Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 220 (Patreon)

Chapter 220: Goose Pecks at the Eyes

Manipulator? Emitter? Transmuter?

After a few brief exchanges, Geru, despite her extensive combat experience, found herself clueless.

She sprang up like a carp and then took off her raincoat, revealing a set of black casual wear underneath.

Luo's punch did not hit Geru, not because Luo was too slow, but because Geru's mastery of the flow was not weak. She quickly gathered aura to defend herself, but she also held back.

This was a rare sparring partner before meeting Antomu. If it ended too quickly, wouldn't it be a waste of a good opportunity?

Geru didn't realize that Luo had held back and thought the power of his punch was just the limit of Luo's brief burst of strength. It wasn't difficult to withstand.

At the top of the mountain, the two stood dozens of meters apart, staring at each other.

Geru's expression was slightly serious, while Luo's eyes held a playful glint.

"The needle is very thin, not long, and almost has no killing power, likely poisoned," Luo remarked as he pinched a floating needle between his fingers, confirming his guess— the needle was laced with a strong paralytic toxin that would take effect ten seconds after breaking the skin.

The first time there were four needles, Luo sent them back, but Geru caught them easily. Although there were eight this time, Luo decided not to return them tooth for tooth.

He clenched all the needles in his hand, tucked them behind his back, activated his ability, drew out the toxin, and then crushed the needles.

Ignoring the Nen techniques, Geru's attack relied on poison needles, and since these needles weren't conjured, their number was definitely limited. Destroying her stock would reduce her threat by at least half.

Watching Geru take off her obstructive raincoat and stand still, Luo was neither hurried nor flustered. He could isolate the cold rainwater from his body, but Geru couldn't. Dragging out the time would eventually affect her physically.

What Luo wanted was to prolong the fight and fully utilize Geru's value as a sparring partner.

"Are you being punished to stand still?" Luo suddenly teased.

A flicker of anger crossed Geru's eyes. She moved suddenly, avoiding a pit Luo had made and swiftly brushed her hands over her body, secretly picking up a few poison needles between her fingers.

Her speed was not slow, nor did she attack directly. Maintaining a distance of about thirty meters, she seemed to be waiting for something.

"Boom!"

At the moment the lightning faded, darkness fell, and Geru rushed forward, reaching a point three meters from Luo before the next flash of lightning.

At such close range, she didn't throw the poison needles but instead swept a low kick, sending the water on the ground toward Luo.

"Splash!"

A large spray of water, like a wave, crashed toward Luo's face.

Luo frowned slightly. If he used his domain to stop the water, his vision would be obstructed. Letting the water splash over would also obstruct his vision.

He dug his heels in, infusing Nen into the ground within a two-meter radius to create a trap. He then retreated strategically to avoid the obstructing spray.

"Ssst!"

As he retreated, six needles pursued from behind, piercing through the water aiming for him.

Luo was prepared and stopped the needles in time. Then, wrapping them in Nen, he preemptively shot them toward the sides of the oncoming spray.

He anticipated that Geru would use the water spray to cover her needle attack and then ambush from the sides. However, as he retreated, he had already cleared the nearby rocky ground, ready with traps and retaliatory needles for Geru if she dared approach.

However, Geru didn't choose to attack from the sides.

Her earlier mistake with the trap made her cautious. The created water spray could obstruct Luo's vision and prevent her from seeing Luo's minor movements. For safety, after shooting the needles, she leaped into the air, avoiding the traps.

This decision was unexpected for Luo.

Luo looked up at Geru and flicked his finger, shooting a Nen ball at Geru, who was descending diagonally.

"Ssst!"

Geru also flicked a needle with her finger, striking the Nen ball at such a short distance with precision, shattering it and continuing its trajectory toward Luo's eye.

Luo sidestepped to avoid the needle. He didn't use his domain to stop the needle but instead created a force field that increased Geru's hang time, preventing her from landing quickly.

"Resistance? This is the force that hit me on the side earlier."

Geru's face changed slightly, the mysterious force slowing her descent and weakening her momentum.

