Chapter 278: The Mighty Archer's Display

Chapter 278: The Mighty Archer's Display

A year and a half had passed, yet Ren Mian's ethereal beauty remained unchanged, still as captivating as ever. Her delicate features were as pale as jade, without a single imperfection, and her eyes were clear as water, with brows like spring mountains. The peach blossom mark between her eyebrows added a touch of allure to her already enchanting appearance.

Even though the aesthetics of the Winged People were vastly different from those of humans...

The group of Winged People who had surrounded her couldn't help but be captivated by Ren Mian's beauty. However, what truly shocked them was the powerful aura emanating from her body.

"Spread out!"

The female Winged Person who seemed to be their leader shouted sternly.

She flapped her colorful double wings and took to the sky, already holding an exquisite feather bow in her hand. She quickly fired energy arrows at Ren Mian.

The other Winged People also took to the flight.

Only the tall member of the Mad Eagle Clan, wielding a double-handed longsword, accelerated by flapping his wings, creating a gust of wind, and rushing towards Ren Mian like a fierce hurricane.

At the same time, the legendary Spiritual String Master of the White Feather Clan flashed into the sky. He clenched his hand, and dozens of gigantic white sound spears appeared around him, falling from the sky with a loud blast, aiming to destroy both Ren Mian and the wooden house behind her.

In an instant, countless attacks were directed at Ren Mian.

Ji Xinghuo, who was far away, couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for her. Forgetting to conceal himself, he sprinted towards her.

Suddenly, the sky darkened, only to brighten up again a moment later, but now with tenfold, or even a hundred times the intensity, leaving everyone temporarily blinded by the white light. After a second or two, a huge explosion echoed through the canyon, deafeningly loud.

Boom!

Ji Xinghuo, being at a farther distance, was less affected.

Through electromagnetic induction, he realized that the center of the light explosion was Ren Mian. Her skin had turned into a crystalline state, translucent and sparkling. After releasing this light explosion technique, she remained standing in her original spot, but the surrounding forest, within a radius of several hundred meters, had come to life.

Countless "Green Lock Dragons" broke through the soil, flooding the ground like a tidal wave.

Trees grew wildly, their height and diameter increasing severalfold. Their branches, like whips, lashed towards the sky, entangling two or three of the slower-flying Winged People.

From the revitalized forest sprouted innumerable giant wooden thorns, each as sharp as a spear, raining down densely on the Winged People above.

All the attacks of the Winged People were blocked by the plants.

At the same time, Ren Mian's figure disappeared into the forest. The Mad Eagle Clan member had just regained his vision when he found himself entangled by countless "Green Lock Dragon" thorns.

He roared in anger, breaking free from the thorns, only to find that Ren Mian had already disappeared.

He swung his double-handed sword relentlessly, chopping through the surrounding roots and vines. Wood chips flew everywhere as he crashed through the revitalized forest.

At this moment, the Spiritual String Master suddenly descended, intentionally approaching the revitalized forest.

He opened his mouth and released a visible supersonic wave that instantly spread out. However, the frequency of the sound wave was beyond the range of normal hearing, like a silent yet powerful force. The entire revitalized forest, including the trees, leaves, and vines, was instantly shaken into fine powder, finer than sand, and scattered through the air.

Ren Mian's figure reappeared.

She stood there like a crystalline sculpture, having withstood the large-scale supersonic wave attack, but her position was now exposed.

"There!" The female Winged Person screamed.

Before she could finish, the Mad Eagle Clan member roared and crossed dozens of meters in the blink of an eye. His double-handed sword slashed straight at Ren Mian's neck.

The female Winged Person also fired an arrow, a fiery one that resembled a falling meteor.

Ignoring the rocket above her, Ren Mian slightly lifted her right hand. A crystal cluster formed in her palm and shot towards the Mad Eagle Clan member charging at her, while countless trees and thorns sprouted from the ground, blocking the attacks from above and around her. The crystal cluster pierced through the thorns and hit the enemy in front of her.

A loud blast sounded as the crystal cluster exploded upon impact with the Mad Eagle Clan member, forcing him to retreat a few steps.

However, the rocket from above also penetrated the plant defense and hit Ren Mian on the head, exploding in a burst of high-temperature flames that set the plants ablaze.

Though the flames didn't harm Ren Mian, they did hinder her next move.

Bang!

The Mad Eagle Clan member burst out of the burning plants and finally landed a sword strike on Ren Mian, causing sparks to fly from her neck.

Ren Mian's body flew backward, but she was unharmed.

"Crystal Light Guardian!"

The Mad Eagle Clan member's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help but curse.

He was an advanced profession, a combination of Iron Guard and Martial Artist, with extremely strong defensive capabilities. Yet, compared to the Crystal Light Guardian, he knew he was still far behind.

Before Ren Mian could land on the ground, various attacks from the sky rained down on her. Countless arrows, flames, wind blades, and sound spears assaulted her, both physical and energy-based attacks. However, not a single strike could penetrate her crystalline skin, nor did they leave any marks.

"She can't hold on for much longer!" the leading female Winged Person screamed, "Don't give her a chance to counter-attack. Break her photonic crystal!"

The Mad Eagle Clan member pursued relentlessly.

He was the only one among the eight Winged People who excelled in head-on combat. In this slaughter, his most important responsibility was to charge forward and engage the enemy in close-quarters combat.

Ren Mian landed on the ground, allowing the arrows to bounce off her body.

Boom!

The air around Ren Mian was suddenly sucked dry, only to be violently compressed a moment later, causing a hundredfold increase in air pressure and resulting in a violent explosion.

Ren Mian was blasted away, her beam of light interrupted by the force of the blast.

Although the high-pressure explosion failed to penetrate her crystalline skin, the powerful shockwave and vibration left her head feeling fuzzy.

In the sky, the Sound String Master retracted his claw-like hand, having expended a significant amount of spiritual energy on the high-pressure air blast. With the success of his initial attack, he waved his hand again, forming over a dozen Shocking Spears that resembled cones and moved as fast as sound. One after another, they shot towards Ren Mian below.

Each Shocking Spear that struck Ren Mian caused a high-frequency vibration in her crystalline body, ignoring the hardness of her diamond-like skin and transmitting the vibrational energy into her body, inflicting cumulative damage.

The Crystal Light Guardian was invincible in defense.

However, the Sound String Master was the bane of this profession.

"Puh..."

Ren Mian spat out a mouthful of blood.

Although her body appeared unharmed on the surface, her internal organs had sustained significant damage. While she could recover in the blink of an eye, the Sound String Master's relentless attacks left her no respite.

Moreover, the Mad Eagle Clan member was closing in.

Bang!

Another ferocious sword strike sent Ren Mian flying back dozens of meters, and a faint crack appeared on her shoulder.

The winged people in the sky saw the crack and rejoiced.

The female leader's body glowed red as she drew her bowstring, the arrow absorbing vast stellar power and growing brighter by the second. The flames raged as she aimed at Ren Mian, ready to loose a full-powered arrow. Around her, several fourth-rank winged people also prepared their most powerful attacks.

Even at this critical moment, Ren Mian remained calm.

Her eyes were as calm as still water, and with a flip of her hand, a handful of objects resembling seeds appeared. They varied in size and shape, and there were several kinds. With a wave of her hand, she scattered them.

"Spatial equipment!"

"She has a spatial equipment!"

A few of the winged people cried out in surprise upon seeing this.

Any spatial equipment was priceless, not only convenient for carrying weapons and treasures but also capable of greatly enhancing one's strength when utilized well.

However, before the winged people could rejoice, the seeds took root and grew into a group of monsters.

As Ji Xinghuo rushed over, he recognized three of the monsters.

Fungal Giants, Wolf Soul Trees, and Spore Bats were all monsters from the Abyssal Star, but their grades were exceptionally high, all reaching the Outstanding level, making them far more powerful than ordinary monsters. Among them was a Fungal Giant that was a Disaster-level monster!

There were also two other types of monsters that Ji Xinghuo had never seen before, which seemed no less formidable than the first three.

One was a humanoid oak tree that grew to a height of several dozen meters in an instant. There were only two of them, and their thick branches swung like arms, blocking the space between Ren Mian and the Mad Eagle Clan member.

The other was a lush green grass that stood over a person's height, swaying gracefully. Over a dozen of them grew side by side, quickly flowering and fruiting. The flower buds swelled and burst open, firing their fruits like bullets. Each of these plants was like a machine gun turret, wildly firing at the winged people in the sky.

As soon as these plant-like monsters took form, they began to divide their tasks.

The Fungal Giants and Wolf Soul Trees charged towards the Mad Eagle Clan member, while the Spore Bats flew towards the sky, coordinating with the Green Bud Shooters on the ground to attack the winged people above.

The Humanoid Oak Trees, on the other hand, protected Ren Mian.

She immediately gained a respite, and her internal injuries began to heal. Then, countless Green Lock Dragons burst from the ground once more, along with various trees that grew into a forest. She scattered countless seeds, and alongside the forest, numerous exotic plants sprouted.

Several plants released scents, while others formed shields around her.

A roar echoed through the air.

The Mad Eagle Clan member slashed and cleaved a Fungal Giant, but he couldn't kill it outright. As soon as he felled one, another rose to take its place.

Caught off guard, he was punched by the Disaster-level Fungal Giant and sent flying.

Ren Mian breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked up and saw that the Spore Bats had been mostly cleared by the Sound String Master, while the Green Bud Shooters' fruit attacks had only injured a few fourth-rank winged people, failing to threaten the two Wing Kings.

Just as she was about to scatter another handful of seeds, Ren Mian sensed something and turned towards the end of the canyon.

Her pupils suddenly contracted.

A slender black shadow flew from the distant forest, faster than sound, like a black lightning bolt that instantly reached her vicinity.

"Ah!"

The Sound String Master let out a painful scream as his flowing shape barrier instantly collapsed.

A gaping hole had appeared in his chest, and most of it had been obliterated, leaving only a small amount of flesh connecting his shoulders and waist. The legendary expert's tenacious vitality kept him from dying immediately, but such a terrifying injury was impossible to survive. His cry abruptly ceased.

However, the Winged People had no idea where the attack had come from, nor did they understand how the Sound String Master had died. They assumed it was one of Ren Mian's deadly moves.

Only Ren Mian herself knew what had transpired, her gaze fixed intently on the distant forest.

She had been aware that someone was following the Winged People into the canyon, lurking in the distance to observe the battle, but she never expected them to be able to shoot down a supersonic arrow from such a great distance!

"This arrow..." Ren Mian said, her eyes filled with gravity. "It was shot from at least a kilometer away!"

The terrifying archery skill left her in awe. If that arrow had struck her, she wasn't sure if her photonic crystal could have withstood the impact.

Although she didn't know the identity of the archer, she was relieved that they weren't an enemy.

With the death of the Sound String Master, Ren Mian felt a significant reduction in pressure. Even if the hidden shooter didn't make another move, she was confident she could win this battle.

But before she could finish that thought, another painful cry rang out.

This time, it was one of the fourth-rank Winged People.

The Winged Person's head exploded, and only in the moment of the explosion did the others catch a glimpse of a silent arrow piercing through, detonating upon impact and taking the Winged Person's life.

"There's a hidden archer!"

The female leader of the Winged People cried out in alarm, her eyes searching for the origin of the arrow.

However, she couldn't pinpoint the enemy's hiding place.

Just then, another arrow shot forth.

The female leader finally spotted the location, but this realization only filled her with despair and terror. The enemy archer's range was more than twice as far as her own!

"Get down!" she shouted as a warning, and the remaining three fourth-rank Winged People frantically flapped their wings.

But the black, thick arrow was like a guided missile, precisely striking one of the Winged People who was ascending at high speed. The terrifying force of the arrow instantly blew the Winged Person apart, turning their body into a cloud of red mist, with only a few feathers drifting down.

As the Winged Person exploded, another sound of an air explosion echoed through the canyon.

"So that's how it is!"

The surviving Winged People finally understood how the Sound String Master had died. They were terrified to their core and frantically fled towards the other end of the canyon.

"Grayfield, run!" the female leader shouted to the Mad Eagle Clan member on the ground, her own colorful double wings flapping as she took to the sky.

Instead of flying upwards, she dove towards the ground, hoping to use the canyon's terrain and the forest as cover to avoid becoming the target of the formidable shooter.

The other two fourth-rank Winged People also realized the danger and desperately lowered their altitude.

But it was too late.

Boom! Boom...

Two nearly simultaneous explosions shook the air as the black arrow streaked across the sky. The two fourth-rank Winged People were blown apart before they could even reach the ground.

The female leader, being the fastest, managed to dive into the forest.

She glanced at the Mad Eagle Clan member entangled by the monsters and bit her lip, deciding against the idea of rescuing him. Instead, she hugged the ground and flew at full speed, trying to escape. Suddenly, the surrounding forest came to life, and countless branches and vines entangled her like a tidal wave, blocking her path.

The female leader's flight faltered, and just as she was about to break free from the plants' grasp...

Boom!

A black arrow pierced through the foliage and struck her head, passing through her skull and leaving a straight hole in the forest behind her.

The Mad Eagle Clan member's eyes widened in terror as he witnessed the female leader's death. All pretense of calm abandoned him, and he turned to flee.

Of course, Ren Mian wasn't about to let him get away.

Countless plants entangled him, and the monsters pounced on him while she gathered a ball of light in her hand. It grew brighter and brighter as she accumulated spiritual energy for over ten seconds. The ball of light then burst forth, shooting a beam of scorching light with a diameter of more than thirty centimeters, piercing the Mad Eagle Clan member's heart.

All eight Winged People were dead.

However, Ren Mian remained vigilant. She controlled hundreds of plant-like monsters to protect herself, forming an army of sorts. The surrounding forest also grew wildly, creating a plant domain.

She fixed her gaze on the direction of the canyon's exit, and before long, a figure appeared.

"Highlander?" Ren Mian asked, her eyes narrowing in confusion as she recognized the newcomer.

The highlander had a shaved head, a thick beard, and the blood-red mark of a Red Emperor believer on his body. He carried a double-bladed battle axe and held a black war bow, riding a creature that resembled a kirin covered in scales of cyan, gold, and silver. The highlander quickly approached her.

Just a glance at the mount was enough to give Ren Mian pause. It was a Disaster-level battle pet!

The highlander soon drew close, coming within two hundred meters of her. Ren Mian's wariness heightened—at this distance, if the highlander had hostile intentions, it would be dangerous. Yet, she felt a sense of familiarity, as if she knew both the highlander and his formidable mount, their auras both familiar and strange.

"Stop right there," Ren Mian called out, her voice carrying a warning.

Ji Xinghuo's face lit up with a brilliant smile, and he waved at her. "It's me, Sister Ren."

As soon as Ren Mian heard his voice, her expression froze.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end