A hidden arrow

Whoosh!

Captain Qin, who had already retreated to the middle of the deck by the cabin entrance, personally loosed an arrow and shattered a bronze mirror raised on a stick. His expression was grim.

The enemy was scouting for a suitable place to climb aboard!

Their advantage of attacking from higher ground was steadily being dismantled. The lookout on the mast had already been shot down, and now all they could do was react!

The enemy's arrows were too accurate. No one dared peek out.

"Are there any other ships nearby?"

"There was a sand barge about a third of a mile behind us, but by the time I came over, it had stopped. It looked like they were even getting ready to turn back."

A crewman who had run over from the stern explained between breaths.

They were outmatched in the exchange of arrows and had already lost men. They could no longer stay along the gunwales. Everyone had gathered in front of the cabin entrance; if necessary, they could retreat into the cabin while fighting.

"Damn it! We're supposed to look out for each other on the water, and they ran away!

"Everyone, prepare for a hard fight. If we show them we're not easy prey, there may still be room to negotiate."

Captain Qin called out calmly to everyone.

If they put up enough resistance and showed the enemy they would pay dearly, they might still have a chance!

Lin Hao, however, remained composed beside him. That might have worked under normal circumstances, but getting the enemy to compromise this time would probably be difficult. They had sent too many experts.

Before long, they felt the ship shudder from a collision, with the noise coming from the stern.

Captain Qin beckoned Hou Lecheng over and took his bow to peer out from the side, hoping for a chance to take a hidden shot.

But the instant he showed his head, he hastily ducked back. A bowstring twanged, and an arrow almost grazed his scalp before burying itself in the deck!

Even though the deck was hardwood, the arrow sank an inch into it, a clear indication of its power.

"It's the River-Turning Flood Dragon and One-Eyed Eagle from Sandwater Marsh! Neither of them died!"

Captain Qin's expression turned ugly. He had seen their wanted posters. Although the portraits were crude, they captured the distinguishing features, making the two easy to recognize in this situation.

Both were skilled Bright Force Great Achievement experts with bounties on their heads. Their combined bounty came to two or three hundred taels. The fact that they had escaped the earlier crackdown alive spoke volumes about their abilities!

"Are they really remnants of the River Pirates? Did they target us just for this one haul?"

Captain Qin felt a little frightened. After ducking back, he called out loudly,

"Seventh Chief, we're all just trying to make a living. We understand the rules, and we won't let your brothers come all this way for nothing. Take as much of the cargo as you can carry, then leave us be. How does that sound?"

Even though guards and crewmen had already been shot dead, Captain Qin could only swallow his humiliation and negotiate.

The Martial Arts School disciples had also lost their earlier enthusiasm.

A real fight to the death was nothing like their usual sparring or brawling in the streets!

"Sure. Then come out and put down your weapons. Otherwise, what if you ambush us while we're moving the cargo?"

A slightly hoarse voice rang out, making everyone's heart sink.

Wouldn't putting down their weapons leave them at the enemy's mercy?

The only reason the enemy might compromise was that they still had weapons in their hands!

How stupid would they have to be to actually put them down?

"What? You won't? Looks like you aren't sincere!"

By then, Yang Xing, the only person present who had entered hidden force, had calmed down and begun displaying his true capabilities. His ears twitched, and his expression suddenly changed.

"Watch out! Some of them are coming from above!"

As Yang Xing spoke, the River Pirates who had climbed onto the cabin and were creeping across its roof abandoned any attempt at concealment and charged toward them with rapid strides.

At the same time, sounds came from both sides of the deck. Enemies were approaching from three directions at once, leaving them unsure where to focus their defenses.

"As expected of a hidden force prodigy. You've got some ability."

A bald, one-eyed man was the first to leap down from the cabin roof. He immediately locked onto Yang Xing and brought his saber down at his head.

Of the two River Pirates who landed beside him, one flung lime powder at Yang Xing, while the other scattered a handful of iron caltrops to drive the crowd back. Their coordination was flawless.

Hou Lecheng roared and tried to push through the caltrops to help, but two River Pirates who leaped down together blocked him.

Yang Xing listened to his master's and senior brothers' warnings every day and had remained on guard. He immediately raised his hand to shield his eyes, though the caltrops cut his body and hands.

"Hmph!"

