Chapter 57 - Gambling With Your Life

A few years ago, when the southern border’s 120,000 elite troops vanquished Yue Empire, their great general, Hulan Shengxia, once said…Great Ning’s lethal scouts could not be seen or caught - they were like stealthy monsters who killed without being seen. It was not a compliment not fear, but rather, Great Ning’s scouts were revered.

At this moment, Shen Leng was facing one of those scouts. It was an opponent that Shen Leng hate to face the most. Because they used to be combat soldiers.

Li Can, Yue Shanfeng, Song Lei advanced together, with two people at the back and one person in front. The speed they were moving at was not fast. However, their hand movements were extremely swift. Their repeating crossbows were quickly nocked once again. Their formation was invulnerable.

“Where’s he?” asked Li Can.

There were no discoveries made at the front.

“Nothing here!”

“Nothing here!”

Yu Shanfeng and Song Lei, who leaned back slightly, answered at almost the same time.

The wind from within the forest swept past, and the leaves began to sway and rustle. The stench of blood got carried farther away.

The atmosphere within the forest was strangely quiet. The outstandings scouts realized how passive they were; when they used to be combat soldiers, they were the ones pressurizing their opponents, instead of being subjected to it. Their enemies could not see them - they only knew that they were nearby. Before they could anticipate anything, they would strike a fatal attack abruptly that came out of nowhere.

They were camouflaged assassins and hunters; they were proficient and well-trained in all kinds of skills, and they specialized in killing. The scariest skill they had was their ability to hide while pursuing their enemies. It sent chills down their opponents’ spines.

However, at this moment, they were the ones whose location was known, while Shen Leng became the hunter. They did not know when and how Shen Leng would launch a sudden attack on them.

Nonetheless, they strongly believed that their battalion commander, Nie Yuan, was swifter and more vicious than Shen Leng. When Shen Leng appeared, Nie Yuan’s iron tire bow would snarl.

At this moment, at a distance not far from them, a soft ringing sound of bells could be heard. The three of them looked over in that direction at the same time.

That meant that someone or something had touched the string from the Gao Hai and Meng Da’s setup from before, causing the bells to ring.

The three of them turned around towards that direction at the same time and started firing their repeating crossbow. One by one, the arrows were fired. Very soon, all they heard was the dull thud of the arrows piercing the ground.

“Behind!”

Yue Shanfeng suddenly reacted. After he yelled, he immediately turned around and fired his final three arrows from his repeating crossbow…however, there was no one behind. The three arrows shot straight into a tree trunk, with two arrows and the bottom and one at the top, making a triangular shape.

The atmosphere became more and more tense. The three men’s breathing hastened.

。

They had no other choice but to stop in the spacious and empty field, which made them visible. Only that way were they able to create a better killing opportunity for Nie Yuan.

“Damn it!” cursed Yue Shanfeng in a low voice.

He felt as though his heart started beating faster and faster to the point that he felt as though he was suffocating. He nocked the arrows onto his repeating crossbow as fast as he could. His fingers would not stop trembling.

“Absolutely nothing,” said Song Lei, while gritting his teeth. His face was very pale.

They were used to instilling fear in their enemies, but at this moment, they were forced to experience such fear themselves for the first time.

Shen Leng who was standing behind a big tree adjusted his breathing - it was light and steady. He placed his hand on one side of his waist and felt around. Because he was in a rush to chase after them, he did not bring his equipment. He did not have his repeating crossbow and javelin with him. If he brought his repeating crossbow, the three men would have been on the ground by now.

How was he able to launch a fatal attack on all three scouts, who were nimble and agile? Furthermore, Nie Yuan was hiding in an unknown place, waiting for a chance to launch a fatal attack on him as well.

Shen Leng closed his eyes. He carefully recalled Nie Yuan’s reaction speed as well as the techniques he used. Nie Yuan’s iron tire bow was at least three stones; the arrows that were fired from it were akin to meteors. Based on Nie Yuan’s abilities, it would only take him about three breaths for him to release the arrow and shoot Shen Leng the moment he appeared in his field of vision.