Luo took this chance to retreat, increasing the distance and beginning to gather rainwater.

As Geru landed,

 she bent her knees and propelled a large splash of water like a cheetah charging at Luo.

Although she often used poison needles for long-range attacks, her category was enhancement, not emission.

"Why so insistent on close combat?"

A doubt formed in Luo's mind as he wrapped the gathered rainwater with Nen and threw it, forming arrows of water to slow Geru down.

"Vision obstruction is mutual."

Geru smiled coldly, waving her hand to release eight needles that pierced through the incoming water arrows and targeted Luo.

At the same time, she suddenly crouched, preparing to run.

In the next instant, she kept her upper body low, darting forward like a flying swordfish, and in a movement akin to a tackle in a rugby game!

Numerous water arrows flew over her head as her charging form created two trails of splashing water behind her, reaching Luo in an instant.

It was only then that Luo tightened his domain to stop the poison needles and hadn't yet had the chance to redirect them when Geru was already close, raising both hands.

Crack!

A rock suddenly rose from the ground in front of Luo, blocking Geru's path. Unseen by her, he collected the eight poison needles.

Geru's expression was cold, unaware of Luo's actions. Her hands slapped down on the rock, shattering it and sending the fragments hurtling towards Luo, who was very close.

But Luo had controlled the rock to rise just in time, dodging to the right to avoid the flying debris. He didn't increase the distance between them, as it was too late.

Geru quickly adjusted her posture, stepping forward to Luo and launching a flurry of punches, each wrapped with powerful Nen.

As the distance closed, Luo calmly matched Geru's punches, and the air echoed with muffled thuds, raindrops shattered into a mist.

In just five seconds, Luo and Geru exchanged nearly twenty punches, culminating in a powerful strike that sent both of them retreating over ten meters.

"Ten seconds. Do you know what this time means?" Geru looked at Luo, some distance away, with confidence.

Luo smiled and replied, "Compared to the venom of the black scorpion of the Bilusha Desert, just one milligram can paralyze a person in ten seconds. This venom isn't deadly, but the paralysis is strong and lasts at least twenty-four hours. The tricky part is the antidote; it's quite complex."

Listening to Luo's words, Geru's expression darkened.

Luo, seemingly unaware of Geru's expression, paused and continued, "This is the toxin you've laced on the needles. You've been using poison needles to attack, creating a false impression, right? I indeed didn't expect your real method to be... poisoned hands."

"Have you investigated me? No, what's your relationship with Bisky?"

Geru was shocked. She couldn't believe that Luo had gathered so much information from just over twenty punches. Moreover, if Luo knew everything, he shouldn't be so composed.

Because the poison takes effect in ten seconds.

"Eight seconds have passed."

Luo didn't answer Geru's question but instead reminded her of the passing time.

Geru's brow furrowed, a bad premonition rising within her.

Luo flipped his hand, revealing a thin needle peeking out between his fingers, then calmly said, "Another tricky aspect of the black scorpion venom is that there are no symptoms within the ten seconds before the onset of paralysis. Only at the moment of full-body paralysis does the victim realize they've been poisoned."

"Using this venom requires careful handling. Since you've chosen this poison, you must have an antidote on you. Go ahead and use it."

Hearing Luo's last words, Geru finally understood where her unease came from. As the thought arose, she quickly pulled a small vial of antidote from an inner pocket of her clothing.

She was poisoned.

This was the thought that occurred to her as she took out the antidote.

Her body became paralyzed at that moment, a potent effect that should have immediately stiffened her like wood and caused her to fall, but as a poison hunter, her body's resistance to toxins was strong. What would normally take ten seconds to affect someone took about twenty seconds on her.

Geru's face turned ugly. Under Luo's calm gaze, she stabbed the antidote directly into her arm, injecting it into her bloodstream.

Compared to oral ingestion, injection worked faster.

Day after day of shooting geese, who would have thought today she would be pecked in the eye.

She didn't know how she had been poisoned, while Luo was unharmed.

This outcome, she could not accept!

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