No one expected a teenage girl—seventeen or eighteen at most—could sprint so fast with a man on her back. She shot off like a startled rabbit and vanished in the blink of an eye. Even the archers, known for their agility, could only watch helplessly as the pair escaped beyond their reach.
"Captain, what should we do?"The pursuers looked to the archer in leather armor. His name was Zheng Xiubo. His exceptional marksmanship had earned him a spot in the Pegasus Convoy as a guard, eventually rising to squad leader. He shrugged.
"I don't know. Go back and ask the commander."
The group slunk back to the valley, dejected.
Inside the graveyard, a squad was hunting ghouls and rotfiends. They worked in five-man teams, each focusing on a single monster. Two shield-bearers blocked the creature's attacks head-on, while two spear-wielders pressed the assault. A hunter-like figure weaved between them, distracting and flanking. Within minutes, each monster was cleanly dispatched. Their efficiency was astounding.
Over thirty corpses lay strewn across the ground. Some men were busy extracting power seeds and meat sacs. Before long, a burly man approached a middle-aged figure seated at the center of the operation, respectfully holding out a pile of copper coins—two silver coins gleamed among them.
"Commander, the drop rate for meat sacs here is over 80%. That's two to three times higher than other places. Plus, the monsters are densely packed—no need to waste time hunting. This place is a goldmine."
The middle-aged man had a rugged face and unusually thick hands. Upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He picked up a copper coin. A faintly cruel smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Good. Then this place is ours."
When he set the coin down, the burly man clearly saw two deep indentations from the commander's fingers—clean fingerprints sunken into the metal. He was awestruck by the man's strength and quietly retreated to resume work.
Zheng Xiubo arrived just then to report that the targets had escaped. The commander's face remained calm.
"If this place were yours, would you give it up so easily?" he asked flatly.
"Commander is wise. I'll make the arrangements," Zheng Xiubo replied, immediately understanding.
The day passed quietly. Night began to fall.
In a clump of tall grass, nearly invisible in the darkness, several archers crouched, unmoving for hours. Their legs were numb, their bodies exhausted. One of them grumbled in a whisper.
"Seriously, Captain's being ridiculous. Just two people, and we've got hundreds. Like they'd come back to die. Even if they do, do we really need to ambush them?"
"Quiet! We'll get spotted," another whispered sharply.
"Bet we're wasting our time tonight," said a third, pulling out a meat bun. Just as he opened his mouth to bite down, his body jerked. An arrow shot straight through his open mouth. Blood sprayed over the bun, painting it a vivid red like chili oil.
The other two looked up at the sound. Just as their eyes widened in realization, two cold streaks pierced the air. Arrows filled their vision. Their final thought before blacking out was:
"Why do those arrowheads look like rotfiend claws?"
Not far away, in a small depression in the earth, another group of seven or eight men were also lying in wait. They were bored out of their minds, chatting quietly to pass the time. One of them suddenly perked up.
"Did you hear something?"
"Really?" another asked, cocking his head.
Shhk—
"Yeah, sounds like a knife going into—wait, no—" His words caught in his throat as a gleaming dagger slid out of his comrade's back, trailing blood in a graceful arc. Before he could even react, the blade slashed across his throat. Blood sprayed like a fountain.
An hour later, night had fully fallen. Liu Weian and the girl—Lu Yan—had slipped back into the valley. The outer perimeter archers, hundreds of them, had been silently wiped out. Liu Weian had worried Lu Yan might struggle in the dark. To his surprise, she was even more terrifying at night—swift as a lynx, silent as a shadow, and deadly as a hunting eagle.
They met briefly, then split up to advance from opposite flanks. Thanks to the perimeter guards, Liu Weian encountered few enemies along the way—just a handful of patrols, easily dispatched. After five or six kilometers, he heard the sounds of battle in the distance. He slowed his pace.
"Enemy inside!"
