Chapter 113 | Bound by Gear, Forged by Power

Although the two of them knew Matthew's archery was excellent, they never expected him to unleash such a sharp, lethal combo at such a rapidly changing, critical moment in the battle!

The arrows' penetrative force and power far exceeded their expectations.

After all, this giant bear was incredibly thick-skinned and tough. For a Black Iron Rank archer, being able to slightly break its skin with a few arrows was already a decent feat; directly bringing down a giant bear like this was simply unheard of!

Such quick adaptability, shooting skills, and physical fitness were already far beyond what an ordinary Black Iron Rank archer could achieve.

Zachary and Chase were standing a bit further away. Although they couldn't see the exact details clearly, they could feel the intimidating aura of those few arrows, their power far exceeding any Black Iron Rank archer they had ever seen.

Standing to the side, Finch was also shaken as he witnessed this scene. He hadn't expected this country-born archer to possess such strength!

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering for a moment on the high slope where Matthew stood, a trace of imperceptible solemnity flashing deep within his eyes.

Then, Finch instinctively looked toward Matthew's position, only to see two faint glints of light flash in the darkness, like the gaze of a night hawk.

But when he focused his eyes to look closer, the faint light had already quietly vanished, as if it were merely a momentary illusion of light and shadow on a snowy night.

At the same time.

On the slope, Matthew took a deep breath and slowly deactivated the state of 【Eagle Eye Gaze】.

The sharp, faint light in his eyes quietly faded, returning to his usual calm appearance.

Those few arrows just now had drained almost all of his focus and physical strength. Especially the last three arrows; after realizing the first arrow had only broken the fur, he knew he had to mobilize the full effect of 【Eagle Eye Gaze】 to push both his eyesight and arm strength to their absolute limits.

Sure enough, the three fully drawn arrows, carrying astonishing penetrative force, precisely crippled the giant bear's mobility.

At this moment, a wave of intense fatigue washed over him from every limb and bone.

His arms felt numb and heavy, his fingertips still vibrating slightly from the bowstring's recoil. The dual consumption of his Spirit and life energy made his temples throb with a faint ache, his breathing still rapid and shallow.

“The consumption is even greater than expected,”

Matthew quickly assessed in his heart, “but the desired effect was indeed achieved. It can't escape now.”

Casting his gaze downward, Instructor Calm and Porter were methodically dealing with the injured giant bear. The tide of battle had clearly tilted in favor of the humans.

Matthew breathed a slight sigh of relief, pulled out some prepared magical beast meat jerky from his breast pocket, and quickly took a few bites. The rich energy contained in the jerky slowly dissolved as he chewed, a warm current spreading to his limbs and slightly dispelling his body's weakness and the chill.

While recovering his strength, he maintained his vigilance, his gaze scanning the surrounding shadows of the forest and the snowy slopes as usual.

He had never forgotten that feeling of being watched from the shadows.

...

The night was as dark as ink. The last light of day in the forest was completely swallowed, leaving only the snow reflecting the faint light of the stars and moon, outlining the hunched silhouette of the giant bear and the exhausted figures of the crowd.

Chase and Zachary had already entered the fray with sword and spear.

Although their original task was to guard the perimeter to prevent the prey from escaping, because Matthew had shot and broken the giant bear's ankle, that risk had resolved itself.

The two, rich in combat experience, naturally adapted their roles and joined the frontal suppression.

After all, the mountain giant bear was currently slow and its aggressiveness greatly reduced due to successive injuries. If they didn't seize the opportunity to join in, their eligibility to share the spoils after the battle would be called into question.

However, at this moment, what everyone present was thinking about was not the harvest, but ending this battle as quickly as possible.

The deeper the night, the more uncertainties lurked in the forest. Only a quick, decisive battle could prevent any unexpected complications.

Under their tacit encirclement and continuous suppression, this giant beast, already driven into a corner, finally lost all strength to struggle.

With a precise and fierce joint strike from Porter, its massive body crashed to the ground, falling completely silent.

The wind and snow quietly ceased at that exact moment.

Only the long-suppressed panting of the crowd remained in the forest, sounding exceptionally clear in the freezing air.

Matthew slowly withdrew his Spirit spread out around him. While everyone had been in the heat of battle with the mountain giant bear, that faint, elusive feeling of being watched that had been lingering in the dark quietly vanished like a receding tide, never appearing again.

He temporarily set aside this doubt and stopped thinking about it. Right now, what was more important was to evaluate the actual gains of this battle.

Matthew slowly walked down the high slope toward the already stiff corpse of the giant beast.

Even in death, the colossal beast exuded a heart-palpitating pressure, its thick, dark grey hide and rock-like protrusions gleaming with a cold, hard texture in the dim light.

As he walked, he quickly reviewed the battle in his mind. In particular, the traits shown by this mountain giant bear gave him a deeper understanding of how troublesome unique magical beasts could be.

First was its almost unreasonable defense.

Even the full-force slash of a Brass Rank Class holder could not deal a fatal blow, and Black Iron Ranks could barely break through its fur to draw a trickle of blood.

The natural "stone armor" on its body raised its resistance to physical attacks to a headache-inducing level.

If one could not target relatively vulnerable vital points like joints and eye sockets, a frontal assault would only be a long and dangerous war of attrition.

Second was its cunning and tactical awareness that exceeded wild beast instincts.

It would immediately counterattack after being injured, knew to try and retreat to a terrain that served as its absolute home advantage after being hurt, and could even identify the greatest threat in the distance while fleeing.

This was by no means a foolish creature possessing only brute strength.

Fortunately, Matthew's four arrows—especially the crucial combo that broke its ankle and completely shattered its mobility—fundamentally secured the outcome of the battle.

“If it had been allowed to escape back into that pitch-black cave...”

Matthew's gaze swept over the deep cave entrance not far away, a trace of chill rising in his heart.

In that narrow, unknown, and dark space completely dominated by the giant bear, what kind of bloody struggle of a cornered beast would the battle have turned into?

By then, the so-called advantage of the hunt would cease to exist, and the roles of hunter and prey could easily be reversed in an instant.

The snow reflected the faint light of the stars and moon, making the giant bear's collapsed, massive silhouette look exceptionally grotesque.

Everyone gathered around cautiously. The strong smell of blood and the unique, pungent odor of magical beasts mingled together, slowly dispersing in the cold night wind.