***EXXXTRA LONG CHAP***

——

Hanzo stopped, inhaling with nerves nearly bursting through his head. He felt a wave of relief wash over him like a tsunami.

He felt like breaking down at that moment into tears of happiness, but bit his top lip as hard as he could and stood up, donning a serious expression and fierce eyes.

Camadral raised his hand again, “Tsk… pathetic. Just die. You can not defeat me.”

In that split second, an arrow darted toward his face.

‘A blue one?’ He mused, catching it with the hand he had already raised with an unimpressed look on his face.

However, his eyes expanded as he noticed a red arrow’s Aura at the bottom of the blue arrow in his hand.

‘Inside…’ He thought to himself for a split second before…

*BOOM*

He was thwarted backward. Hanzo sprinted forward, shooting several red arrows into the air.

Camadral fell to the ground, avoiding all of the red arrow attacks.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Hanzo was already waiting for him.

Hanzo swung his bow like a staff, swinging it at Camadral like a monk warrior.

Camadral deflected all of the attacks, but Hanzo was relentless, pushing forward without any signs of stopping.

Camadral squinted his eyes, wincing slightly in pain as he backed up.

‘Close combat isn’t my forte…’ He mused, waving his hand in front of him.

A large half-circle of black Aura summoned around Hanzo.

However, Hanzo pulled back his bowstring and summoned multiple a blue defense arrow–creating a forcefield around himself as the black Aura circle exploded.

He didn’t unleash the arrows until he was outside of the explosion area–coming out fully unscathed.

He was panting heavily at this point. Although he was trying to hide it, after fighting Camadral already for so long, and now having used most of his Aura on healing Noa, he was nearly out for the count.

Despite this, he shot several attack arrows toward Camadral, who dodged them all again.

Hanzo’s breath came in ragged gasps as he steadied himself, eyes locked on Camadral.

His heart pounded in his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm, to focus. His fingers trembled slightly on the bowstring, but his gaze was fierce, his determination unwavering.

He knew this was a battle he had to win. ‘I can’t lose here… it isn’t an option. I have formed a goal. I need to help my little brother.’

Camadral stood a few paces away, his hand still raised. A sneer spread across his face, his eyes gleaming with malice. “You think your little tricks will work on me, archer?” His voice was low and mocking. “I have lived through a hundred battles, and faced warriors far stronger than you. Do you know the difference between you and them?”

…

“Nothing… they are all dead, and soon, you will join them.”

Hanzo didn’t respond with words. Instead, he nocked another arrow, a red one glowing with fierce energy.

He drew the bowstring back, the tension of the string mirroring the tension in his muscles. He could see the black energy swirling around Camadral, the slug’s Aura growing stronger, more chaotic.

He had to strike now before Camadral unleashed another one of those deadly blasts.

He released the arrow, and it streaked through the air, a crimson streak cutting across the battlefield. Camadral’s eyes narrowed, and with a flick of his wrist, he sent a wave of black energy to deflect it. The arrow exploded mid-air, a burst of red energy that dissipated harmlessly against the black wave.

“Is that all you have?” Camadral taunted, taking a step forward, his hand crackling with dark power. “I expected more from you.”

But Hanzo was already moving, sprinting to the side, his hands a blur as he nocked and released another arrow, this one blue. The arrow flew wide, curving around Camadral in an arc.

Camadral raised an eyebrow, turning to follow its path, but then another arrow, a red one, was fired directly at him.

“What a pathetic trick.” Camadral grinned, sidestepping the red arrow. It exploded behind him, sending up a plume of dust and debris.

But then he felt it—a duo of blue and red arrows that had been hiding in the explosion.

It struck the ground at his feet and detonated in a brilliant flash of light. Camadral was forced to shield his eyes, staggering back as he did so.

Hanzo seized the opportunity. He charged forward, closing the distance between them with surprising speed.

With a swift motion, he swung his bow like a staff, aiming a powerful strike at Camadral’s side.

Caught off guard, Camadral barely managed to raise his arm in time to block the blow. The impact sent a shockwave through his body, and he cringed slightly, gritting his teeth against the pain.

“Despite being a marksman, you like fighting as though you are a swordsman huh?” Camadral hissed, his voice strained. “You’ll regret that.”

But Hanzo didn’t let up. He swung again, and again, his bow a blur of motion as he rained down blows on Camadral.

