Chapter 312: Engagement! Duel and Volley of Bow and Arrow

The armor on Jier's body could not withstand the axe of the bandit opposite him; after all, it was only armor made of hard cowhide, which had some defensive capability against the slashing and cutting of swords, but was powerless against a heavy, sharp axe.

However, his shield was the perfect counter to an axe. He only needed to tilt the shield at a slight angle as the axe descended, allowing him to block the opponent's attack without taking the full force of the impact.

This bandit's skill with the axe was not particularly refined; he merely had a bit of experience from using this weapon for a long time.

Jier swung his sword, clashing with another bandit's blade. Taking advantage of the moment their weapons were pressed together, he kicked out, knocking that bandit to the ground.

The window to break the coordination of these two bandits was very short. Jier immediately took the initiative to meet the axe's strike with his shield, then used the shield to directly force the axe back, denying the opponent a chance to launch an attack. He then thrust his long sword straight at the bandit, but the bandit stepped back to dodge. A cold snort emanated from Jier's helmet, and the sword, having missed its mark, struck hard against the wooden handle of the opponent's axe.

This strike greatly exceeded the opponent's expectations. Although the bandit had quickly separated his hands as Jier's long sword swung toward the axe handle, clearing the possibility of Jier's sword potentially slicing into his hands.

But Jier knew the opponent was guarding against exactly that, so he struck the axe handle hard, causing the bandit's hands to go numb from the intense vibration.

At the same time, his left arm used the shield to quickly thrust forward in coordination with his footwork, and the metal shield face, exposed from multiple defensive maneuvers, slammed violently into the axe head of the opponent's weapon.

The bandit's numb hands could not muster any strength, causing the axe, struck by the shield, to fly out of his grasp, landing more than two meters away in the snow.

The bandit, his face full of horror and disbelief, lifted his gaze from his numb hands, and the last scene he saw was the fine, shimmering sword light passing before his eyes.

Jier swung his sword with full force in a horizontal slash, cutting across the upper part of the bandit's face, directly severing the bandit's face and most of his head.

Due to the astonishing force, after this sword stroke passed, it did not even bring out any excess splashing blood; only a tiny bit of blood and some suspicious red-and-white matter stuck to his long sword.

Jier did not even look; he did not believe anyone could survive such a fatal wound. With a large amount of brain tissue severed, the human consciousness likely vanished in an instant.

He turned around and strode to catch up with the other bandit, who was trying to flee using both hands and feet.

This person was likely scared out of his wits, as he immediately threw the long sword in his hand toward Jier.

He raised his shield to meet the incoming long sword. After the shield emitted a crisp metallic clanging sound, one could see the long sword spinning away, flying off to who knows where.

The bandit lay on his back and pulled a dagger from inside his clothes, throwing it at Jier as well. Jier simply shifted his shield upward to block his face.

The dagger missed the shield, collided with Jier's helmet, and flew off into nothingness.

Jier lowered his shield, sank his body, and leaped, leading with the shield as he crashed into the bandit who was trying to crawl away. Jier knocked him flat to the ground, thrust his sword in from the bandit's shoulder blade, driving it all the way into the heart area of the bandit's chest, shredding the bandit's life force.

When Jier stood up to observe, he found that the battle elsewhere had basically been won. Multiple Hunters had joined forces, surrounding the bandits in a group and attacking simultaneously from different directions.

The bandits, who had not received decent combat training, were overwhelmed and soon defeated, losing their lives.

Everyone gathered together again. The Hunters put away their own melee weapons and instead picked up the bandits' weapons. They also realized that the weapons they had brought were not very useful. As for the Bow and Arrow on the young Hunters, they were all handed over to the older Hunters who lacked physical strength.

Although these old men were physically robust, compared to the bandits who were all young, their strength was still a bit lacking. It was better for them to use the Bow and Arrow to support the others.

After catching their breath for a moment, everyone remained silent. With the few young people, including Jier, in the front and the few old Hunters in the back, they formed two rows and walked out of the Forest, heading directly toward the bandits who had been watching the show during the previous fight.

