Chapter 127: A Fine Arrow! | Gratitude to Silver Grand Patron Baiyi Ranshuanghua Y

Lin Hao lay forlornly in the grass, feeling languid from head to toe.

He had been lying in ambush for nearly a quarter of an hour, watching with his own eyes as that thick-browed Blood Blade Guard stealthily lit the fuse and brought down the entrance to the valley.

He had thought that with this, his great vengeance would finally be fulfilled. If his father knew of it in the afterlife, he could surely smile in peace.

Lin Hao had naturally obtained intelligence on the strength of the Wolf Barbarian tribe in Yinwind Valley.

He also understood that once anyone became trapped inside, death was virtually certain.

Even as he savored the pleasure of revenge, he wanted to wait a little longer…

Because having avenged himself so effortlessly left him feeling strangely empty, as though he had no firm ground beneath his feet.

“This time, I’ll casually kill a barbarian and pass the trial, then enter one of the finest martial academies. From that point onward, I’ll rise straight to the heavens. What a pity Father will never live to see it.”

“No. Letting him die like that won’t be enough to swallow this anger. Father died so miserably, ruined in both name and reputation. I want his entire family buried with him. When I return, when I…”

Lin Hao’s face twisted. Whenever he imagined the pleasure to come, a vicious grin spread across his features.

Suddenly, he half rose, his eyes turning bloodshot as he stared at the long line of pursuers and fugitives ahead. He nearly burst into curses.

“How is he still alive?”

He would recognize the figure at the very front even if it were reduced to ashes.

That peerless face, beautiful enough to make him sick.

Most importantly, the man was completely unharmed.

Though a smear of undried crimson blood remained at the corner of his mouth and his clothes were dustier than before, he still had all four limbs intact. That, more than anything, was unacceptable.

The Moonbreaker Crossbow in his hands had already been raised in silence, aimed directly ahead.

Lin Hao held his breath, his eyes blazing with madness.

He had thrown his badge far away. Even if he did something now, the military officer in charge at the camp could never discover it.

Once it was over, he only had to follow the instructions he had been given, discard the bolt, quietly hurry back, and reclaim his badge. Then no one would ever know.

“Your time has come.”

The crossbow bolt tore through the air, trailing ripples of vacuum like a bolt of lightning, and shot toward Xiao Nan’s head.

The explosion of sound came like a thunderclap, yet it was far slower than the bolt itself.

The Moonbreaker Crossbow was renowned, one of the military’s most formidable killing weapons. Under ordinary circumstances, it was used to snipe powerful beast barbarians.

Its advantages lay in its compact size, ease of activation, and concealability.

With a surprise attack, even a fourth- or fifth-rank barbarian expert would have his soul severed on the spot after taking a single bolt.

“What a shot!”

Watching the bolt part the air and streak forward like lightning and thunder, Lin Hao seemed already to see Xiao Nan’s head explode. His heart brimmed with savage delight.

…

As Xiao Nan sprinted in a frantic serpentine path, he dodged the Wolf Barbarian leader’s wild slashes behind him while sensing the movements around him.

He had not forgotten the scene from earlier, when he entered the valley and heard the thunderous crash behind him as the rocks and earth collapsed.

If his guess was correct, it had certainly been done by human hands. If so, could the culprit still be nearby?

After his spiritual power had reached the Embryonic Breath realm, the range and sharpness of his perception had increased considerably. But it was still not enough.

At least for the moment, he had detected no sign of anyone.

Just then, a chill struck his brow. His heart began pounding wildly, and he sensed an overwhelming catastrophe surging toward him.

Acting on instinct, Xiao Nan tilted his head to the left, and his body followed, lunging diagonally away.

A fierce wind cut across his face.

Pain flashed over his cheek. With a sharp hiss, something shot past his ear, and a thunderous explosion rang out in the distance.

Through his spiritual perception, he sensed a pitch-black arrow, a streak of phantom light, flash past him and shoot straight toward the barbarian leader behind him.