Each strike was precise, and powerful, driving the old man back step by step. Camadral tried to counter with a blast of black energy, but Hanzo was too close, too fast. He dodged the attack with a swift roll, coming up on Camadral’s other side and landing a blow on the old man’s jaw.

Camadral’s head whipped to the side, at which point he retreated, his expression twisting with frustration.

‘Damn him… does he know close combat isn’t my strength?’ He needed to create some distance, to use his Aura effectively.

“Impressive,” Camadral growled, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. “But you’re still just a fly, buzzing in my ear.”

Hanzo didn’t waste time with a retort. He had already gone far past his limit. No longer was he using energy to continue this fight, but rather, pure spite and grit. He fired the blue arrows directly at Camadral, aiming to pin him down. Camadral dodged the first few, but Hanzo was relentless, firing shot after shot, his movements fluid and precise.

Camadral summoned a wall of black energy to block the arrows, but as they struck, Hanzo quickly followed up with a red attack arrow.

The red arrow pierced through the wall, striking the cluster of blue arrows that had embedded themselves near Camadral.

*BOOM*

The combined energy of the red and blue arrows exploded with a thunderous roar, sending a shockwave through the battlefield.

Camadral was thrown back, his body slamming into the ground with a heavy thud.

Dust and debris filled the air, obscuring him from view.

Hanzo lowered his bow slightly, his breath coming in heavy pants. His eyes scanned the dust cloud, waiting for any sign of movement.

‘Did I get him?’ He wondered, his muscles tense, ready to react.

Then, a dark figure emerged from the smoke. Camadral rose slowly to his feet, his clothes scorched and tattered, blood trickling from a cut above his eye. But his expression was one of rage, not defeat.

“You… you will pay for that,” he snarled, his Aura flaring up with a renewed intensity.

Hanzo gritted his teeth, nocking another arrow. He could feel the weight of the battle pressing down on him, but he couldn’t give up. Not now.

He drew the bowstring back, the tension in his arms a mirror of the tension in the air.

“I won’t let you win, Camadral,” he said, his voice steady despite the exhaustion creeping into his limbs.

Camadral raised both hands, his Aura coalescing into a massive sphere of black energy. “You don’t decide that!” he roared, hurling the sphere toward Hanzo with all his might.

Hanzo reacted instantly, releasing a series of arrows in an abrupt flurry. They flew true, striking the black sphere in mid-air. There was a moment of silence, a heartbeat of stillness, and then—

*BOOOM*

The explosion rocked the battlefield, a shockwave of red, blue, and black energy that sent both fighters sprawling. Hanzo tumbled across the ground, barely managing to keep his grip on his bow.

Camadral was thrown back, his body slamming into the dirt with a heavy impact.

Both fighters lay still for a moment, the world spinning around them. Then, slowly, painfully, Hanzo pushed himself to his feet, his body aching, his breath ragged.

He looked across the battlefield at Camadral, who was also struggling to rise, his expression a mix of rage and disbelief.

Hanzo raised his bow one more time, a single red arrow nocked and ready. “This ends now, you fucking slug,” he said, his voice filled with resolve. “I will decide… whether you win… or whether you lose.”

Camadral glared at him, his Aura flickering, his strength waning. “You… you think you’ve won?” he hissed, but there was a tremor of fear in his voice.

Hanzo’s eyes hardened. “That… is what I have decided.”

He released the arrow, and it flew straight and true, a streak of red light cutting through the air. Camadral tried to raise a hand to block, but he was too slow, too weakened. The arrow was weak, only able to strike Camadral in the chest. And for a moment, there was silence.

Then, with a final, echoing roar, Camadral’s Aura exploded outward, a blast of black energy that dissipated into the air. His body crumpled to the ground, still and lifeless.

Hanzo lowered his bow, his body trembling with exhaustion. He took a deep breath, his eyes still fixed on the fallen form of Camadral. The battle was over.

However, his eyes moved toward the sky without hesitation, scanning the horizon to find Tyr.

‘Now that the obstacle is done…’ He began to think to himself, barely even able to stand at this moment, ‘I will join the real fight… and save… Tyr–‘

He fell forward onto his face, having already far surpassed his limit. His muscles were torn and cramping and his Aura core was about to permanently bust into pieces from abuse.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep