Their boss was so powerful, yet she had sent him flying that far with a single blow?!
Was this what a Vision wielder could do?!
Jonik struggled to prop himself up, caught his breath, and shouted to the other Treasure Hoarders, "Idiots! Two of you, grab those two in the back! The rest, help me hold her off, or we're all done for!"
"Yes, boss!"
The other Treasure Hoarders reacted immediately. Apothecary Leichi and Vick ran off to either side, trying to get past Noelle and attack Li Qiuzhi and Ver.
The remaining three joined their boss, Jonik, to stop Noelle.
"Not a chance!" Worried about Li Qiuzhi and Ver, Noelle immediately moved to intercept one of the Treasure Hoarders trying to pursue them.
Seeing Noelle heading toward him, Vick shouted in alarm:
"Boss, hurry up and help us!"
Jonik frowned. Seeing Leichi successfully slip past Noelle and head toward Li Qiuzhi and Ver, he thought it over and decided to trust Leichi to defeat that greenhorn.
He led the remaining men over to help Vick.
Meanwhile, Li Qiuzhi almost wanted to laugh when he saw that only Leichi was coming. Did these guys really think he was that weak?!
"Miss Ver, step back a little. I'll take care of him."
Li Qiuzhi spoke to Ver while keeping an eye on the approaching Treasure Hoarder.
"All right. Be careful." Ver nodded. Her injured knee kept her from helping; otherwise, she felt that taking on a single Treasure Hoarder together would have been much easier.
Before long, the Treasure Hoarder drew closer.
Leichi looked at the shabby adventurer of unknown origin before him and sneered. He felt that using an elemental potion on him would be a waste.
Besides, if he accidentally killed him, he wouldn't be able to take him hostage and threaten the Vision wielder into leaving.
So he decided to capture him alive with his fists and feet.
Li Qiuzhi realized that this arrogant Treasure Hoarder apparently wanted to see whose fists were stronger. Seriously, was he an idiot?
Great, that suits me just fine. I would've been a little more cautious if he'd brought out an elemental potion. Now watch me knock you flat!
Before either of them attacked,
they both lowered their centers of gravity slightly and adopted fighting stances. Both were novices at hand-to-hand combat.
Li Qiuzhi was merely copying a flashy stance from the heroes of martial arts films, while Leichi knew only a couple of crude moves he had learned from his boss.
They watched each other warily for a while, with Li Qiuzhi holding his ground and waiting to react.
Seeing that the young adventurer didn't dare attack, Leichi assumed he was frightened. His contempt grew, and a vicious grin spread across his face.
"Kid, let me teach you a lesson!"
He planted his short boot hard enough to kick up several blades of grass, charged toward Li Qiuzhi, and swung a sweeping kick at his face.
The kick stirred up a sharp gust, but with Li Qiuzhi's current eyesight, he could see Leichi's movements perfectly clearly.
He used no elaborate technique-he didn't know any, after all-and simply raised his left hand into the path of Leichi's attack.
As hand met foot, Li Qiuzhi turned his hand, caught Leichi's foot, and gave it a light tug forward. His strength, far greater than an ordinary person's, made Leichi lose his balance and topple toward him.
Panic and disbelief were plain in Leichi's eyes.
Li Qiuzhi's free right hand was already poised. He clenched his fist, gathered a little strength, and punched the Treasure Hoarder in the abdomen.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Leichi fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen in agony. He couldn't even scream and could only cough to ease the pain.
He had never imagined that someone who looked so frail could possess such strength. A single punch had left him unable to fight back.
[Defeated a powerful enemy. Gained 150 Experience Points.] [Learned skill: Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.1.]
The two consecutive notifications from the Character Panel filled Li Qiuzhi with delight. He hadn't expected defeating a Treasure Hoarder to yield so many Experience Points, let alone teach him the skill [Hand-to-Hand Combat].
Weapon-based skills like archery and swordsmanship required practice before he could learn the basics. Hand-to-hand combat, however, required no weapon and was a way of using the body, making it much easier to get started.
A single fistfight was enough.
Li Qiuzhi wasn't surprised that he had defeated Leichi so easily. Although it didn't show in his appearance, his enhanced physique was real; it was simply rather understated.
That was precisely why the Treasure Hoarders had been so easily misled.
"Hey! Leichi, are you kidding me? You went down that easily?!" Vick, who had been sent flying by an incidental bump from Noelle, happened to glimpse Leichi falling while he was still in midair and shouted in disbelief.
A moment later, he hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop.
He had gotten off relatively lightly. The others who had tried to surround Noelle hadn't even managed to use their weapons or elemental potions before she swatted them away like flies, sending each one seven or eight meters with a single swing of her sword.
Fortunately, their frequent adventures in the wilderness had given them fairly sturdy bodies, so they weren't knocked out on the spot.
"That's great! I didn't know you were so strong!"
Ver, who had retreated behind him, had been a little worried about Li Qiuzhi earlier. Now it seemed there wasn't much cause for concern.
"Mm-hmm!" Having just effortlessly swatted several men away, Noelle looked excited to see that Li Qiuzhi was unhurt and nodded in agreement.
[Ver feels affection toward you. Gained 20 Friendship points. Current Friendship level: Lv.2 (172/200)] [Noelle feels affection toward you. Gained 20 Friendship points. Current Friendship level: Lv.1 (80/100)]
Seeing Li Qiuzhi defeat his opponent so easily had naturally made them both a little fonder of him.
Jonik, the boss of this group of Treasure Hoarders, pushed himself into a crouch on the grass. With the protection of his Artifacts, he wasn't as badly injured as the others.
He, too, was deeply surprised as he looked at Li Qiuzhi.
He snorted and fixed his gaze on him. Unless he captured either him or the injured woman behind him, he would have no leverage against that Vision wielder.
Then, forget keeping the treasure for himself-even getting back in one piece would be a problem!
Jonik suddenly called to Vige, the least injured Treasure Hoarder in the distance, "Vige, hurry up and capture him! I'm counting on you!"
"Yes, boss!"
Stroking his chin, Jonik said calmly,
"Be careful, Vige. That kid knows a thing or two."
Li Qiuzhi's strength had indeed exceeded his expectations. He could send Vige to probe just how strong he was.
"Leave it to me, boss! I'll knock a couple of that brat's teeth out!"
Vige stood and nodded firmly. He was farther from Noelle and closer to Li Qiuzhi, so he quickly charged over.
Seeing Vige advance, Noelle wanted to fall back and defend them.
But Li Qiuzhi called out to stop her. "Don't worry, Miss Noelle. Leave this one to us, too. You can knock out the rest."
"All right!"
Remembering the skill Li Qiuzhi had just shown, Noelle felt he could handle that Treasure Hoarder and agreed. Then she turned her attention to the others she had sent flying.
"Stop lying around! Everyone, get up and stop her!"
"Yes, boss!"
The other three Treasure Hoarders quickly scrambled to their feet and watched Noelle warily. After being swatted away earlier, they were frightened and didn't dare act rashly.
Meanwhile, as all their attention focused on Noelle, Jonik took a small step back.
This chapter has undergone substantial revisions, so its title may not match its contents.
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