The Wolf Barbarian’s reactions were equally swift. Perhaps because he was not the direct target, he had not been caught off guard. The moment he saw Xiao Nan move strangely, he had already grown alert.

When the arrow reached him and flew straight toward his chest, he raised his saber without hesitation and blocked it horizontally.

Clang!

The resonant clash of metal rang through the air. The black arrow was knocked off course, yet it continued to shoot diagonally toward the rear.

Thud! Thud!

The two Wolf Barbarians following behind had been running in a straight line, hot on their quarry’s heels. The first was pierced through the chest, clutching the wound as he collapsed. The second was struck squarely in the head, and his wolf’s skull exploded in an instant, spraying red and white across the sky.

“Someone’s lying in ambush!”

The Wolf Barbarian leader was consumed by rage. Seeing Xiao Nan pull farther away, he let out a furious howl and poured on the speed.

His body blazed with light like a charging rhinoceros, carrying a savage gale as he launched himself forward and struck with all his might.

In a short span of time, his speed more than doubled. With a single flash, he had reached Xiao Nan’s back.

At the same time, he had arrived not far from Lin Hao.

The direction was perfect.

There were never many coincidences in this world. Most things that appeared coincidental were arranged by human hands…

Xiao Nan’s movement and footwork held no particular advantage. The reason he could evade the Wolf Barbarian leader’s pursuit was largely due to the subtlety of his Eight Trigrams Step.

It was the experience he had gained dodging bullets in his previous life that allowed him to escape with a sliver of life time and again.

The instant the arrow appeared, his mind stirred, and he immediately locked onto Lin Hao’s position.

Though Lin Hao hid in the grass, holding his breath and concealing his form, it was useless.

Perhaps during a frantic escape, one might overlook certain things. But once he had a target, if Xiao Nan still failed to find him, he would have to doubt whether his spiritual perception was of any use at all.

Without a second thought, he increased his speed and charged straight toward Lin Hao.

Sensing the violent gale rushing up behind him, Xiao Nan did not hesitate in the slightest before shouting, “Hurry up and move, unless you want to die!”

Lin Hao had only just recovered from the despair of missing Xiao Nan. He cursed inwardly, blaming the man’s luck. How had he managed to dodge that?

He had not yet decided what to do next. Should he flee, or continue hiding? Perhaps he could wait until the barbarian forces had passed before withdrawing?

These thoughts churned through his mind. No matter which choice he made, he found himself in a difficult position.

He hesitated for the briefest instant. Xiao Nan had already rushed in front of him and shouted, concern unmistakable in his voice.

“I shot an arrow at him, and he’s actually worried about me? What kind of joke is this?”

For half a second, Lin Hao’s mind simply stopped functioning. He stared blankly in confusion.

Yet his body, following that shouted warning, crawled out of the grass and instinctively began fleeing backward.

“Damn…”

He had barely risen halfway when Lin Hao came to his senses.

Why was he running? He had been hidden perfectly well. Why the hell was he fleeing?

By then, it was already too late.

A fist the size of a sea bowl came straight at him.

It crashed down.

Lin Hao had not even had time to curse. His arm was only halfway raised when the Wolf Barbarian leader’s fist slammed into his chest.

Boom!

Amid the surge of explosive force, Lin Hao’s body burst apart like a shattered kite, torn to pieces by a single punch.

A deep cavity appeared in his chest, and blood poured out like a waterfall, splashing throughout the grass.

The scene was horrifying.

Xiao Nan sneered coldly inwardly. He touched the ground with the tips of his toes and vaulted into the air, narrowly avoiding the broad saber sweeping across at him. With one hand against the trunk, he sprang onto a large tree.

His hands flailed through the dense branches, tearing them aside as his body slipped past like a nimble serpent.

All that remained exposed was a burly soldier with a broad face and thick brows. He now gripped a dark-red saber, caught between striking and withdrawing.