Chapter 19: It Only Takes Two Arrows to Kill

"The Spark of Stars!!!"

Shengshi Kuangshao's eyes were practically shooting fire, he had no idea what he did to offend this formidable player who seemed capable of defeating the boss single-handedly.

"It's him."

The priest and thief by Shengshi Kuangshao's side were equally astonished.

In this incredibly challenging game, it was impossible to defeat a boss in both lock-on and free modes, especially as a low-tier class like a hunter. In no time at all, the Spark of Stars became a hot topic among all the guilds and players.

"I don't care about this Spark of Stars or whatever, but the one who killed Shengshi won't live happily. Kill him for me."

As Shengshi Kuangshao commanded, he began to chant a spell, while the priest also began to chant Holy Light Punishment. The thief then quickly approached Li Yao's location stealthily.

Li Yao simply smiled and used a flash technique to dodge behind a tree. He would never go easy on them for threatening his little sister, let alone the fact that Shengshi had been his mortal enemy in his past life.

A Fireball Technique and Holy Light struck the tree Li Yao was hiding behind. Meanwhile, Li Yao charged his 'Charged Arrow' as he slid down the tree, becoming visible again—the level 3 Charged Arrow is ready to go.

This time his target was the healing priest.

Thump...

Not even a cloth-armored priest could resist a level 3 Charged Arrow, especially when it hit his knee. The priest fell to the ground instantly, with frightful damage numbers floating above his head.

-86

Li Yao adjusted his position while continuing to charge his bow.

Instant Beauty was the first to react. A golden glow flashed in her hands and a hammer glowing with gold light fell from the sky, striking Shengshi Kuangshao's head. The shimmering hammer then bounced onto the priest.

Sanction Hammer: A Paladin throws a hammer imbued with the power of the Holy Light setting a maximum of three enemies alight, causing 100% weapon damage with a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Instant Beauty stopped Shengshi Kuangshao instantly, his face turned gloomy as he retreated and cast a spell simultaneously.

Also, Long You Sihai, the Hunter who just respawned started to react and shot an Arcane ray towards Shengshi Kuangshao.

Li Jia and her classmates started casting spells from both sides to attack simultaneously.

Li Yao's second arrow was a decisive headshot, killing the priest instantly. He then set his sight on the ground, looking for the stealthy thief's trace.

As a low-level mage, the consequence of being focused by four players was that he barely managed to cast a Fireball Technique before being beaten to death.

Instant Beauty vigilantly scanned the surroundings and warned Li Yao, "Be careful of the thief. He ranks within the top ten in the Shengshi Club."

Li Yao didn't reply. He was certainly aware that getting backstabbed and throat slit by a thief would lead to instant death.

However, Li Yao, in his new life, had mastered techniques and strategies beyond the reach of a newbie thief, regardless if he was a professional player.

As Li Yao slowly moved and scanned his surroundings, suddenly a blue arcane circle exploded next to him.

Arcane Torrent!

The thief's figure appeared to the left of Li Yao.

"Die!"

A glint of murderous intent flashed in the thief's eyes, and he pounced at Li Yao like a cheetah, a dagger gleaming with green light in his hand.

"You can even prepare poison, nice."

As Li Yao spoke, the yellow glowing Charged Arrow in his hand shot out.

The thief rushed towards Li Yao, there was no way he could avoid the arrow at this close distance. His plan was to swallow the hit and get close to Li Yao - a sure-kill once he got close to the Hunter.

However, he overestimated himself. Li Yao had practiced archery for eight years, and the golden arrow hit his left leg.

At this moment, his right leg was still in the air, and the supporting left leg got hit by the level 2 Charged Arrow, causing him to fall involuntarily to the ground.

-64

As Li Yao fired another arrow, he started charging again. Meanwhile, the thief's body fell to the ground next to Li Yao due to the momentum. At such a close distance, Li Yao didn't miss. His golden arrow instantly pierced the thief's head, killing him instantly.

-89

Li Yao put away his bow casually and walked toward Li Jia.

The other four people stared at Li Yao in awe. His series of moves were seamless and akin to artwork, and even the blood splattered from his actions trumpeted his aesthetic sensibility, pleasing their eyes.

Upon seeing Li Yao approach, the Dragon Traveling the Four Seas changed his expression and stopped Li Yao, "What are you up to? Who are you?"

Li Yao shrugged and replied, "I'm a friend of Li Jia's brother."

Upon hearing Li Yao's response, Instant Beauty sheathed her weapon and told Dragon Traveling the Four Seas, "Zhao Long, let him pass. He's one of us."

The corner of Zhao Long's mouth twitched as he unwillingly parted. He considers himself a skilled player and was supposed to be the hero saving the damsel, but he ended up embarrassing himself.

It wasn't that bad to get beaten up, but compared to Li Yao, the extent of his failings became clearly visible. Both of them were hunters, yet he failed miserably while Li Yao defeated four opponents on his own. His self-esteem was utterly obliterated by this stark contrast.

Compared to Li Yao, he was pathetically weak.

Li Yao knew Zhao Long from his past life. Zhao Long was a relatively skilled player, but considering there were over ten billion players, Zhao Long was just a small fish in a big pond.

Li Yao turned to Li Jia, saying, "Let's retreat. The arrogant Prosperous Era will not let this go."

A contemptuous glint flashed in Long You Si Hai's eyes as he remarked, "What, scared?"

"If you're so brave, stay here with me."

Li Yao casually looked through the equipment dropped by the five players. The Priest dropped a green cloak, while Shengshi Kuangshao dropped a green magic wand. The others dropped nothing special.

