food, but the flaming monster resisted its instincts, not devouring the bait.

nIt pressed on, slowing its pace.

nSoon, an unusual fragrance filled its nostrils.

nIt instantly deduced the meat was a trap and a Hunter lay in ambush nearby.

nThis Hunter seemed different from the one who had previously observed it while invisible. It lacked sufficient knowledge of Hunters and hadn’t masked its scent beforehand.

nTaking a few more steps, the flaming monster used the fragrance and subtle footprints to pinpoint the enemy hiding on the outer wall of the building behind the trap.

nFeigning ignorance, it increased its distance by another seven to eight meters.

nSuddenly, it whirled around, its scarlet flames rapidly condensing into a fireball tinged with white.

nBoom!

nWith a flick of its right palm, the fireball hurtled towards Lumian’s ‘ambush’ location, collapsing the outer wall and causing the house to shudder.

nHearing the explosion from a distance, Lumian abandoned his hiding spot, darting into the clearing, his movements a wild, distorted dance.

nThe explosion was like a signal flare, a stark reminder for him to swiftly ready the second phase of the trap.

nLumian and Aurore had devised this intricate plan, luring their prey into sending out their own signal flares.

nIn the midst of his mesmerizing dance, Lumian detected the hazy forms of the mouth-orifice monster, the shotgun monster, and the skinless monster.

nBy then, the flaming monster had already approached the collapsed wall, searching for any trace of its enemy.

nLumian danced for another ten to twenty seconds, his movements growing more intense. He drew out the ritual silver dagger with his right hand, making a small incision on his left wrist.

nA single drop of blood emerged, congealing into a tiny sphere.

nLumian stepped forward, pivoted, and snatched up the blood droplet, aiming it at the mouth-orifice monster.

n“I!”

nHe uttered the word in ancient Hermes, his voice barely above a whisper.

nAt that moment, the flaming monster had discovered the faint footprints Lumian had left behind. Catching a whiff of a subtle scent, it started tracking him.

nQuickly shouting his follow-up command, Lumian watched as the mouth-orifice monster swallowed the blood droplet from the tip of the silver dagger and entered his body.

nA wave of madness, bloodlust, cruel intent, and ravenous hunger washed over him.

nLumian fought back the discomfort, hastily bandaging his insignificant wound with a white strip he’d brought along.

nNext, he popped a piece of cheese into his mouth, chewing and swallowing to make sure the residual gray amber scent on his body would mask any other mingled odors.

nThroughout this process, Lumian sprinted to the edge of the road and halted at an inconspicuous spot.

nHe clenched his jaw tight and spun around, carefully retracing his steps along his previous path.

nRelying on a Hunter’s observation skills and Dancer’s exaggerated flexibility, Lumian made sure to leave only faint footprints and no additional marks.

nIt wasn’t long before he reached the center of the road and stopped.

nMaintaining his invisibility, Lumian remained in plain sight on the road.

nHe waited, using shallow Cogitation and constant suspension to suppress any thoughts of attacking the flaming monster, a rudimentary way to disrupt its danger premonition.

nHis inspiration came from a Hunter’s keen self-awareness.

nAurore had once written about the tactic of retracing one’s footsteps to lie in ambush mid-road in a novel.

nAfter seven or eight seconds, the flaming monster’s pitch-black form appeared in Lumian’s sight. Utilizing his uncanny flexibility, he twisted his body to observe the approaching target.

nThe flaming monster followed the faint footprints and scent left behind by its enemy. Uninterrupted, it continued its pursuit.

nOnce back on the main road, it sniffed the air, unsurprised to detect a mild fragrance.

nIt instinctively lowered its head and found the inconspicuous footprints.

nBut it found no trace of traps in the vicinity.

nWithout hesitation, the flaming monster tracked the footprints to the other side of the road.

nThe charred face and displaced eyeballs loomed larger and clearer in Lumian’s sight.

nHolding his breath, Lumian didn’t disrupt his Cogitation again, striving to empty his mind.

nFive meters, three meters, one meter… He lunged at the target, raising the Fallen Mercury in his left hand for a swift slash!

nHe didn’t wait to close the gap further, fearing that it would trigger the prey’s danger sense and prompt evasive maneuvers.

nThe flaming monster suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of danger.

nWithout thinking, it leaped to the side.

nSimultaneously, its vision captured Lumian’s figure, attacking with a pewter-black dirk in his bandaged left hand.

nThey were so close that despite the flaming monster’s reaction, evasion was impossible. Lumian collided with it.

nWith a tearing sound, Fallen Mercury’s sharp blade sank into the flaming monster’s right chest.

nThe fate extracted from Noodle Man infiltrated the target’s body as an illusory mercury bead.

nMeanwhile, a river of countless intricate mercury symbols briefly surfaced. Some of the destinies rapidly converged towards the pewter-black blade.

nLumian didn’t bother selecting the destiny to exchange, letting Fallen Mercury do as it wished.

nBoom!

nThe monster’s flames erupted.

nThe forceful shockwave hurled Lumian and his Fallen Mercury away. Crimson flames ignited his clothes and scorched his facial skin.

nLumian bore the searing pain, twisting his waist midair to alter his trajectory.

nAs soon as he landed, he sprang to his feet and fled.

nHowever, unable to re-enter the Invisibility state until the flames were extinguished, he remained visible.

nBoom!

nDespite his serpentine sprint, Lumian was still knocked off his feet by the fireball’s aftershock. His back throbbed with numbing pain.

nHe struggled to his feet, scrambling away from the path and into the ruins where he had been hiding before.

nThe flaming monster pursued Lumian, who was unable to turn invisible once more.

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