Naisha and Gil's Tandem

While Fifth hid behind a tree, taking cover from Gil's arrows, he cautiously peeked out. 

But the moment he did, another arrow came flying straight at him, striking the side of the tree.

"What's wrong with this guy? Is he only focused on me?"

He quickly rolled to the side and cast a Fire Spear, but it merely collided against a barrier. 

He tried to hide back to another tree, but another arrow whizzed past, grazing the edge of the tree he was using for cover.

"How can he see in this darkness and at such a distance? I can't go any further. It's already too dark. I can't see a thing." 

Fifth kept on moving until he reached 600 meters far from Draven and the barrier.

For Gil, the bow had been his weapon of choice for as long as he could remember. 

His skills had been sharpened over the years, making him an expert in long-range combat even at night.

In his teens, simply shooting at stationary targets wasn't enough for him. 

He always pushed himself further, training on moving targets. 

Once he mastered that, he increased the distance little by little until he could strike with deadly accuracy from afar, a skill that proved invaluable in hunting.

"Sir Gil, I'm almost at my limit," Deka said, his voice strained to keep the barrier.

Gil looks at Draven.

He was still fighting the two in his front, then shifted to help Naisha, who was on the left side.

"How much longer can you hold?" Gil asked.

"About three minutes."

"Then I'm going out. Open the barrier."

Deka nodded. 

As soon as the barrier parted, Gil disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

Meanwhile, Naisha's battle with Fourth continued.

The swirling, levitating axes relentlessly attacked, forcing her on the defensive.

Despite her agility, she was slowly accumulating wounds.

Small cuts appeared on her cheek, arms, and legs as the blades grazed past her.

Still, Naisha lunged forward, weaving between the floating axes as they sliced through the air.

She deflected one with her dagger but failed to dodge the second.

A deep gash formed on her arm, making her hiss. But she pressed forward.

'I need to find an opening...'

Fourth smirked, raising both hands. 

The axes spun faster, forming a deadly barrier.

"You think you can reach me?"

Naisha narrowed her eyes, studying the rotation. 

"She is right, it's very difficult to break through her defense since she has four axes. But I need to push further!"

Naisha dove low, sliding beneath an incoming strike, and tried slashing at Fourth's side. 

'I got you!'

Fourth blocked with a conjured axe handle and retaliated with a sharp kick to Naisha's stomach. 

Naisha gasped as she staggered back. Panting heavily, she lost her composure. 

"Can I really defeat a Crimson?"

"You're fast. But you're still garbage, Verdant!" Fourth taunted her even more.

Before Fourth could press her advantage, an arrow whistling hiss through the air.

'It's Gil!' Naisha's mind raced. 'Now is the chance!' 

Fourth twisted, deflecting it with her axe. Her eyes flicked to the side.

Gil had emerged from the distance darkness, bow drawn, already preparing another shot.

Naisha didn't waste the opening.

She dashed in again, aiming for Fourth's neck.

Fourth spun her axe in defense, parrying her strike and forcing her back.

"You're not getting away!" Naisha kept pushing forward.

Gil fired another arrow, this time aiming at Fourth's legs.

Fourth sidestepped.

But Naisha was already following up with a rapid flurry of dagger slashes, keeping her on the defensive.

Gil and Naisha moved in tandem, striking from different angles. 

Fourth barely kept up, blocking Naisha's blades while dodging Gil's relentless arrows.

Fourth couldn't attack Gil since she couldn't focus on two targets at once. 

If she turned her attention to Gil, she would be instantly killed by Naisha, who was moving at an incredible amount of speed.

"Fuck these two. I need to get out of here!"

The battlefield narrowed. Their attacks went fiercer.

Each strike pushed Fourth closer to the edge of his defense.

Naisha feinted left, then slashed from the right, forcing Fourth to twist awkwardly to block.

Gil's arrow shot through the gap, striking Fourth's shoulder. 

The force sent her stumbling. 

Naisha seized the moment, driving a powerful kick into her chest. 

Fourth's balance broke. She crashed onto the ground, dazed and motionless. Her focus broke for a split second, making her growl.

Gil saw it too, and he took advantage. Immediately, he fired.

The arrow slipped past Fourth's guard, burying into her shoulder. 

Fourth gasped, stumbling.

Naisha seized the moment, pivoting on her heel and taking the opening neck.

"Slash!"

Fourth stumbled into the ground.

Gil immediately approached Naisha, seeing her completely exhausted.

"We did it, Gil," Naisha said while panting. "We beat a Crimson."

"Yes," Gil answered, "but I already beat one earlier."

Naisha looked at him. 

"You're starting to sound like Draven. Stop idolizing him."

"Why? Anyway, can you still fight?"

"A bit."

Meanwhile, in Fifth's location, he slowly moved forward, remaining alert and cautiously crouching as he walked.

"Why does it feel like the attacks from earlier suddenly stopped?"

Then, suddenly…

"Thwip!"

An arrow zipped past him, embedding itself into a tree just inches from his shoulder. 

Fifth's eyes widened. "Damn it! He's still on me?!"

However, realization came to him as he saw the direction. 

"Wait, the attack didn't come from the barrier anymore… You've got some guts, Verdant!"

Another arrow flew, striking the ground near his foot. 

Fifth grated his teeth, raising his hands. Flames swirled in his staff before solidifying a blazing spear again. 

"Enough of this!"

As the next arrow came, he spun and launched his Fire Spear toward the source. 

A fiery explosion erupted, momentarily breaking the darkness. 

He saw Gil perched on a branch, narrowly dodging the blast. 

"Got you!" Fifth snarled, preparing another fire spear.

Naisha, however, took advantage of his focus. 

She dashed from the shadows, closing the gap between them. 

Fifth turned just in time to see her dagger slicing toward him. 

He dashed back along with his Fire Spear and hurled it at Naisha.

Naisha moved her body to evade the spear, but it struck a tree and exploded nearby.

The impact of the explosion sent Naisha flying, crashing into another tree. 

She threw up blood upon impact.

Fifth launched another spear to finish her off.

But an arrow whistled through the air. 

He noticed it immediately; he looked back and attempted to dodge.

However, the arrow was too fast, piercing into his shoulder.

Fifth was shocked.

It was not because of the arrow, but because Gil was already in front of him. And he's just four meters away, with his bow aimed at him once again.

For Fifth, it's easy to notice if it comes from afar since there is travel time. 

But because the arrow was so close and it was Gil himself who would shoot it, the shot will never be missed, especially in the right condition.

"How did you manage to get here without me even noticing your presence?"

Fifth tried to evade again.

But the arrow was too fast due to the close range, and it pierced directly into his heart.

"Because I have lived here in the forest since birth," Gil replied.

Because Gil is a scout, he has become excellent at hiding his presence, which is essential for being a scout.

Fifth collapsed completely.

"And one of the reasons you lost is that you got used to underestimating Verdants," Gil added before he immediately rushed to Naisha to help her and bring her safely to the barrier.

As they went back to the barrier, their eyes darted to Draven. 

He was facing off against the other two Mad Clan leaders, and he was struggling keeping up with them.