novelraw Chapter 48: Defeating the Enemy
Chapter 48: Defeating the Enemy
Li Wei was completely stunned!
What was going on? Why did these bandits attack immediately?
Didn't Penny and the others call out Anderson's name from a distance?
Under normal circumstances, shouldn't there be conversation, interrogation, capture, and ransom demands?
Were these guys actual savages or bandits? How could they be so ferocious!
No conversation, no interrogation, no deception—just smash first and ask questions later.
Or perhaps, smash them half to death?
No, in fact, just four or five seconds later, several lines of piercing, blood-red information directly appeared before Li Wei's eyes.
[Family Member, your fiancée Mixi had her head smashed by bandits using stones and unfortunately died.]
[Family Member, your sister Penny has fallen into an injured unconscious state.][Monthly Family Special Main Quest—Foreign Trade has suffered a major setback. If Family Head Penny dies, the family will suffer heavy losses.]
[The family development direction set by Family Head Penny has triggered serious consequences. Her abilities have been questioned, clearance evaluation will be greatly reduced, she has been forcibly deducted fifty points of Family Contribution, she has been stripped of her Family Elder title. For the next two months, she cannot obtain the Family Elder title. All Plot Kills targeting her only require one point of Family Contribution to initiate, but she needs five points of Family Contribution to exempt herself. Similarly, Plot Kills she initiates also consume five points of Family Contribution. That is, if she can still return alive.]
[Warning! You can choose to rescue Penny, or you can choose to stand by and watch her die.]
[Warning! The bandits have discovered Penny is a woman. They believe she is a witch spreading plague to them and will burn her to death.]
——
Damn!
So this was the problem—woman, witch!
Li Wei realized in that flash of insight. He didn't know why these bandits hated and feared two women disguised as men so much. Could this really be a medieval setting with witch hunts and plague spreading?
What to do?
Rescue her, or not?
Li Wei only hesitated for one second before making his decision. He had to rescue her. Whether he could actually save her was another matter, but he couldn't stand by and watch her die. He absolutely must not receive that kind of evaluation.
Last time when Penny's fiancé Sam was bitten to death by the wolf pack, she chose to stand by and watch, and the consequences were terrible.
And Sam's position in the family wasn't important anyway—if he died, he died.
But Penny was currently the Family Head of the household! If he still chose to stand by and watch her die, Li Wei felt his Family Elder status would probably be stripped too.
Right now, with time so tight, Li Wei had no time for roundabout tactics or anything. He directly threw down the bundle containing dry rations and clean water, carrying the iron spear in his left hand and the recurve bow with hunting bow in his right hand. A bold plan formed in his mind.
Although he could use the bow for ranged attacks alone, facing eight bandits who were clearly skilled in mountain warfare, and with him unfamiliar with the terrain, how could he possibly win?
So he had to maximize damage to the enemy's fighting strength before they could react.
And this required first showing weakness to the enemy.
Immediately, Li Wei began shouting and howling, pretending to be very anxious, his voice creating continuous echoes in the mountain hollow.
Then he ran wildly down the path along the mountain ridge. While attracting the attention of the eight bandits several hundred meters away, he also threw the iron spear, the recurve bow, and five cone-headed arrows behind a large tree.
Then holding the hunting bow with three wolf-tooth arrows in hand, he charged forward with just the hunting bow.
Li Wei's strategy was very successful.
The bandits who originally wanted to check the trap mechanisms were all alerted. When they saw Li Wei charging down from the mountain ridge alone, they didn't laugh heartily but briefly exchanged a few words before striding quickly toward Li Wei.
But they didn't charge in a disorganized swarm.
Only four bandits charged straight at Li Wei from the front.
The other four bandits split into two groups, flanking from left and right.
They showed absolutely no signs of underestimation.
Li Wei's heart pounded nervously, but he knew he had no other choice now. While trying hard to calm himself to prevent excessive stamina consumption, he slowed his pace, looking around nervously with a trembling appearance.
When the four bandits charging straight at him reached about a hundred meters away, he shakily drew his bow and fired. A wolf-tooth arrow flew out weakly, landing over forty meters away.
Then he turned and ran. The four bandits didn't shout loudly but silently, frantically pursued, closing to within fifty meters in just moments.
The other four flanking bandits were further away but were cutting off Li Wei's retreat.
Gritting his teeth, Li Wei desperately made himself calm down, took a deep breath, and drew his bow again. A wolf-tooth arrow flew up with decent accuracy, landing just a few steps in front of one bandit.
Stay calm, killing one is breaking even!
A resolute expression emerged on Li Wei's face. He stopped running away and instead stared fixedly at the largest bandit. That guy was like a wild beast with fierce eyes. His dense yellowish-brown beard and thick hair made him look like a lion. Nearly 1.9 meters tall, the momentum of his high-speed charge was truly terrifying!
That was killing intent.
Die!
Li Wei ignored the four bandits who had begun flanking from both sides, slowly, steadily drawing the hunting bow, aiming at the large bandit who had already charged to within twenty-five meters.
"Twang!"
The bowstring made a faint sound as the large bandit actually sidestepped simultaneously.
Of course he couldn't dodge arrow volleys, but he could observe Li Wei's movements in advance.
Damn, this is an expert.
But actually, at the last moment, Li Wei wasn't aiming at him but at a short yet strong middle-aged bandit wearing shabby leather armor, positioned three or four meters away from the large bandit and three to five steps behind.
If the large bandit hadn't sidestepped, Li Wei might not have even been able to shoot him due to insufficient firing angle.
But now, at an effective shooting distance of less than thirty meters, with this short middle-aged bandit having no warning reaction and even slowing down somewhat, Li Wei's shot was absolutely perfect. The professional hunter's 40% accuracy bonus was perfectly utilized.
"Whoosh!"
The unique sound of cutting through air was heard belatedly. By the time all the bandits realized what happened, that wolf-tooth arrow had already accurately shot into the short middle-aged bandit's right eye, penetrating over ten centimeters deep.
No matter who he was or what boastful past he had, at this moment, he was beyond saving, certainly dead.
Li Wei didn't even check his result. In that instant, he threw down the hunting bow, turned, and ran like a skinny dog.
Extremely fast.
Behind him came piercing screams and angry roars.
All the bandits began accelerating into full sprints. He could clearly hear their heavy panting sounds.
Closer, even closer.
The large bandit even threw away his weapon—a heavy stone hammer—and in moments closed to within ten meters behind Li Wei.
The flanking bandits from north and south were now only thirty to forty meters away from Li Wei.
He had no escape route!
But the next moment, he rushed behind the roadside tree, crouched down, picked up the recurve bow, grabbed three cone-headed arrows with his other hand, put two in his mouth, and lightning-fast nocked the other one to the bowstring. He turned while sidestepping out from behind the tree, simultaneously drawing the bow. The large bandit had already closed to within ten meters.
His face, twisted with rage and frantic running, was so clear. Before fear could even flash in his eyes, a sharp cone-headed arrow had already shot through his right eye, the arrowhead even penetrating through the back of his skull!
The sharp steel cone-headed arrow, plus the recurve bow with at least fifty pounds draw weight, was practically invincible at such close range!