CH468 Chef Fen's Hunting Method

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A few minutes earlier…

Fen suddenly gained a bolt of inspiration after watching how Havel dealt with his Desert Crab.

[Icefang Needle]!

After renewing the icy restraint on the armoured scorpions, Fen condensed a copious amount of mana within his maw, shaping it into a thin, sturdy needle of ice before firing it at one of the two Desert Crabs he had been keeping busy.

Boom!

Before the crab could react or raise its pincers to defend itself, the needle-like ice bolt pierced straight through its softer underbelly—just behind its mouthparts.

The crab shuddered for a brief moment, then froze mid-step before quite literally freezing from the inside out.

This was Chef Fen's preferred method of killing the Desert Crab.

The single needle had pierced the crab's central nerve cluster—its equivalent of a spinal cord—causing essential functions such as movement, respiration, and digestion to shut down one after another.

More importantly, it accomplished all of this with minimal damage to the crab's body—his precious ingredient.

The [Icefang Needle] also dispersed into frost which radiated outward, preserving the meat in its freshest possible state.

Satisfied, Fen turned to deal with the second crab, eager to claim another perfectly hunted ingredient.

Alas, he was too late.

Following their earlier coordination, Silver fired another steel arrow cleanly through the remaining crab's eye socket, stunning it instantly. In the same heartbeat, Havel drove his blade diagonally upward through the beast's soft underbelly.

This was clean, efficient and ruthless teamwork at its finest.

The crab hunt ended in an instant.

Fen clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Their method had caused far more damage to the ingredient than he would have preferred.

'Savages,' Fen thought irritably.

Immediately, Fen shifted his attention to the armoured scorpions, determined to finish them off before Havel and Silver could further ruin his ingredients.

[Icefang Needle]!

Repeating the same technique he used on the crab, Fen fired another dense, needle-like ice bolt at one of the scorpions.

And without waiting to observe the result, he fired a second needle at the other scorpion in rapid succession.

Unfortunately for Fen, both strikes failed to land.

One of the armoured scorpions managed to free a pincer from Fen's ice restraint and blocked the incoming Icefang Needle with ease. The other reacted even more decisively—its stinger snapped forward, shattering Fen's attack mid-air.

And to add insult to injury for Chef Fen…

Silver used his failed strike as cover.

The armoured scorpion's pincers were like massive shields and weapons in one, but due to their poor eyesight, the scorpions didn't keep their pincers raised in front of their faces for longer than necessary –despite relying more on the sensitive hairs lining their legs than their eyes for actual perception.

Silver had noticed this pattern while approaching the battlefield.

She timed her shot perfectly.

The instant the scorpion's pincer guard lowered, a steel arrow streaked through the air and plunged deep into the beast's eye socket.

Just like the crabs before it, the scorpion jolted—then froze in place.

Havel didn't miss the opening.

With Fen's attack occupying the second scorpion, Havel dashed forward, intent on finishing the paralysed one in the same clean manner.

However—

There was one factor he had discounted...

The armoured scorpion's stinger.

Unlike its pincers, the stinger moved by reflex.

Even though the scorpion's body was paralysed, it still sensed imminent danger. That primal instinct triggered an involuntary response.

The stinger lashed out.

As Havel closed in, a shadow suddenly whipped toward him—carrying with it an overwhelming sense of fatality.

There was no time to identify what it was. He only had the time to make one move.

[Flash Thrust]!

Mana surged into Havel's legs as he activated the technique, launching himself forward in a sharp burst of speed. His trajectory shifted instantly, projecting him out of the stinger's path.

Scrree~~~! Boom!

The stinger missed him by a hair's breadth and slammed deep into the ground.

Havel's form streaked past the danger zone, skirting along the scorpion's side before emerging at its rear.

Because of the excessive force it had committed to the reflexive strike, the scorpion's stinger had driven too deeply into the earth.

As the creature struggled to retract it, the tail joint was left exposed.

A fatal opening.

[Flash Thrust]!

Without giving it a second thought, Havel drove his katana forward, stabbing straight through the scorpion's protective plate and into the exposed connective tissue beneath.

A copious amount of sharp blade energy surged through the blade and into the scorpion's body, tearing through its insides in a violent cascade until something vital was severed.

The armoured scorpion collapsed lifelessly to the ground, its blood seeping out from between its protective body plates.

Seeing how Havel and Silver had dealt with their opponents, Fen immediately moved to do the same—before his ingredient could be ruined in the same way.

He rushed forward, deliberately telegraphing a claw strike.

As expected, the scorpion reacted instantly, raising its pincers to shield its eyes.

A feint.

Fen smoothly slipped to the side, angling toward a section of softer underbelly now exposed by his movement.

Swoosh!

But the scorpion wasn't about to let him have his way.

Its stinger snapped downward in a lethal arc.

If Fen committed to the attack, he would be skewered.

A hint of mocking amusement flashed through Fen's eyes.

'Bark. (I knew you'd do that.)'

He hopped backward with fluid ease, allowing the stinger to slam into the spot he had stood a heartbeat earlier.

Just as the scorpion began to retract its tail—

[Frost Breath]!

Fen exhaled a burst of freezing air, instantly frosting the stinger and freezing it solid against the hot desert ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Chef Fen slipped behind his ingredi—target, positioning his maw directly at the scorpion's tail joint.

[Icefang Needle]!

Fen knew that, unlike Silver, he didn't have precision at range. So, he closed the distance until missing was impossible.

The dense ice needle punched into the gap between the scorpion's defensive plates, pierced deep into its connective tissues, then detonated into a burst of frigid mist.

The scorpion froze from the inside out.

Chef Fen exhaled in relief.

'Bark. (Another ingredient saved.)'

He turned toward Havel—only to find the noble ronin sprawled atop his fallen scorpion, staring languidly up at the sky.

Fen wouldn't have minded the scene…

If not for the blood steadily dripping from between the scorpion's plates.

That much blood and internal damage meant the organs—and therefore the meat—were likely ruined.

Havel's relaxed posture earned him a very human-like eye roll from Fen.

Likely Zora's influence.

ROAR!!!

Moments later, Kavakan's thunderous tiger roar echoed across the battlefield, jolting Havel out of his brief rest.

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