Forest of the Revenant: Cedar Forest

"Whoosh...... Sou...... Whoosh......"

Colin chased Icarus's back, running through the path between the fir trees, the sun fell on him, through the lush grass, he went around a fir tree, and saw Icarus not far away jump down a hill, and his figure was gone.

Colin hurriedly chased after him, but when he looked around, he couldn't see Icarus.

All around, only the sound of the wind blowing through the branches and leaves was left.

Colin leaned against the trunk of the tree, dressed in air, and lowered the gun he was holding.

He had never taken the initiative to choose a firearm as his weapon before, and the first time he used it today, he felt that the weight was not light.

But more than these, it is like the mood after the first bloody hand.

I thought I would gradually get used to the game, but the first step was the hardest.

He always remembered the image of Blackblade being shot by himself, the blood gushing out of him, and the body that was gradually cooling.

Perhaps the feeling of being on the back of a man's back will not be eliminated until the next time I see a living black blade.

Of course, hopefully he won't settle accounts with himself then.

Colin gasped against a fir tree, he raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his cheeks.

In fact, with his physical strength, it is expected to lose Icarus, Icarus has obviously received special training, even if it is not as good as the black blade that used to be a special operations force, but it is still more than enough for ordinary soldiers, let alone get rid of a powerless spectacle boy, let alone get rid of a powerless spectacle boy.

Why did he let him go for a while......

Colin regretted it a little.

But regretting it now doesn't help.

You have to earn as many points as you can while you're still alive.

Because he knows that in this world, there are many creatures whose strength is higher than his can be above him.

For example, aggressive mobs, such as Hunters, such as ...... A player on the upper level of the food chain.

Who is his superior player?

Colin took off his glasses and wiped the sweat from his ears with the corners of his clothes, his chest still rising and falling violently, and his heart was beating violently from the rush of the square, as if it was about to jump out of his chest.

"Superior Player ......"

Beauty - Mars Colin - Icarus - Arthur Caesar - J - Beauty.

Colin recalls the order of the food chain at the time of the last system notification.

His top player is Mars.

Thinking of the man with the scar on his face, Colin couldn't help but shudder.

He silently put on his glasses, feeling more and more that his "time is running out".

Just then, he suddenly saw the grass on his left move, and then, Icarus leaned out from behind the grass, and he turned back to meet Colin's gaze.

"Icarus!"

Colin's hand holding the gun shook, and the pistol almost fell to the ground.

"Don't run!"

But before he could finish speaking, Icarus had already turned and fled, and Colin chased after him like a hound that had seen a rabbit.

Pushing aside the dense grass and jumping over a tree root that protruded from the ground, he accidentally tripped over a branch on the ground, staggered forward, and fell out of the grass, and his glasses fell out.

With his hands supporting his body, he squinted his eyes, his hands groped around like a blind man touching an elephant, once he lost his eyes, he was highly myopic and seemed to be deprived of his strength, everything in front of him was mosaic, and even the fingers that were close at hand could not see the outline.

After fumbling for a while, suddenly, a hand handed his glasses.

Colin took his glasses and subconsciously said "thank you".

But after putting on his glasses, his expression suddenly stiffened.

In front of him, there was a man with a scar on his face, he was squatting in front of him with a cold expression, looking at himself who was groping around looking for glasses.

"Mars?!" Colin exclaimed, and fell back to the ground.

Mars silently looked at his comical and exaggerated expression, and stood up silently.

"Y-How could you ......" Colin looked around in a panic.

He was obviously following Icarus's back, why is it Mars who appears in front of him now?!

Mars seemed to see the confusion in his eyes, and he turned his attention slightly, and Colin leaned over his shoulder to see Icarus standing a few meters away from Mars.

It turned out that a few minutes ago, just as the physically exhausted Colin was gasping against the spruce-

Icarus broke into the grass and saw Mars rolling down the hillside.

He seemed to have just gone through a fierce battle, and he rolled down the hill with a gunshot wound, his rib broken, and he sat up from the ground with one hand on his body, and raised his head to meet Icarus's golden eyes.

“……”

“……”

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

They are not in a critical relationship along the food chain, and theoretically they cannot attack each other, so it is a temporary relief for both sides.

Icarus subconsciously glanced back, cautiously confirming that Colin hadn't caught up.

And this small action was naturally seen by Mars.

"What, you're being hunted down?"

"yes, it's ridiculous to be beaten by that glasses boy." Icarus gave Mars a blank look.

He felt ashamed to say this, but because of the rules of the game, he had to follow the laws of the food chain.

“…… Hmph, just right, I'm looking for him. Mars said, helping the spruce to his feet.

The pain in his broken ribs kept him from breathing, and he took a slow breath and adjusted his breathing rhythm to try not to let Icarus see his hidden injury.

In this world, the more vulnerable people are, the more likely they are to be calculated.

"Do you want to work with me?" Icarus raised an eyebrow and looked at Mars, "I'm his next player, I can attract him, and then, you take care of him for me." ”

"Aren't you afraid that after I finish that little ghost, I will chase you backhand?" Mars narrowed his eyes dangerously.

