Chapter 32
The death of the militiaman Old Liu deeply stimulated every villager in Blackstone Village.
But the first wild boar to be killed also thoroughly enraged the entire herd.
BOOM!
The earthen wall trembled slightly.
An adult wild boar had its ferocity fully ignited. Its bayonet-like tusks stabbed deep into the earthen wall, blood spilling from its mouth, yet it continued to ram and shove with all its strength, as if trying to overturn the wall entirely.
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
The other wild boars also began to charge and shove violently.
The entire row of wild boars was infected by this madness, throwing themselves into the earthen wall with reckless, all-out force.
The people on the wall staggered. Su Wangchuan felt a chill of alarm.
Steadying himself, he could feel the wall’s surface being continuously torn open by the wild boars’ tusks.
Earth and broken stones flew.
The earthen wall grew thinner and thinner, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Under the relentless ramming of the herd, the entire wall actually began to sway.
Blood and searing pain drove the wild boars completely insane.
The village was in danger!
Zhao Heiniu was frantic:
“All archers!”
“Switch to armor-piercing arrows!”
“Kill the wild boars as fast as possible!”
Su Wangchuan reacted immediately, only then remembering that he had prepared a quiver of armor-piercing arrows.
It was time to upgrade the firepower.
Armor-piercing arrows were heavier, with far greater explosive force and sharpness.
A wild boar’s face was drilled straight through by an armor-piercing arrow. The arrow sank completely inside, and when the boar tried to paw at its face in pain, blood poured out, instantly smearing its entire snout.
Everyone began switching to armor-piercing arrows.
At close range, an armor-piercing arrow aimed at the face was deep and deadly!
WHOOSH!
An armor-piercing arrow drilled in through the mouth, the entire shaft disappearing into the boar’s body.
WHOOSH!
Through the eye socket, straight through the brain.
WHOOSH!
An armor-piercing arrow struck the neck. Blood sprayed wildly across the snow and the earthen wall. The wild boar instantly lost all fighting strength, instinctively turning and fleeing away from the wall.
BOOM!
One wild boar after another was executed on the spot. One arrow each, no sound made. They collapsed into the snow and never rose again.
Zhao Heiniu was the most ferocious of all.
In one breath, he killed seven wild boars in succession.
The seven that had been ramming the wall most violently were all shot dead by him.
In just over a dozen breaths, more than thirty wild boars went completely still.
The herd’s offensive was brutally suppressed.
Su Wangchuan fired twenty armor-piercing arrows in one go. Every single arrow granted him 1 point of experience, rapidly raising Archery to 82/100.
He was not far from the next realm.
Once his armor-piercing arrows were exhausted, he switched back to ordinary arrows.
The wild boars were already right in front of the wall anyway, and hitting their faces was extremely easy.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Su Wangchuan maintained rapid fire, emptying his second quiver of ordinary arrows.
Then he switched to a third.
No matter what, he was determined to raise Archery to Minor Mastery today.
He did not know how many more arrows he fired.
Suddenly, a “ding” rang out as a system notification appeared:
“Archery has advanced from Entry-Level to ‘Minor Mastery’!”
“Agility increased by 1 point.”
Su Wangchuan’s eyes lit up, and wild joy surged through his heart.
As expected, advancing Archery’s realm came with attribute rewards.
He summoned the Status Panel.
Su Wangchuan: Male (Blacksmith) (Hunger 60/100)
Strength 8+3; Attack 3–4
Agility 8+2; Defense 2; Speed +10
Stamina 9; HP 90/90
Spirit 8 (Not Activated)
Life Skill ‘Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique’: Practice Makes Perfect; Next Realm Entry-Level Mastery 158/500
Combat Skill ‘Archery’: Minor Mastery; Next Realm ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ 0/300
Current Location: Southern Sky Continent, Nanyu Kingdom, Sanhe Commandery, Huishui County, Blackstone Village
It was as if a surge of power flooded his body. His muscles tightened, his bow-drawing movements became smoother, his aiming faster, and the rhythm of his shots subtly changed.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
Su Wangchuan did not immerse himself in the joy of Archery’s advancement.
On one hand, the village’s crisis was not yet resolved.
On the other, he had to seize every second to continue earning experience.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
His firing frequency increased again.
He quickly realized the benefits brought by higher Agility.
It was not just faster speed.
As his rate of fire increased, the enemy’s reaction time was effectively shortened.
Often, by the time he loosed an arrow at high speed, the wild boar had no time to react before its eye was pierced or its snout was viciously stabbed.
Archery’s experience ticked up point by point.
Unknowingly, the nearest wild boars directly below him had their faces riddled with countless arrows, a miserable sight beyond words.
An excellent archer was extremely sensitive to firing rhythm.
Zhao Heiniu quickly noticed Su Wangchuan’s abnormality.
With a single glance, he saw Su Wangchuan firing two arrows downward in rapid succession, nailing them cleanly into the eye sockets of two wild boars—fierce, precise, and fast.
Zhao Heiniu’s eyes filled with disbelief.
Outsiders watched for spectacle; experts watched for technique.
The sharp, aggressive edge Su Wangchuan now displayed was no longer much inferior to his own, and he had completely left the village’s other archers far behind.
Without a word, Zhao Heiniu grabbed a quiver of armor-piercing arrows and threw it over.
“Su Wangchuan, catch.”
Su Wangchuan’s reaction speed had also improved. With a flick of his hand, he caught the quiver steadily.
The quiver carried the distinctive weight unique to armor-piercing arrows.
He understood Captain Zhao Heiniu’s meaning.
This was to swiftly kill every remaining wild boar outside the village.
Though it felt a little regretful, he still chose to comply.
Switching to armor-piercing arrows, he aimed at the wild boars that were still tirelessly threatening the earthen wall, nearly ramming open breaches…
The remaining thirty-plus wild boars were finally bled dry and killed one by one through the combined efforts of the two men.
At last.
The earthen wall stopped shaking.
Everyone collapsed onto the top of the wall, panting heavily.
Looking at the breaches torn into the wall, at the cracks spreading along the inner surface, smiles of survival after catastrophe appeared on their faces.
The village had not escaped without paying a price.
Aside from Old Liu, who had been killed in action, seven militiamen were injured while stopping the wild boars’ assault.
Two villagers had also accidentally fallen from the wall, but fortunately they fell inside the village rather than outside.
WHOOSH!
THUD!
WHOOSH!
THUD!
On the wall, Su Wangchuan was still shooting.
He was finishing off wild boars that lay motionless yet still exhaled warm breath.
Everyone saw this and did not stop him.
Even knowing these wild boars could not possibly survive, Su Wangchuan’s actions only made everyone feel vindicated.
After finishing them off one by one, he gained an additional 13 points of experience.
Captain Zhao Heiniu walked over with a smile on his face.
“Su Wangchuan.”
“Not bad. Archery advanced?”
“Yes. While killing them, Archery advanced without me even realizing it.”
Su Wangchuan did not hide anything.
“Well done.”
Zhao Heiniu patted his shoulder and laughed. “Blackstone Village has gained another excellent archer. How about you come follow me and become my disciple?”
“Captain Zhao, you’re trying to steal my master’s disciple. Aren’t you afraid my master will cut off your supply and stop providing you with armor-piercing arrows?” Su Wangchuan laughed loudly.
Zhao Heiniu came to his senses and shook his head.
“That’s true. Your master isn’t easy to deal with. If he knew I was trying to poach his successor, he’d be ready to fight me to the death.”