At the Temple of the Thousand Winds, Li Qiuzhi and the others stood atop a hill, facing off against the Treasure Hoarders.
Jonik felt trapped. They already had the Artifact and could have withdrawn immediately, but they had discovered something even more valuable inside the ruins.
If he brought that news back to Lord Raptor, he could at least become the second-in-command of the Treasure Hoarders in the Mondstadt region.
Unfortunately, these Adventurers had spotted them. If they went back and reported the unusual situation here to the Adventurers' Guild, there was a good chance the secret inside the ruins would be exposed.
Getting their share of the profits would become a headache then.
They had to keep these people here. Jonik folded his muscular arms and said:
"Everyone, word of our discovery of these ruins mustn't get out. How about you wait until we've finished our business here before leaving?"
"You want to restrict our movements? You're getting ahead of yourself."
Li Qiuzhi gave him a strange look.
His own strength might still fall a little short, but with Noelle here, she could easily take all of them down!
"Boss, why waste any more words? I don't believe one Vision can stop all of us!"
Vige raised his repeating crossbow and aimed at Li Qiuzhi and the others, speaking impatiently.
With her injured knee, Ver hurried to hide some distance behind Li Qiuzhi. She could do little to help in her condition.
Li Qiuzhi frowned and tightened his grip on his bow, staying alert and ready to fight at any moment.
If he hadn't been ambushed earlier, and if his lack of combat experience hadn't kept him from instinctively sensing the danger, his enhanced physical abilities would have made dodging a crossbow bolt easy enough as long as he was prepared.
Jonik held out a hand to block Vige's line of fire. He knew these Adventurers wouldn't agree so easily, and tried to persuade them again:
"You should take a good look at the situation. There are six of us, all armed with powerful weapons. If this turns into a fight, the outcome is obvious!"
What nonsense was this Treasure Hoarder spouting? Did he really think he could fight Noelle...? Li Qiuzhi was rather speechless.
Noelle's fair face looked solemn. She had already summoned her ornate Favonius Greatsword and held it in her hands. She wasn't about to believe the Treasure Hoarders' lies.
Although Noelle was strong, there were six opponents. She might not be able to protect both him and Ver at once.
Li Qiuzhi silently invested 98 Experience points in the skill [Favonius Archery: Basics], bringing it up to exactly Lv. 2.
At the same time, knowledge of archery appeared in his mind, as though he had practiced for a long time. None of it felt unfamiliar, and he could bring out the full power of his current level at any moment.
The Experience remaining on his Character Panel had only been enough to upgrade [Favonius Archery: Basics]. Any increase in strength was worth taking; if a fight really broke out, he would at least have a better chance.
Although he had great confidence in Noelle's strength, he still needed to make some preparations.
"Then don't blame us for not showing you any courtesy!" Jonik's gaze sharpened. He waved a hand and ordered, "Capture them!"
"Yes, boss!"
Vige couldn't wait to fire. Bolt after bolt sliced through the air and struck Noelle's Geo shield, only to bounce off without any effect.
"It's no use, boss! This turtle shell is too tough!"
Vige sounded dejected.
Li Qiuzhi and Ver were both behind Noelle. The Treasure Hoarders couldn't attack them at all, so they had no reason to fear the bolts.
Until they broke Noelle's shield, the Treasure Hoarders didn't dare approach, either. Hadn't they seen that terrifying Claymore? Getting close would be no different from courting death.
Still, this left them on the defensive.
After all, Noelle was worried that if she charged forward to attack, Ver, whose injured knee hindered her movements, might become the Treasure Hoarders' target.
Li Qiuzhi therefore had to create an opening to get Ver away from the battlefield. After that, he could leave Noelle to sweep through their enemies unhindered.
Taking advantage of a lull in the Treasure Hoarders' attacks, Li Qiuzhi used his newly upgraded level-two Favonius Archery to fire arrow after arrow at them!
"Bastard!"
The Treasure Hoarders had no choice but to retreat a little and dodge. Their bodies couldn't withstand arrows.
Time quickly passed.
Li Qiuzhi continued shooting at them, then reached into the quiver on his back, only to grasp empty air. It seemed he had run out of arrows.
He lowered his hand helplessly. That was one problem with bows: arrows were consumables, and he only had a limited supply.
He had used up quite a few on the journey to the Temple of the Thousand Winds, so his already small supply had now run dry.
Looks like I'd better start practicing swordsmanship soon, or I'll have to fight barehanded whenever I run out of arrows. Of course, with his enhanced body, even without any fighting techniques, he wouldn't lose to any of these Treasure Hoarders in a one-on-one fight.
Even without a weapon, Li Qiuzhi's excellent physical abilities alone gave him considerable fighting strength.
And excellent physical abilities naturally allowed him to run fast, too.
The Treasure Hoarders had retreated quite a distance to avoid his arrows and couldn't attack him for the moment. This was the perfect chance to get away!
With that thought, Li Qiuzhi swiftly hoisted Ver onto his shoulder and burst backward at tremendous speed, saying:
"Miss Noelle, I'll leave the rest to you. Give them a good beating!"
"You bastard! You're far too cocky!"
Hearing Li Qiuzhi's words, the blond-haired Vige raised his repeating crossbow and unleashed another barrage. Bolt after bolt whistled into Noelle's Breastplate, but all they could do was bounce off uselessly.
Seeing his companion attack again, the other crossbowman had no choice but to join in, trying to force his way through the shield with their combined firepower.
Unfortunately, even after they exhausted all their bolts, they still hadn't succeeded.
"Mr. Adventurer, please leave this to me!" Noelle nodded, then pushed off with her feet in their over-the-knee armored boots, charging toward the Treasure Hoarders at a speed ordinary people could hardly imagine.
Alarmed by the sight, the Treasure Hoarders hurriedly scattered. They had just seen how tough this girl's shield was.
Even powerful crossbow bolts had been useless. Never mind being cut by her sword-just getting rammed by her would leave them injured!
They could only avoid her charge for now.
But how could their speed possibly compare to Noelle's?
The oncoming air had no time to escape before the girl slammed through it. Her high-heeled armored boots kicked up turf and soil as she reached Jonik in an instant.
The burly man's pupils contracted sharply. Even with the boost from a four-star Artifact, he couldn't react in time and could only instinctively draw his scimitar to block.
Bang!
The Claymore collided with the scimitar, transmitting tremendous momentum through the weapon. Jonik couldn't even keep his footing, and his entire body flew backward like a cannonball!
After flying over a dozen meters and rolling several times across the grass, he finally reacted and drove his scimitar into the ground, barely bringing himself to a stop.
"Boss!"
The other Treasure Hoarders cried out in concern, their eyes wide.
This chapter has undergone substantial revisions.
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