The enemy's strength far exceeded expectations.
At a time like this, the most rational thing to do was to beat a hasty retreat.
So, even with pressure from orders from above, the gloomy young man, after a psychological struggle, still decided to temporarily avoid direct confrontation.
Tonight's sniper operation would simply be considered intelligence gathering...
The gloomy young man named Vaughn convinced himself with this reason.
Subsequently, his will to fight receded like a tide, and he turned and fled.
Facing a powerful enemy he deemed unbeatable, choosing to avoid battle out of caution was nothing to be ashamed of.
Only by staying alive can time continue to advance.
And only by staying alive can one get the chance for a "next time."
Seeing Vaughn flee, a peculiar glint appeared in Moro's eyes.
But with things having come to this, having already developed a "nascent battle intent," how could he just let Vaughn leave?
While heightening his vigilance, he pursued at top speed.
Approximately three hundred meters—
As he pursued, Moro estimated their distance with his sight.
It was far, but not a problem.
"Flying Star: Swallow's Return"
While sprinting rapidly, Moro shot two Flying Stars backward with both hands, then, without looking back, kept his eyes fixed on Vaughn ahead.
The training principles he usually adhered to came into play at this moment.
While adjusting his position, Moro instinctively found the right moment and easily dodged the two Flying Stars coming from behind.
Whoosh, whoosh—
Accompanied by a slightly sharp sound of cutting air, the two Flying Stars flew past Moro, heading straight for Vaughn ahead.
Vaughn had already witnessed the Flying Stars' long-range attack capability, so he was already on guard.
When the two Flying Stars struck, he dodged them by the narrowest of margins, then watched as they carved two trajectories in the night sky, subsequently hitting a rock in the wilderness.
Bang!
In an instant, the energy contained within the Flying Stars erupted, and the seemingly hard rock shattered into pieces.
And Vaughn, in order to dodge these two Flying Stars, unavoidably slowed down his escape.
At the same time, he glimpsed Moro's firm intention to keep him from leaving.
So when this battle became unavoidable, fleeing became the worst option.
Vaughn cursed under his breath, but quickly adjusted his mindset, preparing himself mentally for battle.
But even if his decision shifted from avoiding battle to engaging, he didn't immediately stop his escape.
As the distance between them continuously shrank, Vaughn surprisingly risked exposing his back to Moro, stubbornly luring out several Flying Stars Moro used for pursuit.
This approach somewhat depleted Moro's potential Nen reserves.
It was hard to say whether such a risky act, akin to licking blood from a blade, could bring any advantages...
But if Vaughn had understood Moro's Flying Star mechanism, he definitely wouldn't have taken such a risk.
Because the Flying Star's unique two-stage power-doubling mechanism essentially delivers 2 points of output for a consumption of 1 point.
Therefore, the Nen consumption Moro used for pursuit was not as much as Vaughn had anticipated.
Under this premise, Vaughn, in order to dodge the continuously incoming Flying Stars, inevitably affected his physical rhythm.
A flaw thus appeared—
Of course, even if there was a problem with the rhythm between running and dodging, as long as Moro couldn't instantly launch Flying Stars, Vaughn could adjust his rhythm back in that interval, thus closing the flaw.
However, things did not go as planned.
Vaughn would take risks to execute his tactical idea of reducing Nen reserves, and Moro's reason for not being stingy with Nen consumption was naturally not solely due to the Flying Star's mechanism.
Create a flaw, hit the flaw.
That was the result Moro wanted to see.
While his current "Hatsu" couldn't truly support the idea of a seamlessly continuous offensive, he had another weapon.
Seeing Vaughn's Nen distribution become unbalanced under the Flying Star offensive, and his running movements fall out of rhythm—
Moro decisively pulled out his pistol.
Marksmanship is something honed through extensive practice with countless bullets.
And in this world, as long as one has enough money, there's no need to worry about not being able to buy bullets.
Moro had money and initiative, so his marksmanship was excellent.
Bang bang...!
Moro raised his gun, pulled the trigger, emptying the magazine in a very short time, filling the gap that would have allowed Vaughn to catch his breath after the Flying Stars had been expended.
In an instant, the bullets, carrying heat and spinning at high speed, flew sixty to seventy meters, aiming directly at Vaughn's weak points.
Faced with this sudden gunfire, Vaughn's pupils sharply contracted, and he abruptly stopped and turned around.
"Hearth"
Ability activated!
Vaughn's abdomen transformed into a hearth burning with flames, while he simultaneously allocated his remaining manifested aura to his front.
Twelve bullets arrived as expected.
Whizz, whizz, whizz—
Streaks of blood spurted from Vaughn's cheek, shoulder, and side of his leg, where the bullets had grazed him.
As for the remaining bullets, some missed, and a few flew into the hearth on his abdomen.
Whoosh!
Those bullets instantly acted as fuel, causing the flames within the hearth to burn fiercely, transforming into a ball of fire.
Although the fire was not extremely violent, it clearly increased the manifested aura on Vaughn's body.
"Now's the time!"
Under the ability's enhancement, Vaughn made a decisive move, abruptly pushing off the ground and charging forward, directly attacking Moro.
From Vaughn stopping to defend against the bullets to suddenly shifting from defense to offense.
The entire process took no more than a second.
But this brief time was enough for Moro to clearly see the changes in Vaughn's body.
The materialized hearth, the flames that burst forth after consuming bullets, and the noticeable increase in manifested aura.
This information, apparent on the surface, undoubtedly pointed to one answer—
A Nen ability that converts damage into an enhancement effect!
And from the manifestation of the flames, this enhancement surely had a time limit.
Realizing this, Moro immediately reined in his offensive, shifting his focus to defense.
The opponent's ability was now an open card, reducing the threat to some extent.
"Such a quick reaction..."
Seeing Moro react so quickly, Vaughn was startled, but his attack showed no pause.
With his momentarily increased burst power, he managed to step in front of Moro.
Then, Vaughn threw a straight punch at Moro's face.
Seeing this, Moro dropped his pistol and blocked the attack with his forearm.
At the same time, Vaughn stepped forward, pressing in, and with his other hand, struck upwards towards Moro's chin.
Moro found it difficult to parry, and could only step back, avoiding the uppercut.
Vaughn, gaining the advantage, showed no mercy; at the same moment Moro retreated, he twisted his waist and spun to kick, striking Moro's abdomen.
Thud!
This kick sent Moro flying directly.
Despite being violently suppressed by Vaughn, Moro remained calm.
When the flames in that hearth weaken, it will be time to counterattack...
He clearly knew this was the safest approach.
Yet, he felt he couldn't just passively defend.
That would be too rigid.
While airborne, Moro's thoughts shifted, and he subsequently put his ideas into action.
Before landing, enduring the pain, he raised both hands and shot two Flying Stars at Vaughn.
Then, while Vaughn's attention was focused on those two Flying Stars, Moro kicked out a marble-sized Flying Star behind him with his heel, before landing steadily.
Performing a rather risky move of setting up a hidden attack in a round that should have been purely defensive...
If it were Moro before his death and rebirth, who rarely had combat experience, he definitely wouldn't have made such a choice.
Now,
numerous real combat experiences were filling in Moro's previously blank areas like nutrients.
This was the most crucial and important first step in the growth of his combat abilities.
(End of Chapter)
---------------------
Support me on P@treon
[email protected]/charaz
$10 -> 200+ chapters in advance
Check my pinned post on P@treon