The End of a Powerful Crossbow's Flight

Wang Wu had 67 Health Points left.

Yet that sense of deadly danger had vanished like ashes scattered to the wind.

Is that all?

Even though he lay in the mud, sealed in ice, with torrential rain pouring down and a vast blur all around him, he could not even see where the White-Haired Rat was.

Even though a sharp ice spike came hurtling toward him every second, piercing his body, freezing his blood before it could even flow out.

Even though he could not fight back at all, and could only curl up in the mud, protecting his head, chest, and abdomen while enduring the merciless bombardment of ice spikes.

All told, aside from taking one immensely powerful Ice Spike Talisman, he had suffered a continuous barrage of nine ice spikes.

It was practically a machine gun.

He could not regain the rhythm at all, much less counterattack. He could only rely on his 170 Health Points, 10 Defense, and Ice Resistance to passively hold on.

Yet even so, he still had 41 Health Points left!

Because the later the attack went on, the less damage those ice spikes dealt.

As if proving an idiom—at the end of a powerful crossbow's flight!

"Crash!"

The downpour continued without end, but the machine-gun-like ice spikes had fallen silent.

Wang Wu could not move at all right now. Though the ice spikes had failed to seriously injure him, they had turned into blocks of ice and temporarily sealed him in place.

Did that White-Haired Rat think I was dead?

Wang Wu remained motionless, but he had long since entered Level 5 Stealth.

The torrential rain continued, the gale still howled, and thunder and lightning did not cease. His Level 4 Self-Healing Talent activated, and his Health Points rapidly rose.

The ice was also melting quickly. In just a little while, he would be free again. He had already guessed what had happened.

That White-Haired Rat had run out of mana.

Sure enough,

When the ice had nearly melted away, he saw the White-Haired Rat again. It no longer looked like an Enlightened High Rat. Its tiny Daoist robe had long been soaked through by the rain and now hung from its body like a pair of little shorts, inexplicably comical.

Its white fur had also been discolored by mud and rainwater.

It looked even more bedraggled than Wang Wu.

The only thing unchanged was its little eyes, crazed with excitement. No, what the hell are you so excited about? You don't seriously think you killed me, do you?

Wang Wu was both dumbfounded and overjoyed.

He immediately realized that perhaps his Level 5 Stealth Talent had actually made the White-Haired Rat unable to tell whether he was dead or alive, unable to sense his life aura.

Seeing the old bastard approach excitedly and open its mouth to bite, Wang Wu cursed inwardly.

Wang Wu brought down a claw like lightning. Perhaps it was not actually that fast, but the White-Haired Rat had gotten far too close.

One swipe crushed it flat. It did not even make a sound, let alone leave any last words.

That was it?

Wang Wu was rather surprised and still suspected a trick, but who cared? He would eat first and ask questions later.

The White-Browed Rat King—this was a leader-class existence.

Not a single scrap of meat could be wasted. He could even eat it alongside the ice spikes that had yet to melt, taking one bite after another without a word...

This storm had come quickly and gone quickly. Several dozen minutes later, the rain had passed and the skies had cleared.

The small stream in the center of the valley flooded again, surging with wild abandon.

Wang Wu hid in a clump of grass by the bank, his face full of excitement. Yes, this time, it was his turn to be excited.

He had devoured the White-Haired Rat cleanly, and even recovered more than half his Health Points. This harvest was simply unprecedented.

"You consumed an essence food with the ice attribute. You gained 500 Satiety, 50 Spirit Energy, and 1% Growth Rate."

"Due to your current Level 4 Self-Healing Talent, you gained 1 point of Ice Resistance."

"Due to your current Level 4 Self-Healing Talent, your body's resistance to ice has greatly increased. You gained 1 point of Ice Resistance."

"Current Ice Resistance (7/10)"

"Current Growth Rate: 26.3%. Extra Growth Rate: 20%."

--

What a pity. The White-Haired Rats in this valley are probably extinct now. If I want to keep gaining Ice Resistance, I'll most likely have to wait until winter, when heavy snow seals the mountains.

Wang Wu felt rather regretful. It would have been great if those four White-Haired Rats had not died.

Of course, then again, if those four White-Haired Rats had still been alive, he would have been the one to die.

That White-Haired Rat had definitely emptied all its mana in one go just now, leaving itself no backup whatsoever.

But it had been dangerously close.

If he had not possessed 10 Defense, which greatly reduced the damage from those nine consecutive ice spikes, that single wave would definitely have taken him out.

So that White-Haired Rat had truly died an unjust death!

This also gave Wang Wu a precious lesson from the past: increasing Health Points and Defense really was useful.

Without any hesitation, Wang Wu spent another 40 Spirit Energy to raise his Health Points to 190. He mindlessly stacked Health Points to increase his margin for error.

At this stage, he did not need any particularly brilliant combat methods anyway. Lying low—he simply had to lie low.

Until nightfall, Wang Wu lay in the grass, and that feeling of being discovered never appeared again.

Clearly, either the tracker had been affected by the torrential rain and lost his trail.

Or the one tracking him had been that White-Haired Rat.

Had the Black Widows delivered the message?

Come to think of it, that fellow really held grudges and was truly patient. It had insisted on waiting until the rain poured down before making its move.

He just did not know whether the Flame Scorpion King would make any moves now that the White-Haired Rat was dead.

That night, Wang Wu went nowhere. He simply lay motionless in the grass. The next morning, as expected, his Satiety had been emptied, and he successfully gained 0.7% Growth Rate.

He really could eat and grow, like a pig.

When the sun began to rise and the Sprites in the valley all headed toward the foot of the mountain to receive blessings, Wang Wu hesitated briefly. In the end, he decided not to go. He merely took the opportunity to drink from the stream and leave some food for the fish and shrimp downstream...

Afterward, he sneakily searched for some berries and plants that looked edible. After barely filling his stomach, he once again lay low in a dense patch of grass.

But just as he entered Level 5 Stealth, right as Silver Three Minutes began, the black Giant Eagle suddenly flew over. Then came the brown Giant Eagle. They circled the entire valley for more than ten minutes before finally leaving.

Wang Wu trembled throughout the whole ordeal, because he truly felt immense pressure and could clearly sense that the two Giant Eagles were searching very seriously.

They had come so close.

Strange. Why aren't the two of them fighting anymore? Weren't they supposed to break out into war? I really can't make sense of this. Did they mobilize so dramatically because the White-Haired Rat died?

Wang Wu was on high alert. The White-Haired Rat had previously obtained an official identity, so could its death actually alarm two Giant Eagles?

It had looked so ordinary. Why did it seem so highly valued?

Wang Wu could not figure it out.

It seemed he would have to be even more careful in the future. He had to lie low as much as possible—lie low, lie low, and keep lying low!

He could not take risks anymore.

He did not even plan to bask in the sun and absorb Spirit Energy.

Sure enough, the next morning, before Golden Three Minutes had even ended, the two Giant Eagles flew over again and circled the valley, focusing their reconnaissance on the sunny slope on one side of the valley.

Naturally, they found nothing, because Wang Wu had not moved at all that morning.

He had even changed his feeding time to the night.

Nor had he ambushed any Sprites. The entire time, he did only three things: drink water, bring warmth to the fish and shrimp downstream, and dig up soil to eat wild vegetables.

Though he was ravenous and could only earn a few dozen points of Satiety after all that hard work, it was all worth it for the sake of his life.

On the third day, the two Giant Eagles did not appear again, but Wang Wu did not dare relax. He would just pretend he did not exist and let whatever happened, happen.