As soon as he saw the splinters falling, Oliver would rush back towards a tree, catching the attention of the gunslinger who still held the pistol with both hands.
Oliver felt a chill down his spine and leaped backward, seeing the two shots hitting and once again tearing pieces off the tree he was about to take cover behind.
When he looked to the side, Oliver saw the gunslinger's face still with a smile, and then he started running again while the gunslinger quickly reloaded.
"Damn it." Oliver hid behind a tree, and more shots came, destroying the tree in an attempt to hit him, but without getting hit, he ran again. "He reloads only once and fires multiple times."
Oliver was constantly under pressure due to the shots. His hope was that the trees could withstand the bullets, and at first, they did. However, those luminous shots were more powerful than any bullets he knew, destroying several trees and limiting Oliver's movement while preventing him from getting closer.
Once again, he used a tree for cover and ducked as the luminous shots came, with splinters and pieces of wood falling towards Oliver as he moved quickly while thinking.
"That makes it four." Oliver picked up large pieces of wood, the largest he could with his hands, and turned them toward the gunslinger who still smiled, and in an instant, Oliver threw them at the man who pointed his gun. "So far, he hasn't fired more than six shots without reloading; that must be his limit."
Once again, Oliver disappeared into the bushes from the same bushes where he had hidden before. Soon, three arrows came from different angles, targeting various parts of his body.
The gunslinger's eyes moved quickly, and he aimed at the arrows, firing two quick shots that destroyed them. However, this time, he moved quickly to avoid the arrow that would have hit his shoulder, but the arrow grazed him, pushing him back slightly before he quickly ran to a tree for cover.
Oliver continued to think, his eyes shining, while the clouds slowly moved away from the moon, making the area a bit brighter again.
"He can release those bright shots whenever he wants." Glancing to the side, he heard the heavy breathing and slight groans of pain from the gunslinger a few trees away. "But he needs to hold it with both hands to fire. As I thought, he has some stronger abilities granted by the relics."
His enhanced bullets had almost completely destroyed a tree in a few shots, and in the end, Oliver frowned but soon heard, "Damn... you're making it hard for me to deal with a bow, aren't you?" It was a clear grumble for Oliver to hear, but deep down, he could clearly understand that the gunslinger was smiling. "I think you've already seen my face; this duel is lasting longer than against those guys, but it's still interesting."
He laughed a bit more relaxed, and Oliver frowned.
"What's going on in this guy's head?"
"Talk to me, partner. By the end of the night, one of us will be dead. Why don't we have a little chat before we say goodbye?" He laughed again and continued, "I want to remember your name before sending you to the other world."
Oliver clicked his tongue while preparing more arrows, saying aloud, "Your weapon can fire projectiles faster than usual, and you reload that thing as if you're doing a magic show." Oliver put the arrows on his bow and said, "And you can see where my arrows are going to hit you even in this darkness, can't you? But you can't move faster than them."
"You hit the mark, kid." Again, he laughed, amused, but then he opened a wide smile, saying, "But you can only hit three arrows perfectly at once, right? Don't worry; this time, I'll aim for you."
"Oh, really? Let's see."
Oliver frowned, and then he heard the gunslinger wielding the gun and reloading quickly. In an instant, Oliver started running again, and the gunslinger advanced, firing his luminous shots that destroyed the trees Oliver tried to use as cover, making the vigilante grit his teeth in frustration.
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"He has more experience with relics to be able to do this freely. If it's such a strong ability, it must have its cost, but in terms of energy, he's better than me." Oliver clicked his tongue again but then smiled as he concluded, "I won't win from a distance, will I? What a lousy archer."
Oliver took a quick step and jumped between the trees while the gunslinger also advanced, quickly aiming at Oliver's body with a smile as the vigilante watched.
Two shots came, but Oliver used the branches to change his position, placing himself sideways to try to reduce the area he could be hit.
