Capítulo 5: Chapter: 5
All reference picture are in the comments and enjoy your read.
(Alita's POV)
Sitting on a branch above a tree, I could hear them, their feet stomping against the earth in a blind yet orderly fury. This wasn't going to be as easy as before. They were 300 meters away and still moving in unison. I waited amongst the trees, listening. They split into four groups at 200 meters from the camp. One group was still charging forward(Labeled group #1), another was moving towards the left of my camp(Labeled group #2), two were moving towards my right(Labeled group #3), and the last moved ahead of the right group(Labeled group #4).
"They're going to try and control my movements, but somethings off here... what is a cultivator? A farmer or something?" - Alita
I asked myself, pondering these thoughts; they must be strong as the system asked me to injure them and not kill them, and from the way it's phrased, there is a risk I die here or at least not come out unscathed.
When I looked in that direction once more, three of the groups slowed down, and one group kept moving at the same speed.
'Oh, they trying to box me in... that's quite effective; I can't run from this area if I want to complete this task, but that doesn't mean I can't play this smart' - Alita
As I stealthily approached Group #2, I devised a plan to intercept them before they could catch sight of my humble abode. I navigated through the forest for a swift six minutes until I reached the path where the enemy was advancing.
Finding a tree, I climbed up, gaining a vantage point. I readied my bow, nocking three arrows with care. Their footsteps grew closer and sounded like drums against the ground to me. Suddenly, they burst past my hiding spot, moving faster than I had anticipated.
I let out a breath, and controlled adrenaline surged through me. My muscles coiled as I drew back the bowstring, stretching the flexible wood to its limits. With a steady breath, I released the arrows, aiming for precision as they soared toward my targets. However, they dodged almost as the targeted men could see the future.
"EVERYONE ON GUARD THE HUNTER IS NEAR!!!" - Tribesmen 1
"WHERE ARE THEY!?!?" - Tribesmen 4
'Goddamn it, it was a clear shot, and I missed... it was the whistle from the arrow...Change of plans, assassination' - Alita
I thought as I moved to the ground. I drew my spear and moved silently and quickly through the brush. It wasn't long before I was beside them, and I threw my danger toward one of their heads. My aim was true as it was the target who fell limp immediately with a sticking crunch as the dagger pierced his skull.
"SHIT!!! TO YOUR LEFT!!! FIRE YOUR ARROWS!!!" - Tribesmen 5
They fired into the brush blindly, very panicked at their brethren's sudden death. I jump in the air before lunch myself off the trees into the open path. They looked up at me, but it was evident from their faces that multiple thoughts had passed through their minds. Do they dodge our volley? The hunter is a woman? The hunter is a... child? How is she so fast?
However, they didn't even have to vocalize their confusion the moment my spear pierced the skull of one of the tribesmen. Still stuck in their stunned trance, I pulled my spear out before quickly thrusting my spear up the tribesman's neck out of his skull. Suddenly, taken out of their shock-stricken mindset, they immediately draw their weapons and prepare to attack. I grabbed a dagger from the still-standing dead and readied myself.
Their emotions, relationship dynamics, and compatibility with each other were all as vivid as a sunny day in my eyes. I could discern their age, likely life expectancy, flaws in their body and posture, and so much more. It's been a curse of mine, as this ability makes it nearly impossible to engage with people normally. Just at a glance, I can unravel almost everything about someone. However, when it came to combat, it was by far one of my greatest assets.
This team lacked coordination. They likely don't even know each other's names or have spent very little time together. This means that their fragile synergy can be heavily exploited or broken.
Two of them charged towards me with a battle cry. They moved in slow motion, but so did my body. One of them had a spear charging at me in a blind rage, while the other had a sword coming from above. Not bad, not to mention the other two still had their bows and arrows out to provide long-range support. I have to be efficient in dealing with them: 4 seconds minimum—9 seconds maximum.
I grabbed the standing corpse and threw him into the path of the spearman; the spearman, shocked at this, couldn't stop mid-charge and impaled his dead brethren. I looked towards the swords and redirected his downward slash to my right. This lined him up for a swift counter as my blade smoothly glided across his neck.
"DODGE!!!..." I heard the whispers scream as I moved behind the slowly choking and falling swordsman, using his body as a shield. However, my body was on the slower side as one arrow grazed my arm and another my thigh.
'Shit, that's not good...' - Alita
I thought to myself as I pulled another dagger out of the swordsman's leg strap before throwing both at the two archers. Both archers fell limp as the daggers pierced through their eyesockets, lodging them in their heads with minimal resistance.
I then ran to the spearman and delivered a palm strike directly to the chin before kicking him in the crotch and bringing him to his knees. The tribeman let out a scream of agony as I got behind him and twisted and broke his neck. Everyone in group #2 lay dead on the ground as I was breathing heavily from the altercation.
"I gotta do this shit three more times? Fuck me, man...." - Alita
The fight itself didn't take longer than three minutes, but it was still tiresome. Alita realized that she wasn't efficient enough and wasted unnecessary energy.
After a minute or two of resting, I gathered an even better spread than the one I made: one leg strap to hold an extra dagger and two daggers lodged into the archers' skulls. I also gathered some extra arrows.
