Book 5: Chapter 33: Shedding the Disguise

Qingming’s longbow resembled the medieval Scottish longbow from Earth. The entire bow was made of a single piece of golden wood; this material was both hard and flexible, naturally ranking as Dark Gold quality equipment material. The bowstring was a rare earth dragon tendon, and the bow itself stood taller than her height, measuring over 1.2 meters.

After raising the longbow, Qingming’s cool gaze showed a trace of focus. She tilted her head slightly and pressed the fingers holding the arrow fletching to her lips, while the strands of hair by her ears drifted gently. There was nothing in her pupils but the target. High concentration was a bowman’s most basic quality.

“Thwip!” With a faint sound of the bowstring, a black flash seemed to streak through the dim cave. Immediately afterward, an earth-shaking howl sounded. The timid Hill Giant suddenly clutched its ankle and tumbled to the ground.

Qin Lun narrowed his eyes and saw a Fine Iron Long Arrow trembling in a bloody hole on the Hill Giant’s ankle. The arrow had pierced through the wound and lodged itself right between the ankle and shin bones.

The tip of Qingming’s long arrow was forged into a three-edged shape, with sharp barbs on the rear of the arrowhead. Once it entered flesh, it would hook onto muscle fibers and tendons. Pulling it out would tear away a chunk of flesh, even severing blood vessels and tendons, causing continuous damage.

If it struck a bone joint like this, there was no way to remove it without surgery; otherwise, the limb would surely be crippled. Although Qin Lun had mostly caused the injury to the Hill Giant’s ankle, Qingming’s stunning arrow still left a deep impression on him.

In contrast, Qingming paid little attention to her achievement. To the female Elf, it was an expected outcome.

Without pause, she reached her left hand behind her back, drew another long arrow, and notched it onto the bow. She drew the string evenly, and just as the bow curved into a full moon, her knuckles holding the arrow fletching once again touched the corner of her lips.

Such an elegant way of fighting! But by fighting so actively, she’s competing with me for damage points! Qin Lun’s smile did not fade, but he inwardly felt a chill, immediately grasping Qingming’s intention.

“Great archery!” Qin Lun praised with a smile. “I originally intended to sneak into the cave while the adult giant was away to look for some of their spoils. But this little Hill Giant discovered me and blocked me inside… I thought today was just my unlucky day, but I never expected such good fortune. Not only did I meet such a beautiful lady, but I also got to witness such superb archery skills!”

“Thwip!” Hearing such blatant flattery from the enemy’s mouth, Qingming’s hand trembled. The Fine Iron Long Arrow flew past the Hill Giant’s ear, missing its target. She immediately lifted her head, her expression stern as she spoke coldly, “Enough with the chatter. Do you plan to let me fight alone?”

“Ah? Oh!” Qin Lun seemed to snap out of a dream, scratching his silver hair sheepishly, a faint blush appearing on his face. “Sorry, sorry!”

“Hmph!” Qingming shot him a glance and ignored the youth, refocusing her attention on the longbow. Yet a strange feeling grew inside her, and she couldn’t help doubting her earlier suspicion.

Is this person really an Apostle? Whether he is or not, my arrows will clarify everything! Qingming shook her head, driving out the unnecessary thoughts, and devoted herself wholeheartedly back to the fight.

“Bang, bang, bang! Thwip, thwip, thwip…” Gunshots and bow sounds came one after another in the cave, like a symphony of battle, interspersed with the Hill Giant’s agonized cries.

Caught in a pincer attack, the small Hill Giant had long lost its will to fight. It merely shielded its head and face with its arms, buried its head against its chest, and lay trembling on the ground, letting out loud howls. Among the howls were intermittent ancient words of the Luman mountain forests; judging by the syllables, it was repeating the same word—probably calling for its mother.

Unfortunately, the adult Hill Giant had been lured far away by Hansen and the others, and their current battle took place deep inside the cave where the sound insulation was good. Otherwise, it might have caused some trouble for the other battlefield; perhaps the adult Hill Giant, in a frenzy, would break free and rush back to its nest.

While firing, Qin Lun’s eyes flickered subtly. Unconsciously, he slowed his attack rhythm and began to retreat gradually. As for Cerberus, it had already stopped attacking under its master’s command, arching its body protectively in front of Qin Lun.

Qin Lun’s movements were very subtle; his backward steps were tiny, almost inch by inch, accompanied by the recoil of his gun, making it appear as if it was merely due to the firearm’s kickback. His shooting angles were also hard to decipher—left and right shots without fixed damage zones; a few bullets merely left marks on the Hill Giant’s skin, failing even to break it.

In contrast, Qingming’s attacks were highly organized. Most of her shots landed on a few specific parts of the Hill Giant’s body. Although some arrows were blocked by the Hill Giant’s instinctive movements, she still managed to open several bloody holes on the target, steadily and continuously draining the Hill Giant’s vitality.