Upon seeing Li Yao storing away the equipment, Long You Si Hai's eyes blazed with ardor. "Since when has Qionghua Club been afraid of Prosperous Era?"

"Suit yourself." Li Yao handed the magic wand to his sister. "I'll cover their bodies for a while, but as the crowd grows and their reinforcements arrive, it'll be hard to escape. This time they definitely won't challenge you in a duel."

"Ice sister?" Li Jia turned to look at Shana Fanghua.

"Let's go, leveling up is the main concern. No point in knocking heads with them." Shana Fanghua nodded, saying, "You should come with us too. Leveling up is our top priority right now. It's a waste of time to mess with them."

"I'll cover once more, then leave," Li Yao politely declined her offer.

Shana Fanghua nodded, not insisting any further. After all, they weren't acquainted.

"Thank you," Li Jia said politely.

"Your brother is my bro, making you my sister. You go on, I'll guard for one more round," Li Yao replied with a smile.

Because of the cloak, Li Jia could not see Li Yao's face. Upon hearing his words, she merely nodded. "Be careful."

Li Jia's classmate swung her light golden ponytail, grabbed Li Jia's hand, and started running.

Long You Si Hai's face alternated between green and white as he gave Li Yao a hateful look before reluctantly following. He dared not stay behind. After all, he had already fallen a level. If he were to fall further, he wouldn't be able to keep up with their progress.

Li Yao scanned the area. It was a typical jungle environment, with trees shading the sky. Sunlight would occasionally spill from the canopy where vines hung down. Not as many as in a rainforest, but still not too few.

On the ground, the area was filled with shrubbery, save for the clearing where everyone had been fighting recently.

Li Yao moved around the area and took cover behind some shrubs, slowly releasing his Exploding Sheep one by one and directing them to enter the different groves of shrubbery.

In just a few minutes, Li Yao had set up dozens of Exploding Sheep. If one could see the Exploding Sheep, they'd realize that there was at least one hidden within each cluster of shrubs. Effectively, it had turned into a minefield.

Afterward, Li Yao pulled out a heavy crossbow and mounted a large steel arrow. This tremendous steel arrow measured over one meter in length and was roughly as thick as a finger. Its sharp, hook-covered head was enough to make anyone's hair stand on end.

Li Yao waited a few more minutes. Eventually, the bodies of the players on the ground began to revive.

"Damn it, how much longer until our people arrive? Don't let that son of a bitch Star Fire escape—argh..."

A low hum...

Before Shengshi Kuangshao could finish his sentence, a large steel arrow pierced through his throat. The massive arrow lodged itself into the tree behind him, leaving a gaping hole in his throat. If it weren't for him clutching his neck, his head might have completely fallen off.

Gurgling...

Shengshi Kuangshao could no longer speak. His eyes were full of confusion and terror. A moment later, he dropped to the ground again.

His comrades who had just revived with him were dumbstruck. It was simply too gruesome and realistic. Warm blood splattered onto their faces and bodies.

The professional player, Stealth Thief Dark Night Death God, was the first to react. Immediately he went into stealth mode and tried to locate the hidden Li Yao. However, they were all too slow.

Four Exploding Sheep, under Li Yao's control, had already reached their feet.

With a boom...

Four glaring bursts of flame erupted, sending the four recently revived players flying. This included the one that had just entered stealth mode. They were instantly destroyed by the explosion, their health bars reduced to zero, their bodies blasted to pieces.

In the game, when a player dies, their soul would appear at the nearest graveyard, and to revive, the soul needed to find the body. After revival, the player would only have one-third of their life points left. Neither the power of the crossbow nor the Exploding Sheep were something they could withstand at this point.

"Bloody hell, Star Fire." Shengshi Kuangshao roared furiously in team voice chat, "What the hell are you guys waiting for? I've already lost two levels. Go and kill him!"

Shengshi Kuangshao was nearly mad. Since he began gaming, he had never suffered such a loss. Plus, up until a moment ago, he thought he was dead for sure. Had it not been for the System's mental safeguards, brain death could have been a real possibility.

This wasn't an exaggeration. When virtual gaming first came on the scene, there were many instances of brain death resulting from in-game death.

At one point, virtual gaming was even banned. Not until the invention of brain protective systems were virtual games allowed again. No matter how cruel or realistic the game, one's mind would not collapse or get extinguished; it wouldn't lead to brain death.

"First squad of the first platoon is nearing the coordinates."

"Third squad of the second platoon will reach the coordinates in one minute."

"Second squad of the first platoon will reach the coordinates in three minutes."

One by one, the squads began to gather at the clearing.

Li Yao didn't go out to collect equipment. Instead, he expertly loaded another arrow into his crossbow and waited for his next target in the shadows, surrounded by shrubs and trees like a lurking cheetah.

Li Yao's grudge with Prosperous Era ran deep in his previous life. He was hunted to the point where he had no choice but to delete his account to escape. This reignited resentment still filled him with hatred to this day.

This guild, from top to bottom, was filled with scum. But because the boss was so wealthy and had hired highly-skilled players at great expense, despite being universally despised, Prosperous Era remained one of the top ten guilds in China.

In this life, Li Yao hadn't bothered them, yet Shengshi Kuangshao dared to provoke his sister. His new enmity had ignited his old grudges, and now Li Yao's heart was filled with fury that needed to be vented.

"I'll take some interest today."

In an open terrain, it would be difficult to fight a squad with his current skill set. But this dense jungle, combined with an assortment of engineering items, gave him the confidence to deliver a harsh lesson to Prosperous Era...