novelraw Chapter 83
Chapter 83
A quarter of an hour earlier.
Six masked figures clad entirely in black water gear emerged silently from the waters near the Nu Tao Gang water stronghold. They came ashore and slipped into a nearby cave.
After removing their water gear, six pairs of icy eyes formed a circle.
“The investigation is complete.”
“The Yulong Gang and the county authorities are concentrated in two areas. First, the water stronghold dock—two county constables there, both at Quasi-Martial Artist level. The ship captain, ‘Old Qian,’ has just entered the Quasi-Martial Artist realm. The remaining twenty-odd are insignificant.”
“Another group is gathered in the Mining Area. About forty people. Two Quasi-Martial Artists guarding the mines. The rest are miners.”
“Lastly, there is one at the inner lake. A Quasi-Martial Artist guarding the fish pond. A minor character.”
The intelligence briefing concluded.
One of them slowly unwrapped the black cloth around his weapon, revealing the cold gleam of a Hundredfold Steel Blade. Killing intent surged from him.
“The Nu Tao Gang has been wiped out. We are hunted everywhere, wanted criminals—rats everyone wants to beat.”He snorted.
“Since that is the case, then we carve our way out with blood!”
“Everyone at the water stronghold dies today!”
“Fifth and Sixth, follow Second. Clean out the Mining Area!”
“Third and Fourth, with me. We eliminate the dock’s Quasi-Martial Artists first!”
At the command, all of them removed the black wrappings from their weapons, revealing their Hundredfold Steel Blades.
Ship Captain Old Qian had been lying on the cargo ship, enjoying a late morning nap. Suddenly, he heard commotion from the dock. As he opened his eyes and sat up, he saw the two constables already having their throats slit by black-clad men.
Old Qian was terrified out of his wits.
He leapt straight into the river without hesitation.
Decisive.
Unfortunately—
There were men waiting in the water.
A flash of blade.
Blood surged up from beneath the surface. Old Qian’s corpse soon floated to the top.
“Ah!”
“Murder!”
“Remnants of the Nu Tao Gang!”
“Run!”
Although the Yulong Gang disciples outnumbered the attackers, they had lost their backbone. None dared face these fiends. They scattered in all directions. Some even jumped into the river.
But there were men guarding the water.
Those who jumped in quickly met the same fate as Old Qian.
On shore, two black-clad men pursued and hacked their way forward.
The dock laborers were slaughtered in short order.
Third chased several Yulong Gang disciples all the way toward the inner lake. After cutting down the last four, he fixed his gaze on the Yulong Gang Inner Disciple who was still flicking his fishing rod to retrieve fish.
A mocking smile curved beneath his mask.
“Fishing? We have come to collect you.”
……
Su Wangchuan’s expression changed drastically.
“Ergou!”
“Fall back.”
His reaction was swift.
He immediately pulled the curious Chen Ergou back into the forest behind them.
The reason was simple.
Having cultivated Hundred Paces Piercing the Poplar to the realm of Practice Makes Perfect, his eyesight had improved significantly.
Before Chen Ergou could even grasp the situation, Su Wangchuan had already seen two of the four fleeing Yulong Gang disciples cut down by a black-clad, masked man wielding a blade behind them.
The man moved quickly, clearly having trained in Lightfoot techniques.
Blood stained his body. His eyes were cold. Killing intent radiated from him.
After cutting down the last two who had cried for help, he did not pause. He charged straight toward the Inner Disciple retrieving fish.
Su Wangchuan’s heart trembled.
At the same time, he noticed that something had gone wrong at the dock.
No figures were visible there anymore.
Silence.
Where were the county constables?
Where was Old Qian?
Damn it!
They could not all be dead, could they?
Why did this have to happen while he was here?
In such circumstances, how could Su Wangchuan dare to act recklessly? He immediately pulled Chen Ergou deeper into the woods.
Fortunately, his position was advantageous.
Ordinary archery practitioners would stand in open ground by the lake.
