Chapter 91: Coming Prepared

On Qin Hai's face, that look of unwillingness was as thick and impossible to dispel as a haze.

He knew clearly in his heart that the chasm in strength between himself and Lu Yu was absolutely not something that could be easily crossed.

However, to have him merely watch from far behind, that feeling of stifled frustration churned in the depths of his heart, making it truly hard for him to accept, but...

"Alright." Lu Yu's palm landed lightly on Qin Hai's shoulder, the pressure steady and firm. "Don't forget, you also have your own important task. Once the situation here settles, I will send a signal. At that time, you will lead my father and the others out."

It was as if two little people were fiercely fighting inside Qin Hai's heart; after struggling for a good while, he finally spoke with difficulty: "Fine, but no matter what, you must ensure your own safety. Otherwise, I... I really won't be able to give an account to everyone when I go back."

"Rest assured, I have already considered all possible situations thoroughly and formulated a foolproof plan; nothing will go wrong."

Upon hearing this, a confident smile appeared on Lu Yu's face. As he spoke, he handed the gun in his hand to Qin Hai, then patted his shoulder heavily before turning and striding toward the southwest.

Qin Hai's performance just now had truly exceeded Lu Yu's expectations, and he secretly praised this guy in his heart as a man of responsibility.

Southwest.

The horse bandits waited bitterly on the spot, but Lu Guohao and the others remained nowhere to be seen as time ticked away second by second.

Their patience was gradually worn thin, and a restless mood quietly spread among the crowd.

"What exactly is going on? How long are these cowards going to dawdle before they show their faces?" one horse bandit couldn't help but complain, his tone full of impatience.

"Yeah, we've been waiting here for almost two hours now; how much longer do we have to wait?"

"Damn it, if they piss me off, I'll just charge straight in and hack them all to pieces!"

As soon as his voice fell, the group of horse bandits behind him burst into loud laughter.

"Lao Gui, you're really something. With that piece of junk knife in your hand, you still want to compare yourself to their artillery?" one horse bandit teased mockingly.

"That's right, if they fire a cannon at you, you and your horse will be blown to bits in an instant, leaving nothing behind."

"To deal with those guards, a single burst of bullets would turn them into a hornet's nest; it wouldn't take any effort at all."

"Hahaha."

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd again, echoing in the empty wilderness.

"Damn it, you guys are really not being good friends." The man called Lao Gui was so angry his face turned red, and he cursed with wide, angry eyes, "I was thinking for everyone's sake, and you guys, instead, are making fun of me and cursing me to be turned into a hornet's nest."

"Just a joke, Lao Gui, don't get so fired up."

"Exactly, exactly, Lao Gui, everyone is just messing around. Who would dare turn you into a hornet's nest? I'd be the first one not to let them off; I'd wipe out their whole family!"

"That's right!" Others chimed in one after another.

Just then, someone suddenly went "Huh," pointed a finger into the distance, and said with a confused face: "Brothers, look over there, is that a person?"

Hearing this, everyone stood on their tiptoes and tried hard to peer in that direction.

At the edge of their vision, there was indeed a vague human figure, but because of the distance, it was difficult to tell which direction it was heading for the moment.

"Let me see." A horse bandit holding a Telescope hurriedly raised it to his eyes and looked carefully in the direction his companion pointed. "It's a guy with a bow, his face is covered tightly, and it looks like he's heading south."

"Just one person?" the bald leader asked without turning his head, while keeping his eyes fixed on the direction of Zhou Family Fort.

"Boss, just one person, all alone," the horse bandit with the Telescope hurriedly replied.

"Then don't worry about him."

Liu Dong said without hesitation; after all, the existence of their group was no longer a secret, and there were many who had seen what they looked like. A person acting alone didn't seem capable of stirring up any trouble.

"Boss," the hot-tempered Lao Gui's face instantly changed into a fawning smile, and he said obsequiously: "Since the brothers are just sitting around here, why don't we go hunting and find some fun?"

"Yeah, Boss, we've been waiting here until the flowers have withered; it's incredibly boring." Other horse bandits chimed in, their eyes filled with anticipation.

"Boss, we promise to come back immediately once those people come out; we definitely won't delay anything," another horse bandit said with a solemn vow.

What they called hunting was not actually hunting wild beasts, but treating innocent people as prey, taking pleasure in chasing them down, and enjoying the sick thrill brought by wanton slaughter.

Liu Dong frowned slightly; he had to admit that the wait this time was indeed a bit long, and the mood of the group had become somewhat restless.

Fine, let them go mess around and find some fun; it would save them from making noise in his ears and making him feel annoyed.

"Go and come back quickly, don't cause any trouble for me." Liu Dong waved his hand impatiently.

"Alright!" Several people responded excitedly, ran quickly back to their horses, leaped onto them, and whipped the rumps of their Horned Horses hard.

