Chapter 19: Offense and Defense

The enemy’s strength far exceeded expectations.

In times like this, the most rational choice was to slip away quietly and run first.

So, despite pressure from higher-ups, the brooding young man wrestled with his thoughts but ultimately decided to avoid confrontation for the time being.

Tonight’s sniping mission would serve merely as an intelligence-gathering exercise…

Vaughn, the brooding youth, convinced himself with this reasoning.

Then, his fighting spirit ebbed away like a receding tide, and he turned to flee.

Choosing to evade battle when facing an overwhelmingly powerful foe is no shame.

Only by staying alive can the hands of time continue to move forward.

And only by living is there a chance for a “next time.”

Seeing Vaughn’s retreat, Moro’s eyes revealed a flicker of something unusual.

But now that the “embryonic form” of his fighting spirit had been nurtured, there was no way he would let Vaughn go. Heightening his vigilance, he gave chase at full speed.

Around three hundred meters—

As he pursued, Moro gauged the distance between them with his sharp eyes.

It was far, but not insurmountable.

“Flying Star: Swallow’s Return.”

While sprinting swiftly, Moro shot two flying stars backward with both hands. Without glancing back, he fixed his gaze tightly on Vaughn ahead.

The training principles he adhered to now bore fruit.

While adjusting his position, Moro instinctively timed his movements perfectly and effortlessly dodged the two flying stars coming from behind.

Whizz, whizz—

Accompanied by sharp slicing sounds, the two flying stars flew past Moro and shot straight toward Vaughn.

Having already witnessed the flying stars’ long-range striking power, Vaughn was prepared.

When the two flying stars came, he narrowly dodged them, then watched as they carved bright trails through the night, striking a rock in the wild.

Bang!

In an instant, the energy within the flying stars burst forth, shattering the seemingly solid rock into fragments.

But in evading the flying stars, Vaughn inevitably slowed down his escape.

At the same time, he glimpsed Moro’s resolute intent to keep him from fleeing.

Thus, when the battle could no longer be avoided, running away became the worst choice.

Cursing inwardly, Vaughn quickly adjusted his mindset and steeled himself for combat.

Yet even as he switched from evasion to confrontation, he did not stop running outright.

As the distance between them rapidly closed, Vaughn risked exposing his back to Moro once more, cunningly drawing out several flying stars that Moro used to pursue him.

This tactic somewhat drained Moro’s latent energy reserves.

It’s hard to say whether such a perilous gamble on the edge of the blade would yield any advantage…

But if Vaughn truly understood the flying stars’ mechanism, he certainly wouldn’t take such risks.

Because the flying stars possess a unique two-stage power amplification system, they expend 1 unit of energy to deliver 2 units of output.

Therefore, the energy Moro consumed in pursuit was not as much as Vaughn had expected.

Under this premise, Vaughn’s need to dodge the flying stars continuously inevitably disrupted the rhythm of his movements.

This was where the flaw appeared—

Of course, even if the rhythm between running and dodging faltered, as long as Moro couldn’t release flying stars instantaneously, Vaughn could use the gap to recalibrate his pace and close the flaw.

But things did not go as hoped.

Vaughn took risks to execute his energy-saving tactic, and Moro’s willingness to lavishly expend his energy wasn’t solely due to the flying stars’ mechanism.

Creating a flaw and striking it—

That was the outcome Moro aimed for.

At present, his “offense” couldn’t support a seamless barrage, but he had another weapon.

Seeing Vaughn’s energy allocation thrown off balance by the flying stars and his body movements losing rhythm—

Moro decisively pulled out his pistol.

Marksmanship is a skill honed by firing countless bullets.

And in this world, with enough money, bullets are never scarce.

Moro had both funds and resolve, so his shooting was excellent.

Bang bang...!

Moro raised his gun and emptied the magazine in a flash, filling the gap that the flying stars’ misses had given Vaughn to catch his breath.

In an instant, the bullets, heated and spinning at high speed, flew sixty or seventy meters straight toward Vaughn’s vulnerable spots.

Startled by the sudden gunfire, Vaughn’s pupils shrank sharply, and he abruptly stopped and turned around.

“Fireplace!”

His ability activated!

Vaughn’s abdomen transformed into a burning fireplace, flames licking out as he redirected his remaining visible energy forward.

Twelve bullets came as expected.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

Bullets grazed Vaughn’s cheek, shoulder, and thigh, each leaving a bloody wound.

Some bullets missed, while others entered the fireplace on his stomach.

Whoosh!

Those bullets instantly acted as fuel, causing the flames inside the fireplace to blaze fiercely, transforming into a roaring fire.

Though not overwhelmingly fierce, the fire clearly boosted the amount of visible energy on Vaughn’s body.

“Now’s the time!”

Empowered by his ability, Vaughn decisively pushed off the ground and charged straight at Moro.

From halting to evade bullets to suddenly switching to offense—

The entire process took barely a second.

But that brief moment was enough for Moro to notice the change in Vaughn.

A manifested fireplace, bullets consumed and ignited into flames, a clear increase in visible energy—

All these overt signs pointed to one conclusion—

A psychic ability that converts damage into beneficial effects!

Judging by the flames’ form, this buff was surely time-limited.

Realizing this, Moro immediately reined in his assault and shifted his focus to defense.

The opponent’s ability was now revealed, somewhat reducing its threat.

“Quick reflexes…”

Moro’s swift response shocked Vaughn, but he did not pause his attack.

Fueled by his brief surge of power, Vaughn stepped into Moro’s space.

Then, Vaughn threw a straight punch at Moro’s face.

Seeing this, Moro dropped his pistol and blocked the blow with a raised arm.

At the same time, Vaughn closed the distance, his other fist rising from below to strike Moro’s chin.

Moro struggled to defend and stepped back to evade the uppercut.

Not letting up, Vaughn twisted his waist, spun around, and kicked Moro’s abdomen.

Bang!

The kick sent Moro flying.

Despite being violently suppressed, Moro remained calm.

He knew that once the fireplace’s flames weakened, it would be time to counterattack…

Though he understood this was the safest course,

He felt he couldn’t just defend passively.

That would be too rigid.

While airborne, Moro’s thoughts shifted, and he put his idea into action.

Before landing and despite the pain, he fired two flying stars at Vaughn with both hands.

Then, as Vaughn’s attention focused on those two stars, Moro kicked a third flying star—no bigger than a marble—backward with his heel, landing steadily afterward.

Taking a risky countermeasure in what should have been a defensive round—

If this had been the inexperienced Moro before his death and rebirth, he surely would not have chosen this path.

But now,

Repeated combat experience was filling the gaps in Moro’s knowledge like nourishing soil.

This was the most crucial and essential first step in the growth of his combat prowess.