Decapitation

Whoosh!

The arrow tore through the air at incredible speed, but perhaps the searing pain in Gu Erniu's leg had kept him from fully focusing. This shot failed to display his true skill.

Li Yan's expression changed in shock.

Seeing the arrow flying toward him, he hurriedly threw himself aside. Fortunately, he had deliberately lagged behind, giving himself some time to react.

Pfft!

The arrow sank into flesh. Li Yan let out a miserable groan. By a narrow margin, he avoided a vital spot, but his left arm was struck by another arrow.

Two arrows in his left arm in succession—though they had not hit the exact same place, the new wound still pulled at the old one.

The doubled pain twisted his face into a savage grimace.

"Gu Erniu!!"

Only then did the three men come to their senses. That sudden arrow had stolen their attention, and they had actually forgotten about Gu Erniu, the prey!

Now that the prey had bitten back, cold sweat immediately streamed down their backs.

They hurriedly dodged, shifting and weaving as they tried to block the line of fire between the hidden attacker and Gu Erniu.

But Gu Sheng's reactions were unbelievably quick.

The instant he fired an arrow, he changed position. Gu Erniu's arrow forced the three men opposite them to shift again, immediately giving Gu Sheng another opportunity.

Gu Sheng's gaze was utterly cold.

Having resolved to kill, he had no intention of showing mercy. This time, he still did not choose Li Yan as his target.

His bow curved like the moon, his arrow flashed like a star!

The long arrow split the air, harvesting lives like the scythe of death.

Another hunter clutched his throat and fell. His eyes were wide, terror still lingering within them. The horror of watching an arrow pierce one's throat was something ordinary people could scarcely understand.

But the most terrified was the remaining hunter.

Watching the two companions beside him die one after another with arrows through their throats, his entire body shook like a sieve. There had been killing in the past, but it was usually many against few. When had he ever seen such a brutal scene?

"Ahhh!!!"

The hunter screamed madly, drew his bow, and fired furiously into the woods opposite him. But with both body and mind gripped by fear, it would have been stranger if his aim had been accurate.

He fired two arrows in succession, both wildly off target, and they struck the trees.

He was only venting the terror in his heart this way, but in doing so, he needlessly exposed himself.

Having fired those two arrows, the hunter tried to duck back behind a tree.

But Gu Sheng's arrow was faster.

The arrow flew like rushing thunder, carrying a fierce gust of wind. Its sharp whistle pierced his ears like a demon's cry, filling the last hunter's eyes with horror and terror. In that fleeting glimpse, he could even see the cold gleam produced by the spinning arrowhead.

My life is over!

He only had time for that thought before following in the other two men's footsteps, his throat likewise pierced by a single arrow.

Faint choking struggles sounded out, then gradually fell silent.

Everything had happened in a flash. Gu Erniu had been anxious because his arrow had failed to kill Li Yan, but in the blink of an eye, the remaining two hunters had both died.

"Who is this hidden man? Such archery is simply astonishing. None of the hunters nearby have ever been known to possess skill like this. Even a master archer tempered on a hundred battlefields might be no better, right?"

Gu Erniu was shocked and full of admiration.

But then—

His eyes widened round. When the last hunter died, he finally saw the hidden man's figure and face clearly.

His skin was slightly dark, and his handsome face was cold and solemn.

"Gu Sheng?!"

Gu Erniu was both startled and delighted. He had never expected Gu Sheng to arrive in time at the brink of life and death, shooting down all their enemies. Even more unexpectedly, Gu Sheng's archery had somehow reached such an astonishing level without him realizing it.

Such progress was simply unimaginable.

But before he could smile, his expression immediately turned to shock.

"Gu Sheng, watch out!"

He instinctively shouted a warning. In the distance, Li Yan, the sole remaining hunter from Li Family Fort, was already closing in on Gu Sheng with a short blade in hand.

Gu Erniu was frantic.

Gu Sheng's archery might have been exceptional, but once someone got close, he could not use his bow. He was still only a fourteen-year-old boy.

Though Gu Sheng had grown much stronger over the past few months, he was still far inferior to Li Yan, a robust young man in the prime of his strength.

Gu Erniu gritted his teeth and drew his bow, but the agonizing pain in his left leg made sweat pour down his face, and even his arms trembled.

With an arrow in hand, he did not dare fire.

