Chapter 23: Found the Wrong One

"Xia Ding, how could his strength be so strong?"

Although Shi Qing was greatly shocked in his heart, his reaction was not slow at all. Seeing that the thirteen people of Xia Ding over there had already dispersed and were chasing them, he ordered a counterattack for the first time.

"Shi Dong, go to the left to find cover. Wang Ming, lead the team to intercept. Fast!"

The speed of Xia Ding and the others in pursuit was not slow.

Moreover, three had already died on their side just now, leaving only ten people.

Running away blindly would only give the other party a chance to break them one by one.

The people in the camp cooperated tacitly. Upon receiving the order, they immediately stopped running. Wang Ming held the large blade and turned around with the seven people behind him; Shi Qing and Shi Dong, one left and one right, quickly climbed up a large tree.

The blade wielder led the team to feign an attack, while Shi Qing and the other hid in the dark to shoot arrows for the main attack.

This was the formation Dashan Camp consistently used to deal with enemies.

On the other side, Wang Ming, who had already turned back, blocked in front of Xia Ding's thirteen people with seven others. He lowered his head and glanced inadvertently at the three corpses on the ground. Wang Ming's hands holding the blade exerted a little force, as if this could bring a bit of a sense of security.

Until now, they still didn't understand how these three on the ground had died. Xia Ding clearly hadn't moved, and the twelve people behind him hadn't moved either.

Where did that sound like a silver needle piercing the air come from?

Once that sound rang out, the three were like being cursed and suddenly died.

And Xia Ding, when did he become so powerful?

The unknown is what makes people breed fear in their hearts.

"Charge!"

Of course, it could also arouse people's strong will to survive.

Seeming to realize that they were in a desperate situation, Wang Ming roared, his inner fear transformed into anger and madness, and he raised his blade to charge toward Xia Ding first.

As the existence in the camp whose strength was second only to Shi Qing and Shi Dong.

Wang Ming's momentum when fighting for his life could not be said to be weak.

Sshhh...

The blade edge cut through the night sky, emitting a sharp cutting sound. The fierce force brought out a strong wind, lifting the snow on the ground several meters high, arriving in front of Xia Ding almost in an instant.

Wang Ming's angry eyes were wide open, and he slashed down with this blade using almost the greatest strength of his life.

"With this blade down, even if you don't die, you'll have to lose a layer of skin!"

This was the first thought in Wang Ming's mind after sensing the blade edge contacting the object.

It was just a pity that the result was completely opposite to his thought.

Xia Ding just dodged this blade with a sideways movement.

Not only did he dodge it, but he also bypassed him, took advantage of the situation to press the blade with his hand, and pressed his blade directly into the snow, even inserting it a few inches into the soil.

"How could he be so fast? Xia Ding, did he break through to the Earth-Digging Realm?"

The violent fist wind coming from his ear interrupted the shock and suspicion in Wang Ming's heart.

He knew that Xia Ding had made a move.

He had used too much strength just now, and the potential energy was too sufficient, so even if he let go of the blade now, he couldn't dodge this punch from Xia Ding, so he didn't let go.

In this certain-death situation, Wang Ming should have been afraid.

But not only was he not afraid, but a smile of success also appeared on his face.

Whoosh...

The sound of arrows piercing the air rang out; from the large tree where Shi Qing and Shi Dong had just been taking cover, two successive volleys—a total of four arrows—came hurtling toward this side.

The target was clearly Xia Ding.

The angle of the arrows was extremely tricky. The first two arrows were aimed at Xia Ding's left hand pressing the blade and his right fist hitting Wang Ming; the latter two arrows flew straight toward his face.

Having teamed up with the Shi Qing brothers for many years, the tacit understanding between the three had reached the point where they didn't even need eye contact. Wang Ming's frontal charge with the blade didn't intend to cause any damage to Xia Ding at all; he was just creating an opportunity for Shi Qing and Shi Dong.

They never expected that Xia Ding's speed would be so fast. Not only did he dodge that blade so easily, but he also quickly countered his blade.

Although the counter was successful, it also limited Xia Ding's own actions.

Four arrows almost sealed Xia Ding. Even if he retreated now, he could at most dodge the two arrows aimed at his hands; the two arrows toward his face were unavoidable.

However, the scene that happened next stunned everyone.

Xia Ding didn't dodge, and his fist wind became even more violent.

Clang, clang, clang, clang...