Accompanied by a crisp whip crack, the Horned Horses neighed and galloped toward the person six or seven hundred meters away.

"Hmm?" Six hundred meters away, Lu Yu's keen eyes instantly caught the few small black shadows rushing toward him, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

What is this situation?

Could it be that these horse bandits were so alert that they had discovered his presence so quickly?

Could it be that the worst-case scenario he had been worrying about was about to happen ahead of time?

He took a deep breath; things had come to this, and the only way was to forge ahead. When two enemies meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins, he encouraged himself in his heart.

However, after taking a few more steps forward, Lu Yu keenly sensed that something was not quite right.

Because from beginning to end, only four or five figures were rushing toward him, while the main force of horse bandits in the distance remained as motionless as statues.

An absurd yet logical thought flashed through his mind: could they be naive enough to think that sending just these few people was enough to put him to death?

"Interesting." The corners of Lu Yu's mouth curled up slightly.

At the same time, his heart felt relieved.

Had he known they would be stupid enough to deliver themselves one by one, why would he have racked his brains to plan a foolproof strategy? He should have just let go and fought.

Qin Hai, far behind, took in this scene, and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for Lu Yu.

Without a doubt, those few horse bandits were clearly targeting Lu Yu; could it be that he had unfortunately been discovered?

Lu Yu, how exactly are you going to deal with such a dire situation?

In just a few seconds, the five horse bandits pushed their speed to the limit; the distance of one hundred meters was left far behind in just three or four seconds under their charge.

The whistling wind raged in his ears like a demon's roar, and the hot-tempered Lao Gui laughed wildly, as if he had already seen the "prey" not far away trembling in fear under his pursuit.

He was certain that the poor wretch must not have realized that danger was quietly descending.

Even if he reacted, so what? How could a person's two legs outrun the galloping Horned Horses under their crotches?

The four people behind him also wore ferocious and twisted smiles; they were addicted to this game of chasing prey on horseback, enjoying the process of the prey gradually falling into despair and breaking down under their pursuit.

Only when the prey was exhausted and knelt on the ground begging for mercy would they feel it was dull, and then they would casually grant the other party a "quick end."

"Wait!" Just then, one of the horse bandits suddenly widened his eyes and exclaimed in an incredulous tone: "He, he seems to be accelerating as he approaches us!"

"What!" The other horse bandits were stunned upon hearing this, their faces filled with astonishment.

"That's right, he sees us, and he's still picking up speed as he charges toward us!"

"How is that possible?" Lao Gui, who was charging at the very front, widened his eyes with effort; he could not fathom how anyone in such a desperate situation would not only fail to turn and flee for their life but instead take the initiative to meet them head-on.

"Five hundred and fifty meters." While calmly estimating the distance between himself and the main force of horse bandits, Lu Yu kept a close watch on the five people approaching before him; at this moment, the distance between them had already closed to three hundred and fifty meters.

The next moment, Lu Yu decisively drew his bow and nocked an arrow, his movements fluid and practiced, the arrowhead steadily aiming at the chest of Lao Gui, who was in the lead.

When the bowstring was drawn more than halfway back, he released it without a moment's hesitation.

"Pop!" A crisp, explosive sound rang out suddenly in the air like a thunderclap, and the arrow shot out with lightning speed, faster than one could cover their ears.

Amidst Lao Gui's dumbfounded, terrified expression, the arrow accurately and unerringly pierced his heart.

The latter did not even have time to let out a scream before he tumbled headlong from the Horned Horse that was galloping forward, rolling several times on the ground in a sorry state and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Ah!" A man behind witnessed this scene with his own eyes; he opened his mouth in terror, and disbelief instantly surfaced in the depths of his eyes.

Immediately following,

"Puchi!" Another dull and harsh crisp sound rang out; an arrow pierced through and struck another horse bandit directly in the heart.

Three hundred meters away, Lu Yu moved forward with steady and firm steps while quickly nocking another arrow, his gaze locked onto the next target like a hawk.

His strength attribute of over 60 points made drawing this 200-jin Strong Bow seem quite effortless, let alone only drawing it halfway.

Almost every second or so, an arrow would fly out like a shooting star, and not far away, a corpse would roll lifelessly from its horse and slam heavily onto the ground.

"No! Retreat quickly!" No matter how foolish the remaining two horse bandits were, they finally realized clearly at this moment that the person before them was by no means as simple as they had imagined!

Judging by his action of not fleeing but instead accelerating toward them after discovering them, this guy was very likely aiming for their group from the very beginning!

This guy was definitely an expert who had been hiding his true strength!

The two were instantly terrified and pulled desperately on their reins, attempting to turn their horses around, panicking as they wanted to go back and tell the boss and the others about this terrifying news.

Seeing this scene, Lu Yu shook his head slightly.

In his eyes, these two people were no different from targets at this moment, with no possibility of escape.