He had to kill the three men within three breaths, while avoiding Nie Yuan’s arrow. Under normal circumstances, this was definitely impossible.

However, when was Shen Leng ever a normal person?

At the top of the big tree, Nie Yuan’s left hand was holding his iron tire bow and two of his fingers on his right hand were pinching a feather arrow. Once Shen Leng appeared, he believed that he was able to shoot Shen Leng right in the heart within the shortest possible time.

Shen Leng was the hunter, but so was Nie Yuan. Only the three scouts were rendered helpless and had no control over their safety.

Shen Leng’s breathing became slower and slower; his breathing retractions became milder and milder. He gripped his black cord sword with his right hand, and the small hunting knife’s scabbard with his left. He heard the three men’s soft footsteps. From the sound of their footsteps he analyzed his enemies’ approximate location.

At this moment, all of a sudden, Shen Leng came out from behind the tree. The string from the scabbard in his left hand shot out; in midair, the metal hook opened up and clawed into Yue Shenfeng’s shoulder. Song Lei and Li Can turned around almost at the same time, and aimed their repeating crossbows in the direction of where Shen Leng appeared…

Shing!

A ray of light flashed across in an instant. It was strong and powerful.

It was Shen Leng’s black cord sword.

The black cord sword pierced Song Lei in the chest and emerged from his back. Shen Leng’s dark steel black cord sword was originally already very heavy and sharp, but coupled with Shen Leng’s explosive strength, the speed of that attack was incomparable.

At the same time, Shen Leng pulled with his left hand hard. Yue Shanfeng who got clawed involuntarily knocked into Li Can. Li Can, who initially had his arrow aimed at Shen Leng accurately, got knocked aside. His arrow was fired.

In the next second, at a distance of slightly over three meters…Shen Leng only had to take two steps…His left foot stepped onto the ground hard, creating a cloud of dust; his right foot stepped onto the ground as well before he leapt into the air almost immediately after. In midair, Shen Leng stepped on Li Can with both legs as hard as he could, causing Li Can to fly backwards upon impact.

When Li Can fell to the ground, he had already stopped breathing. Shen Leng’s feet created a dent on his chest.

When Shen Leng landed onto the ground, at the same time, he drew the black cord sword out of Song Lei’s chest. He swept his sword across, cutting off Yue Shanfeng’s neck. Blood started gushing out.

At this moment, the arrow had arrived.

The arrow created a demonic sound as it flew swiftly through the air. The speed at which the arrow was traveling at was simply too fast. Furthermore, it was accurately predicted. Right after Shen Leng cut off Yue Shanfeng’s head, the arrow came flying over.

Shen Leng looked upwards as he moved to the back; the arrow grazed his face cutting it, causing a red scar to appear on his face.

The arrow shot through Yue Shanfeng’s headless corpse before it pierced into the ground. The arrow vibrated rapidly, creating a buzzing sound.

When Shen Leng was turning around, his left hand released the scabbard and tossed it to one side before grabbing the repeating crossbow in Yue Shanfeng’s hand that was able to drop onto the ground. Everything happened lightning fast. Life and death were only separated by a very fine line.

Shen Leng lifted his hand and aimed the repeating crossbow in the direction of where the arrow came from before firing. Nie Yuan, who was standing on top of the tree, had no choice but to dodge. He did not have sufficient time to fire the second arrow.

Shen Leng fell to the ground. He had already fired all nine arrows.

Within the period of time that Nie Yuan took to fire one arrow, Shen Leng had killed three well-trained scouts, and even managed to counter attack. No words could be used to describe the thrilling and ferocious incident that just happened within a few breaths’ worth of time.

Shen Leng tossed the repeating crossbow aside and grabbed his scabbard before he charged out. Moments later, he had already arrived behind a big tree. He leaned against the tree as he gasped for air. It was probably the most crucial moment of his life.

The leaves of a tree at a distance away rustled. Immediately, Shen Leng left. An arrow came flying over and got to where Shen Leng was originally right after he moved. That arrow shot through the tree trunk that was as thick as a person’s thigh, causing wood shavings to fly everywhere.