Four iron-headed sharp arrows all hit the target. Even one of the two arrows in the second wave hit Xia Ding's right eye, piercing in by at least ten centimeters.

Bang...

But even so, Xia Ding's fierce right fist still hit.

Wang Ming didn't even have time to turn his head before his body was smashed into the snow behind him like a cannonball, making a loud noise.

He was also at the Woodcutting Realm in strength, and his flesh was not weak, so although his head wouldn't be smashed to pieces by this punch, it still collapsed inward by a small half.

One strike, fatal.

Wang Ming just died like this.

And Xia Ding, with four arrows stuck in his body, acted as if nothing had happened. He first stood up, then turned his head, and through the night, his left eye, which didn't have an arrow, stared at the two large trees behind, the eerie smile on his face always there.

Whether it was the seven who were entangled with the other party's crowd or Shi Qing and Shi Dong hiding on the large trees behind, the fear and horror in their hearts were extreme.

"Everyone run, he's not Old Ding, he's that strange monster in Red Wood Ridge!"

Now that things had reached this point, if Shi Qing still couldn't see it, then he would be unworthy of being a leader.

He shouted loudly, bent his bow and set an arrow, and shot all eight arrows in the wooden tube on his back in one breath. The target was not Xia Ding, but the seven logging team members who were entangled.

Shi Dong on the other side was also the same.

Those seven logging team members were already in a state of chaos because of the word "strange monster" in Shi Qing's words, but because someone was blocking them, they couldn't retreat even if they wanted to for a while.

At this moment, with the help of over a dozen sharp arrows, the seven thought they could retreat smoothly, so they took advantage of the gap when the sharp arrows flew toward the other party and turned to run.

However, just like Wang Ming's encounter just now.

None of those Does Da Xia logging team members dodged the sharp arrows.

They let the sharp arrows hit their bodies and continued to chase regardless of their lives.

Several who were hit in the chest were knocked down by the huge impact of the sharp arrows, while the rest who were only hit in the limbs just slowed down their actions.

The two who ran the slowest among the seven were instantly caught up.

Not to mention resisting, they didn't even turn around before they were hacked into meat paste by the people behind them with stone axes.

The five who had already escaped turned their heads to see this scene, and their feet didn't dare to slow down at all. They quickly scurried to the rear and followed behind Shi Qing and Shi Dong to flee for their lives crazily.

However, that "Xia Ding" clearly didn't intend to let them go.

Thirteen people with arrows stuck all over their bodies chased from behind with such swift movements. The leading "Xia Ding," with the arrow stuck in his right eye shaking up and down as he ran—that scene looked creepy no matter how one looked at it.

"Can't run toward the camp, if we bring them over, we'll all die."

Although fleeing in a sorry state, Shi Qing was not completely muddled. He took Shi Dong and the other five and deliberately fled in the opposite direction of their own camp.

Whoosh...

A sharp sound entered his ears, and Shi Qing's complexion tightened.

This was already the second time. How could he not distinguish that just now, when this sound rang out, those three people died inexplicably.

What exactly was it?

Shi Qing was anxious, hurriedly turned his head to look at the surroundings, forcibly made himself calm down, and found the source of the sound.

Suddenly, a fine, long, faint light entered his pupils from in front. Shi Qing, who was running wildly, suddenly lowered his head and didn't forget to shout to remind those behind:

"Lower your heads quickly, there's something in front!"

Shi Dong, who was closest to him, was the first to lower his head.

Of the five behind, three also lowered their heads.

Only the last two, not knowing if they didn't hear clearly or reacted too slowly, still didn't lower their heads and rushed straight over.

Clearly not seeing any obstruction, those last two, however, were like the three people before, suddenly stiffened their bodies, and then three red dots appeared eerily between their eyebrows.

Blood flowed from the red dots, and the two fell to the ground at the same time.

Shi Qing, who was running wildly, felt as if his heart was bleeding.

A few days ago, when hunting that Snow-Mane, three were lost, including his own younger brother. In the blink of an eye, eight more died.

Of the sixteen members of the Dashan logging team, only five remained.

The key was that the five of them weren't even sure they could keep their lives.

Because that strange monster was still chasing them constantly.

Their physical strength was declining, and their speed was getting slower and slower, but looking at the group of monsters behind them, their speed hadn't slowed down at all.

Dashan Camp was probably going to be gone.

Just as this desperate thought arose in Shi Qing's heart.

A sharp, young voice suddenly came from the right.

"Finally found you. Now, let's see where else you can run!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 24 =====