Chapter 35：Hunting Down

Charge!

The Blood Warrior brandished its huge sword and charged toward Xiao Ling. Its merciless sword strokes broke through the morning mist; it gleamed brightly as its force shot out in all directions.

Scarlet Barbarian Warrior: Level 13 leader. Xiao Ling felt his chest tighten. He did not expect to run into a leader-ranked monster.

Leader-ranked monsters were slightly inferior compared to Bosses or elite monsters. They were the equivalent of small-time Bosses in some monster spawning grounds.

However, such a monster would already be a handful for Xiao Ling.

The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior was still some distance away, yet the force emanating from its sword grated on Xiao Ling's eardrums. When he saw that the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior was five paces away, Xiao Ling unleashed his Force Blast without hesitation.

The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior merely slowed for an instant before continuing its momentum toward Xiao Ling. The same spell had drastically different effects on Boss-level monsters compared to ordinary monsters.

Xiao Ling retreated as he released his instantaneous spells. Under normal circumstances, these spells could deal 100 to several hundred points of spell damage, but as they hit the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior, they merely dealt several dozen points' worth of damage. After a volley of spells, Xiao Ling only managed to take 3% out of the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's health bar.

These monsters were designed with a team of players in mind. It was impossible for him to face it alone!

Run! That was Xiao Ling's first instinct. He would undoubtedly die if he chose to fight the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior. He could not afford to be tied down by it.

"Bam!" The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's weapon shot past Xiao Ling's body. The 200 points of damage struck fear in Xiao Ling's heart. The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior was three levels above him. Its attacks were terrifyingly powerful. On top of that, his defenses were not exactly high. A single sword strike would deplete half of his health bar.

Ring of Repellent!

A white ring spread out from Xiao Ling's body. The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior was pushed back until it was more than 10 paces away from Xiao Ling. Without wasting a single second, Xiao Ling ran. He eyed the long and narrow path. Xiao Ling did not have the luxury to be picky now. He ran along the path toward the Alterac Valley.

The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior was hot on his heels. The two figures sprinted along the mountain path.

The cliff was dozens of meters tall. The simple act of peering over the edge made one's knees go weak. On the other side was the raging waterfall, splashing water as cold as iced blades onto the faces of the trekkers.

Xiao Ling's agility was a far cry from the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's. It was slowly closing the distance between them. Xiao Ling glanced at the cooldown countdown of his Ring of Repellent.

There was another eagle-like call. The black eagle folded its wings and a dived like a meteor toward Xiao Ling. This was the action of eagles moving in to catch their food!

It never rains but it pours. Why did this eagle pick him as a target? He did not even know what level it was at.

Xiao Ling glanced at his health bar; only slightly more than 40% was left. He wondered if he could fend off the black eagle while running away from the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior.

Three seconds, two, one.

The cooldown for his Ring of Repellent was finally up. The black eagle had swooped down from above. It was getting closer and closer to him. Xiao Ling could even see the black eagle's steely talons and sharp beak.

Condor: Level 13.

Birds had a certain speed boost as they dived. With his remaining 40% of health points, he was certain that he could not withstand a hit from the Condor.

He was in imminent peril. He could not think of any other way.

Ring of Repellent!

A faint white ring pushed the Condor away. It turned and rolled in the air for a long time before finally stabilizing itself.

Furious Slash!

Behind him, the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's sword was finally brought down. It gave a sharp whistle as the blade moved through the air toward Xiao Ling, unleashing a blade force several meters long.

He had just used his Ring of Repellent, and Force Blast was definitely not enough to parry the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's attack. Xiao Ling cursed. The cold draft from the waterfall mingled with the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's blade force and came at Xiao Ling. He had nowhere else to run. He glanced at the deep pool below.

Without a second choice available, Xiao Ling leapt sideways and dropped toward the pool. The wind roared deafeningly in his ears as his body lost altitude.

Xiao Ling could only pray that his 40% HP was enough to survive the fall. If he'd known that this would happen, he would have stocked up on some health potions.

As he fell, he seemed to have seen the Condor perching on the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's shoulder. The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior was sneering at him.

With a plump, Xiao Ling felt a great slap across his back. His throat stung. His eyes, nose, and ears were instantly filled with water. Xiao Ling found it difficult to breathe. He struggled desperately, and finally felt his body stop sinking.

Xiao Ling forced himself to hold his own breath. He moved his limbs and swam upward. 

He then seemed to have touched something with his hand. He immediately grabbed hold of it and pulled himself out of the water. It was a protruding rock on the bank.

Xiao Ling filled his lungs greedily with air. He bit back the tearing sensation in his eyes and observed his surroundings. Fortunately, there were no monsters around.

Xiao Ling was still panting. He eyed his health bar: 7%. The pond's water had somehow broken his fall and greatly reduced the impact, but his health bar was too short. A drop from more than 10 meters took more than 30% of his HP.

There was the call of the Condor again. The sound streaked across the air. Xiao Ling felt his chest tighten and looked up. A black shadow was circling the skies like a specter. They were not letting him go just yet!

Xiao Ling quickly dashed into the low bushes nearby. He hid himself there for a while and ate a piece of bread. His health was slowly returning.

The Condor was still circling the skies. It might be looking for Xiao Ling's actual position.

Xiao Ling silently cursed his own fate of running into these two monsters. Although the Condor's level was not high, it had a wide field of vision once it was in the air. On top of that, there was the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior which could show up at any time. Xiao Ling had to consider his current situation seriously. Would they hunt him down?

Usually, the area's leader monster would not give chase after he was out of the area's bounds. Did he perhaps kill too many Scarlet Warriors and caused the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior to develop a certain amount of hatred against him? Was that the reason why it chased after him relentlessly?

Xiao Ling looked at his current location on the map. He was a kilometer away from the Boar Mine. He would have to get past this low forest.

'If I'm in the Boar Mine, that Scarlet Barbarian won't come after me, right?' Xiao Ling thought.

He kept an eye on the Condor in the skies. Under the cover of the trees, he made his way toward the Alterac Valley.

A brilliant flash of light erupted far away. The glaring radiance made Xiao Ling's pupils contract. A searing patch of clouds gathered in the air in the distance, covering a large area. The flames burned the surrounding air. Then, red fireballs rained down with a shocking density and force. The smell of char filled the air.