Gu Sheng and Li Yan were too close. If he missed and struck Gu Sheng, he would only make things worse.

He cursed viciously, threw his bow to the ground, drew his short blade, and limped toward the battlefield with all his strength.

He could not just stand there and watch helplessly.

In the distance.

Li Yan held his short blade and glared fiercely at Gu Sheng. The two were too close, leaving Gu Sheng no time to draw his bow and fire.

Li Yan's face twitched continuously. The arrow still pierced his left arm, and he had no time to deal with it. Pain gnawed relentlessly at his heart.

But he knew this was his only chance.

When Gu Sheng had shot down those three hunters, Li Yan could have taken the opportunity to flee. But he was no fool. In his current condition, even if he ran, he could not evade Gu Sheng's throat-piercing arrows. He would be caught sooner or later.

So he chose to seek life amid death, gritting his teeth as he closed in on Gu Sheng. Only by fighting at close range could he have any chance of survival.

"Kid, it really is you. You damned Yin soul, you just won't go away."

Fire burned in Li Yan's eyes as he glared viciously into Gu Sheng's, trying to pressure him.

Gu Erniu's shout had exposed Gu Sheng's position, but Li Yan did not care.

The opponent was a teenage boy. Even with one hand ruined, Li Yan was confident he could take him down.

Though he had failed to truly enter martial training in his younger days, his brother-in-law Du Jiangbo had occasionally given him pointers. He knew a little about fistfighting and weapons, making him far superior to ordinary villagers and tenant farmers.

Not to mention the difference in their physical strength.

Gu Sheng remained calm and indifferent, without the slightest trace of panic.

Facing Li Yan's predatory stare, he reached behind himself and pulled out a woodcutter's axe. Ordinary hunters carried short blades, but Gu Sheng carried an axe.

His Chopping Wood had surpassed perfection, yet he had never put it to use in actual combat.

"Perfect. I'll test it on you!"

A confidence and assurance Li Yan could not understand surged into Gu Sheng's eyes.

"Quit playing tricks here. I'll send you and Gu Erniu straight to hell!"

Li Yan shouted. The pain in his left arm forced him to end this quickly.

He launched the attack first.

Short blade in his right hand, he charged forward in long strides. His movements were not as disorderly as those of an ordinary man; there was a method to them.

If his left arm had not been injured and his body had not been unable to maintain full coordination and balance, these footwork patterns would have allowed him to advance or retreat at will. Combined with the short blade in his hand, they were extremely threatening.

Li Yan had become one of the leading hunters of Li Family Fort not merely because of his brother-in-law. His own abilities were solid as well.

As he charged, his body suddenly dipped low, and his short blade stabbed out fiercely with a gust of wind.

Gu Sheng's focus sharpened to its utmost. The axe in his hand fell naturally in a downward chop, and delight immediately rose in Li Yan's heart.

This is a greenhorn with no combat experience.

That thrust had only been a feint. Once he blocked Gu Sheng's strike, he could slash with the momentum, close in, and drive his blade into Gu Sheng's heart!

Gu Erniu, who was rushing over desperately, grew even more anxious.

But in the next instant, he froze in place. His eyes slowly widened, and he could scarcely believe what he was seeing.

Gu Sheng was as still as an ancient well.

In his eyes, Li Yan seemed to become a human-shaped log, covered in strange layered grain. The heavy black axe came down in a plain, unadorned chop, just as it did when he chopped wood every day—utterly ordinary.

The excitement that had just appeared in Li Yan had not even had time to show on his face before it abruptly vanished.

His expression changed drastically, and terror filled him. The short blade in his hand was not blocking an axe—it was blocking a mountain!

Heavy and solid, utterly unstoppable!

An overwhelming force erupted. His right arm trembled, the web between his thumb and forefinger split open, and the short blade was instantly knocked away.

The axe's momentum did not weaken in the slightest. With a low whistle of wind, it lightly slashed diagonally into Li Yan's neck.

Like tearing through a thin sheet of paper, the axe met no resistance or delay at all as it beheaded Li Yan in a single blow, even shearing off nearly half of his left shoulder.

Blood sprayed more than five feet into the air, splattering Gu Sheng's face and arms. Li Yan's headless corpse crashed to the ground, while his head rolled to Gu Sheng's feet. Terror and shock could still be seen in his wide-open eyes.

Gu Sheng's expression was slightly dazed.

The tearing effect was actually this powerful!

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