Chapter 34: Decapitation

Whoosh!

The arrow whistled through the air at lightning speed. Yet, perhaps due to the searing pain in his leg, Gu Erniu couldn’t fully concentrate, and this shot failed to demonstrate his true skill.

Li Yan’s expression was one of shock and terror.

Seeing the arrow speeding toward him, he desperately dodged. Thankfully, having intentionally remained at the rear, he had just enough time to react.

Thud!

The arrow pierced flesh. Li Yan let out a miserable cry, narrowly avoiding a fatal hit, but his left arm was struck once again.

Two consecutive arrows to the left arm—though not in the exact same spot—aggravated his previous wound.

The doubled pain twisted his face into a ghastly grimace.

"Gu Erniu!!"

The trio finally snapped out of their daze. The sudden, unexpected arrow had stolen their focus, causing them to forget about Gu Erniu—the prey that had turned the tables!

Now that the prey had struck back, cold sweat streamed down their backs like torrents.

They hurriedly dodged and repositioned to block the line of sight of both the hidden assailant and Gu Erniu’s arrows as much as possible.

But Asheng’s reaction was far quicker than theirs.

Right after releasing the first arrow, he immediately changed positions. Gu Erniu’s shot had forced the trio to shift, and in doing so, gave Asheng the perfect opportunity.

Asheng’s gaze was frigid and emotionless.

With no hesitation, his killing intent was absolute. Once again, he did not target Li Yan.

The bow was a crescent moon, and the arrow a shooting star!

The long arrow tore through the air like the scythe of Death itself, claiming lives without mercy.

Another hunter clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide with lingering terror. The dread of watching an arrow pierce straight through one’s throat was something no ordinary person could comprehend.

But the deepest fear belonged to the remaining hunter.

Seeing his two companions drop dead in succession, throats punctured, his entire body trembled uncontrollably. Though he was no stranger to killing, it was usually with the advantage of numbers. Never had he witnessed such savage precision.

"Aaaaahhhh!!!"

The hunter roared in frenzy, wildly drawing his bow and firing into the forest in blind rage. Yet, shaking with both mind and body consumed by fear, it would’ve been strange if his shots were accurate.

Two consecutive arrows missed entirely, thudding harmlessly into the trees.

This futile attempt to vent his terror only served to expose his position further.

The moment he fired his second shot, he instinctively tried to retreat behind the trees again.

But Asheng’s arrow was faster.

A whistling arrow sped through the air with the force of rolling thunder. The sharp, piercing sound struck like a haunting melody in the ears of the final hunter. In that moment of terror, he even caught a fleeting glimpse of the spinning arrowhead’s icy glint.

"My life is over!"

This thought had barely formed in his mind before he met the same fate as his comrades—his throat pierced by a single arrow.

The faint gurgling of his death throes lingered briefly before falling eerily silent.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Gu Erniu had still been stewing in frustration over his failed shot at Li Yan, but within moments, the other two hunters had perished entirely.

"Who on earth is this hidden sharpshooter? This marksmanship is utterly astounding! No one in the surrounding hunter circles has any such skill. Even the legendary archers of war would be hard-pressed to match this level!"

Gu Erniu was stunned and filled with awe.

But suddenly.

His eyes widened in disbelief. As the final hunter fell, Gu Erniu finally caught a clear glimpse of the hidden assailant’s form and face.

Dusk-colored skin, a finely featured face, cold and steely in its expression.

"Asheng?!"

Gu Erniu was both shocked and elated, never expecting that Asheng had arrived just in time to take out their enemies. What’s more, he was astounded to realize how unbelievably advanced Asheng’s archery had become.

This level of skill was utterly beyond comprehension.

Yet before a smile could even form on his face, his expression changed once more to one of horror.

"Asheng, watch out!"

He instinctively shouted in warning, his eyes catching sight of Li Yan, the last remaining hunter from the Li family stronghold, inching closer to Asheng with a short blade in hand.

Gu Erniu was consumed with anxiety.

Though Asheng’s archery was extraordinary, he was just a fourteen-year-old boy. Once an enemy closed the distance, his archery skills would be of little use in melee combat.

In recent months, Asheng had grown much stronger physically, but against someone like Li Yan—an able-bodied young man in his prime—he was clearly outmatched.

Gu Erniu gritted his teeth and raised his bow, but the pain in his left leg poured sweat down his face like rain. His hands trembled uncontrollably.

Arrow notched, he dared not shoot.

