Instant Kill

Facing the fully drawn pitch-black giant bow, the air around them seemed to have been completely sucked away.

The black cursed energy on the [Piercing Ox Horn Bow] was so dense it had darkened, and even the sewage that had been flowing placidly across the ground began to tremble wildly.

The hair all over the two curse users' bodies stood on end as they instinctively sensed a needle-prick of deadly intent from the massive bow.

Every muscle in their bodies tensed, their powerful survival instincts honed through battle frantically sounding the alarm.

But they did not retreat.

First, they could not figure out Lu Ping's cursed technique. They could not determine whether it was one of those rumored hawk-eye abilities that increased shooting accuracy. If it was, retreating would only turn them into targets.

Second, they trusted their captain's intelligence more—this brat had no shikigami to use. He was only putting on a show because he could not win in a direct fight.

The two exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and charged forward with all their strength into the bow's killing edge.

"You think you can kill me with that piece of trash?" The scythe-wielding curse user laughed furiously, his long scythe cutting a piercing whistle through the air at his side.

"Plenty of people have wanted to kill me. Every time I go out, I just slaughter a few ordinary people and disguise it as the work of cursed spirits. It's ridiculously easy. Those idiots at Jujutsu High are too busy dealing with cursed spirits to have the time to investigate me!"

As he roared arrogantly, he kept his eyes locked on the arrowhead Lu Ping had aimed at him.

Twanged.

Lu Ping suddenly released his fingers.

At that instant, the fist-fighting curse user, who had continued charging at the side without being targeted by the bow, felt his eyelids twitch violently.

An indescribable shiver shot straight to the top of his head.

Lu Ping had switched targets.

The instant the shadow arrow shot forth, he flicked his wrist, and the pitch-black giant bow tilted slightly.

Without warning, that blinding black streak aimed itself at the fist-fighting curse user who was rapidly closing in.

Because there was no physical bowstring holding it in place, the cursed-energy bowstring did not undergo elastic deformation the moment it was released. Instead, it held its original position for a brief instant!

Yet in a life-or-death battle, a single instant was enough to determine victory or defeat.

From the very beginning, Lu Ping had never intended to kill the scythe wielder first.

The fist-fighting curse user had battled him the longest, and repeatedly using [Mountain-Piercing Quake] had placed an enormous burden on his body and cursed energy.

At this moment, his old strength had faded while new strength had yet to emerge. This was also when he was at his weakest!

The scythe-wielding curse user, meanwhile, excelled at using shadows. Although the gravel had scraped his cheek earlier and left him looking more battered, his explosive power was relatively weaker. Still, he was agile and adept at prolonged combat.

More importantly, Lu Ping had already planted a cursed-energy mark in the scythe-wielding curse user's shadow, one that could resonate with the [Piercing Ox Horn Bow].

To notice and erase such a mark, one had to have at least landed a [Black Flash] and be closer to the [Cursed Technique Core] than ordinary people.

Though a Grade 2 sorcerer could possibly land a Black Flash, it was also highly unlikely for one to do so.

The Grade 2 curse user before him clearly did not possess that level of mastery.

Kill the weaker one first, and the remaining one would be a sure thing.

"Watch out!"

In midair, the shared vision of the [Fivefold Eyes] instantly noticed the arrow's altered trajectory.

The scythe-wielding curse user reacted extremely quickly. With an angry roar, he swung his long scythe, raising a huge mass of thick shadow like a curtain in an attempt to completely block Lu Ping's line of sight.

At the same time, the two curse users split to either side, turning into two afterimages as they rushed straight at Lu Ping.

Behind the shadow curtain, Lu Ping's expression did not ripple in the slightest.

His lips parted slightly, and he spoke three icy words.

"First arrow."

The instant his words fell, a muffled thunderclap exploded through the pipe.

The air completely froze in that moment.

The shadow arrow tore straight through the black curtain, moving too fast for the naked eye to catch.

The fist-fighting curse user, who had been charging at full speed from the side, did not even have time to assume a defensive stance before an incomparable force struck him head-on.

Crack.

It was the crisp sound of the bones in his chest shattering inch by inch.

He only felt as though a ten-thousand-pound iron hammer had first smashed into his chest, followed immediately by a hundred-ton truck at full speed crushing across his torso.

Bang!!

A bloodied, mangled figure flew backward like a cannonball and slammed heavily into the concrete wall behind him.

The violent impact drove his body onward, smashing through three thick concrete partition walls before he finally crashed to a halt amid the rubble.

As the dust settled, only dead silence remained among the broken stones and debris.

The man had been completely drained of life.

"Bastard!!"

Seeing his companion instantly killed, the scythe-wielding curse user's eyes immediately filled with blood, his canthus splitting with fury.

A beastlike roar erupted from his throat. He kicked off the muddy water and leaped into the air, using the momentum of his descent to bring the huge scythe down toward Lu Ping's head.

However, the shockwave of air produced when the Piercing Ox Bow fired burst outward.

Before the huge scythe could touch even a hair on Lu Ping's head, the scythe-wielding curse user felt a heaviness in his chest. It was as though he had struck an invisible wall of air, and his descending slash was forcibly weakened by more than half in midair.

The stimulation of the brink of death did not drive this experienced curse user entirely mad.

He forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, used the rebounding force to land, and stared fixedly at Lu Ping.

He calmly searched for an opening.

"This guy is a shikigami user. Everything he can do now depends on that bow. Drawing it fully takes time to charge, and after fighting continuously, the cursed energy of a Grade 2 sorcerer like him must be nearly exhausted."

The scythe-wielding curse user calculated rapidly in his mind.

As long as he could get close and entangle him in melee, forcing him to be unable to draw the bow and completely disrupting his offensive rhythm, he still had a chance of winning.

With that thought, the scythe-wielding curse user quietly edged forward, closing the distance between them, while sneering as he questioned him.

"Brat, didn't you keep saying you'd kill me within three moves? Why did you suddenly resort to a trick and attack someone else? Could it be that you made a binding vow of [Those Who Cannot Be Shot or Targeted] in exchange for [Damage Bonus Against Untargeted Targets], and used it to ambush us?"

As he used his words to distract Lu Ping, he quietly drew closer.

Once he entered his technique's range, his left hand hanging at his side slipped behind his back, its five fingers silently forming signs.

Rustle.

In the muddy water behind Lu Ping, an inconspicuous mass of shadow slowly writhed and silently spread outward.

It transformed into a sharp black scythe, quietly aiming at Lu Ping's unguarded back.

Lu Ping looked at the enemy before him and slowly shook his head.

"You seem to have misunderstood something."

The young man's voice remained calm as he lowered the [Piercing Ox Horn Bow] slightly in his hand.

"Against trash like you, there's no need to use a trump card like a binding vow."

He raised his eyes, his cold gaze seeming to pierce through the curse user before him and land upon the empty space even farther behind.

"I said within three moves," Lu Ping said blandly.

"I will definitely kill all three of you."