Shen Leng hunched forward as he charged; he kept swaying left and right, dodging the third arrow. The fourth arrow grazed his right arm, creating a wound.

Once again, Shen Leng went to hide behind a tree. Nie Yuan, who was at a distance, was on the move as well. Shen Leng used this short period of time to adjust his breathing and at the same time, he kept his scabbard.

“Three breaths.” He muttered under his breath.

Thereafter, he charged out abruptly from behind the tree, facing an arrow head on!

At the same time, he swung both arms with all his night…he was using that sword of his to gamble with his life!

If Shen Leng’s sword missed by even just a little, the arrow would pierce through his body.

Clank!

His black sword cord struck the arrow with precision, causing it to fly upon impact.

After he hit the arrow right in the middle, Shen Leng quickly took out his scabbard and fired the string in the direction of where Nie Yuan was. The metal hook opened up as it approached Nie Yuan. Nie Yuan, who was standing on the fork of a tree had no choice but to flip backwards. The moment his feet landed on the ground, Shen Leng was already there.

Nie Yuan felt the chilliness of his black cord sword. He quickly retreated as fast as he could. When the sword came sweeping over, he realized he had misjudged…Shen Leng’s sword was not aiming at him but his iron tire bow!

With a ‘snap’, the iron tire bow was broken into two by Shen Leng’s sword.

Nie Yuan slipped backwards; both his feet left long markings on the ground. After he stopped, he looked at the broken iron tire bow in his hand and was in a daze for a moment. Thereafter, he tossed it onto the ground before drawing out his long sword slowly.

“I did not expect you to gamble with your life.”

All Nie Yuan could think about was the image of Shen Leng swinging his sword and breaking his iron tire bow into two. He inhaled deeply and looked towards Shen Leng. “Did it not occur to you - what if you misjudged earlier on? You could have been a dead person by now.”

The arrow was very thick, and its momentum was extremely fast. If his sword did not hit it precisely, he would not have had the opportunity to make a second choice.

Shen Leng’s black cord sword made half a turn. He did a backhand grip and held it in front,.

“If it were you, what would you choose?” asked him.

Nie Yuan remained silent for a while before he said, “I would have struck the arrow with my sword too. But regardless of the speed of the arrow or how hard it is, it cannot be compared to my arrow. Even so, I would not have the confidence to hit the arrow with precision. Hence, your luck is indeed very good…but I don’t believe that a person can keep gambling with his life and win every single time. Even if you can win ten or a hundred times, you can only lose once.”

Once again, Shen Leng adjusted his breathing. He gradually lowered his body - it was a sign that he was about to launch an attack.

“You think that I’m gambling with my life?”

Shen Leng narrowed his eyes. He thought about how harsh the training he received over the last four years within the Daoist temple was. Most of the time, Mr. Shen had a refined and cultured aura to him. Only when he was training Shen Leng, he would act like a devil.

Master Cha wanted a real and decent sword, but Mr. Shen said that he would only give one to her once she was able to put her wooden sword through the tiny hole a thousand times in succession.

The training that Shen Leng received was a lot harsher than that of Master Cha’s. If it were someone else, they would have collapsed and crumbled a long time ago.

Over a long period of time, under the setting sun each day, when the sky started to darken, Mr. Shen would stand in the direction of the setting sun, firing arrows at Shen Leng. Even though the arrowhead was not made of iron, the body of the arrow was made of metal. Hence, the speed of the arrows was not slow at all. Time and time again, Shen Leng would look the piercing final rays of the setting sun, swinging his sword. He was hit multiple times by the arrows to the point his body was covered in bruises.

Day after day, Shen Leng had the confidence of swinging his sword a thousand times without making a single mistake. Hence, he was able to strike the arrow earlier on.

Gambling with his life?

There was no such thing.

He pressed his body downwards; it became lower and lower, making him seem like a ferocious tiger that was preparing to pounce on a sheep.

“You struck an arrow, but have you struck a needle?”

Shen Leng curled his lips upwards. A murderous aura was released.

Soil erupted beneath his feet. He had already charged forward.