It felt like being struck by lightning. If not for the shield absorbing part of the blow, Liu Weian would've died on the spot—bones shattered, organs crushed. Even so, darkness surged before his eyes, and only sheer willpower kept him from blacking out. He drew his bow and fired, relying solely on instinct, as his vision was completely blurred.
The arrow shot out like a meteor, tearing through the air.
Infused with a Chain Shot and a Corpse-Breaking Talisman, it radiated deadly intent. Though a Silver-ranked warrior, the enemy commander didn't dare take the risk. He punched forward, the sound of thunder echoing faintly as the force of the blow traveled outward.
Boom!
The arrow exploded three feet away, unable to get close. But the backlash numbed the commander's arm and slowed his pursuit by a split second. In that brief window, Liu Weian landed and darted away with astonishing speed.
His chance at a kill vanished in smoke.
Two arrows chased after Liu Weian. He didn't dodge—he let them strike his back, using the momentum to run even faster.
"After him!" the commander barked, taking the lead. With a single stride, he covered ten meters. The second step took him past the others who had begun the chase earlier.
Behind him, pained screams rang out. Two archers collapsed, twitching. The commander looked back just in time to see Liu Weian withdrawing his bow. Two more arrows jutted from his own back.
"Outrageous!" the commander roared. His voice rolled across the land like crashing waves. He surged forward, rapidly closing the gap—twenty meters, then ten, eight, five. His fist began to glow, gathering terrifying power.
Just as he was about to strike, Liu Weian suddenly exploded forward like a released arrow, leaping over twenty meters in a heartbeat. The commander's fully charged strike missed its mark. The frustration was maddening.
Whoosh—
Another arrow streaked toward him. The commander tilted his head to avoid it, only to hear a cry of agony behind him. One of his men fell, an arrow lodged clean through his throat.
Liu Weian seemed possessed, his speed increasing by the second. The distance stretched to fifty meters before he finally slowed. The commander gave chase with all his might but could not close the gap. If only he were an archer—Liu Weian would already be dead. But he wasn't.
Liu Weian was.
Every time he surged forward, an arrow came flying at the perfect moment, forcing the commander to reserve part of his strength for defense.
They flew across the terrain like lightning. In the blink of an eye, they had covered nearly two miles. The Pegasus caravan was already half a mile behind. The commander pressed on without hesitation, keeping Liu Weian in sight. He could tell Liu Weian was weakening—blood dotted the trail behind him.
Liu Weian, moments from passing out earlier, had felt a surge of energy as the star map in his mind pulsed, its glowing path flaring to life. The light filled him with vitality, giving him the strength to escape. Without it, he'd already be dead.
Once his mind cleared, he realized: the star map had flared precisely when the commander's blow landed. It had absorbed much of the force—more than the shield ever could. While fleeing, he kept popping Power Seeds into his mouth, rapidly healing internal injuries. His weakened aura? A ruse. A head-on fight was suicide—trickery was his only hope.
But the arrows in his back still throbbed with searing pain. Every movement was torture. The blood loss worried him—Power Seeds healed wounds but didn't stop bleeding.
Five miles in, Liu Weian finally slowed. He was deathly pale. He had no choice; if he kept going, blood loss would kill him before the commander could. He raised his bow, ready for a final stand—then caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye.
A petite figure darted silently through the woods, fast as a shadow—faster than him.
Liu Weian fired another arrow behind him and abruptly changed direction, accelerating once more.
The commander dodged the arrow easily but frowned. Liu Weian's stamina was clearly running low, so how did he suddenly speed up again? And this escape path—why was it so erratic?
Still, confident in his power, the commander chased without hesitation.
Suddenly, several hundred meters in, Liu Weian skidded to a stop and turned.
Three arrows fired in rapid succession—a line of death streaking through the air. But the commander had been watching closely. As Liu Weian turned, he shifted positions—only to find nothing beneath his feet.
Trap!
A massive pit opened below him, its bottom and walls studded with razor-sharp spikes coated in a glowing blue poison. Even a scratch could mean death or crippling injury.
Liu Weian had imagined himself in the commander's shoes—how would he escape this? The answer: he wouldn't. No ordinary man could. But Silver-rank warriors weren't ordinary.
The commander's body froze in midair—then shot upward. With two fingers, he jabbed into the pit wall and launched himself skyward like a rocket.
But whoever set the trap knew how formidable he was. Just as he touched the wall, a massive log dropped from above. Half a meter thick, two meters long, weighing hundreds of pounds. Its front was sharpened to a lethal point.
The commander's eyes flashed with brilliance. He punched out with glowing force—yellow energy surged from his fist.
Boom!The log shattered into splinters. He soared out of the pit, though his cold face now flushed with a reddish hue.
Then—attack.
A petite figure flew from a nearby tree. Sword light filled the air, enclosing the commander in a web of flashing blades. The sound was like pounding rain, like a waterfall crashing down.
In a heartbeat, it ended.
A thunderous shout erupted. The figures split. Lu Yan flew backward, her back smashing into a tree. Blood gushed from her lips as she slid down, ghost-pale.
The commander's left eye was ruined, blood pouring from the socket—he was now a one-eyed devil.
The entire exchange had lasted mere seconds—so fast Liu Weian hadn't even followed it. But it didn't matter. He had the perfect shot.
Lu Yan's reckless charge had left the commander exposed.
Two sharpened logs, smaller but just as deadly, crashed toward him from the sides. He couldn't dodge back—the pit. He couldn't go forward—Liu Weian. And behind him—a strange, swirling cloud of smoke. Its very presence screamed danger.
His only options were forward or up. He chose forward—and regretted it immediately.
Arrows. So many arrows.
They came like lightning, roaring like thunder. No matter how he moved, Liu Weian had predicted every opening, striking exactly where his defenses were weakest.
His face turned red with strain. On one mistimed maneuver, he pressed against the wall to dodge—
And a single arrow pierced through his fingers, shattering them. The force crawled up his arm like fire. He didn't recognize the Corpse-Breaking Talisman, but the pain was unforgettable.
With a furious roar that shook the trees, the commander erupted in red light. He spun wildly, unleashing a storm of energy. The pit's spikes exploded into splinters.
He shot upward—ghost-like flickers streaking through the air—and reappeared directly before Liu Weian.
His remaining fist lashed out. Before it even landed, its pressure crushed the very air, as though a mountain had erupted.
Liu Weian stopped breathing.
His heartbeat ceased.
This power was like a volcano that had waited centuries to explode.
No Iron-rank, no Bronze-rank—nothing below Silver could survive this blow.
In Liu Weian's mind, the star map blazed. Power surged, frantically trying to resist—but it wasn't enough. He couldn't even move a finger.
A sharp cry rang out.
Lu Yan reappeared behind the commander. Her short sword stabbed into his back. It sank three inches—then stopped, as though hitting steel. She was flung through the air again, blood trailing like petals.
In that instant, Liu Weian felt the pressure lift.
Reflexively, he fired.
Draw. Nock. Aim. Release.One fluid motion.
The arrow pierced the commander's forehead.
Corpse-Breaking Talisman.
His head exploded.
But his fist still landed. Even weakened by Lu Yan's strike, the punch knocked Liu Weian breathless. Bones shattered. He flew over twenty meters and crashed into the earth, unmoving.
Time crawled. Three minutes passed.
Then—he stirred.
Pain everywhere. Dozens of bones broken. His left shoulder crushed. He dared not move.
Suddenly—he paled. Soft footsteps echoed. Someone was coming.
Two hundred meters away—and closing.