novelraw Chapter 51: Engagement
Chapter 51: Engagement
The arrow, with a sharp whistle, shot directly towards Li Qi!
The piercing arrow carried a chilling killing intent. The officer hadn't said a single word, directly intending to kill Li Qi!
Fortunately, Li Qi was already fully focused. The moment the opponent raised his hand to draw the crossbow, he had already dropped into a Tiger Crouching on the Ground stance, immediately sprawling onto the ground. The arrow streaked past where he had been standing, directly shattering a rock behind him and deeply embedding itself within it!
Li Qi's scalp tingled!
Damn it, too lazy to even say two words, actually going straight for the kill!
These people were indeed like soldier-bandits!
Li Qi stopped talking nonsense. Lying on the ground, myriad plans flashed through his mind instantly. The stone clutched in his hand was thrown fiercely towards the mountain!
This mountain was short, only a few dozen zhang high.
Above was the altar Li Qi had built earlier.
The stone was thrown with all his might, directly striking the altar on the uppermost cliff.And Li Qi, with power already swelling in his body, his figure expanding by a foot, activated his Bull Strength Art!
Seeing this, the officer's eyes widened, and he roared, "Bull Strength Art! Attention, this fellow is a ritual priest from Wushen Mountain!"
The other nine immediately sprang into action!
This was mountainous terrain; horses couldn't charge effectively, needing to jump or avoid obstacles mid-charge. So, upon hearing the command, they immediately dismounted, drew their hand crossbows, and unleashed a volley of bolts.
Li Qi, regardless of appearances, directly rolled on the ground to dodge, using the cover of night and the scattered stones on the ground. He actually managed to evade these few arrows.
The arrows were embedded deep in the ground. It was clear that if they had struck flesh, even Li Qi's thick hide would have been directly pierced, surely causing severe injury with one hit.
The arrows missed, and reloading took time. The few soldiers simply abandoned their crossbows, drew their long blades, and attempted to encircle Li Qi, intending to hack him to pieces!
But at this moment, a rumbling sound suddenly came from above.
The few soldiers looked up.
Then, they found that on the cliff face, countless rocks were falling!
The altar, already precarious and only standing due to Li Qi's force analysis, had been struck. It immediately became unstable, and tens of thousands of jin of stone plummeted downwards, rolling like thunder!
Tens of thousands of jin of stone falling from a cliff dozens of zhang high meant the force was far more than just tens of thousands of jin.
At this point, the impact force of the stones could multiply dozens of times!
The soldiers retreated, trying to get away!
But Li Qi, watching his progress bar, immediately seized the opportunity. Disregarding the falling rocks from above, he charged straight forward!
He directly collided with a soldier, grabbed him firmly, and lifted him up!
Under the enhancement of the Bull Strength Art, with a colossal strength of six thousand eight hundred jin, even these soldiers couldn't contend with Li Qi in terms of power!
But normally, with only brute strength, he would definitely not be their match. However, at this moment, these people were startled by the falling rocks and frantically wanted to retreat. Li Qi, relying on his progress bar, directly seized the opportunity and their momentary lapse, interrupting their original movements and lifting them up!
Li Qi lifted one, then threw him violently into a shadowed spot on the ground. He then protected his head with his hands, scrambling and rolling into the gully amidst the falling rock shower.
He recklessly charged into the falling rock shower, actually managing to impede one soldier!
Although he himself was struck by some small broken stones and sustained some injuries, these wounds were gradually healing under the effect of the Great Forest Wood Qi.
The soldier Li Qi had smashed to the ground, encased in armor, found it difficult to get up quickly. He was hit by a falling rock and let out a wail, but he was not yet dead.
The other soldiers tried to rescue him, but less than half a second later, the smaller stones had finished falling, and the remaining large stones plunged down one by one, directly burying the soldier Li Qi had thrown to the ground.
At first, faint wails could still be heard, but then only the sound of stones hitting the ground remained.
There weren't many stones from the altar. This rockfall only lasted less than five seconds, but it had already killed one soldier.
"Kill that bastard!" The officer roared in fury, waving his long saber and pointing at Li Qi!
"Hah!" The other soldiers also shouted, preparing to cross the pile of stones and charge at Li Qi.
But Li Qi didn't wait for them. While the soldiers were blocked by the falling rocks, he was already frantically running away.
By the time the soldiers started chasing, he had already reached the pond.
This was an ordinary mountain stream pond, about a few dozen meters deep, formed by a waterfall where several small streams converged. A river flowed downstream from the pond, leading to other places.
Li Qi did not hesitate and immediately jumped into the pond.
"To the river mouth! Cut him off!" the officer immediately ordered.
The officer, in an instant, understood the situation.
This bastard by jumping into the pond probably thought they, burdened with armor, wouldn't dare enter the water and was planning to seize an opportunity to escape.
And this was true; armor was too heavy and restricted movement, making it extremely easy to drown when entering the water with it on.
So, after scanning the surrounding terrain, he decisively chose to intercept this person. Between the pond and the river mouth, there would definitely be an impact beach!
This was a place that would inevitably form where water flowed, carrying dust and gravel. The impact beach would certainly be high ground, where the water wasn't deep!
By having four or five soldiers block this spot, this bastard would be trapped in this small pond!
If he dared to float to the surface, they would shoot him with crossbows.
If he didn't surface, he would drown in the water.
He hadn't expected to encounter a ritual priest from Wushen Mountain here.
Killing this person would be another top-tier merit!
The ritual priest of Wushen Mountain had caused them significant damage on the Songtang battlefield.
"Five men block him. The rest go back and get your crossbows. If he dares to surface, shoot him dead!" the officer shouted loudly.
The soldiers moved swiftly. Five of them quickly occupied the impact beach, where the water was only waist-deep, far from enough to drown someone. They stood on the impact beach, preparing their long sabers with both hands. If Li Qi dared to try and rush out from the river mouth, they would hack him to death with their blades.
The remaining three quickly went back, retrieved their crossbows, quickly strung them, loaded arrows, and surrounded the small pond, aiming at the water surface.
As soon as Li Qi dared to surface, they would immediately fire.
Dodging was difficult in the water; getting hit meant instant death!
Meanwhile, the officer began to shed his armor.
"Be careful of his arts. The spirits ritual priest serve vary, and so do their spells. This person has the Bull Strength Art; he's definitely not some rural shaman but a legitimate ritual priest of Wushen Mountain. He must have some tricks up his sleeve. We can't let him move slowly down there; I'll go down and drive him out."
"Little Banner, be careful! This man is incredibly strong!" a soldier said.
"That's the Bull Strength Art, the power of the Earth Deity Qiong. It's clear this person belongs to the Earth Deity branch. The Earth Deity branch specializes in using mountains and waters. The rockfall just now highlighted this person's capabilities. We can't let him prepare slowly; we must take the initiative to attack," the officer immediately replied.
His reasoning was clear and thorough, leaving no room for rebuttal from the others. They could only follow his orders.
"Don't worry, I see that the Qi of the Four Seasons within him is not yet distinct; he's clearly unranked. I am a ninth-rank military cultivator; why should I fear him?" The officer finished speaking, having already removed his armor.
(Chapter End)