A man suddenly leapt up from the ground, slashing his blade at Liu Weian. Fast and fierce.
Thwip—
The arrow pierced the flash of steel, burying itself in the man's throat. The sheer force flung the corpse two meters. Liu Weian slapped his thigh.
"Damn, playing dead? That's dirty."
With his cover blown, Liu Weian stopped hiding. He charged forward. Two dark silhouettes emerged ahead. Twang! Two arrows flew. Two enemies dropped.
As long as they didn't surround him, as long as he wasn't trading shots with enemy archers, and as long as he had space—he wasn't afraid. Within 30 meters, he might not hit every shot, but enemies would struggle to close in. He jogged while firing. In the next 500 meters, he left over seventy corpses behind him.
Clang!
An arrow hit a shield, sending sparks flying. The shock made the shieldbearer's arms tremble. In that instant, another arrow slipped through a gap—straight into his throat.
"Well, well. You've got guts," came a voice. Zheng Xiubo emerged from behind two shieldbearers, his gaze more admiring than angry.
Liu Weian's heart sank. He had killed at least 200 archers, and dozens more along the way. Yet still, two to three hundred enemies remained—well-armed, hardened killers, not mere sentries.
About fifty fighters surrounded him. The rest kept killing monsters. Atop the highest ground stood a middle-aged man—short but imposing. Anyone who glanced his way would notice him first. He stood casually, yet exuded a calm, immovable aura. He hadn't spared Liu Weian a single glance, focusing solely on the battlefield.
Just as Liu Weian looked away, he paused. He saw the man's hands—thick-jointed, stone-colored. They radiated terrifying, contained power.
This man was stronger than even the elite bodyguard from the Pegasus Convoy.
A true master!
"I'm not brave—I just hold grudges," Liu Weian said, shifting his gaze to Zheng Xiubo.
"Blood debts must be paid. No need for speeches. In that, I admire you," Zheng Xiubo said with a grin, though his words brimmed with killing intent. "But tonight—you still die."
The moon rose.
Liu Weian noticed the ghouls growing restless, their movements faster. He'd spent enough time here to sense even distant corpses rising. The enemy hadn't noticed, but the middle-aged man seemed to catch a hint of something—only to dismiss it.
Liu Weian had a plan.
"Wait!" he shouted.
Zheng Xiubo halted his raised hand. "Last words?"
"I know I can't beat the Pegasus Convoy. I've already made enemies—I won't beg. But if I die tonight and respawn in a month, is this grudge settled?" Liu Weian asked.
"Afraid now?" Zheng Xiubo sneered.
"Doesn't matter. It's still trouble."
"You think ahead. That's rare. But your actions weren't smart," Zheng Xiubo said with regret. "You killed too many of my brothers. A single death doesn't pay the price."
Just then, black shadows began to drift in from the depths of the graveyard. They floated silently—taller than ghouls, dressed neatly, each from a fine coffin or proper grave, rarely left to rot. They were zombies—superior to ghouls.
No one else noticed yet, but Liu Weian had been watching. His sharp eyes caught the first one the moment it appeared. A grin curled at his lips.
"In that case—no quarter."
"Kill him!" Zheng Xiubo commanded, though unease stirred in his chest.
Thwip!
An arrow flashed through the air. A shield appeared just in time—
Bang!
The arrow shattered. Liu Weian's face darkened. These were elite fighters—fast, precise, and tough. His normal arrows wouldn't cut it. He needed chained arrows. But there were hundreds of them. He couldn't shoot that many in time.
Suddenly, screams erupted from the battlefield. Within seconds, over a dozen fighters were torn apart by zombies. Two more were drained dry. Chaos spread as more zombies flooded in. Shieldbearers braced desperately, but zombies were far stronger than ghouls. One shove and they were flying.
Warriors near Zheng Xiubo glanced back. In that instant, Liu Weian struck.
His bow let out a deep, resonant thrum.