But Icarus was not threatened in the slightest.

"If you have the ability to hunt me down, you will naturally wait."

His voice has always been gentle and polite, even if he is now embarrassed and covered in wounds, he will not put down his gentlemanly shelf.

Mars didn't think about it for long, after all, this is a self-interested thing that does not harm others, why wouldn't he do it?

"Okay, but what are you going to do?"

"The glasses boy was following me just now, and now he probably can't keep up with his physical strength, and he's panting against the trunk of the tree. As soon as I reappear, he'll be sure to follow. Icarus said, gesturing to a hillside ahead, "You hide under the hillside, and when he appears, you kill him." ”

"And then you're going to take the opportunity to escape?"

"Don't use the ugly word 'run away.'" Icarus smiled.

In fact, these are all in Icarus's calculations.

Mars seems to be on the move, and it's only a matter of time before he takes out Colin.

Now he's more injured than Mars, and there's no guarantee that he'll have the upper hand in the fight. If Mars chooses to control him first, then deal with Colin, and then kill him, taking out two players in one go, then he will have no way to escape.

But to put it another way, if he is willing to cooperate with Mars, he can sacrifice Colin to drag Mars back, Colin has a gun in his hand, if he can resist for a while, the two high-level players bite each other, maybe they can also buy time for themselves and increase the possibility of survival.

Facing two players on the upper part of the food chain at the same time, this is his best bet.

Naturally, Mars also guessed Icarus' intentions.

But he didn't turn down the deal.

Because only he knew that when he rolled down the hill, his rib broke, and the broken rib was probably inserted into the lung, although it appeared that his injuries were lighter than Icarus's, but in fact the two of them were half a pound.

How to maximize the benefits in a limited time?

Mars weighed it and chose to cooperate.

So, these two people made a deal.

It was Icarus who lured Colin over, and Mars the Hunter killed him.

Colin was a casualty of the deal.

He is obviously the middle of the Mars-Colin-Icarus food chain, but he is still a victim of negotiations between the two strong men because his combat power is too weak.

This is the [Minghe system], here, strength is the confidence to speak.

And then the rest of the matter is logical. Icarus returns to Colin and pretends to have revealed his whereabouts, and Colin naturally falls for it, thinking that he is lucky not to follow Icarus, but he does not know that he is falling into an ignorant fish and stepping into the trap of others.

Speaking of which, when Colin saw Mars and Icarus, who was not far away, he understood everything in an instant.

He was fooled.

Icarus raised his hand in front of his forehead and made a "goodbye" gesture, turning and disappearing into the depths of the spruce forest, Colin watched him leave, but could not move because of the muzzle of Mars pointing at him.

He lost.

Now only he and Mars remained.

Obviously, even if he is a player at the top of the food chain, he can't compete with Icarus.

Colin's hand went limp, and the pistol fell to his side.

“…… You're not going to rebel a bit? Mars looked at Colin.

"It's useless to resist." Colin lowered his eyes, as if he were talking to himself, convincing himself to give up the struggle.

"In that case, goodbye." Mars said, turning his gun on Colin.

Colin looked up to see the back of Icarus as he turned and walked away.

He looked at Mars, "You're not going to let him go, are you?" ”

"Kill you, he'll be my next prey."

"Okay."

Colin sighed, he looked up at the sky, and felt that the sky was a little overcast, and the original sun had also disappeared into thick clouds, and the light became more difficult to discern.

The wind in the woods brushed his ears, and he suddenly felt like Shakespeare's suffering Hamlet, helpless in the face of fate's tricks.

To live or to perish, this is a question that must be answered. Should we silently suffer the merciless blow of fate with rough hands, or should we fight against the endless suffering as deep as the sea and overcome it? Which of these two choices is more noble? 】

[Death is sleep, it's nothing more than that? 】

[If a sleep can end the pain of the soul and the afflictions of the body. 】

[So, what is this ending to look forward to!] 】

[Dead, who will ......]

[But there may be dreams on the surface of the water, ah, that's an obstacle.] 】

[When we get rid of this dying skin. 】

What dreams will come in the eternal sleep of death? 】

Colin closed his eyes and recalled the remarks about life and death in "The Prince's Revenge", but for some reason, it was very much in line with his current state of mind.

He tried to puff out his chest like Hamlet, put aside his cowardice for a while, and face death bravely.

If death is a long sleep on a summer night, then get some sleep for a while.

In that darkness where there is no sense of loss, there will be no more panic......

"Bang-"

A gunshot rang out in the woods, and the bullet pierced Collin's skull, and he fell to the ground on his back, blood flowing down the bullet hole in his forehead.

At this time, all players' headsets have received a prompt sound from the system-

【Attention to all players, attention to all players】

【Player Death】

[Changes in the food chain]

[The new food chain order is: Beauty - Mars - Icarus - Arthur - Caesar - J - Beauty]