"Damn! This Nightmare Rat is way too big!"
"Squeak~ Squeak~"
That red-eyed Nightmare Rat even twisted its head, baring its teeth at Ethan in provocation.
Ethan snorted coldly and took out his bow from behind.
He had been worrying about not finding a target.
Didn't expect the target to deliver itself to his doorstep.
As long as he could see it, this Nightmare Rat was basically dead. After all, 100 percent accuracy wasn't just some random skill.
"Whoosh!"
The explosive arrow fired instantly.
That huge Nightmare Rat probably didn't expect Ethan to be this decisive. The moment they met, he just drew an arrow and fired.
Not even a warm-up.
The Nightmare Rat hurriedly twisted its head, trying to run.
Too late. With 100 percent accuracy, as long as its movement wasn't insanely fast, there was basically no way Ethan's arrow would miss.
And with the explosive effect added on top.
BOOM!
A loud explosion.
The spot where the Nightmare Rat was standing was blasted into a big hole by a single arrow.
However, what confused Ethan was… he clearly blasted that Nightmare Rat to pieces, but received no system notification.
'Did it not die?'
Ethan rushed over to check the area blown apart by the explosive arrow.
Sure enough, he found a tunnel.
'Damn!'
This Nightmare Rat's escape ability was no joke. No wonder it dared to give him that provocative look earlier.
"Squeak~ Squeak~"
And just then.
Ethan suddenly saw a faint light at a bend in the cave.
He immediately ran toward it, took dozens of steps, and suddenly it opened up. Before him was a wide clearing.
Sunlight fell from above, and inside everything was lush and green.
'A valley?'
'There is actually a hidden world inside the cave.'
'Interesting.'
Then, Ethan saw a huge group of gray-brown Nightmare Rats gathered together in the valley, squeaking loudly like they were having a meeting.
And when Ethan appeared, the Nightmare Rats all turned their heads toward him.
Their eyes were red, glowing with an eerie light, 'Is that their nightmare-releasing ability?'
Ethan immediately turned his head away to avoid their mental attack.
But one of the Nightmare Rats seized the chance to pounce at him. Fortunately, the white eagle that followed him inside spread its wings and struck once.
A gust of fierce wind swept out and blew the attacking Nightmare Rat straight to the ground.
"Squeak~ Squeak!"
Its sneak attack failed.
It screamed and tried to run.
"Still want to run? Dream on!", Ethan shouted furiously, pulled out an explosive arrow, set it on the bow, and drew tightly.
Whoosh!
The explosive arrow shot forward at high speed.
It hit the center of the rat nest and a huge explosion burst out.
BOOM!
The explosive arrow landed on a Nightmare Rat, blowing it into pieces instantly.
And the bits of exploding rat flesh became new shrapnel bullets, blasting and injuring all the Nightmare Rats around it.
One arrow, and a whole bunch fell.
Since Nightmare Rats were much larger than Poison Dart Frogs, naturally they couldn't all be wiped out with one shot.
But the Nightmare Rats were terrified by Ethan's attack. In an instant, they all screamed and scattered in panic.
At that moment, a stone chair in the center was finally revealed.
On the stone chair sat a big rat about a meter tall, wearing a red fur cape and a golden crown.
It looked exactly like a little humanoid creature, unbelievably creepy.
'That must be the Rat King, right?'
"But I don't care what king you are. I'm still gonna kill you!"
The crown-wearing Rat King looked terrified.
But a Rat King was still a Rat King.
With its hand-like claws, it picked up the scepter resting on its legs and drew a circle before itself.
The red gem on the top of the scepter sparkled with faint points of light.
The next moment, Ethan was stunned to see a transparent air shield appear in front of the Rat King's throne.
As for why he could see something transparent, because… When the air shield appeared, the surrounding scenery distorted slightly.
It felt like looking at a funhouse mirror, so Ethan could basically confirm that a barrier was there. If he guessed right, it should be some kind of protective shield.
But whether it was a gentle shield or a deadly one, Ethan was going to blow it up with an arrow anyway.
He drew another explosive arrow.
Bent bow, nocked arrow.
Whoosh!
The arrowhead struck the barrier.
And the explosive arrow simply stopped in midair, the arrowhead still spinning, but unable to move forward even a bit.
As if… something invisible was blocking it completely.
"Hee~ Hee~ Hee~"
The Rat King let out a creepy, sly laugh.
It laughed so hard its eyes narrowed into slits, its mouth curling up proudly, mocking Ethan as if he were useless.
A man can be killed, but never insulted.
For some reason, Ethan suddenly felt heat rush into his skull, and a strange surge of fury rose from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, almost blowing his brain open.
"Screech!"
The white eagle was enraged as well.
Without needing any order, it flew up, arrived before the barrier, and slashed at it with its claws.
Flicker!
The barrier flickered like a failing white incandescent lamp.
It flashed rapidly, looking like it was about to break at any moment.
This gave Ethan hope.
It seemed the Rat King's barrier wasn't unbreakable. It just needed to be attacked with a blade.
And Ethan had a Fine Axe and a Fine Dagger.
He refused to believe he couldn't break through this barrier.
He grabbed the Fine Axe from his mid-tier backpack and strode toward the barrier. Right now, he had only one thought.
He must chop this barrier open and split that mocking Rat King in half.
"Hee~ Hee~"
Seeing Ethan approaching, the Rat King laughed even harder.
The red light in its eyes also seemed to grow brighter.
BANG!
The white eagle failed to break the barrier with its claws.
So it simply rammed into the barrier in anger. The barrier flickered even more intensely.
It looked like it could shatter at any second.
"Heh! I don't believe it. I'll kill you with one chop!"
Ethan had already reached the barrier, just two steps away. He raised his axe high and stepped forward, ready to bring it down.
But at that critical moment!
"MEOWUU!"
A cat cry burst beside his ear like a sudden thunderclap.
The next second.
Ethan's vision spun wildly.
The valley disappeared.
The chirping birds and fragrant greenery vanished too. Everything was gone, replaced once again by that dark cave.
And right in front of Ethan, just half a step away was a massive crack in the ground, several meters wide.
[T/N: Absolute Cinema! 🙌]
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