Chapter 73: Chapter 72: Perilous Life-and-Death Struggle

The black bear clearly didn’t understand Lin Yu’an’s warning.

Or maybe, the overwhelming aroma of smoked venison and grease wafting from the shelter was an irresistible temptation for it.

It lost its last bit of patience, its gigantic head suddenly dropping, letting out a deafening roar!

Immediately, its limbs powered up, and that massive body charged towards Lin Yu’an with an astounding speed that defied its size! The snow scattered and sprayed under its heavy steps!

“Now!”

At the moment the black bear launched its charge, Lin Yu’an’s thoughts became unprecedently calm.

He didn’t choose to stand his ground and withstand the attack, nor did he turn to flee, but took a sudden step backward to his diagonal rear!

His target was the simple woodpile shelter he had built by hand, filled with firewood!

This move was not only to increase the straight-line distance from the black bear.

It was also to utilize the complex terrain between the shelter and the woodpile to create space for maneuvering.

The black bear’s straight-line charge was extremely fast, but Lin Yu’an’s diagonal movement forced it to adjust direction during its high-speed charge, slightly affecting its speed.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu’an took advantage of these fleeting seconds to complete the first step of his combat plan!

As he quickly retreated, he swiftly drew an arrow with a three-bladed hunting arrowhead from the quiver!

This arrowhead, with its sharp cutting blades, was specifically designed for hunting large animals.

He notched the arrow and drew the string, almost completing the aim while on the move!

The balance and core strength enhanced by the Golden Finger Space were fully showcased at this moment!

Just as the black bear rushed to about thirty meters away from him!

“Whoosh—!”

The bowstring vibrated fiercely, and the fifty-pound draw weight launched the hunting arrow at high speed!

Lin Yu’an’s target wasn’t the black bear’s hard skull, nor was it its thick-fat-covered torso, but its relatively exposed right scapular area as it adjusted its direction!

The black bear was giving full chase, completely unable to effectively evade.

With a dull “thud,” the sharp arrow pierced deeply and precisely into the shoulder muscles of its right forelimb!

Though the arrow’s kinetic energy was insufficient to shatter the hard scapula, the three sharp blades instantly cut through a large amount of muscle fibers and blood vessels!

“Roar—!”

The intense pain prompted the black bear to let out a roar of anger and agony!

Its forward momentum abruptly halted, and it didn’t dare to fully press on its wounded right forelimb.

This caused it to stumble, with its massive body leaving a long mark in the snow due to pain and inertia.

Blood also began to gradually stain the snow.

“It’s effective!”

Lin Yu’an felt a tightness in his heart, but he didn’t pause for a moment.

Taking advantage of the newly opened distance, he turned and ran towards a sparse grove of stout spruce trees!

He knew that battling such a beast with both strength and speed in the open was suicide, and being in a narrow space meant being trapped.

Only by using trees as obstacles to constantly change direction and evade could he buy himself precious shooting time and reaction space.

The thoroughly enraged black bear, dragging its injured forelimb, roared incessantly as it chased Lin Yu’an into the grove.

Despite its speed being markedly reduced by the wound and lacking the former thunderous impact, it was still incredibly fast.

Lin Yu’an’s nerves were stretched to the limit.

He weaved and changed directions quickly among the stout spruce trees.

He never ran in a straight line, instead continually using the trunks as cover.

The black bear’s massive body was greatly hindered in agility during the forest chase, forcing it to frequently slow down to navigate around obstructing trunks.

The injured forelimb made each turn awkward and painful.

Lin Yu’an maintained a distance of about ten to fifteen meters from the black bear.

At this moment, Lin Yu’an’s physique, fortified by the space, gave him absolute confidence that he could slowly wear down the bear without needing to exploit the space.

His hunting bow was drawn again, with another arrow nocked on the string.

Every time he rounded a tree or changed direction, he searched for fleeting shooting windows.

The black bear, in its impatient pursuit, attempted to squeeze through two closely spaced spruce trees to intercept Lin Yu’an.

At the instant when its massive body was briefly trapped by the trunks, its entire side was fully exposed in Lin Yu’an’s shooting view!

“Swoosh!”

Lin Yu’an’s second arrow was released, precisely striking the black bear’s side!

“Awoo—!”

The black bear let out a pained howl, the intense agony forced it to wrench free from the tree trunks!

Lin Yu’an knew that mere maneuvering couldn’t halt this crazed beast!

He no longer retreated into the forest depths but turned towards his shelter, quickly withdrawing.

He prepared to launch the final fatal attack!

Meanwhile, his right hand had already detached the bear spray from his belt and removed the safety pin.

His sixth sense frantically warned him! He could clearly “feel” every minute adjustment the black bear made on its charge path!

As the black bear charged to about ten meters away, entering the ideal spray range, it suddenly made a fierce pounce, its massive body hurtling at him like a black cannonball!

At the same moment the black bear pounced, Lin Yu’an’s spatial perception seemed fully awakened, his control over distance reaching its peak!

He made a lateral sprint to the side!

“Whoosh—!”

The black bear’s massive body grazed past him, crashing heavily into the snow where he had just been standing!

The black bear missed its strike, angrily climbing out of the snow and shaking off the snow from its head.

Its blood-red eyes locked on Lin Yu’an, who had retreated to the wall, letting out an earsplitting roar, readying itself to attack once again!

But this time, Lin Yu’an didn’t give it a chance!

He aimed the bear spray at its gaping, roaring maw!

“Shhh—!!!!!!!”

An orange-red, extraordinarily pungent mist erupted like a high-pressure hose, precisely covering the black bear’s entire face!

Then, at the fastest speed, he consecutively loosed three ordinary metal arrows before drawing the last three-bladed hunting arrow, readying it on the bowstring!

“Awoo—!!!”

The black bear emitted the most mournful, agonizing wail thus far!

Its beady eyes were instantly engulfed by the pepper-laden mist, the burning sensation driving it completely mad!

The intense burning was so severe that it overlooked the three arrows embedded in its body.

The black bear began to rub its face frantically with its forepaws, its massive body rolling in agony in the snow, temporarily losing all intent to attack.

It lost its sense of direction, spun in place twice, and finally driven by the instinct to survive, turned abruptly, attempting to escape into the forest depths.

Just as the black bear rolled over and struggled to rise, its hind leg fully extended for a brief moment, exposing the inner thigh — its most vulnerable spot!

“Now!”

The opportunity Lin Yu’an had been waiting for! A chance to strike the black bear’s fatal weakness!

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