The pterosaur did not land; it merely swept across at a low altitude, its pair of giant claws, sharp as iron hooks, grabbing Donald's shoulders and waist with extreme precision.
Along with the luggage bag he was clutching tightly in his arms, it easily scooped up this hundred-plus-pound heavy object like grabbing a little chick.
Fresh blood splattered; that was the sound of claws piercing flesh.
"Help, save me, ahhh!"
Donald struggled desperately in mid-air, kicking his legs wildly, but the more he struggled, the deeper the claws embedded themselves.
"Shoot an arrow to save him, hurry, shoot, shoot it down!"
Under the tree trunk, Banner anxiously yelled at Hughes behind him.
"Hughes, what are you doing? Shoot it!"
Everyone remembered the only ranged weapon in the team; it was their only hope for a counterattack.
However.
There was a long delay, and no arrow was shot.
Everyone looked back and saw that the blonde-haired master archer Hughes, who had just been high-spirited and talking about developing this place into a resort, was now curled up in the deepest part of the tree trunk, his whole body shaking like a sieve.
His face was pale as paper, his lips devoid of color, and those arms that had just been as steady as a rock were now trembling, unable to even hold the bow.
The sharp arrow that was supposed to have been shot at the monster was now sliding between his trembling fingers, falling to the ground several times.
"I can't, I can't..." Hughes muttered to himself, his eyes unfocused.
"You coward!" Strange cursed. Although he was also terrified, he at least had not lost his sanity.
Amidst Banner's roar, Hughes finally managed to barely draw that recurve bow.
"Whoosh."
The arrow was shot.
However, the arrow was crooked and weak, lacking not only its previous speed but also its previous power and accuracy.
It did not even graze the pterosaur before being blown away by the gale fanned by the pterosaur's huge wings, falling to the ground like a straw.
"Donald!"
The curly-haired Banner desperately rushed out of the shelter, picked up a stone, and threw it with all his might.
But this was meaningless.
The pterosaur had already seized the still-screaming Donald and flown to a high altitude.
It did not fly away immediately, but circled a few times above everyone's heads like a demonstration, emitting a mocking cry, as if showing off its prey.
Subsequently, it flapped its wings and, carrying the increasingly faint screams, disappeared behind the distant cliffs.
This Eden returned to a deathly silence.
Only the scattered drops of blood on the ground proved that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.
"Hughes?"
Banner turned around and angrily questioned the blonde-haired young man who was still slumped on the ground; the disappointment in his eyes was even greater than his anger.
"What were you doing just now? Where is your archery? Where is your courage? You could have saved him."
The blonde-haired Hughes looked pale and dejected. He stared at his own hands, which were still trembling, and with a miserable expression and a tearful voice, he said, "I didn't want it to be this way. I wanted to save Donald too, but I couldn't control myself."
Hughes never expected that when the legendary monster appeared, and that ancient, ferocious aura washed over him, the courage he had been so proud of would deflate instantly, like a pricked balloon.
In that instant, the fire of fear licked over his entire body, burning away his nerves, causing him to lose all his strength at once, leaving his hands and feet completely unresponsive.
It was laughable that before setting out, he had bragged that as long as he had his bow and arrows, he could kill even the devil for everyone to see.