The Card Apprentice

Chapter 145: Pursuit

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Chen Mu had entered the woods in a flash, having just discovered someone observing them from the dark. When the tailless shuttle left his hand, it had hit the man in the shoulder. The tailless shuttle had a confusing peculiarity, which was that it’s flight would get faster the father it went. At the outset, the enemy would have gotten its initial speed, which wasn’t very fast, but its tail would be continually dissolving as its speed got faster and faster, until it had reached a frightening speed.

That guy in hiding had taking a hit because of that. He had originally thought he could dodge it, but hadn’t realized that the shuttle’s speed would increase, so he was surprised, and he couldn’t dodge it and got hit in the shoulder.

But as soon as Chen Mu saw him he could see that the fellow was full of spice, as he went charging into the woods rubbing his shoulder. Although his shoulder had been wounded, his actions were still as vigorous as a wild beast, though he was simply running, and going not much slower than Chen Mu could fly.

He turned around for a glance, and when he saw Chen Mu following closely, a look of panic flashed through his eyes making him increase his pace.

Chen Mu was following closely behind with no expression on his face, while the tailless shuttle took shape again above his hand, although he didn’t immediately fire it off. The mans pace was very strange, lurching side to side and constantly ducking for cover behind trees, making it very hard to aim.

It was perfectly obvious that under the state of breath control all of Chen Mu’s qualities had been raised, though they were still limited by his basic abilities.

That is to say that if he were an experienced card artisan, he would have been able to make better predictions under those conditions. That was because before they became professional card artisans, they would undergo study of the formal system, and they would be told in all sorts of curricula how to manage such a situation.

But our classmate Chen Mu hadn’t ever studied, and not only that but he had utterly no understanding. Regarding card artisan theory, he was basically a blank slate. The only thing he understood was what little Mark Victor had taught him about close-combat theory. Mark Victor was a card artisan who emphasized fighting experience and went light on the theory. He wouldn’t have taught Chen Mu any theoretical knowledge.

And moreover, what he was using then was the tailless shuttle card, which was a classic remote attack card.

When Chen Mu had entered the state of breath control to explore its mysteries, although there were quite a few areas he hadn’t understood, he did have a certain understanding of some of the basic things. Breath control wasn’t something that would come from nothing, and its utility was to take one’s current skills to their highest power. And that greatest power wasn’t something that was set in stone but would vary according to one’s theoretical understanding and enhancements through experience, being constantly optimized upward.

Combat awareness and tactical accomplishment were important components of battle strength.

Breath control was only a skill to assist in combat, and it couldn’t replace Chen Mu’s basic skills and awareness.

For example, in the current situation, Chen Mu didn’t have any way to make a proper response to that guy’s evasive maneuvers.

Chen Mu’s expression hadn’t changed, and truthfully under the state of breath control, his emotions would remain in an utterly calm state. That was the scariest thing about breath control. Other abilities such as evading the probing of the probe card could only be considered as something useful that was rarely used.

Chen Mu didn’t blindly shoot off the tailless shuttle in his hand, which was whirring on his finger at high speed. In the state of breath control, he had elevated his perceptual control a few levels, and that crystalline transparent tailless shuttle was spinning extremely fast, without any sign of exploding.

But his adversary’s moves were too agile, and he had a knack for dodging and evading. He was also very familiar with the jungle, which gave Chen Mu a lot of trouble. It was a good thing that Chen Mu’s close-range dodging and evading flight accomplishment was so outstanding, as he persistently relied on his close range dodging and evading skills in his relentless pursuit. And he was floating in midair where the obstacles on the ground didn’t do anything to him.

That guy’s moves were as quick and quiet as a civet cat, without any sloppiness. He never went in a straight line, but took a route which was impossible to predict.

After going through the initial panic, none of his movements had any evident mistakes. His face was painted, which made it hard to see what he looked like, but his two eyes were extraordinarily clear. Without needing to turn his head to look, he knew that Chen Mu was still close behind him, and he couldn’t help the quiet wave of chill, still not knowing how he had been discovered. He had always been proud of his ability to hide. Even those beasts having such a good sense of smell had no way to discover him.

He didn’t dare to slow his pace even a little, as he shuttled through the jungle’s twists and turns as fast as he could, using the trees for cover. That guy behind him was too close, like maggots on a bone before the soul had departed. His right shoulder had been shot through and hurt terribly, though the expression on his face hadn’t changed.

