Slaughter in the Dense Woods

"Get up, quick! That kid isn't using his bow and arrows—he's coming right at us!"

There had been too much commotion for the Wu Family's knights not to notice. But when they saw the figure racing toward them, every one of them was delighted.

The two in front sprang to their feet without a moment's hesitation. One wielded a spear, the other a saber, and they charged to meet him.

The remaining three jumped up as if their backsides were on fire. Gripping their weapons, they followed with savage looks on their faces.

They had just been pinned down like mice hugging the ground. Now that Shi Mu had abandoned his bow and come straight to them, how could they not be overjoyed?

Shi Mu unleashed the full speed he had built up while training with weights in the mountains. He ran like a leopard, and after only a few bounds, he charged at the two men with a gust of wind at his back.

The two leading Wu Family knights were skilled fighters. Though Shi Mu's speed startled them, they split to either side in perfect unison. The spear in one man's hands flickered, blossoming into a mass of spearpoints, while the other swept his saber in a broad arc of cold light. Together, their attacks closed in on Shi Mu with astonishing coordination.

Shi Mu gave a cold snort. Ignoring the spearpoints on one side, he simply swung a fist and smashed it straight into one of them.

Boom!

The spearman felt his hands go numb. His spear flew from his grip and shot into the air. The force sent him staggering back three steps, his face filled with disbelief.

There was no question that his opponent was incredibly strong—but how had he spotted the real spearpoint among the illusions?

With a metallic clang, the Sun and Moon Blades at Shi Mu's waist flashed free. He stamped down hard with one foot and hurled himself, blade and all, into the saber's cold glare.

Swish, swish! Six blade-images flashed and vanished, cleaving through the cold light rushing toward him. The blade in his hand trembled, and another image flickered into being. Then he twisted his body, suddenly appearing behind the Wu Family knight with the saber.

Thud!

A streak of blood appeared across the knight's neck. His head rolled away, and his headless body swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground.

After landing that slash, Shi Mu did not pause for even an instant. He crouched, pushed off hard, and shot toward the spearman like a stone from a slingshot.

"Not good!"

Only then did the spearman finally regain his footing after Shi Mu's punch. He looked up, saw Shi Mu rushing at him, and was scared out of his wits!

He had been unable to withstand even one punch from Shi Mu while armed. How could he possibly stand against him now with bare hands? Without a second thought, he turned and tried to flee.

But he had taken only two steps when a gust of wind swept past him. His waist went cold, and his body split in two. Blood sprayed wildly as the two halves fell to the ground.

Only then did Shi Mu turn around, blade in hand, and coldly face the last three Wu Family pursuers closing in.

The three Wu Family men had been only a dozen or so paces behind. Seeing Shi Mu dispatch their two comrades in a matter of moments, they stopped dead in their tracks. They exchanged glances, and each saw fear on the others' faces.

"We can't run! He's incredibly fast. If we flee, he'll pick us off one by one. We'll form the Three Talents Formation. If we can hold him off, Master Tong will arrive in time!" A man with a scar at the corner of his eye suddenly growled.

At his words, the other two understood. They quickly gathered around the scarred man, and three green swords sprang from their sheaths, all pointing at Shi Mu.

"The Three Talents Formation?"

Shi Mu's heart stirred slightly at the words, but he kept walking toward them with the Sun and Moon Blades in hand.

The three Wu Family knights tensed further as he approached. Before he could get close, they shouted in unison and crossed paths, their swords whipping into motion. Layer upon layer of sword-images formed a screen around them.

"So it's just a turtle shell!" Shi Mu snorted. Without a second thought, he moved his arm, and the Sun and Moon Blades burst into six blade-images that hacked at them.

Clang! Clang! A flurry of blade-on-sword impacts rang out. The sword-screen wavered, and the three men staggered, but they had still managed to block the strike.

Then the three of them shouted and swung their swords again, shielding themselves behind the formation.

"Not bad!"

Shi Mu was a little surprised.

He had just unleashed Six Slashes in One Breath, with tremendous force behind every strike. By rights, the three of them should not have been able to withstand it.

But they would be badly mistaken if they thought they could block his next attack with such a simple formation.

Shi Mu took a deep breath. Suddenly, he spun in place, sweeping his long blade in every direction. Nearly every slash produced five or six blade-images. In the blink of an eye, he became a silver sphere of light and crashed straight into the sword-screen.

The clash of blades rang out in a sudden downpour!

The three Wu Family knights screamed. Two of them staggered away, their swords riddled with notches and their chests torn by several crisscrossing wounds. They were on the verge of collapse, beyond saving.

Only the scarred man remained. Blood covered his face as he staggered backward. Though his chest was uncut, the arm that had held his sword was gone, and blood gushed from his shoulder.

He was clearly a tough character. Without even looking at his wound, he spun around and sprinted away.

Shi Mu had stopped spinning by then. Seeing this, he gave a snort, reached behind him into his arrow quiver, and pulled out a long feathered arrow. He barely aimed before giving his wrist a flick.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot from Shi Mu's hand with such speed that it was no slower than one fired from an ordinary crossbow.

The scarred man hit the ground with a thud, the arrow piercing through his back.

Shi Mu strode over and swung the Sun and Moon Blades, chopping off his head.

By then, the other two Wu Family knights had also fallen into pools of blood. Their bodies twitched faintly, and they were barely alive.

A cold glint flashed in Shi Mu's eyes. He was about to finish them off when his expression suddenly changed. He stamped down with one foot and darted sharply to the side.

The next instant, thwip! A streak of cold light flashed through the spot where he had been standing and stuck into the nearby ground. It was a three-inch throwing knife.

"Master Tong, you've finally arrived. Come out."

Shi Mu spun around and fixed his gaze on a nearby tree, looking fully prepared for an enemy.