I began to head to group #4, taking a bit more time to recover energy. This time I can't fight head-to-head, or I'll be shit out of luck. After a few minutes of running, I reach their location; this time, I'll ensure my arrow hits their mark.
The formation was different this time as they were in a triangular formation. However, that only made it easier for me to pick them off. If the three of the entire formation break apart, they'll be forced to switch to a formation with their back pointed towards each other or make a wall towards my direction.
It'll be better to break the formation and move right after to be behind the corpses. I drew my bowstring back and lined up my shot. Three arrows on the string, and, like before, the vein in my arm bulged as I inhaled. My eyes sharpened as I unleashed the three arrows. The arrows flowed through the air so fast that the whistle alerted the previous group even louder; however, they weren't so lucky to react this time.
The three tribesmen leading the formation got shot in the head as not only arrows pierced through their skulls but also came out the other side. As Alita predicted, they made a where their back were toward each other. They seemed to forget that this was a forest; everywhere was cover, and everywhere was now a place of fear for them. They felt trapped as they heard me moving through the trees as the leaves fell.
I circled them until I found an exploitable crack in their formation, where one of them got shot in the head. They screamed in horror and couldn't see me; they only saw a blur moving through the leaves. They couldn't have prepared for this... they fell into a state of shock and fear, as it felt like they were against a group of multiple well-trained hunters. Well, they turned to one person as I shot another arrow through the eye socket. There was one left alone, so frightened he started to piss himself. These were hardened warriors; she could tell by how they carried themselves as they held great pride and skill to back it up. However, in their hearts, they knew that they were outclassed.
I came down of the last tribesman as he looked to the moon only to see the tip of a spear right in front of him. The spear pierced through his head as I twisted it to hear that sickening crunch of bones.
"Another one done... two more left." - Alita
As I approached them, Alita knew the exact location of group two. At this point, it seemed that they had finally reached my camp and were waiting for me to appear in front of them.
'Fucking idiots...' - Alita
I thought to myself as I positioned myself behind them. I could hear them talking. Their language was strange, and I wasn't able to understand it quite yet. When it came to learning languages, it only took me a few days to fluently write, read, and speak a foreign language. However, interpreting what they were saying only took me minutes. More complex stuff, too, time.
Now wasn't the right time to learn their language. I've understood enough to know what they're saying mostly, and I can speak a few words. I drew back my bowstring and, like before, skillfully picked them off one by one. This group had only four members, likely meant for extra range support. They also had more arrows than the other two groups. Now, to deal with the last group, we'll be done.
What made this better was...
"IN THOSE TREES FIRE!!!" - Big looking woman
'WHAT THE FUCK!?!?' - Alita
Alita thought as she took cover behind some trees, multiple thoughts flooded my mind; the one being how the fuck did she see me? Those thoughts could wait; right now, they have to be changed. They not only know my location, but they can also find me wherever I go. I need a distraction, something to draw their attention away just for a moment.
I looked towards the group only for an arrow to almost take my head off.
'That's good to know...' - Alita
From the looks of it, the archers can't see me like the woman can. Their eyes focus on a wider area, while the woman's looks directly at me. So, it's a minor distraction, and it won't be just a waste of time after all. I grabbed a decent-sized rock next to me and threw it through the bushes, not enough where they could see the rock, but enough for the bush to move and take the focus off me for a split second.
This worked for a split second before they realized they had just been played. It was already lights out for three of them.
"DAMN IT!!!" - Big looking woman
"WHAT DO WE DO NOW!?!? NONE OF THE OTHER HAVE ALERTED US THEIR IN POSITION!!!" - Last tribesman
"That's because they're likely dead; the hunter knew we were coming before we were even close to the camp..." - The Big Woman
"I guess he crooked bastard was right about something at least... This hunter is skilled. And we still don't even know what they look like either, despite them being right in front of us" - big looking woman
The woman started walking towards me, to which I instantly fired four arrows at her head. The woman swiftly fired my arrow with a grunt, grabbed me out from where I was hiding, and threw me into the lake.
'She's so fast... and strong too...' - Alita
"A child?" - The big looking woman
"How can a child with so little energy..." - The big-looking woman
I grabbed my dagger and threw it past the tribesman who was aiming his bow at me. He fell limp as it pierced his skull, but a moment later, I was punched in my gut. I tasted something metallic in my before I was sent flying through the shelter I made. My shelter was completely destroyed, and my organs weren't feeling so hot. I tried to get up, only for her to punch me once in the face to which I fell I fell unconscious.
"What a strong child... I'll need to bring you back to the tribe" - The big looking woman
The woman sighed as she looked away from me for but a moment. Though now I wasn't in control, as a dagger flew towards her. Sher swiftly caught the dagger only to be met with a knee right to the face.
This caused the woman to stumble back as she saw blood running from her nose. She gritted her teeth to look at me, only to see a psychotic smile no child should ever have. She got up to punch only to stop centimeters from my face. My body was at its limit and couldn't take anymore as I fell to my knees unconscious.
"What... What a peculiar child, such fire, even now your body is still fighting... I can't simply like you go, my curiosity won't let..." - The big woman
The woman stared at the child and around the camp, her curiosity only increasing. The woman picked my limp body with care and she began to carry me from the home I had built. I lost in the end... how disappointing...
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder