LWGP - Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Long-winded

"If you can really take me down, others will take a few extra swings at me just for my Red Name. If you don't have what it takes, then no matter how good a show you put on, don't keep people from their dinner."

Wang Jiu rested the tip of her Tang knife on the ground, observing the ruins opposite her. Even after she had shot a man and pinned him to a wall, the other party hadn't moved an inch. Until now.

Only then did he emerge from the darkness. Bathed in the firelight from the nearby resurrection point, his features weren't handsome, but they were proper. His clothes were ordinary, though he looked travel-worn, likely having spent the day running dungeons. After finishing the dungeons, he had rushed over to ambush her.

Yet even so, he carried a hidden cunning beneath an outward affability.

"This doll is very cute, so lifelike, and unlike a puppet, it doesn't have a card's halo. I was amazed when I first got it. How did you recognize it? Could it be that you've gotten a doll before, too?"

This man's demeanor made him seem nothing like the person orchestrating all of this.

"You deliberately used an old woman and a little girl to put on an act. Haven't you already investigated me? You should know I'm a doctor, right?"

The man didn't seem to deny her words, having a moment of realization. "Ah, the heartbeat. Right, a doll's heartbeat is constant, matching that of a normal human. But when an unexpected event occurs, a heartbeat like that is abnormal."

"Well then, hello, Wang Jiu. I am Zhao Shanxiao of Luoyang."

He seemed very polite, wearing a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Zhao. Are all your people in position?"

Zhao Shanxiao smiled, a look of regret on his face as he said, "Almost. If Miss Wang could give me a little more time, that would be great. After all, I still can't see through your true strength, and you're so composed, as if you're certain you'll be the winner tonight. If I'd known, I shouldn't have come here to help Liao Luo."

Over on the other side, Liao Luo, who was locked in combat with Qiao Xuejing, sneered, "You shameless Zhao Shanxiao, you're clearly the one who called me. If you can't take down this Demon King with such a big commotion today, you won't be able to get by in villages 2, 3, and 4 either."

Zhao Shanxiao replied, "You can't put it that way. If I hadn't seen you fighting while crazily cursing things like 'Demon King,' 'damned pervert,' and 'vixen,' I wouldn't have been moved by pity…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Wang Jiu moved.

A ghostly shadow had appeared behind her. The figure held a red-tasseled spear that glinted with silver light and launched a swift and fierce Heavy Strike Charge at Wang Jiu's back.

This was the real Zhao Shanxiao. The one who was just speaking hadn't actually spoken at all; it was just a holographic projection from an item, a sleight of hand. His true body had been lying in wait.

Now, the projection vanished.

The air seemed to crackle, but the strike hit nothing, leaving only the sound of an airburst. Wang Jiu, who had leaped seven or eight meters away, jumped up from a stone and executed an aerial jump shot.

The Silver Fish Hunter Bow fired an arrow that streaked like light.

The speed was too fast. Zhao Shanxiao's pupils contracted. Swoosh. An evasive afterimage.

His Evasion was probably level 3, countless times faster than Liao Luo's; his figure became like a line. He dodged the arrow, then swept his spear across the ground. The tip of his spear scraped the ground, kicking up a spray of small stone fragments that shot toward Wang Jiu. As Wang Jiu moved back, her arrows pierced through the gaps in the stone fragments, reaching Zhao Shanxiao. But he had already dodged away, tapping his feet twice to leap backward, and had even switched to a bow and arrow in mid-air.

It was also a silver-grade bow and arrow.

He had two pieces of silver equipment! And both were weapons?!

It was unclear what their attributes were, but they probably weren't much different. However, in terms of overall archery speed and power, he was slightly inferior to Wang Jiu.

This indicated a difference in their attributes.

But to others, the effect probably didn't look much different.

Boom! Although it was a ruin, a wall that thick was pierced through just like that.

And the scattered stone fragments shot out like bullets, crazily peppering the wall of the ruin opposite them.

Though it was the dead of night, the two of them had taken up positions in the darkness of the ruins on either side, exchanging fire. Arrows crisscrossed above the many bonfires, under the starlight, over the firelight.

After three rounds of exchanges, the walls of the ruins on both sides were a miserable sight.

While maintaining the volley of arrows, Zhao Shanxiao suddenly said, "Aren't you going to use your Puppet Cards? I remember you should have cleared the normal difficulty, so you must have gotten quite a few cards."

"If you summon one and I summon one, it'll just be a battle of attrition. Let's both be a little more reserved, save some resources, and give the winner a bit more dignity. Wouldn't that be better?"

Wang Jiu was even calmer and more composed than he was.

"Then I thank you for your generosity." Zhao Shanxiao smiled, but then abruptly loosed an arrow… an arrow that trailed the phantom of another.

Double Arrow. Wang Jiu knew it too, self-taught.

But his was different. It was a skill. After one arrow was fired, another followed along the same path, equivalent to a double critical hit.

The Class Skill 《Double Arrow》 was also a Spirit Energy skill. With a burst of Spirit Energy, the attack was doubled, enough to produce terrifying burst damage.

Even if his attributes were lower than Wang Jiu's, a Class Skill was enough to compensate, or even dominate.

"Miss Wang, I have no intention of killing you. I just want to make a deal with you for a few items."

"I'm a respectable woman. I don't do shady business."

"…"

Zhao Shanxiao was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled. "Alright then, good girl."

But his eyes were cold.

He was about to fire another Double Arrow, but Wang Jiu was faster. She raised her bow to shoot. Wary of her speed, Zhao Shanxiao instinctively dodged, but as soon as he moved, he realized she wasn't aiming at him.

She was aiming at someone else.

Bang!

Liao Luo, who had been wholeheartedly engaged in a life-or-death battle with Qiao Xuejing, was instantly killed. Before he could get up and retrieve the items that had dropped from his body, Qiao Xuejing flicked them up with her sword, and the silver blade was tossed toward Wang Jiu.

Liao Luo: "!"

My blade!!

Clang. With the silver blade in hand, Wang Jiu leaped down from the roof of the ruin. The moment she landed, she became an afterimage, blade in hand, rushing forward.

The only way to break the suppression from a 10-level gap was to get in close!

Double Arrow was a ranged attack. All she had to do was neutralize his ranged advantage!

Zhao Shanxiao saw her objective, but he was unconcerned. He merely increased his firing speed. To his astonishment, however—with two blades in hand, their edges flying like shuttles, she could actually coordinate them in a crisscross pattern to slash the Double Arrows!

Her body certainly couldn't withstand the burst damage of a Double Arrow. One or two hits might be fine, but any more would be troublesome. Her weapons, however, could.

She even went so far as to simply cut them all down.

This was another form of taking the hit head-on!

It was simply unheard of.

This shouldn't be possible. Double Arrow was a skill, not just two arrows being shot.

No! She was timing her slashes to hit the connection point between the two arrows.

Her Agility was too high; she could see the gap between them.

But what was even more terrifying was—her Weapon Mastery had to be level three, or even four! Otherwise, she wouldn't have such a high level of control.

The dual blades were as nimble in her hands as her own fingers.

If it came to close combat, he was afraid…

Zhao Shanxiao's gaze was like lightning. Seeing Wang Jiu closing in for the kill, he hurriedly retreated. With this retreat, it was as if his momentum was instantly lost.

Wang Jiu, on the other hand, advanced like a force of nature, her dual blades pressing forward domineeringly. In that instant, even He Rufei and the others thought Zhao Shanxiao was going to lose this round.

He had tried to pull a fast one and ended up losing out.

In that instant, almost everyone thought so. But amidst the flashing blades and spear, someone saw the glow of a skill emanating from Zhao Shanxiao's body.

Charge, Heavy Strike, Evasion?

But it definitely wasn't Double Arrow.

It was… another skill, another Class Skill.

Shocking Chant!

The spear produced a phantom of light, a light that sang like cracking ice.

Skills from two different professions?

She didn't quite understand.

Almost instantly, Wang Jiu felt the temperature drop. Then, the sharp cry of the spear came straight for her heart.

At that moment, Wang Jiu did two things. She used the Tang knife in her left hand to block the area over her heart, and the silver blade in her right hand to launch a fierce attack!

Zhao Shanxiao thought she was going to meet his spear head-on, but instead… she went straight for his body.

She couldn't dodge his spear skill, but could he dodge hers?

Normally, he could have, if his Evasion skill wasn't still on cooldown.

Fortunately, his Stamina wasn't low.

Bang!

After the loud noise, both of them retreated.

It wasn't just a few steps. Wang Jiu wiped her mouth; there was blood inside, with a metallic taste. She looked at Zhao Shanxiao, who spat out a large mouthful of blood.

Zhao Shanxiao frowned. "Your Weapon Mastery is level 4, and your Heavy Strike is level 3?"

Otherwise, how could the damage be so high?

How did this woman have so many skill books?

This was too… Did she have a lot of funds? Impossible. She was a solo player with no one backing her.

Zhao Shanxiao almost thought she had a secret organization behind her.

"Yes. Is your Stamina 250?" Wang Jiu asked in return.

A fight is a fight, why are you calling me names?

Zhao Shanxiao frowned, then suddenly stared at her. "You can see my attributes?"

Of course she could.

Level 11.

HP: 78

Strength: 440

Agility: 420

Stamina: 250

"No, I just think that number suits you," Wang Jiu said, half-truthfully. "But can't you see my level? Otherwise, you wouldn't have been in such a hurry to act. Isn't it because you're afraid I'll become a threat to you all once I reach level 10?"

He didn't know her attributes. Otherwise, he wouldn't have played tricks with two dolls. He would have launched a direct, swift, and precise siege.

Zhao Shanxiao said, "Speaking of which, we don't have any major grudges. You're so formidable, perhaps I should pull back from the brink."

"Is that so? I thought you were waiting for your skills to cool down."

Wang Jiu sneered. A glint flashed in Zhao Shanxiao's eyes, and he suddenly thrust his spear forward in a Shocking Chant strike.

The ground cracked, but Wang Jiu leaped into a half-crouch, her blade slashing through the air.

Zhao Shanxiao blocked with his spear held horizontally and kicked out. Swoosh! Wang Jiu used the spear to flip over, her body ducking low to the side. The tip of the spear grazed past her waist, barely half a finger's distance from her belt. But her blade, though shorter than the spear, was closer to his throat and heart.

Her control over her weapon was far superior.

Swoosh. Zhao Shanxiao took the initiative to retreat, creating distance, and once again chose his longbow and Double Arrow.

Just as Wang Jiu blocked an arrow, she heard Wang Shu and the others cry out in alarm.

"Master, be careful!!"

Unfortunately, they were tied up by He Ruguang and his people. Even Qiao Xuejing couldn't break through so many opponents.

At that moment, a large volley of arrows came flying toward Wang Jiu from behind, a dense cloud of at least a hundred.

It was Pan Zhen and his men, also under Zhao Shanxiao's command.

It was impressive. The entire group was equipped with arrows. This was a ranged archery team. Who could withstand that?!

Zhao Shanxiao lowered his head and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, watching as Wang Jiu dodged and slashed amidst such a dense volley of arrows. It was terrifying. Such high Agility, such Weapon Mastery, allowed her to suffer only minor injuries even under the fire of a hundred archers.

But so many people quickly surrounded her.

Once they had her surrounded, there would be no room for her to dodge.

"Wang Jiu, I told you, I just want to make a deal with you. Since you don't like the subtle approach, I can only switch to a more direct method."

Her greatest weakness had always been there.

He raised his bow, about to fire the Double Arrow that would be her death knell, when he heard Wang Jiu say, "You're not normally a talkative person, yet you've been so long-winded just to stall for time. Did you ever wonder why I was playing along?"

She saw through me? Or is she just like me?

Zhao Shanxiao frowned instantly, but he held firm in his action, preparing to shoot. Yet, he still asked, "Is that so? Then what are you planning to do now?"

"I'm thinking of something despicable."

Surrounded by the archers, Wang Jiu lowered her gaze. "I originally sent out a fat fish to kill monsters for me. But it was all small fry. Then it finally ran into a big one, but it couldn't win."

She sent out a puppet?

Leveling up… right, she could indeed level up that way. Zhao Shanxiao's expression changed drastically, and he ordered everyone, "Kill her!"

The arrow was loosed from his bowstring.

Voom!

The arrow flew through the air, but a sharp cry was already approaching from the distance.

In the night sky behind her, a massive black shadow came flying.

Get instant access to all the chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next