Less than a minute had gone by, and he had started to sweat on his brow. His adversary was really staring him down, and he had exhausted all his skill and energy in vain, not having been able to open any distance between him and his adversary. It had actually closed a little. He became immediately nervous, since that glowing shuttle which had just hit his right shoulder didn’t only injure his body, it also damaged his courage.

The speed was too fast. Could that glowing shuttle be having some lingering effect? Despite his best efforts, he hadn’t been able to dodge it. Although he had yet to fully accept it, he thought that that his adversary hadn’t actually discovered him when he saw it. Though he thought he had prepared, the possibility of successfully dodging it was really only about thirty percent. That would already be dangerous for him.

He had never imagined that someone could fly so flexibly, as slippery as if his whole body had been covered in oil. He ducked his head and ran like crazy. It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered a counterattack, but he knew that if he even paused, that cute and deadly glowing shuttle might come whistling at him again. What it would take away the next time could very possibly be his life.

Chen Mu looked quite calm, though he had taken all of the skills that he could use to their highest level. But the way it was and given the speed at which the distance was closing, he would never catch him before leaving the state of breath control.

He very quickly calculated that he had no way to catch up. He still had a minute and a half in the state of breath control, and he needed to return. He still hadn’t let loose the tailless shuttle from his index finger, since his adversary hadn’t given him any opportunity. His probability of making a move and hitting the mark wasn’t even twenty percent, and so he cancelled the attack.

Just then, energy was his most important resource.

He floated in midair watching that person disappear into the dense jungle at a shocking speed.

Ten seconds later he started to turn around and fly back.

The route that he had just travelled was imprinted in his brain, and he very easily found the way back.

The route was as relaxed as an outing, not running into any wild beasts, and without any chance to make a move in his state of breath control. Just as he was arriving at the four-person camp, he suddenly fell hard from the sky.

The breath control was done, and he couldn’t avoid the pain as he crawled on the ground desperately vomiting. His stomach was convulsing, and his intestines were constricting like crazy accompanied by a powerful desire to vomit. Chen Mu by then had none of the demeanor of the ace who stood out from the crowd that he’d just shown.

The powerful side effects of the breath control were getting more and more violent. Chen Mu was both vomiting and complaining to himself, since he really wondered if he would be killed by that breath control one day. It wasn’t invincible, and he didn’t’ know how those “night of the cross” card artisans were finally able to brace themselves through the side effects. Or could it be that the breath control they learned was different from his?

Bo Wen was staring at Li Duhong, asking in a cold voice, “What is going on here? What have you done?”

Cheng Ying wasn’t helping him anymore by then, sitting to the side with a face full of hopelessness, watching Bo Wen interrogate Li Duhong. The two of them weren’t any fools, and since Chen Mu had said what he said, he must have discovered something.

If this little devil had really made such mischief . . .

He had almost died there that day, and Bo Wen couldn’t believe that he had almost fallen by the hand of a kid. He had enough reason to be angry. Cheng Ying wasn’t saying anything, thinking about the little guy’s pure and innocent manner those few days, which suddenly chilled her.

Li Duhong hung his head in silence.

If it were said that the two of them still had any doubt, they were certain by then that Chen Mu’s surmise had been utterly correct. Bo Wen was extremely smart, and he immediately got to the crux of the matter, “Who was that who ambushed us just now?”

Li Duhong’s face showed some hesitation.

“Say it!” Bo Wen’s voice was exceptionally severe as he looked at him coldly.

Li Duhong looked at Bo Wen’s face which was about to twist apart and shivered before confessing, “That was my third brother.” Suddenly seeming to realize his cowardice, he stubbornly pushed out his little chest, and said defiantly in a loud voice, “You won’t catch him, he has the most awesome escape skill in the village!”

That was when Bo Wen and Cheng Ying discovered that someone was approaching, and the two of them were jumpy with sensitive reactions.

When they saw that the one coming was Chen Mu, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the two of them looking at him, Chen Mu shook his head, “I didn’t catch him.”

Li Duhong’s expression changed when he saw him, but when he heard that Chen Mu hadn’t caught him, a look of joy flashed in his eyes.