Asheng and Li Yan were far too close. If he missed and hit Asheng by mistake, it would achieve the opposite of what he intended.

Cursing bitterly, he threw down his longbow and drew his short blade, limping on his injured leg as he charged toward the battlefield with all his strength.

He couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. That wasn’t an option.

In the distance.

Li Yan, short blade in hand, stared ferociously at Asheng. The two were so close that Asheng had no time to draw his bow.

Li Yan’s face twitched uncontrollably. The arrow still embedded in his left arm remained untreated, the constant agony gnawing relentlessly at him.

But he knew this was his only chance.

Moments ago, as Asheng killed the three hunters, Li Yan could’ve chosen to flee. But he wasn’t stupid—he knew that with his current condition, escape was impossible against Asheng’s deadly accuracy. He would eventually be caught and shot through the throat.

So he resolved to stake everything on this one gamble, approaching Asheng with gritted teeth. Only by fighting up close did he stand a chance of survival.

"You little bastard—it really is you. You’re like a goddamn ghost that refuses to go away!"

Li Yan’s eyes burned with fury as he stared daggers at Asheng, trying to intimidate him.

Gu Erniu’s shout had already given away their position, but Li Yan didn’t care.

After all, he was facing a mere teenager. Even if he was down an arm, he was confident he could take him down.

Years ago, Li Yan had trained in martial arts, though he hadn’t reached an entry-level of mastery. Still, with guidance from his brother-in-law Du Jiangbo, he had picked up some skills in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. He was far from ordinary farmers or villagers in terms of ability.

Not to mention his physical advantage.

Asheng’s expression remained calm and cold, entirely void of panic.

As Li Yan approached with predatory intent, Asheng reached behind him, pulling out a hatchet. While most hunters carried short blades, Asheng had brought a hatchet along.

His mastery of Chopping Wood had already achieved the Perfect level, but it had not yet been tested in real combat.

"You’ll be my first!"

In Asheng’s eyes gleamed a confidence and composure that Li Yan couldn’t comprehend.

"Stop pretending, you little shit. Today, you and Gu Erniu are heading straight to hell!"

Li Yan roared as the pain in his left arm spurred him to act quickly.

He launched his attack.

Gripping his short blade in his right hand, he charged, each step calculated rather than wild and chaotic.

Were it not for his injured left arm, which threw off his coordination and balance, his movements would’ve been perfectly balanced, making him a formidable threat.

Li Yan wasn’t just one of the Li family’s lead hunters because of his connections to his brother-in-law; his skills were solid in their own right.

His charging stance suddenly dropped low, and the short blade in his hand thrust forward with deadly wind.

Asheng, hyper-focused, brought his hatchet down in a natural swing. Li Yan’s heart leapt in glee.

"This kid’s never been in a real fight,"

he thought, recognizing the predictable downward chop as a beginner’s mistake. This thrust, however, was just a feint to draw the strike. Once he parried Asheng’s hatchet, he’d close in and stab it straight into the boy’s chest!

Gu Erniu, struggling to reach them, looked on in alarm, his anxiety mounting.

But in the next moment, he froze in his tracks, his eyes widening in utter disbelief as shock overtook him.

Asheng remained as calm as a still lake.

In his gaze, Li Yan was no longer a human but a mere log of wood, its grain and vulnerabilities laid bare. The heavy black hatchet swung down, unflashy and simple, just as he would chop firewood—direct and plain.

The joy that had begun to well up in Li Yan’s chest came to an abrupt halt.

His expression changed drastically, his heart seized by inexplicable horror. It felt as though the short blade in his hand was meeting not a weapon but an immovable mountain!

Overwhelmingly heavy, impossibly unstoppable!

The hatchet’s power erupted like a tidal wave; Li Yan’s right arm trembled under the force, his palm tearing, and his short blade was sent flying instantly.

Yet the hatchet’s momentum didn’t falter in the slightest. It swept down with a wooshing wind, slicing cleanly into Li Yan’s neck.

Like tearing through a sheet of paper, the hatchet encountered no resistance, no hesitation. In an instant, Li Yan was decapitated, the blade even cutting through part of his left shoulder.

A geyser of blood erupted half a meter high, splattering across Asheng’s face and arms. Li Yan’s headless body collapsed with a dull thud, his severed head rolling to Asheng’s feet. Even in death, the wide-open eyes were filled with fear and disbelief.

Asheng stood momentarily dazed.

This dismemberment technique... was far more potent than he had imagined!