Confrontation

"Careful! He still has a bow and arrow!"

One of the bandits shouted. The others reacted quickly from every direction, ducking behind tree trunks.

Only one bandit stumbled in the undergrowth and was a second too slow. In that instant, Li Wei swiftly loosed an arrow and hit him in the calf. The man howled in pain, but immediately rolled behind a tree, leaving Li Wei no chance to follow up.

This was only to be expected, and Li Wei wasn't surprised. He clamped a broadhead arrow between his teeth, bent down, and picked up the other two broadhead arrows and the iron spear.

With the Recurve Bow and two broadhead arrows in his left hand and the iron spear in his right, he charged at the two bandits circling around from the left.

"Tar, he's headed your way!"

The bandits circling around on the right immediately shouted. At the same time, one of the bandits in front showed himself, and together with the two on the right, they took turns rushing forward.

A pincer movement was almost complete.

All the two bandits circling around from the left had to do was hold Li Wei off for a moment.

"Yaah!"

Tar, the bandit on the left, suddenly leaped out from behind a tree, brandishing a short-handled axe and yelling as he charged at Li Wei. Another bandit burst out from behind a tree seven or eight meters away. The distance between them rapidly closed, and soon they were less than ten meters apart.

Li Wei could already see the delight and cruelty in the man's eyes. He had no doubt that if he fell into their hands, they would eat him alive.

But Li Wei didn't slow down at all. Still holding the Recurve Bow in one hand and the iron spear in the other, he sprinted through the woods. When he was less than five meters from Tar, he suddenly tossed the iron spear in his right hand upward, shifting his grip from palm-forward to palm-back in a flash.

It was the textbook stance for throwing a spear.

He hadn't stopped running, either, so the momentum carried into the iron spear as he hurled it.

The spear turned Tar's head into a burst watermelon!

As if! Without being sure of his aim, would he dare to be an archer who fought at close range?

Almost as soon as he threw the spear, he sank at the waist, planted his left leg forward like a brake, and drew his bent right leg back. His center of gravity shifted onto his right leg, stabilizing his fast-moving body as quickly as possible and putting him in the perfect stance to draw his bow.

Then he brought the Recurve Bow into position, nocked an arrow, and drew the bow to only sixty percent of its full tension.

In truth, he couldn't draw it any farther. The opportunity would vanish in an instant.

Besides, the second bandit was less than ten meters away. That was close enough.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew. The bandit dodged in a panic, but couldn't escape Li Wei's accurate shot. The broadhead arrow pierced his neck. He made a strange sound, his hands flailed helplessly, and he collapsed.

Li Wei didn't have time to look behind him. He turned and ran, sprinting all the way back to where he'd left his pack. He unfastened a Wooden Spear, took out five broadhead arrows, and stuck them in the ground. Panting hard, he glanced back.

He had used up nearly all his stamina in that exchange, but he had shot four of the eight bandits dead and wounded another. The three left must have been terrified, too.

They didn't run away, but they didn't dare come within fifty meters of Li Wei again. The two sides faced off among the trees. A few minutes later, the bandits saw Li Wei take out his waterskin and drink. Only then did they realize he might be running out of strength. One of them shouted, and they tried to approach.

But Li Wei immediately held the Wooden Spear in his right hand and the Recurve Bow in his left, with a broadhead arrow between his teeth, and advanced on them. They scattered like startled birds and beasts, running more than a hundred meters away.

They had seen clearly how Li Wei had just killed two of their men in an instant.

By now, Li Wei's stamina had recovered to 40 points. He put on his pack and started walking slowly along the road toward the river valley.

He truly hoped Penny was already dead.

But he had to check. If he turned around and left now, he'd still be abandoning her to die.

Besides, he had to kill the three bandits. If night fell on their familiar territory, wouldn't he be easy prey?

Fortunately, the three bandits were genuinely scared of him. They tried several times to rush him, but Li Wei immediately set down his pack and invited them to come at him. They had no shields, no ranged fighter with a bow, not even Leather Armor. If they dared charge, they could find out for themselves how sharp his Wooden Spear was.

Especially after he pulled out the iron spear. He could practically feel the despair of the bandits across from him.

Li Wei strolled along, recovering his stamina as he collected his Feathered Arrows.

When he reached the burly bandit's corpse, he stepped on the man's head and yanked out the broadhead arrow.