Yang Xing had never experienced anything like this and was initially flustered, but he was still a hidden force expert with plenty of practice exchanging moves. Although raising his hand exposed a slight opening, he still swung his saber to meet One-Eyed Eagle.

Clang!

One-Eyed Eagle's powerful downward slash had both momentum and position in its favor. Yet as the deck beneath Yang Xing's feet splintered from the force he redirected, he used hidden force to absorb the blow and actually held it off!

"Idiot."

Before Yang Xing could savor that achievement, One-Eyed Eagle's foot struck his abdomen and sent him flying backward.

Catching a descending blow empowered by so much momentum was enough to leave Yang Xing, who had only just entered hidden force, struggling to recover even after redirecting its force. The kick was vicious and precise. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth as he stamped heavily backward across the deck to dissipate the impact.

Even when one foot landed on the edge of a caltrop and was cut, he still dared not lose contact with the deck!

Power came from a firm footing. If his footing failed under that force, he would be utterly doomed!

Enduring his injuries, he steadily met One-Eyed Eagle's follow-up attacks with his curved saber, blocking each attempt to press the advantage.

This secretly shocked One-Eyed Eagle, who was himself a Bright Force Great Achievement expert.

He had assumed a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old brat would be nothing to worry about, no matter how talented. Yet the boy had actually held off his Gale Saber Technique.

Though on the defensive, he left no opening at all!

Yang Xing, however, felt even more frustrated.

I'm already a hidden force Martial Master! My senior brother keeps me suppressed at the Martial Arts School, and now some random bright force fighter is doing the same outside! How is this acceptable?

While Yang Xing fought One-Eyed Eagle, the entire scene descended into chaos. The attack from the cabin roof had split the people aboard into separate groups.

Another River Pirate expert targeted Captain Qin, leaving him struggling to defend himself.

Hou Lecheng wanted to help his junior brother, but two more River Pirates who had leaped down entangled him one after the other. Their moves were vicious and seasoned, and even with his Bright Force Great Achievement...

he could not break through immediately.

Two fists could not contend with four hands. Whenever he tried to finish one opponent in a single rush, the other would launch a desperate attack, forcing him to abandon his move and defend!

Every River Pirate was formidable. Even those who had not reached bright force had trained their bodies to nearly the same level.

With their experience in mortal combat and their viciousness, they soon began cutting down crewmen. Several Martial Arts School apprentices were wounded as well. Once the ship's experts were pinned down, the others could barely resist the River Pirates!

It was almost a one-sided slaughter!

Even Qian Tao, relying on the Crouching Tiger Saber he had only recently learned and still knew poorly, could do no more than struggle against a single River Pirate.

This way of fighting with their lives on the line weighed heavily on Qian Tao. Even his earlier fight with Liu Ping had felt entirely different!

Damn it! He hasn't even entered bright force!

Qian Tao could tell that, although his opponent occasionally delivered a strike that integrated the strength of his whole body, he fell short of Qian Tao most of the time. He resembled a veteran apprentice who had spent years painstakingly conditioning his body and was close to achieving whole-body force.

Yet his fighting ability was on a completely different level! Pressured by those vicious moves, Qian Tao could not exploit the openings whenever his opponent failed to integrate his strength!

If the Martial Arts School apprentices behind him had not been supporting one another, just one more enemy could have cut him down!

Move, you useless hands! Cut him down!

Qian Tao roared inwardly.

But in the next instant, a long staff thrust beneath Qian Tao's armpit and struck the River Pirate squarely in the chest.

Thud! Crack!

A dull impact sounded alongside cracking bones. The River Pirate flew backward through the air, smashed through the wooden railing beside the deck, and fell straight into the water.

Then Lin Hao abandoned any notion of fair play and specifically targeted River Pirates already engaged with someone else. Taking advantage of his Long Staff's reach, he sent another River Pirate flying with each casual swing. Like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, he never struck without hitting his mark!

These ruthless bandits could chase down crewmen and apprentices, and any two of them could hold back a bright force expert. Yet beneath Lin Hao's Long Staff, they flew about like rag dolls.

The enchantments on the Wrought-Iron Staff and the Meteoric Iron Spear imposed almost no mass penalty, allowing every casual strike from Lin Hao to unleash earth-shattering power!

Crack! Thud! Splash!

After he killed four River Pirates in succession, his terrifying efficiency immediately attracted the attention of their experts.

