"Shit—"
"I was so stupid just now. Why did I choose to climb a tree?"
Daryl was a bit annoyed, currently sprawled on the trunk of a tree about 10 meters high.
Recalling the moment not long ago when he accidentally shot a black bear while hunting, Daryl still sighed.
He had no choice; if he hadn't climbed the tree just now, he would have probably been torn to shreds by the enraged black bear that charged out.
It wasn't that Daryl didn't want to hide, but there was nowhere to hide.
Black bears run at a speed of 25-31 miles per hour, which is 40-50 kilometers per hour.
The maximum speed for human sprinters is currently 37 kilometers per hour.
Daryl knew what the right thing to do was, but the instantaneous stress response still made him scramble up the tree.
Because in the jungle, with human physical fitness, it's simply impossible to outrun a black bear; theoretical survival knowledge is, after all, just theory.
While Daryl was annoyed, the black bear paced back and forth with its paws, then, finding its footing, it leaped up, its claws and lower limbs gripping tightly onto the bark's texture.
"Damn it!"
Daryl's face changed. After cursing, he wasn't going to sit idly by.
He estimated the black bear's climbing speed, then bit the crossbow's strap with his teeth, pulled out a crossbow bolt from behind his waist, and, using the gap between his body and the tree trunk, forced the bolt in.
The black bear below was getting closer and closer, but the crossbow bolt's last string just wouldn't pull back, making Daryl break out in a sweat.
In just a blink of an eye, the black bear seemed to fly up the tree trunk, already reaching below Daryl.
Daryl couldn't bother with stringing the bow. He pulled out a crossbow bolt and swung it, his hard-soled boots constantly stomping on the black bear's large head, preventing its next move.
As the man and the bear moved, the entire upper part of the tree trunk began to sway.
Shawn spotted it from afar at a glance.
When he found Daryl, he naturally also saw the bear below him.
"Daryl, pull your feet back!"
Shawn ignored the two Walkers catching up beside him, immediately roared, and then pulled out an iron great hammer from his system backpack.
Gasp—!
The moment they heard Shawn's voice, both the man and the bear were startled, looking over simultaneously.
Seeing it was Shawn, Daryl was first delighted, then, looking at the great hammer in Shawn's hand, his heart turned cold, and he quickly lifted his feet.
Just as Daryl raised his feet, Shawn gripped the giant hammer with one hand, turned, and gathered strength. The next second, he violently threw the hammer in a 'vertical spinning' motion!
Bang—!
It was unclear if it hit the black bear or the tree trunk.
In Shawn's vision, the tree trunk suddenly shook violently twice, and then he saw the black bear fall straight down from it, landing on the ground with a dull, heavy thud.
By the time Shawn arrived, behind the gradually dissipating dust, the black bear was shakily getting up.
A pool of blood oozed from its mouth, clinging to its black lips.
The 'Iron Thorns' from the iron great hammer module had cut a gash on its body.
If there were a health bar at this moment, one would surely see the black bear slowly losing health over time.
But despite this, the black bear quickly reacted, shook its head twice with force, and then stared at Shawn.
"Are you alright?"
Shawn didn't mind the black bear's gaze. He just looked up at Daryl at the top of the tree and asked.
"I'm fine." Daryl took a breath: "Did you bring a gun? This black bear's strength is at least 1100 pounds."
1100 pounds?
Shawn roughly converted it in his mind; it was about 500 kilograms.
Although it was his first time facing a black bear, Shawn felt at ease when he thought of his maxed-out Strength attribute.
"Didn't bring one, but it's fine, I have the advantage."
Shawn vaguely remembered that he seemed to have obtained a magazine before, called 'Hunter's Diary'.
'Was it for gray wolves or bears?'
'Forget it, whether it's wolves or bears...'
Shawn held his Crescent Blade, turning sideways without looking back to pierce the heads of the Walkers gathering around.
Dragging his still-dripping blade, Shawn advanced instead of retreating, charging directly towards the black bear.
The black bear's ferocity was ignited by the continuous injuries. When it saw Shawn approaching, it let out a low growl, placed both paws on the ground, and exploded forward!
Shawn met the black bear, slashing its arm with his blade, and a bloody gash immediately appeared.
Unlike the injuries caused by 'Iron Thorns', this was from an Agility attribute skill.
As Shawn continued to inflict injuries on the black bear, more and more wounds would appear on its body, the injuries would become more severe, the bleeding effect would stack, and the bleeding speed would also increase sharply.
It was a pity that Shawn's 'Deep Blade Wound' skill hadn't been leveled up to Level 5 yet.
Otherwise, with a 50% damage bonus and a bleeding cap of 7 wounds, Shawn was confident he could end the battle within 1 minute.
However, the good news was that Shawn still had skill points saved up.
"System, add points!" Shawn secretly shouted.
Opening the skill panel, Shawn went directly to the Agility panel and leveled up Deep Blade Wound to Lv3.
[(Swordsman) Level 3/5, your swordsmanship is extraordinary, increasing blade damage by 30%]
[You can now inflict a maximum of 5 bleeding wounds on enemies; a powerful attack can cause 4]
[Note: Enemies reduce their running speed by 15% when bleeding; successfully killing them restores 10 stamina]
[Remaining skill points: 3 points]
Agility attribute Deep Blade Wound Level 3/5
Shawn had no intention of using the remaining 3 skill points, still saving them for emergencies.
And against this beast, it was already enough for now.
The moment the points were added, a strange sensation spread from the blade itself, along the long handle, all the way to Shawn's hand.
Perhaps it was Shawn's illusion, but even though it was just a blade, the Crescent Blade seemed to become more intimate with Shawn.
The long blade was like an extension of Shawn's limb; Shawn only felt that it was more flexible to use than before.
Some slightly obscure blade movements also began to become smoother.
"Good!"
Shawn's great blade struck out!
It suddenly swept past the black bear's front, claws and blade clashing, leaving a bloody mark instantly.
Drip—
The black bear roared in pain.
But in the next moment, it endured the pain, raised both paws, and lunged forward with all its might.
Shawn changed from slashing to blocking, holding the blade horizontally in front of him, directly beneath the black bear's paws.
The sudden impact forced Shawn back several steps, his back slamming hard against the tree trunk behind him.
At the same time, a Walker, which had approached unnoticed, emerged from behind the tree trunk, right next to Shawn's side.
Hiss—!
A brief, sharp whistling sound, and an arrow directly pierced the neck of a Walker.
Shawn looked up; it was Daryl who had taken action, propping himself on a branch to string his crossbow and shoot.
Although he missed and couldn't deal with the Walker immediately, it bought Shawn some time.
Blood began to flow back into Shawn's limbs, and his complexion visually became slightly fairer.
Veins bulged on his limbs, clinging to his muscles, channeling a continuous stream of powerful strength towards the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
Shawn held the long blade horizontally to block, his bent body slowly straightening up, and the black bear facing him suddenly widened its eyes.
It seemed to be astonished by the immense power Shawn generated in that instant; its paws were completely unable to suppress him, and in the struggle, it was overpowered by Shawn.
The black bear remained in an upright posture, somewhat comically, as Shawn suddenly pushed it, sending it tumbling to the ground.
Bang—!
At the same time, a gun fired. It was Rick!
-------------------------------
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