"Thump!" One person had just managed to turn his horse around with difficulty when an arrow accurately struck his heart, and his entire body fell heavily to the ground like a sandbag, splashing up a cloud of dust.

As for the other person, although he had finally managed to turn his head, unfortunately, before his mount could accelerate to escape, his body jolted violently; he slowly lowered his head, his eyes filled with despair and fear.

One could see an arrow protruding from his chest, and on the sharp arrowhead, besides being stained with bright red blood, there were also some fragments of his heart.

From the moment Lu Yu shot the first arrow to the moment he killed all five of them, only six or seven seconds had passed; everything happened so quickly, like a short and bloody nightmare.

Qin Hai, who witnessed this scene through the Telescope, did not show the slightest joy on his face.

Because he clearly saw that the remaining group of horse bandits had already noticed what was happening here; some of them were even impatiently mounting their horses, and judging by their posture, they were clearly going to swarm out in full force and rush toward Lu Yu!

Lu Yu, can you still withstand such a fierce offensive?

About five hundred meters away from Lu Yu, the remaining twenty-some horse bandits were all jumping with rage.

Like a lit powder keg, they had already greeted Lu Yu's ancestors for eighteen generations in their mouths, and those vicious curses rose and fell one after another.

At first, when their companions left, they were all envious; after all, there was only one "prey," and they all wanted to personally participate in this "hunt" and enjoy the pleasure of torturing and killing.

As a result, just as they were watching with self-satisfaction, that "prey" whom they had originally regarded as a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Had actually descended like the God of Death, shooting and killing all five people cleanly and efficiently right under their noses, one arrow after another!

This was simply an open provocation to them!

"Damn it! I really underestimated that guy! Lao Gui and the others are actually all dead!"

"Kill him! We must kill him to avenge our fallen brothers!"

"More than just killing him? I'm going to hack him into ten thousand pieces and leave him without a complete corpse!"

Everyone gritted their teeth, wishing they could immediately tear Lu Yu into pieces.

"Big Brother, let's go!" Someone riding a horse urged anxiously, feeling burning impatience as they saw the leader still staring at Zhou Family Fort and hesitating.

Their own brothers had been cruelly murdered right in front of them; if they didn't avenge this, how could they still be considered men? As for looting wealth, compared to the blood feud of their brothers, what did that count for?

A trace of unwillingness flashed in Liu Dong's eyes; he felt that that group of people might come out of Song Family Fort at any time, yet those reckless guys like Lao Gui had to create extra trouble and stir up this mess!

If they could really kill that person, that would be fine, but who would have thought they would kick an iron plate; five people had just thrown away their lives for nothing, killed off completely by the other party.

Now it was even worse, he had to clean up this mess, otherwise...

"Ah!" Just then, a shrill scream suddenly rang out from the crowd, like the mournful cry of a night owl, making one's hair stand on end.

A figure suddenly tumbled straight off his horse, his hands clutching his chest tightly, the expression on his face twisted out of human shape due to extreme pain.

His chest had been ruthlessly pierced by a sharp arrow, and bright red blood gushed out like a spring, instantly staining his hands and the sleeves of his clothes a deep red, appearing particularly glaring under the sunlight.

"Lao Qi!"

"Lao Qi!"

Several men nearby saw this and were instantly furious, letting out hysterical roars.

Many of the surrounding horse bandits were shocked into a daze by this sudden turn of events, as if they had been hit by an Immobilization Spell; they just sat on their horses, standing stiff like stones, their faces filled with incredulous expressions.

Where, where did this arrow come from?

Could it really be that guy?

How is that possible!

The distance between the two sides was nearly five hundred meters!!!

"Swoosh!" The sound of breaking air rang out sharply again, like the God of Death wielding a scythe, descending into the world once more.

"Get down!" Seeing this, Liu Dong's expression changed drastically; he hurriedly roared and reached out to grab the Long Axe at his side, trying to find a glimmer of survival.

But it was already too late.

Another figure was struck by an arrow and tumbled lifelessly off his horse, his eyes wide open, dying with a grievance, with terror and unwillingness still lingering on his face.

"Mount up! Mount up quickly! That brat is a master archer!" Liu Dong's face turned deathly pale; he leaped onto his horse, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like beads falling from a broken string.

To be able to hit every target from five hundred meters away—if this isn't a master archer, then what is?

At this point, if he still didn't understand that the other party had come prepared, then he would have truly lived half his life in vain.

"Charge with me! Those with the Shield, get in front for me; those with bows, hide in the back and follow my commands!" Liu Dong gritted his teeth and took the lead, brandishing his Long Axe as he charged forward, attempting to boost morale.

Even if you are a master archer, so what?

Could you really swallow up the thirty-plus of us all by yourself?

With such a big appetite, aren't you afraid of stuffing yourself to death or breaking your teeth?

"Kill!"

"Avenge our brothers!"

"Kill!!!"

The remaining twenty-plus men spurred their horses to follow, their battle cries deafening.