"Deal with him first!"

"Don't let him get that staff moving!"

"Get in close!"

In an instant, five River Pirates pursuing crewmen and apprentices abandoned the targets almost within their grasp and rushed toward Lin Hao from different directions.

Every one of them radiated ferocity.

The Long Staff had reach, and the boy's Staff Technique was impressive, but once they got close, he would be at their mercy!

However, Lin Hao possessed [Proficient] Crouching Tiger Staff, supported by the Wrought-Iron Staff's [Practiced] Eight Gates Staff, the [Practiced] Twelve Routes Springing Leg on the footwear worn over his shoes, and [Great Achievement] Crouching Tiger Spear. With these techniques combined, his Staff Technique had returned to an effortless simplicity.

A casual sweep or block not only kept enemies from closing in but also simultaneously launched an attack against another opponent!

Both ends of the Long Staff, and its entire length, were weapons.

Although five men surrounded him, only one could ever attack at a time!

Head, neck, chest, waist, back—a light touch of the Long Staff was enough to strike a ruthless bandit with crushing force. As though a Dayun truck had rolled across the deck, all five bandits were killed within a few breaths!

The killings flowed so smoothly that the fight was over before anyone could even react.

Techniques beyond great achievement, combined with the power of two enchantments, gave Lin Hao a combat experience unlike anything he had ever known!

What had been an almost one-sided massacre of the crew by the River Pirates swiftly reversed with Lin Hao's arrival!

"They all have bounties on their heads, right?"

Lin Hao broke another River Pirate's spine with a blow and still had time to ask.

Captain Qin, who had been surrounded, felt the pressure abruptly ease. Delighted, he hastily answered,

"Yes! Besides the two leaders, the others' heads can also be exchanged for bounty money!"

He had never imagined that the young gentleman he had thought little of-whom he had merely hoped could use his bright force strength to hold off one bandit-would unleash such terrifying fighting power!

Even from the occasional glimpse, each sweep of that staff was already an art. Every move seemed capable of turning the mundane into something miraculous!

This was hope amid despair, a beacon in the darkness!

They could be saved!

"That's good..."

“That’s good...” But just as Lin Hao was about to reap more lives, the sudden twang of a bowstring made his heart tighten. Almost instinctively, he flicked his Long Staff, and a powerful arrow shattered in midair under the vibrating arc of its swing!

Even the shattered fragments sliced through the air like shrapnel, whistling as they tore Lin Hao's fitted martial clothes full of holes!

Only upon reaching the activation threshold of Lin Hao's Infantry Armor enchantment were they all deflected.

After instinctively blocking the arrow, Lin Hao could not help feeling shaken.

What a powerful arrow!

I could feel those fragments and the arrowhead striking me even through the Infantry Armor!

If that arrow had landed squarely, even if it couldn't pierce the armor, the impact would still have hurt.

A hidden force Martial Master could channel force evenly along an arrow's shaft, making the shot exceptionally straight and accurate. Even his master had suffered arrows from concealed attackers piercing his armor on the battlefield!

Looking toward the arrow's origin, he saw another masked bandit who had just boarded the ship, standing at the stern with a bow and watching him. The eyes exposed through the hood seemed to show surprise as well.

That much power from almost thirty meters away? A Two-Picul Strong Bow! A hidden force Martial Master?!

So this was a hidden force Martial Master's hidden arrow?!

He quickly glanced at the arrowhead on the deck. Fortunately, it was not an armor-piercing arrow. That had scared him half to death.

The reassuring sense of safety provided by the Infantry Armor returned.

Sneaky old bastard!

You're that strong, and you still shoot people from hiding!

"I'll see which is stronger-your hidden force or my added impact!"

Lin Hao pushed off the deck, unleashing his [Practiced] Twelve Routes Springing Leg, and shot toward the stern like an arrow. He focused intently on the powerful bow in his opponent's hands.

With martial techniques beyond great achievement layered together, now that the enemy had missed his chance to strike from concealment, Lin Hao could deflect even a direct shot from the Two-Picul Strong Bow!

Protected by the Infantry Armor, he had the confidence to charge!

One thing they had said in their earlier discussion was absolutely right: courage was a crucial part of combat!

And on his upper body-

The Infantry Armor and the two enchantments in his hands were his courage!