These bandits clearly had no intention of resisting; they huddled together and slowly retreated backward.

While retreating, the leading bandit, who wielded an axe, shouted at them: "Those in front! No matter who you are! We have no intention of fighting you! The things and women in the camp behind are yours to take; we only ask to live!"

While shouting, these people turned at an angle as they retreated, clearing the route for Jier and his group to go straight to the Bandit Yingdi.

"There is everything in the camp! Food! Drink! Things to play with! It all belongs to you! Spare our lives, alright!" The shouting rose again.

Seeing that the other bandits did not speak when the leader shouted, they likely shared the same sentiment. Between fighting and life, they chose life. They felt that no matter where Jier's group came from, the things in their camp must be very tempting, and it could avoid a pointless battle, so why not choose that? These small groups within their gang only sought to survive.

On Jier's side, he personally felt it would be best to clear out all the bandits. The effect of the Red-eye Mushroom was gradually strengthening, and he felt that if there were no time limit, he could defeat all those bandits by himself.

However, he was not the only one here. He had just joined the female Knight's team, so it was better not to spout off or express his opinion. Everything depended on what the other Hunters decided.

Somewhat to Jier's surprise, the few young Hunters standing with him basically expressed no opinions, turning instead to look at the four old Hunters in the back row. It seemed these old men could represent their views.

Jier guessed that these old men and young people were either related or had a primary master-apprentice relationship. The experience and skills of the Hunters were not things that those young Hunters, who lacked knowledge and culture and could barely read, could figure out on their own; they were likely passed down from generation to generation through master-apprentice relationships, and such relationships naturally could include kinship.

The two were not contradictory.

The few old Hunters discussed in low voices. One of the old men, though his face showed no emotion, clearly had a voice filled with anger and power: "Bapusi was killed by these damn rats; I must avenge him!"

The three old Hunters exchanged glances. They whispered to ask about the physical strength of the young people in the front row and received an answer that their strength was still sufficient, while Jier's answer was even more prominent: "I have a shield; leave that dangerous guy with the axe to me."

"Since there is no problem, then we will still follow the Knight's wishes: kill them, burn their corpses quickly, and then go to support the Knight."

After speaking, everyone dispersed slightly, entering a suitable distance for combat.

After the young people in the front row dispersed, the old Hunters in the back row also drew their bows and placed the arrows on the Bowstring, ready at any time to shoot the bandits who might scatter and flee, or to support the young men in melee combat.

As soon as Jier and his group revealed their combat stance and closed in, the bandits opposite immediately realized they had to engage in a life-or-death battle, and the defeat rate for their small group of fewer than ten bandits was very high.

Uproar and various curses immediately erupted, and someone even pushed the leading bandit in the front row from behind. That bandit also gritted his teeth, his face full of despair. Then, ignoring everyone else around him, he shouted and took out the shield that had belonged to the original Bandit Leader, charging toward Jier and his group while holding it up.

The old Hunters had originally intended to shoot this person's legs, but Jier roared, "I'll take him!" and charged up while also holding his shield.

The bandits had previously seen Jier's performance in battle and knew that Jier was very skilled and that his weapons and equipment far exceeded theirs. Therefore, seeing these two about to engage in a duel, the other bandits wanted to slip away while the young Hunters were distracted.

But the four old Hunters were watching them. As soon as they saw someone trying to slip away, the four of them fired in unison, shooting a bandit who was fleeing alone with two rounds of arrows, killing him directly in the snow.

Now the remaining few bandits had no choice but to use the corpses on the ground as 'shields' to block the incoming arrows.

The Hunters bypassed the battling Jier and the axe-wielding bandit, directly closing in on the last remaining few bandits. Once they entered combat, these bandits could no longer hold up the corpses to block the Hunters' line of sight.

The Hunters did not recklessly rush up to fight; after all, although they occupied the upper hand on the field, their numbers were not actually much higher than the bandits. So they circled around, getting behind the huddled bandits, and then closed in, forcing these people to retreat toward Jier's side.

As for Jier's side, after he and the bandit got close, they both tested each other with their shields. The bandit opposite was tall and sturdy, likely eating well, so his body stretched the animal skins he wore until they were bulging, and neither the axe nor the large Mudu felt heavy in his hands. Jier's armor and Metal Shield showed that his weapons and equipment were far superior to the opponent's, despite his height not being very tall due to his age.

Jier rested his long sword on his right shoulder, moving his feet constantly, circling the bandit who stood in place.

The current scene reminded him of the scene from a few months ago when he first received guard training; both sides had shields, but the difference was that the opponent was not using a flexible long sword, but a Two-handed Axe.

Jier's red gaze peered through his helmet, sizing up the Two-handed Axe the bandit held in his right hand. He discovered that because the opponent had to use both hands to fight with the axe, the axe head was resting on the ground. Through the trampled snow, one could see that the axe blade was facing outward, and at a glance, it was clear he still maintained the experience of using the axe with both hands.

Heh, this person had made a small but significant mistake, and this mistake would allow him to gain an advantage in the battle.

The opponent was clearly not an ordinary person who had only been a bandit for a year or two; he was likely either a veteran bandit of many years or had received some combat training before becoming a bandit.

Not thinking about resolving the opponent in a few moves, Jier decided to use the high-speed vision and mental power brought by the Red-eye Mushroom to gain an advantage in combat technique and then win.

Jier made a quick lunge; the opponent immediately became alert and raised his shield high, using the wide surface of the large Mudu to hide most of his body behind it. The bandit's right hand gripped the end of the axe handle tightly, ready at any moment to launch an attack from bottom to top, attempting to knock away Jier's Metal Shield or to knock Jier himself, shield and all, backward to the ground.

After getting close to the bandit, Jier did not attack head-on, but quickly switched his footwork, circling to the left side of the bandit's body, attempting to seize the position at the bandit's left rear.

But the bandit also used his eyes, exposed at the upper edge of the Mudu, to stare tightly at every move Jier made, turning to the left himself as well.

But this was all within Jier's expectations. He approached one step further, and at the same time, the long sword resting on his right shoulder exerted a slight force; he deliberately slowed down the entire set of movements to let the opponent see.

Sure enough, after the bandit saw Jier's movement, he immediately felt based on experience that Jier was about to launch an attack, so he immediately launched a counterattack.

But.

The nervous Bandit did not expect that while his left hand was gripping his defensive Shield, the Two-handed Axe in his right hand was not being wielded with both hands as usual, so the weapon in his right hand failed to launch an attack as he had anticipated.

Because he was not using enough strength! When using a two-handed weapon, the force is borne by both arms together, but as it was still a two-handed weapon, he was now using only one hand, while the force he applied remained the same as before.

Jier immediately reversed his steps, circling at the tightest arc to attack the right side of the Bandit's body from the opposite direction. At the same time, the Long Sword swung out from his right shoulder did not strike the left side or the front of the body, which were well-defended by the Shield, but rather the Bandit's right arm.

Even though it was a follow-up strike, Jier's Long Sword landed on the Bandit's right arm first. The Bandit's Two-handed Axe had not yet been raised much, clearly lacking the necessary force and speed.

Jier's sword cut directly horizontally into the opponent's arm, and after severing a large amount of muscle, it struck the solid bone. Perhaps the thick animal fur on the opponent provided some defense, preventing Jier's sword from severing the right arm completely.

"Ah!! Damn it! My arm!" The Bandit screamed in pain, retreating step after step, while moving the Shield to block all angles of Jier's next strike.

But Jier immediately pursued, attempting to expand his advantage, focusing not on other areas but specifically on the Bandit's severely wounded right arm.

The Bandit opposite him immediately fell into a predicament; if he did not abandon the Shield in his left hand, he could still resist Jier's offensive for a while, but his injured right arm was completely unable to use a Two-handed Axe, leaving him with only defense.

