0018.

"Now, for my part of the bargain," Su Jin declared, tossing a jade ring towards Commander Fang.

The Commander snatched the ring and peered inside. His eyes widened in surprise. "This many?" he boomed.

"Ten thousand bows!" Su Jin announced with a flourish. "And ten thousand arrows for each!"

Mayor Yi Nang's jaw dropped. Relief warred with worry in his gut. The instant supply of Ten thousand bows was equally instant relief, but a lingering feeling of the debt they'd incurred felt like a heavy stone around his neck. Is this a debt trap? Mayor Yi Nang does not want to answer it now.

Commander Fang, who knew the value of a good weapon, pulled a bow from the ring. It was short and silver, curving gracefully like a snake. Though heavier than a regular wooden bow, it felt strong and reliable in his grip.

*GRROWLL*

The piled-up wall of bull corpses exploded once more, showering the area with gruesome debris of flesh, blood, and bone, revealing a new horror advancing toward them.

"What foul deeds have we done to draw such heavenly wrath upon us?" Mayor Yi Nang's voice trembled with fear as he gazed upon the looming threat.

Commander Fang's hands trembled as he too observed the approaching calamity. Five monstrous creatures stood before them, their hooves shaking the ground as they stood upright on their hind legs. Clad in leather and bone armor, with chests and arms broader than their thighs, they exude an aura of savage rage.

Their wide bovine nostrils snorted with fury as they surveyed the line of silver-armored recruits near the western wall. Each wielded makeshift clubs, yet their presence emitted an overwhelming sense of bloodlust and brutality, unlike any weapon Commander Fang had ever seen.

"Bunch of cows! Foundation level, they would have the best core in them, this is a fine opportunity to farm them." Su Jin, on the other hand, saw these monstrous creatures as an opportunity to harvest materials.

"What are you waiting for, Commander?" Su Jin's words snapped Commander Fang back to the present.

"What do you want me to do?" Commander Fang gritted his jaw, he did not like the way Su Jin ordered everyone around.

"Is it not simple? You have the bow in your hand, take your best shot," Su Jin explained, his voice dripping with a condescension that grated on Fang.

"What does a single arrow do to them? Their hide is sturdy enough to deflect all the arrows," Commander Fang argued.

"Are you not going to try or are you going to praise their hides and cry?" Su Jin's words hit the pride of Commander Fang.

He quickly pulled an arrow out from the spatial ring. If the bestial tide had this kind of adversary for them, then they were doomed already. There was no point in trying, but it was better to die trying. He would prefer to die in battle, he was prepared to die earlier.

He nocked the arrow and pulled the string, it was much tighter than any other bowstring he had used in his life. He aimed at the one who was in front, the apparent leader of this new bunch of monsters.

"Don't forget to imbue your cultivation base," Su Jin reminded.

Commander Fang pricked up his ears, thinking the reason they were not able to use the previous bows was because they weren't suitable for imbuing with cultivation base. This would be a perfect test. He channeled his cultivation base as the tip of the arrow lit up. It wasn't bright, but you could feel the potency of it, its lethality exuding from it.

Without waiting for any more moment, it let loose the arrow.

*WHIPPED*

Like a whip crack the arrow shot from Commander Fang's bow. The air itself seemed to crackle as the arrow ripped free of Commander Fang's bow. The backlash of the release sent a jolt through his arm, nearly throwing him off balance. He dug his heels into the rough stone, momentarily struggling to regain his footing.

The arrow, a streak of silver comet, tore through the air. It blurred past above the bewildered faces of the recruits, a whistling death whistle tearing through the night. It carved a luminous path through the darkness, its silver glow attracting everyone on the battlefield.

The monstrous leader of the beast-men, a creature with a single, wicked horn protruding from the side of its head, bellowed a challenge. It raised its massive club, a crude log studded with jagged bone, seemingly preparing to intercept the incoming projectile. The other beast-men turned their heads, their bovine eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and primal instinct.

*KABOOM*

The Beast timed it perfectly as it intercepted the arrow with precision, its two-handed crude log club struck the arrow and it exploded with a silver spark. To everyone's surprise and expectation, the club shattered and exploded into hundreds of pieces, the shockwave sent the bovine monster leader back flying with blood spraying out of his face as one of the splinters embedded itself in its eye.

A stunned silence descended upon the battlefield. The bovine men, momentarily forgetting their rage, gaped at their leader's demise. The leader itself, sprawled on the ground, roared in pain and fury, its single, monstrous horn now protruding at an unnatural angle.

In that split second of surprised chaos, Su Jin, a mischievous glint in his eyes, spoke up. "See? I told you it would work!" he declared, his voice cutting through the tension.

Commander Fang blinked, momentarily stunned. The unexpected explosion of the beast-man's club had defied logic. He barely registered Su Jin's smug declaration before the weight of his words hit him. "Try again!" Su Jin barked, his voice laced with urgency. "Don't give them a chance to recover!"

Shame burned in Fang's chest. He'd been so focused on the outcome of the first shot, he'd almost let this golden opportunity slip away. Adrenaline surged through him, washing away the shock. He quickly pulled four more arrows shot simultaneously, his movements sharp and efficient.