CHAPTER 1552: CHAPTER 338: SILENCE

However, something strange happened this time, Nellie’s body merely turned her head in response to the arrow in Pannis’s hand, but she made no move against his attack. Her eyes, cold and empty, watched as the arrow drew ever closer, as if she had suddenly lost the ability to react. The smile that had been on Pannis’s face instantly froze, and as the corner of his eye twitched, he quickly retreated, intentionally moving several meters away from Nellie’s vicinity.

Pannis certainly didn’t aim to hurt Nellie, but he could still tell what was more important. If he could temporarily suppress Nellie’s instincts, even if it caused her severe injury, Pannis would not hesitate to strike. After all, wounds can be healed, it’s only temporary damage. However, if Nellie were to continue under the control of her instincts, he might not be able to hold on much longer, and the situation could completely spiral out of control, which is what no one wished to see. Therefore, even if it pained him, Pannis would undoubtedly strike if possible, but the problem was, he didn’t dare to actually use the Hunting Arrow on Nellie.

The only reason he could exchange blows with Nellie, even gaining a temporary advantage through some crafty tricks, was entirely reliant on the threat that the Hunting Arrow posed to her instincts. It was only with this weapon, which Nellie believed to be the only thing capable of effectively wounding her, that Pannis had been able to hold out until now. Hence, he didn’t dare to actually use the Hunting Arrow to attack Nellie—not because it might not be effective, but because once he actually struck, even Nellie’s instinct, with its lack of thought, would realize that the Hunting Arrow was ineffective. At that point, losing his only reliance, Pannis couldn’t even bear to imagine his own plight.

So, Pannis swiftly retreated, narrowly avoiding his own attack, and looked at Nellie with bewilderment, not understanding what had gone wrong with her.

Nellie remained in a daze, keeping her posture turned towards Pannis, standing motionless as if a puppet had suddenly lost its power in the midst of moving, twistedly stationed in place, stripped of all signs of life. Her formerly indifferent eyes now lacked their chill, becoming hollow and lifeless, making it hard to believe that just seconds ago, this seemingly rusted puppet of a person had just torn Pannis to shreds with pure strength.

"Are you... standing asleep again?" This time it was Pannis who was at a loss, uncertain of the situation. He didn’t dare approach Nellie to observe her current condition, regardless of his concern and confusion, as he couldn’t be sure whether Nellie might suddenly become astute and learn to deceive her enemy with a guise. In that case, he likely would have to die another time. While one more death wasn’t something he couldn’t accept, the problem was, as he suspected, divine items like the Hunting Arrow wouldn’t reset with his revival. If by chance it got snatched away by Nellie, that would be a tremendous embarrassment. However, he couldn’t just leave Nellie there and walk away; he would always have concerns, so he could only circle around her from a distance.

"Ahem, what exactly is your state now?" Pannis casually took some trinkets from his pocket and tossed them towards Nellie to test her, though he knew well that Nellie couldn’t answer him. Still, unable to keep his mouth idle, he continued to mutter, "See, you’re spacing out right now, aren’t you? Keep in mind, daydreaming is such a waste of time, and time is money. Wasting money will get you scolded by Catherine, oh, she’s too terrifying, let’s not talk about her. Anyway, it’s not right to waste time, so instead of squandering your time daydreaming, why not sit down and have a chat, talk about the future, talk about... Hey."

With a "whoosh," the incomplete phrase was cut short as Pannis quickly stepped back at least five meters, his face filled with wariness as he watched Nellie who seemed to have moved slightly. Nellie did indeed move; she slowly straightened up, turning to face Pannis with her lance hanging low, the tip dragging on the ground, her head also bowed, so her expression and eyes could no longer be seen.

"Ahem, um, you wouldn’t be avoiding chatting, would you?" Pannis tiptoed around Nellie at a distance, thinking that her current state didn’t seem like a bad thing. Of course, to Pannis, as long as Nellie wasn’t frantically chasing him with the intent to kill, nothing really counted as ’bad.’ After all, it couldn’t be worse than having new bloody holes in his body or being blown to pieces. If he could just prolong this peaceful state, it would be best for both of them. So Pannis wore a flattering smile, trying to steer the conversation away, "You don’t want to chat, that’s fine too. How about we just sit here for a bit? Didn’t you just mention enjoying the scenery, hahaha, it’s not a problem to do it now. Wait, don’t come over just yet, hey, I said wait."

In a flurry of motion, Pannis waved his hands frantically, retreating, while Nellie dragged her lance behind her, slowly stepping closer.

"I still have things to say, could you please stop?" Pannis maintained his distance safely outside of Nellie’s melee range, and as for what he was babbling, even he didn’t quite know what he was saying, "You see, the Hunting Arrow might have felt threatening to you, but I’ve already put it away, haven’t I? What’s that I’m holding in my hand? Hahaha, it’s already put away now."

Pannis’s voice grew softer and softer, as he noticed Nellie slowing down until she finally stopped like a puppet that had lost its power, motionless in place.

Pannis frowned deeply, while it was nice to delay time like this, he still couldn’t help worrying about Nellie’s condition. He truly couldn’t figure out why she had changed from a violent hunter to this sudden standstill. More importantly, if it was due to Nellie’s own consciousness waking up and starting to suppress her instincts, then there shouldn’t be incidents of her acting and then falling silent again showing up. This phenomenon was beyond Pannis’s understanding, hence he could only watch her with concern from a distance.

This time, Nellie’s silence lasted much longer than before. Pannis walked around her for a good four to five minutes. The knight maintained her stooped, standing posture without a twitch, not even when Pannis moved behind her, and she never once turned around. She really seemed no different from someone fast asleep.

"Ahem, did you fall asleep? If you did, just let me know," said Pannis, spouting meaningless nonsense while he cautiously took two steps forward, entering Nellie’s close combat range.