The bullets passed very close, but none hit, and Oliver could see a clear smile on the gunslinger's face as he continued to track his movement.
Then, Oliver used another branch to move to the treetops.
The gunslinger frowned in confusion but quickly smiled again, understanding the plan.
Oliver now used the limited view from the treetops and ran between them, knocking down branches and leaves that indicated his path. The gunslinger couldn't see clearly due to the darkness of the area.
The gunslinger continued to smile as he saw Oliver moving, destroying branches and leaves as he moved ferociously, realizing that Oliver's preparation had gone beyond using the environment to his advantage. He had created a scenario where the gunslinger had no clear vision or target.
But still, the gunslinger fired, and the bullets pierced the treetops, but Oliver kept moving, and three more arrows came, making the gunslinger fire at the arrows again while taking cover behind a tree to avoid being hit.
The arrows hit the tree, and the gunslinger aimed again at the vigilante, but noticed that the branches and leaves had stopped falling, leaving only those that had already been knocked down.
The gunslinger widened his eyes and looked around with both hands, searching for his target.
As the wind gradually dispersed the cloud covering the moon, the gunslinger looked up and saw a shadow blocking his view.
He saw Oliver in the air, with his fist raised, and quickly pointed his gun. However, before he could fire, Oliver's punch landed squarely on his face, pushing his head back violently before the shot went off.
Oliver fell to the ground, grunting, but the gunslinger was thrown back, hitting his back against a tree, spitting blood.
The gunslinger raised his head, grunting, and saw Oliver in front of him. His cape was damaged, and there were a few strands of blood on his arms, showing that some of the shots had grazed him.
In the end, the vigilante was clearly out of breath, and he slowly got up, still with his eyes shining in the darkness, staring at the gunslinger who grunted and gritted his teeth, trying to raise his pistol.
However, his hand trembled more than he could move it, and he looked at Oliver, who still had his head down but was still looking at him with his eyes shining in the darkness.
"Your weapon is powerful, and the shots could have killed me. At long range, you're much stronger than I am. If you hadn't held back on your shots, reserving three to stop my arrows, you probably would have killed me," Oliver spoke, still tired but then he smiled and said, "You're strong, but you can be sure that in close combat, I won't lose."
Oliver took a heavy step forward, and the gunslinger clenched his teeth this time, with a furrowed brow, turning his weapon as quickly as he could towards the vigilante.
But before he could aim, his eyes widened again as he saw Oliver, already in front of him with wide eyes and a raised fist.
The gunslinger protected his weapon and face, but Oliver, without backing down, struck, hitting the gunslinger's defense head-on, raising it to such a force that the gunslinger's eyes widened in surprise.
However, the advance didn't stop, and Oliver clenched his teeth and took a deep breath, delivering another punch that sank into the gunslinger's abdomen, causing him to lean forward.
The opportunity was not wasted, and even with a trembling fist, Oliver struck the side of the gunslinger, who was thrown to the side and spun in the air, hitting his back against a tree and falling down while grunting.
Oliver felt his knees weaken as his whole body burned, and the blood flowing from his arm made him weaker.
However, before he fell, Oliver leaned against the tree to have some support while he examined the state of his arms.
Some parts on the sides had been torn by the bullets, and as he touched his abdomen, he could feel the liquid, and when he removed his hand, he saw that part of it was red.
"Even with all the planning... it wasn't enough."
Oliver had spent his entire morning mapping the area, even where he had stopped to rest was planned. All the work he had done, destroying branches and leaves to use the environment to his advantage, had given him some advantage. However, his tired and wounded body showed that the price of fighting against a relic user was not cheap.
But then, a sound of a leaf being stepped on disturbed his calm, and he looked to the side, widening his eyes that still shone as he saw the same glow, but this time, it was yellowish.
The gunslinger was still awake, and his weapon was pointed toward the vigilante. For a moment, he saw the gunslinger give a faint, tired smile, and the sound of the shot was heard.