If there were companions nearby, this would be fine, as he would only need to actively defend. But the few Bandits who were close to him were currently struggling to save their own lives and could not look after him at all.

So, was there only another desperate way?

Thinking of this, the Bandit struggled for a moment, still feeling that he had to give it a try; even if he died next, dying while fighting in a head-on battle would still be considered heroic.

He did not want to meet his ancestors after death and be asked why he, a user of an axe, had died holding a Shield.

Thinking of this, the Bandit threw the large Mudu in his left hand directly at Jier.

Jier dodged the Shield thrown by the opponent, not giving him a chance to switch weapons, and quickly brought his own shield down, striking in front of the Bandit, then pursued with his steps, not letting the Bandit retreat to open up distance.

And the Long Sword in his right hand, after the shield strike, slashed directly toward the man's neck. Weapon, or death, you choose one!

The Bandit's roar was cut short halfway through.

He chose the weapon, so death came head-on.

Jier's sword severed most of the Bandit's neck and also sliced open most of the front of his chest, revealing the sternum hidden beneath the animal fur, skin, muscle, and fat.

Through the wound, one could see the Bandit's heart beating within the body tissue beneath the sternum.

Jier immediately followed up with a thrust, piercing the opponent's heart through the wound opened by the previous strike.

In fact, the wound on the neck was already fatal, because the fresh blood pumped by the opponent's heart could not reach the head and instead gushed out from the severed neck, pumping in spurts onto the white snow nearby.

In the end, the man still gripped his axe tightly with both hands, and as he fell backward, he seemed to be saying something, but with his trachea severed, he could not make a single sound, leaving only the collision and trembling of his lips in the final seconds of his life.

Jier did not pay attention to the final seconds of the man's life; after piercing the opponent's heart, he immediately turned and rushed toward the few remaining Bandits who were being forced toward him.

He was just slightly puzzled in his heart why this person would choose the weapon in the choice between weapon and life; he could not possibly win. If he had used his left arm to block the Long Sword at that time, he might have been able to go another round or two with him, and the Bandit companions approaching that man might have had a chance to turn the tide.

Taking advantage of the retreating Bandits' attention being entirely on his Hunter companions, Jier struck directly from behind these Bandits. These Bandits had not expected that their skilled companion would be finished off in just these few dozen seconds; Jier's entry caused their plans for resistance to vanish with a boom.

After Jier stabbed one Bandit to death, they scattered and fled.

But there were few of them, and they were immediately targeted one by one by the Hunters and Jier. At the same time, because of their flight, the corpses they had been holding onto fell to the ground, and they, with their defenses wide open, were immediately targeted by the veteran Hunters who had been waiting; the four experienced men all aimed at the same target.

The one running the fastest.

With four sounds of Bowstrings vibrating, that Bandit was hit in the head, body, legs, and feet, and after falling to the ground, he twitched and could no longer crawl up.

Immediately after, these four Hunters demonstrated their decades of hunting and shooting experience to Jier.

The young Hunters, like driving animals, circled wide to trap the fleeing Bandits in the open space of the Bandit Yingdi, letting the veteran Hunters fire volleys at the same target several times, shooting the panicked Bandits to the ground.

Then they ran over and used the Bandits' weapons, with quick slashes, to kill the Bandits who had been hit by multiple arrows.

"Victory! Ah ah ah!" A young Bandit shouted excitedly, but was immediately stopped by the veteran Hunters: "What are you shouting for! The Knight is still fighting the Magic Beast, hurry and drag all these Bandit corpses over! Jier!"

"I'm here." Jier lifted the Faceplate of his Helmet and responded loudly.

"You go to the wooden house in the Bandit Yingdi, clear out a room, and just like before, we'll stuff all the corpses into one house and then set it on fire. Everyone put in some effort! Hurry up." Several veteran Hunters put away their weapons, drew their Daggers, and grabbed a Bandit corpse at random, stripping the clothing off the Bandit in a few quick motions, just like they were familiar with removing the fur of an animal.

After Jier responded, he put away his weapons and strode toward the nearest Bandit wooden house.