Divine Archer

The scene was utter chaos.

Cries of battle rang out everywhere, and corpses lay everywhere—some were bandits, while others were villagers and porters. Looking at those familiar faces, Gu Sheng felt terrible. From time to time, he drew his bow and fired arrows to help these ordinary people escape, but he was not invincible. Preserving his own life had to come first.

Gu Erniu's eyes blazed with fury. Straightforward by nature, he wanted nothing more than to charge back in and start killing.

But Gu Sheng held him back tightly.

Suddenly, Gu Erniu let out a low cry and pointed into the distance.

"Sheng, look over there! Steward Gu Renxu!"

Gu Sheng had just fired an arrow through a bandit's throat. Hearing Gu Erniu's words, he immediately turned to look.

His pupils contracted sharply. Gu Renxu was being shielded by several villagers as they fled toward the forest, but several strong, sturdy bandits were chasing after them. The bandits were not fools; they knew to pick targets who looked important.

One villager after another was cut down, at best managing to wound an enemy before dying. Their combat skills were simply not on the same level.

Though these routed soldiers were not battle-hardened elite troops, they had been tempered by the battlefield and were far beyond ordinary people. Their fierce, hardened bearing even surpassed that of most ordinary bandits.

Seeing a bandit behind Gu Renxu raise his broadsword with a savage grin, Gu Sheng's gaze sharpened. He did not hesitate in the slightest.

Gu Renxu had shown the two of them much care. Since Gu Sheng had the ability to save him, he naturally had to do so.

Within his vision,

the bandit's movements suddenly slowed. Even the droplets of blood falling from the broadsword and the cruel grin in the bandit's eyes became crystal clear.

Gu Sheng drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The arrow flew like thunder!

Whoosh!!

Accompanied by an incomparably shrill whistle through the air, the bandit's savage grin instantly froze. An arrow burst through his throat, nearly passing all the way through.

Gu Renxu had been terrified out of his wits. Saved so suddenly, he could not help but feel as though he had survived a calamity.

He looked from afar toward Gu Sheng, his eyes full of gratitude and relief.

However,

just as he was about to flee into the forest, his steps abruptly stopped. He froze in place, the relieved expression on his face stiffening. Looking down in shock, he saw a longsword protruding through his chest.

Blood dripped from its tip.

With a thud, he collapsed to the ground.

Gu Erniu's eyes nearly split with rage. The relief that had just risen in Gu Sheng's heart vanished in an instant. His eyes turned cold as iron as he saw a bandit not far from Gu Renxu glaring provocatively and viciously in their direction.

That longsword had been thrown by this man moments earlier.

Such strength and precision were not something an ordinary bandit possessed.

"Go!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Sheng forcibly suppressed the fury and killing intent in his heart, grabbed Gu Erniu, and turned to plunge into the forest.

He was not confident he could face a martial artist head-on.

The bandit martial artist sneered, glanced in Gu Sheng's direction, and abandoned the pursuit to kill others instead.

In his view, once the big fish were dealt with, none of the small fry would escape.

Gu Sheng and Gu Erniu entered the forest. Though they were somewhat safer, sounds of fighting still rang out from time to time. Many bandits in the woods were also hunting down villagers.

The image of Gu Renxu being pierced through the chest by a sword replayed in his mind. Gu Sheng said nothing, his face cold.

Gu Erniu's eyes had turned red as well.

Though neither of them had dealt with Gu Renxu very often, Gu Renxu had taken great care of them throughout this journey. Seeing him die before their eyes filled both of them with hatred for the bandits.

"Sheng, what do we do now?"

For the first time in his life, Gu Erniu had experienced something like this. At a complete loss, he could not help asking.

Gu Sheng took a deep breath, thoughts spinning continuously through his mind.

"We can't place all our hopes on reinforcements. We'll use our archery in the forest to kill as many bandits as we can, ease their pressure, and buy time."

"These bandits know the mountains well. If they finish off the village's martial artists, neither of us will be able to escape."

Gu Sheng had never considered running.

Entering the forest was only to improve their chances of survival and allow him to make better use of his archery.

There was something he did not say aloud.

If they fled in the midst of battle now, even returning safely to Gu Family Village would not end well unless they found another way out—and that would not be easy.

The village's purchasing convoy waived the hunters' fees for entering the city because it valued their archery. To some extent, they bore responsibility for guarding the convoy as well.

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

Hearing Gu Sheng speak so calmly and logically, Gu Erniu quickly agreed.

"Keep watch around us and prevent anyone from sneaking up on us. I'll kill the bandits!"

After saying that, Gu Sheng immediately began observing the battlefield below. Both sides were still fighting, and more and more corpses littered the ground. Severed limbs and broken arms were everywhere, while the stench of blood soared into the air.

His eyes were like an eagle's, more focused than ever before.

Very soon,

he locked onto a target.

Though the bandit was not a martial artist, he was nimble and wore a ferocious expression. Wielding a long saber, he hacked again and again, forcing a young man from Gu Family Village to retreat continuously.

Gu Sheng's gaze was sharp as a blade. His bowstring trembled, and the arrow shot forth like a meteor!

The Two-stone strong bow increased the power of his archery by another level. Now that he had no more reservations, the full power of his perfected archery could finally be unleashed.

Before Gu Erniu's astonished gaze, the two-hundred-meter distance vanished in an instant, and the arrow accurately drilled into the bandit's throat.

"Go, change positions!"

After firing, Gu Sheng immediately crouched low and shouted. He did not even look at the situation over there, utterly confident in his archery.

Gu Erniu hurriedly acknowledged.

His eyes burned with excitement.

"Sheng's archery... seems to have gotten even stronger!"

To pierce someone's throat with a single arrow from two hundred meters away—and that was not even his limit—what terrifying archery was that?

The rescued young man from Gu Family Village glanced toward the forest, filled with gratitude and confusion. The archer's figure vanished in a flash, and he could not see clearly at all.

"Since when did the village have such a powerful divine archer?"

But this was not the time to think about such things. He picked up his weapon and hurried toward another battlefield.

Gu Sheng's eyes were cold as he constantly searched for suitable targets.

He did not touch any martial artists. He only shot enemies he was certain he could kill in a single strike.

Arrows flew continuously from the forest like scythes of death, harvesting the bandits' lives. One bandit after another was pierced through the throat and fell to the ground, dying gruesome deaths.

The pressure on Gu Family Village's side was greatly eased.

Gu Erniu had become numb from shock, and a trace of admiration had even risen in his heart.

Such archery was simply too formidable!

With Gu Sheng's aid,

Gu Family Village's side fought more fiercely, while the bandits were both furious and alarmed.

Gu Sheng was like a loach. After firing one arrow, he changed locations, impossible to catch and impossible to guard against.

The hidden divine archer cast a shadow over every bandit's heart, even making them hesitant and constrained.

The bandits gritted their teeth so hard they nearly shattered them. Wang Chong's eyes were filled with vicious fury. He had carelessly allowed such a huge catch to slip into the forest, and now it was far too late for regrets.

Unless they sent martial artists into the forest to hunt down that divine archer, the other bandits would be shot dead before they could even get close.

Gu Sheng reached behind him and found that all the arrows on his left had been used up. Only three arrows remained, stored separately on his right and coated with Black Blood Powder.

Gu Erniu had given him all of his arrows as well.

Gu Sheng took a deep breath and decided to stop shooting for now.

"We've done everything we can. All that's left is to wait for reinforcements."

If he did not fire now, he would instead be more intimidating.

The bandits' numerical advantage had completely vanished. Gu Family Village's side would not have much trouble holding them off now.