The three bandits hurled vicious insults at him. So what? If they didn't like it, they could come at him.

With a cold laugh,

Li Wei dropped his pack and set the Recurve Bow aside before stripping the burly bandit's boots. They were made of cowhide and were excellent quality. The man was also wearing a set of grimy Leather Armor.

Seeing Li Wei do this, the three bandits watched from a distance and wanted to charge over, but none dared. They could only curse impotently.

In the end, they had no choice but to circle around and take their wounded companion away.

By then, Li Wei had removed the burly bandit's Leather Armor. He had even found a small purse on the man.

But there were no notifications at all—not even for killing the bandits. Clearly, the fight wasn't over yet, so nothing could be confirmed.

Li Wei didn't put on the Leather Armor. It was too big and would only get in his way. He tied it up and carried it on his back, then took the Recurve Bow and retreated. First, he pulled the broadhead arrows from the bodies to recover them, then searched the corpses and stripped off their Leather Armor.

As it turned out, only two of the bandits wore Leather Armor. They must have been the chief and his second-in-command, and Li Wei had taken them out right at the start.

Otherwise, with the burly chief still alive, they really might have dared to rush him.

Li Wei found two purses in total, then retreated toward the trap where Penny was.

The three bandits across from him followed at a distance, keeping more than a hundred meters away. They clearly still held a grudge.

A little while later, Li Wei cautiously approached the pit. He didn't hurry to rescue Penny.

Part of him even hoped she would die from her injuries.

Really, he wasn't abandoning her. There was only so much a person could do, and he'd killed so many bandits already. His evaluation wouldn't be low.

But if Penny was still alive, he'd be saddled with a burden, and that would be a serious problem.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he got close, he heard Penny's weak voice from the bottom of the pit.

"George! George, is that you?"

"It's me, sis. How are you? Can you climb out now? I killed four bandits and wounded one, but there are still three alive and kicking. They're watching me from outside the range of my Bow and Arrow. I can't go down and rescue you."

Li Wei gave her a brief, straightforward account.

"I can't climb out. This pit is deep, and I think I twisted my ankle. It might even be broken, but I'm not going to die. Mixi is dead. I'm sorry..."

"George, don't stay here. Go up to the cliff. That's the bandits' lair. From up high, you'll be able to shoot farther and see more. We'll both be safe until nightfall."

"Okay!"

Li Wei left the two sets of Leather Armor behind, changed into the Cowhide Boots, and took his Bow and Arrow up the path the bandits had carved into the cliff. It was a good position. As long as he held it, the bandits would have to cross a whole mountain to reach him.

As Li Wei climbed the cliff, the three unwounded bandits charged thirty-odd meters closer. But once Li Wei had climbed up, they immediately retreated again. Pretty smart!

Still, they seemed to be thinking up a plan. All they needed was a shield—even a door panel—and it would be Li Wei's turn to flee in panic.

And once night fell, he would have to decide whether to abandon Penny.

Li Wei ate as he thought.

The three bandits were milling around a little more than sixty meters away. Their wounded companion had been left on the opposite bank of the river valley and was crying out now and then.

He glanced back at the cave where the bandits lived. It was pitch-black inside, perfectly quiet, and he couldn't see a thing.

If the bandits had left even one man here earlier, this would have been the end of Li Wei.

On the flat ground outside the cave lay a pile of extinguished campfire embers, a dirty pot, and a mess of wooden bowls and spoons.

Some food was piled nearby, along with blood, fish guts, and scales. Flies buzzed everywhere, and a foul stench hung in the air.

But Li Wei soon spotted a length of rope, about seven or eight meters long.

That was useful. He also found two poles about five or six centimeters in diameter and roughly three meters long. The bandits seemed to use them for carrying heavy loads.

Li Wei dragged them over and used the rope to tie the two poles together, making a simple ladder about ten centimeters wide.

Then he carried the contraption down the cliff and threw it into the pit. There was nothing else he could do for now, because in the short time he'd been away, the three bandits had charged to within thirty meters again. Once Li Wei tossed down the ladder, grabbed the Recurve Bow, and nocked a broadhead arrow, they turned tail and fled in a panic once more.

It was ridiculous, almost comical, but not the least bit fun.

Li Wei felt that if he couldn't come up with a plan soon, he was going to be in serious trouble.