The Queen of Scrolls never admits defeat

"Hiss—!" The Wind Chaser Antelope let out a short and high-pitched cry, its limbs tensing instantly, and powerful wind elemental energy began to gather around it, ready to escape with the wind at any moment!

Xiang Yufan's heart sank suddenly, and he knew something was wrong!

He knew he had been exposed. Being detected at such close range meant that, given the speed of the Wind Chaser, he had no chance of firing a crossbow bolt, let alone hitting it! All his efforts were in vain!
Extreme frustration and resentment welled up in my heart instantly.

Just then, "Whoosh!"

A sharper and more piercing sound than the wind itself, arriving late but first, tore through the night from the direction of the lookout tower, shooting with unparalleled precision at the joint of the Wind Chaser Antelope's hind leg, which it had just raised and had not yet fully exerted its strength to push off the ground!
It was Moran's throwing knife!

She had been observing the entire situation from her vantage point, and she noticed the subtle changes in the airflow even earlier than Xiang Yufan. Almost the instant the wind direction changed, she judged that Xiang Yufan was about to be exposed, and she acted without hesitation.

She did not choose to attack vital points because vital points are difficult to hit when the antelope is in a frightened state, and are easily fatal.

In a moment of desperation, it's enough to lend him a hand. If he were to actually kill it, the beast core would be of little use to Xiang Yufan.

So she chose to restrict movement.

With a "thud," the dagger pierced precisely into the right hind leg joint of the Wind Chaser Antelope. Although it wasn't enough to cause serious injury, it was enough to disrupt its movements.

"Hiss!"

The Wind Chaser let out a painful and panicked cry, its exertion suddenly distorted, and it stumbled, not only failing to increase its speed but also nearly falling over!
Xiang Yufan did not waste the opportunity. Almost at the same moment Moran's throwing knife hit him, his body reacted instantly, and he quickly rushed forward to fire.

"boom!"

The crossbow bolt fired with a dull, powerful sound, striking the side of the Wind Chaser's neck precisely in the moment when it was unsteady and sluggish, the powerful penetrating force bringing a fatal wound.

The mournful cry of the Wind Chaser Antelope abruptly ceased, the light in its eyes quickly dimmed, and its massive body crashed to the ground, twitching a few times before falling still.

The scene was completely silent, with only the rustling of the wind through the grass.

Xiang Yufan remained in the shooting posture, panting heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He felt a mixture of lingering fear, immense relief, and excitement.

He looked toward the watchtower, his eyes filled with gratitude.

Moran had silently descended from the watchtower at some point: "I made my move. The beast core is yours, and the corpse and the rest of the materials are mine. However, since I participated in the attack, the extraction rate of the beast core skill will probably be affected, so it won't be as effective as if you killed it entirely on your own. Let's dig it out and keep it for later. If we're lucky enough to hunt a Wind Chaser Antelope in better condition on our own later, we can use the new one; if there's really no better option, this one can still be used."

Xiang Yufan quickly put away his crossbow, ran over, and said solemnly with genuine gratitude on his face, "Thanks, Moran! I'm so grateful to you this time!"

He wasn't ungrateful; he knew perfectly well that if Moran hadn't discovered the Wind Chaser's trail first and warned him in time, he would have had no chance at all. In the end, if Moran hadn't used his superb skill with a dagger to interrupt the Wind Chaser's escape and create the perfect opportunity, he would have been able to watch helplessly as the cooked duck flew away.

Although he didn't kill the Wind Chaser Antelope alone, Moran left the final blow to him, maximizing the chances of extracting the Beast Core skill. While the Beast Core effect is inferior to killing it alone, it's far better than being killed directly by someone else. For a target as difficult to hunt as the Wind Chaser Antelope, this is an excellent result.

His original plan included "imperfect kill" as an option, so he naturally appreciated the gesture and was grateful.

Xiang Yufan immediately took out his dissection tools, squatted down, and began to process the carcass of the Wind Chaser Antelope.

The Wind Chaser Antelope is a treasure trove, far more valuable than the previous Red-Eyed Grasshoppers, and even more precious than many two-star Mirror Beasts.

He handled the body with extreme care in order to preserve its integrity as much as possible.

He pried open the mouth of the Wind Chaser Antelope, carefully cut open the soft flesh of its palate with a specially made thin-bladed dagger, avoiding important blood vessels and nerves, and finally took out the beast core, which was still warm and slightly emitting a blue halo, from deep inside its skull, and carefully wiped it clean.

Then, he pushed the almost intact carcass of the Wind Chaser towards Moran:

"Here! If I get incredibly lucky and manage to kill the Wind Chaser Antelope on my own and obtain an even more perfect beast core, then I'm willing to give you that beast core as well, as a way of thanking you for leaving me the chance for that final blow."

That's what I really meant.

He could see clearly that in that situation, with Moran's terrifying throwing knife skills, if he had aimed at a vital point, he would have been absolutely capable of killing the Wind Chaser Antelope directly. There was no need for him to go through the trouble of attacking the joints and leaving the final blow for him.

In that situation, he alerted the Wind Chaser and lost his hunting opportunity. It was only natural for Moran to take action and kill him, but she deliberately held back.

“Okay.” Moran did not refuse, nodded, and put the corpse of the Wind Chaser into his storage space.

She planned to use the corpse of this Wind Chaser Antelope as material for the Book of Cards when the opportunity arose.

As dawn breaks, a new day begins.

Ren Miao added a few more pieces of firewood to the campfire in the center of the camp, making the almost extinguished flames burn brightly again and dispelling the chill of the early morning.

Bai Wei set up a metal pot of suitable size over the fire, inside which was a thick meat porridge, mixed with dried meat pieces, compressed vegetables and several kinds of edible fungi collected locally. It was bubbling and steaming, emitting a warm and tempting aroma that made one's stomach rumble.

One by one, everyone emerged from their tents and sat around the rekindled campfire, enjoying a simple yet comforting breakfast while reminiscing about their "thrilling" vigil the previous night.

"Our first team won our first battle last night!"

Lin Yue tapped the rim of her bowl with her spoon, a little smugly, to attract everyone's attention. "Although we were a bit flustered at first, the three of us worked together and successfully killed two Night Weasels that were sneaking up on us! We even got two one-star dark attribute beast cores!"

As she spoke, she pulled two black crystals, about the size of a fingernail and emitting a faint, dark glow, from her pocket and waved them in front of everyone. Then her gaze turned to Moran, who was quietly drinking her porridge:
"Moran, I remember your target, the Phantom Leopard Cat, is a dark attribute, right? You'll definitely need dark attribute beast cores as catalysts or consumables to cast skills later, right? Do you want some? If so, we'll sell them to you cheaply." (End of Chapter)