Because he had been training Hundred Paces Piercing the Poplar, he had deliberately kept his distance from the lake, standing near the edge of the forest.
He had not drawn attention.
Otherwise, the bowman would certainly have been the first target.
“Room Master!”
“That man… could he be a remnant of the Nu Tao Gang?”
“What do we do?”
Chen Ergou was pale as a sheet, trembling in terror.
Su Wangchuan did not respond.
He stood firm within the forest, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the black-clad masked man sprinting along the lakeshore.
“Lightfoot on Grass—at most Practice Makes Perfect.”
“You are a Martial Artist. So am I.”
“You are in the open. I am in the shadows.”
“Who dies is not yet decided.”
Though he had no desire to involve himself in such a deadly incident, he understood that it would not take long before the enemy discovered him and began hunting.
With no knowledge of how many accomplices there were, he had to eliminate this man first.
He did not intend to die.
The memory of Old Li and Heipi’s fates hardened his resolve.
The Yulong Gang Inner Disciple had finally reacted. Seeing his fellow disciples fall one by one, he drew a saber from behind his back.
CLANG!!
The Hundredfold Steel Blade carved a deep notch into the saber in a single strike.
The Inner Disciple staggered backward several steps.
The black-clad man paused slightly, grinning viciously as he raised his blade for another strike—
Only to have a cold arrow pierce straight through his arm from afar.
“It hit!” Chen Ergou’s eyes shone.
“Off target,” Su Wangchuan muttered, frowning.
He had aimed for the man’s throat, but the arm had blocked it.
Damn.
This would cause trouble.
Sure enough—
The black-clad man, suddenly struck, realized there was a skilled archer nearby. As he retreated, he shouted loudly:
“Big Brother! Someone slipped through over here!”
From the direction of the dock, two figures immediately appeared.
WHOOSH!
Now that his position had been exposed, Su Wangchuan gritted his teeth and released another arrow.
Hundred Paces Piercing the Poplar.
He had predicted the movement in advance.
The black-clad man failed to react in time. The arrow struck his body, and he fell into the water.
From afar, the First and Fourth saw Third fall into the lake. Mistakenly believing the man with the saber to be responsible, they accelerated toward him.
“Fourth, save him!”
“I will deal with this one!”
The First was clearly a Martial Artist. Confidence radiated from him, his eyes filled with cold killing intent.
Fourth nodded and dove into the lake.
But the moment he touched Third’s body, his expression changed drastically. A chill ran through him.
“Not good! Third was shot by an arrow!”
“There is someone nearby!”
By the time Fourth shouted the warning, it was already too late.
Moving swiftly through the forest, Su Wangchuan seized the moment when the black-clad First had his back turned and released another cold arrow.
The arrow sank deep into the First’s back.
He had just cut down the Yulong Gang disciple when the arrow struck. Then he heard Fourth’s warning.
“Damn it!”
“Bastard—so underhanded!”
TWANG!
Su Wangchuan had no intention of discussing honor.
He only wanted to survive.
Seeing the First wounded, he wasted no time. He loosed a second arrow.
Hundred Paces Piercing the Poplar.
Fast speed. Long range.
The First had not expected the arrow to come from deep within the distant forest. The second arrow struck directly into his throat.
THUD!
He died on the spot, eyes wide open in disbelief.
Fourth was terrified out of his wits.
He did not dare attempt rescue.
He did not even dare come ashore.
He dove straight into the water.
But Su Wangchuan had no intention of letting the final threat escape.
He rushed out of the forest, moving while drawing and releasing.
TWANG!
An arrow plunged into the water.
TWANG!
Another followed.
With the force of the Poplar Wood Bow and Hundred Paces Piercing the Poplar at Practice Makes Perfect, the arrows penetrated deep beneath the surface.
After several shots, bright red blood gushed upward.
Su Wangchuan continued firing.
Within a few breaths, the black-clad man resurfaced, choking on water, his body pierced with more than a dozen arrows.
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