"Listen to me..." Xu Yan said in a low voice.
As Li Zhichao listened, a sinister and cruel smile gradually crept onto his lips.
"Okay, let's do it that way."
He then looked at the terrified freshmen and shouted, "Don't say we don't care about you, there are just too many Red Maple Ant here. If you want to survive, there's only one way now."
Upon hearing this, the freshmen, as if grasping at a lifeline, all pricked up their ears to listen.
Seeing this, Li Zhichao cursed inwardly, "A bunch of idiots."
He pointed westward, "Everyone run this way, the Red Maple Ant are the fewest here. If you stick together and charge, you'll definitely be able to tear an opening. Xu Yan and I will cover your retreat and ensure your safety."
Facing a life-or-death crisis, the freshmen had no time to ponder anything else. If someone pointed out a way out, they were naturally willing to fight for it.
Zhou Ming frowned, sensing that there was some ulterior motive between Li Zhichao and Xu Yan.
Li Zhichao noticed Zhou Ming's gaze and wondered if he had guessed something.
" Zhou Ming, what are you standing there for? Hurry up! Lead the freshmen to break through!"
Zhou Ming opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he said nothing. Instead, he charged to the front and fought relentlessly with the Red Maple Ant.
However, just as he and the new students had almost completely drawn the attention of the Red Maple Ant, Li Zhichao and Xu Yan unexpectedly broke through in the opposite direction and escaped.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Ming suddenly flew into a rage.
Actually, he had vaguely guessed something before, but considering that Li Zhichao and the other two were Yuanwu's students after all, Yuanwu was not one to be afraid of death, much less betray his companions to save his own beasts, yet the two of them did just that.
" Li Zhichao! Xu Yan! How could you be so despicable! Aren't you afraid I'll tell the school when we get back?!"
Li Zhichao rolled his eyes speechlessly, thinking to himself, "You'll have to be alive to get back."
Of course, he wasn't stupid, so he wouldn't say that. He was always just in case; what if Zhou Ming really did manage to escape?
So he shouted behind him, " Zhou Ming, don't misunderstand, we're not trying to run away, we're just making a strategic retreat. In this situation, the only way is for us to get out and return to the school for help."
Even a fool could tell that Li Zhichao was making excuses for himself. It would take at least two or three hours to get to the school from here, and by the time they got reinforcements from the school, they would probably be reduced to ashes.
At this moment, all the freshmen were filled with despair. They had thought that Li Zhichao and Xu Yan would save them, but they never expected that it was all just a conspiracy, a scheme to use them to their deaths.
"We're doomed, we're definitely going to die here today..."
Some freshmen completely gave up resisting, plopped down on the ground, and burst into tears.
In fact, everyone's strength was already low, and they had been fighting stubbornly until now, so they were already exhausted. Now, their two main combat forces, Li Zhichao and Xu Yan, broke through the encirclement and intended to leave them behind, which made them completely lose hope.
Just then, a whooshing sound cut through the air in front of the new students, piercing through three Red Maple Ant like a string of candied hawthorns, leaving a trail of blood.
The sudden turn of events stunned everyone, including Li Zhichao and Xu Yan, who had just broken through the encirclement and were preparing to escape.
After a brief moment of mental blankness, everyone turned their heads in the direction from which the arrow had been shot, and immediately saw Jiang Fan standing in the tree.
"It's Jiang Fan!"
How could it be him? Didn't he leave alone? How did he end up here?
Also, was it him who shot that arrow just now?
Countless questions exploded in everyone's minds.
No one can answer their questions, nor does anyone else need to.
The next second, Jiang Fan drew his bow and shot three arrows, the bowstring taut like a full moon.
Three arrows, whistling as if tearing through the air, once again whizzed past these people.
"Laugh!"
"Laugh!"
"Laugh!"
Each arrow, just like before, pierced through three Red Maple Ant, ending their lives in one fell swoop.
This scene left everyone dumbfounded; their eyes nearly popped out, and their jaws looked like they were about to drop.
However, there was no limit to the shock. Arrows shot out like a meteor shower, and Jiang Fan's constant drawing of the bow left only overlapping and intersecting afterimages.
There's no need to aim at all; it's just a mechanical process of constantly drawing the bow and shooting arrows, then drawing the bow and shooting arrows again, and continuing to draw the bow and shoot arrows!
"Gulp!"
A freshman couldn't help but swallow hard, then raised his hand and rubbed his eyes vigorously, as if to confirm whether he was hallucinating.
When he finished rubbing his eyes and looked at Jiang Fan again, he found that Jiang Fan was still mechanically drawing his bow and shooting arrows, as fast as a machine, so fast that it was dazzling, and the accuracy was one hundred percent.
"It's true!"
Everyone was so shocked that they couldn't put into words. Years later, when they recalled this scene, it remained vivid in their memories and would never be forgotten.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Li Zhichao stared intently at Jiang Fan's movements, his fingers unconsciously clenching so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms.
He refused to believe what he was seeing. Before even setting off into the Inner Wilderness Zone, he had been planning how to make things difficult for Jiang Fan there, and how he would make the other guy cry and scream for his parents.
Because in his view, having been here several times before, this was his home turf compared to Jiang Fan's.
But now, seeing Jiang Fan calm and composed in the face of so many demonic beasts, he suddenly felt as if something was blocking his chest, making him feel so uncomfortable that he was going crazy.
He simply couldn't understand how Jiang Fan, a freshman at the martial arts school and a complete novice who had never even entered the Inner Wilderness Zone, had managed to achieve this level of skill.
And there was more! The whistling of arrows, flowing seamlessly, was so fast that there was no pause, and each arrow hit its mark with a 100% success rate, reaping swarms of Red Maple Ant. It was as if those Red Maple Ant, which had once threatened their lives, were as fragile as easily broken glass in front of Jiang Fan, constantly exploding and spraying out foul-smelling blood.
"God--God Archer!"
Li Zhichao staggered back several steps, looking as if he had seen a monster that only knew how to shoot arrows and kill. At the same time, his pride was shattered, and he was utterly dejected.
How could this be? He's clearly just a freshman! High schools wouldn't teach how to use weapons, so how could Jiang Fan have mastered archery to such a high level?!