Break the Enemy

Li Wei was stunned!

What was going on? Why had these bandits attacked immediately?

Hadn't Penny and the others called out Anderson's name from a distance?

And under normal circumstances, shouldn't they have talked, interrogated them, taken them prisoner, and demanded a ransom?

Were these guys really savages or bandits? How could they be so ferocious!

What talking? What interrogation? What disguises? Just smash them to death first.

Or maybe smash them half to death?

No—in fact, just four or five seconds later, several lines of chilling, blood-red text appeared right before Li Wei's eyes.

[Family member: Your fiancée, Mixi, was killed when the bandits smashed her head with a rock.]

[Family member: Your older sister, Penny, has been knocked unconscious and injured.]

[Monthly Family Special Main Quest—Foreign Trade has suffered a major setback. If Penny, the head of the family, dies, the family will suffer a severe blow.]

[The direction for the family's development set by Penny, its head, has led to serious consequences. Her abilities have been called into question, and her completion rating will be greatly reduced. She has been forcibly deducted fifty Family Contribution Points and stripped of her Family Elder title. For the next two months, she will be unable to regain the title of Family Elder. Any Plot Kill targeting her will now cost only one Family Contribution Point to initiate, but she will need to spend five Family Contribution Points to evade it. Likewise, any Plot Kill she initiates will cost five Family Contribution Points—if she manages to make it back alive.]

[Warning! You may choose to rescue Penny, or you may choose to stand by and let her die.]

[Warning! The bandits have discovered that Penny is a woman. They believe she is a witch spreading plague among them, and intend to burn her to death.]

--

Damn!

So this was where things had gone wrong. Women. Witches!

In a flash, Li Wei understood. He had no idea why these bandits hated and feared two women disguised as men so much. Was this really a medieval setting, with witches running rampant and plague spreading?

What should he do?

Save her, or not?

Li Wei hesitated for only a second before making his decision. He had to save her. Whether he could actually get her out was another matter, but he couldn't stand by and let her die. He absolutely could not earn that judgment.

Last time, when Penny's fiancé, Sam, had been bitten to death by the wolves, she had chosen to stand by and let him die. The consequences had been terrible.

And Sam hadn't been important to the family. His death was no great loss.

But Penny was currently the head of the family. If Li Wei chose to stand by and let her die now, he figured he would probably lose his Family Elder title too.

With time running short, Li Wei couldn't afford to take a roundabout approach. He dropped the pack containing the Dry Rations and clean water, held the iron spear in his left hand and the Recurve Bow and Hunting Bow in his right, and quickly came up with a bold plan.

Though he could shoot at range with a Bow and Arrow, the eight bandits in front of him were clearly skilled at mountain warfare. He didn't know the terrain, so how could he possibly fight them?

He had to inflict the greatest possible casualties before they could react.

To do that, he first had to make them underestimate him.

Li Wei began shouting wildly, as if he were in a terrible hurry. His voice echoed repeatedly through the mountain pass.

Then he sprinted down the path along the ridge. As he drew the attention of the eight bandits several hundred meters away, he tossed the iron spear, the Recurve Bow, and five Broadhead Arrows behind a large tree.

Then, clutching the Hunting Bow and three Wolf Fang Arrows, he charged forward.

Li Wei's strategy worked perfectly.

The bandits had been about to enter the trap pit to investigate, but now they were all alerted. When they saw Li Wei charging down from the ridge alone, they didn't laugh. Instead, they exchanged a few terse words, then strode toward him.

But they didn't charge all together.

Only four bandits came straight at Li Wei from the front.

The other four split into two groups and circled around from the left and right.

They weren't underestimating him at all.

Li Wei's heart pounded, and he was extremely nervous. But he knew he had no other choice. He tried to calm himself and avoid wasting too much energy, while slowing his pace and looking around nervously, putting on a frightened act.

When the four bandits charging straight at him were about a hundred meters away, he shakily drew his bow and loosed an arrow. The Wolf Fang Arrow flew weakly through the air and landed more than forty meters away.

Then he turned and ran. The four bandits didn't shout anything; they just silently pursued him at full speed, catching up until they were only a little over fifty meters away.

The other four bandits circling in from either side were farther away, but they were cutting off Li Wei's escape route.

Li Wei gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down. He took a deep breath and drew his bow again. A Wolf Fang Arrow flew out, its aim fairly good, and landed a few steps in front of one of the bandits.

Stay calm. Taking one down would make this worthwhile!

A resolute look appeared on Li Wei's face. He stopped running and stared fixedly at the biggest bandit. That man was practically a beast, his eyes fierce, his face covered with dense yellow-brown whiskers, and his thick hair making him look like a male lion. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, and the force of his charge was terrifying!

That was killing intent.

Die!

Ignoring the four bandits who had begun to circle around on either side, Li Wei slowly and steadily drew the Hunting Bow, aiming at the big bandit, who had charged to within twenty-five meters.

"Thrum!"

The big bandit suddenly sidestepped at the same moment.

Of course, he couldn't dodge an arrow once it had been loosed—but he could watch Li Wei's movements ahead of time.

Damn, this guy was a pro.

But Li Wei hadn't actually been aiming at him in the final instant. He had been aiming at a short, sturdy middle-aged bandit three or four meters away from the big man and a few steps behind him. The bandit wore a piece of Leather Armor that looked completely out of place.

If the big bandit hadn't sidestepped, Li Wei might not even have been able to shoot him; there wasn't a clear enough line of fire.

But now, at an effective range of less than thirty meters, with the short middle-aged bandit showing no sign that he had seen it coming and even slowing down a little, Li Wei's shot was nearly perfect. His 40% accuracy bonus as a Professional Hunter was brought fully into play.

"Whoosh!"

The distinctive whistle of the arrow came a moment later. By the time the bandits realized what had happened, the Wolf Fang Arrow had already struck the short middle-aged bandit squarely in the right eye, penetrating more than ten centimeters.

Whoever he was, whatever past achievements he might have boasted of, there was no saving him now. He was done for.

Li Wei didn't even check whether he'd hit his target. In the same instant, he dropped the Hunting Bow, turned, and ran like a scraggly dog.

He was incredibly fast.

Behind him came a shrill scream and furious shouts.

All the bandits began sprinting after him. Li Wei could even hear their ragged, gasping breaths.

Closer. Closer.

The big bandit even threw away his weapon—a heavy stone hammer—and caught up until he was barely ten meters behind Li Wei.

The bandits circling in from the north and south were only thirty or forty meters away now, too.

He had nowhere left to run!

But in the very next moment, he darted behind a roadside tree, ducked down, and picked up the Recurve Bow. He snatched up three Broadhead Arrows with his other hand, held two between his teeth, and nocked the third in a flash. Then he stepped out from behind the tree with a sidestep, turning and drawing the bow in one smooth motion. The big bandit had already closed to within ten meters.

His face, twisted with rage and the strain of running, was crystal clear. There hadn't even been time for fear to show in his eyes before a sharp Broadhead Arrow shot through his right eye, its point piercing the back of his skull!

A sharp steel Broadhead Arrow and a Recurve Bow with at least fifty pounds of draw weight were simply unstoppable at such close range!