Unknowingly, their attacks created an illusion for the Hill Giant: Qin Lun’s side inflicted much weaker damage.

Thus, the small Hill Giant instinctively crawled deeper into the cave toward Qin Lun. Moreover, because each of Qingming’s attacks caused unbearable pain, the Hill Giant kept twisting its body to avoid being hit in the same spots.

This forced Qingming to shift left and right, searching for better shooting positions, and without realizing it, she was drawn further into the cave, slowly moving away from the entrance. Of course, the cave was only about ten meters deep; Qingming was still only two or three meters from the cave mouth.

Third arrow, fourth arrow… almost time! Qin Lun watched the Hill Giant, riddled with wounds and covered in Fine Iron Long Arrows, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes. In reality, aside from the large bloody hole in its ankle, the Hill Giant’s other wounds weren’t deep; many arrows and bullets had barely pierced the skin before being caught by its muscles.

However, it had too many injuries; blood flowed all over its body, leaving pools of blood wherever it crawled. Its life force grew weaker and weaker, gradually nearing death.

Qin Lun suddenly stopped shooting and pulled three distinct crimson bullets from his chest, loading them one by one into Demon’s Song’s cylinder. These were the Dark Gold Bullets included with Burial of Light and Darkness; eight remained. Since he hadn’t crafted them himself, he had to load them manually.

“Bang, bang, bang!” The black and white guns each fired three bullets: Demon’s Song shot Dark Gold high-explosive rounds, while Angel’s Praise shot armor-piercing rounds.

The six bullets traced beautiful fluorescent trails in the air. Three Dark Gold high-explosive rounds struck the sides of the purple armor-piercing bullets precisely. The immense explosive force within the bullets nearly transformed the armor-piercing shots into lightning streaks, penetrating the Hill Giant’s chest through gaps between its hands.

“Wah…” The prostrate Hill Giant convulsed as if electrocuted, leaped up, clutched its chest with both hands, and let out a deafening roar. A jet of blood spurted from between its fingers.

These three armor-piercing rounds collided like marbles, with the rearmost bullets propelling the frontmost one through the Hill Giant’s tough muscles and into its heart and lungs.

Originally, due to the difference in attack intensity between Qin Lun and Qingming, the Hill Giant had instinctively turned its front toward Qin Lun, exposing its back to Qingming. But after these three armor-piercing bullets, the Hill Giant stood up and instinctively half-turned toward Qingming’s direction.

“Perfect chance!” Seeing the severely wounded Hill Giant turn toward her and drop its guard over its face, Qingming’s eyes gleamed. She took a deep breath; her ponytail and side locks fluttered without any wind. The movements of her arrow-drawing hand suddenly sped up, leaving afterimages in the air.

“Thwip!” The moment the bowstring sounded, a Fine Iron Long Arrow appeared in the Hill Giant’s right eye. As blood gushed from its eye socket, the Hill Giant’s roar was abruptly cut short. Its body stiffened and collapsed to the ground. Though its chest still rose and fell, its life force swiftly dwindled, plunging it into a critical, near-death state.

After releasing that arrow, Qingming’s face paled. She gasped for breath a few times, a look of relief crossing her face. But as she lifted her head, she saw Qin Lun wearing a faint, ambiguous smile. Her heart clenched fiercely, sinking like a stone.

“You are an Apostle!” Qingming took a deep breath, her expression grave.

“Correct!” Qin Lun nodded with a smile. As he spoke, he lunged toward Qingming. “Miss Qingming, you’ve been tailing me for two days. Isn’t this moment of confirmation exactly what you wanted?”

“Hmph, I never expected you to hide so deeply!” A blush rose on Qingming’s cheeks, and a flash of anger crossed her face. During this battle, she had actually gradually dismissed her suspicion of Qin Lun, truly considering him a Plot Character.

“However, waiting until now to reveal your identity—isn’t it too late? The Main Quest for ‘Source of Power’ must have failed already, right?”

Calmly, Qingming drew her bow and shot an arrow at Qin Lun leaping in mid-air. As the arrow left her hand, she glanced sideways behind her and realized she was only two or three meters from the cave entrance. She breathed an inward sigh of relief, turned swiftly, and fled.

“Haha, my timing is just right, but Miss Qingming, yours is a bit late!”

A sharp glint flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes. A Pentagram Array, like a silver mirror, appeared beneath his feet. With a step in the air and the sound of the silver mirror shattering, his body shifted slightly, dodging the incoming arrow.

Simultaneously, the young man still in mid-air clasped his hands together. A ripple of law energy spread through the cave. Suddenly, numerous plant sprouts emerged from the ground at the cave entrance. These sprouts broke through the soil at a visible rate, and in the blink of an eye, countless snake-like vines whipped through the air, lashing violently toward Qingming.