As soon as the wild animal was just a couple of feet away from where he was hiding, he came out of his hiding spot and pounced at it.
His eyes were filled with a vicious killing intent that hadn't been there before. It seemed as though he was possessed by an inner beast, thirsting for blood to be spilled.
With all of his strength, he lunged towards the boar with his dagger pointed forwards, aiming to kill it instantly.
But unfortunately, Oliver miscalculated the boar's response time when attacked, and it noticed him before he could strike. So instead of stabbing directly into its flesh, the boar twisted its body and charged at Oliver with its large tusks leading the way.
"Shit!" Oliver cursed under his breath as he rolled out of the way to dodge its assault.
The boar rammed right into the tree trunk, hitting it hard and causing a loud crash. A sharp pain ran through Oliver's body from the sudden impact, but he didn't let it stop him. Instead, he got right back to his feet and charged forward again.
"ROOOAAAARRRRR!"
The boar let out a ferocious roar and charged at Oliver once more, eager to gore him with its tusks.
But Oliver was determined to finish things quickly here, so he sidestepped and let the boar charge past him without getting hit. And once its back was to him, he jumped up on top of it and plunged the dagger straight down into the animal's back.
A piercing cry rang throughout the forest, and it struggled violently under him as its blood gushed out everywhere.
"Fuck!" Oliver yelled, struggling to hold himself on its back. "Why won't it die?"
The boar started flailing around in an attempt to buck him off, but Oliver continued stabbing at its flesh while trying not to fall off in the process. Blood poured out of its wounds and splashed against him, causing him to gag from the intense smell.
The smell of blood, raw meat, and death hung thick in the air of the forest. It filled his lungs with each breath and lingered in his senses as though trying to imprint itself deeply into his mind.
Each second felt like minutes as he struggled to hold on, using all of his strength and energy to stay mounted atop the rampaging boar. His entire body screamed with every movement, but he ignored the discomfort and kept stabbing relentlessly until finally, after a few agonizing moments, the beast collapsed to the ground.
Its body shuddered for a couple of seconds before going still.
A wave of relief flooded over Oliver. The adrenaline coursing through his veins began to subside, and his heartbeat slowed down. The blood, which had previously been flowing out in torrents from its wounds, began to slow to a trickle, leaving behind a thick red puddle beneath the now still corpse.
"Holy shit." Oliver breathed out, sweat dripping from his body as he released the dagger and dropped onto his knees. His chest heaved heavily as he stared wide-eyed at the lifeless body below him.
He couldn't believe what he just did. It felt so surreal that he almost doubted whether all of this was real.
After all, just last night, he was sleeping soundly in his bed with his loved ones nearby, safe and warm under the comforting blankets of their home. Yet here he was now, covered in blood with a dead animal lying next to him.
"I killed it..." Oliver murmured incredulously as he took deep breaths. He felt proud of himself that he accomplished his first task even though it was tougher than he originally thought. But it didn't matter what happened anymore; all that mattered was that he was able to pull it off without failure.
But just as the adrenaline high wore off, Oliver's elation turned into something else. He turned around and saw a figure watching him from afar.
It was a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing nothing but a loincloth and holding a bow. His skin was dark from years spent outdoors, and his eyes were deep-set and piercing, almost predatory. There wasn't a single ounce of fat on his muscular body, just solid muscle from his thick shoulders to his broad chest to his rippling abdomen.
"Fuck," Oliver murmured to himself. "Now what?"
The man didn't give him the chance to react as he pulled out an arrow and shot it straight at his head.
"Ah!" Oliver cried out as he dodged it by ducking down. He then took the dagger that fell next to the boar, grabbed it tightly, and lunged at the attacker.
After all, there was no way he could run from this man while the latter was holding a bow and arrows. It would be foolish to even try. And besides, even if Oliver somehow managed to avoid getting hit by an arrow, he knew that he would end up exhausted in no time, and then what? The outcome would be the same as if he didn't attempt escape in the first place.
So instead, Oliver decided to fight back. He needed to kill this man before he got killed himself.
When Oliver neared the man, the latter shot another arrow that almost hit him right in the stomach. But he was lucky enough to twist his body just enough so that it scraped past him. However, the sudden movement caused Oliver to slip and almost fall. He quickly recovered, though, by rolling forward before another arrow could hit him.
"Damnit!" Oliver cursed under his breath as he lunged towards the man once more and swung his blade at the guy's abdomen.
But the man reacted swiftly and dodged it. He then followed up by swinging a club at Oliver, aiming straight for his face.
"Urgh!" Oliver grunted and tried to avoid the blow, but he wasn't quick enough. The club smashed into his shoulder, sending intense waves of pain throughout his body and knocking him off balance.
But Oliver didn't let it deter him and lunged forwards once again and stabbed the dagger into the man's thigh.
"Gahh!" The man screamed in agony as blood gushed out from his wound, spraying across Oliver's face.
It wasn't a fatal blow, though, and the man retaliated in kind by hitting Oliver right on his temple with his elbow, stunning him momentarily.
Oliver's vision blurred, but he forced himself to stay focused, knowing that one wrong move could spell death for him. He swung his dagger again at the man, and this time, the latter wasn't able to stop it from reaching its target. It plunged deep into the side of his abdomen with a sickening squelch, eliciting another groan from him.
However, instead of pulling out the blade and retreating, Oliver opted to slice sideways through his flesh, cutting open a wide gash in his stomach before releasing the dagger from his grip and stepping back.
Blood flowed freely out from the gaping wound and onto the ground below him. The man gasped and struggled to breathe as he fell down to his knees, clutching desperately at his guts, which spilled onto the grass.
The scene left Oliver breathless.
A mixture of emotions washed over him as he stared down at the man whose life was about to end in front of him. His eyes were filled with agony and hatred while his mouth uttered incomprehensible noises. There was nothing left in his expression but pure anger toward Oliver.
Oliver gritted his teeth and glared at the man while feeling utterly disgusted by what he just did. Still, he couldn't help himself; this man tried to kill him first. He had no choice but to defend himself and end his life for his survival.
He wasn't proud of himself for murdering someone else in cold blood, but it was a necessity. And if the roles were reversed, the man wouldn't have hesitated either.
The man soon stopped moving as blood loss took its toll on him. His muscles slackened, and he fell sideways onto the ground.
"God..." Oliver muttered and let out a shaky breath. "What the hell is going on..."