Chapter 37: Bloodshed in the Storm

Chapter 37: Bloodshed in the Storm

The sky flashed with lightning, and the rain poured down harder, as if being dumped from above.

Chen Shouyi could barely hear: "What? What are you saying?"

Shell Woman pressed close to his ear, her head almost burrowing into it, and screamed hoarsely: "There are giants like last time coming from the sea, so many of them!"

"Boom!"

A bolt of lightning streaked through the air, striking the sea surface and exploding in a burst of light, illuminating the world for a brief moment.

What?

His entire body jolted as he finally understood. Wiping the rain from his face, he quickly scrambled toward a nearby boulder, clawing and climbing until he reached the top to get a better view.

The heavy rain severely impaired his vision.

Through the hazy curtain of rain, he could only make out several long, narrow shadows resembling canoes slowly approaching.

One, two, three...

His heart sank. Before he could process it, Shell Woman, standing on his shoulder, shouted again: "There! There are more over there!"

Chen Shouyi immediately followed her pointing finger, straining his eyes for a long time before barely discerning another shadow.

Had she not warned him, he might have missed it entirely.

It suddenly dawned on him that Shell Woman’s vision was astonishingly sharp. He hurriedly asked, "Count how many giants there are!"

Thanks to his recent study of the common language, Chen Shouyi could now manage basic conversations without much trouble—much like how middle-school English suffices for simple dialogue.

Shell Woman peered intently for a while before leaning close to his ear and yelling: "One, one, one..."

At first, Chen Shouyi was baffled, but he soon realized—she couldn’t count beyond one. Perhaps she knew the words for other numbers but had never needed to use them.

"Count again!"

Shell Woman repeated: "One, one, one... one."

He silently tallied in his head and realized she had uttered "one" twenty-three times in a row.

Twenty-three.

A cold dread gripped him, his expression turning grim.

He had expected other barbarians to come searching for the two who had disappeared. He had even considered the possibility of them finding this place. But he never imagined they would swarm in like a disturbed hornet’s nest—twenty-three at once.

This was insane!

Chen Shouyi nearly roared aloud to vent his frustration and unease.

Twenty-three barbarians, each physically stronger than a Martial Artist.

In this torrential downpour, they certainly weren’t here for water.

They would scour the entire island, hunting for the slightest trace.

On a small island less than one square kilometer in size, what were the odds they would find the spatial gateway?

Or rather, what were the odds they wouldn’t?

He realized he had messed up.

It was like a high-stakes gamble that had suddenly gone horribly wrong.

If these barbarians passed through the spatial gateway into the city, it would trigger a horrific massacre. Countless innocent lives would be lost—and his own home was just a few streets away.

Regret gnawed at him. His selfish greed had led him to conceal the gateway.

Had the military been stationed here, no number of barbarians could have broken through.

Unfortunately, it was already too late to turn back and report now. He saw the nearest canoe gradually run aground and come ashore.

Without hesitation, he leaped off the over two meters high rock, ignoring the numbness in his feet from the impact. Grabbing his war bow and longsword, he sprinted toward the spatial gateway.

In just over ten seconds, he reached the edge of the gateway.

Gazing at the gateway just over ten meters away, he let out a slight sigh of relief.

This was his last retreat. If he couldn’t hold his ground, he would withdraw immediately.

As for the rest, he couldn’t afford to worry about it now.

He quickly checked the arrows in his quiver.

Twenty in total—none missing.

Feeling the cold touch of the metal arrows, his mind gradually calmed.

He wiped the rain from his face.

Regret was useless now. Taking a few deep breaths, his expression hardened with resolve.

Seeing that Chen Shouyi wasn’t leaving, Shell Woman grew frantic, hopping in place and shouting repeatedly, "Run! Run! Run!"

But Chen Shouyi paid no heed. Positioned on a high point halfway up the mountain, he had a clear view. He could vaguely make out five barbarians jumping off the first canoe that had reached the shore.

Then, a thought struck him—attack while crossing!

Only one canoe had landed so far, and the barbarians were wading through the shallow sea, their mobility severely restricted. This was the perfect moment to strike.

The distance from the mountainside to the shore was only 200-300 meters. Even if he charged now, he could still make it in time.

His mind raced.

Gritting his teeth, he decided the risk was worth it. Immediately, he dashed down the mountainside.

Shell Woman, startled by his sudden movement, fluttered into the air. She glanced at Chen Shouyi’s retreating figure, then at the nearby spatial gateway, her small face twisting in hesitation. In the end, she didn’t dare enter the gateway alone.

Chen Shouyi tore through the relentless rain as he sprinted downhill.

On this small island in the Otherworld, he had never run so fast in his life. His body burned as if filled with fire, brimming with inexhaustible strength.

In just over twenty seconds, he reached the foot of the mountain.

By then, the leading barbarian, holding a spear, finally noticed Chen Shouyi’s charging figure. With a terrified roar, he seemed to warn his companions before wading through waist-deep seawater toward the shore.

Every second counted.

Chen Shouyi knew that once the barbarian reached land, killing him would become far more difficult.

Blood surged to his face as he pushed himself to the limit, sprinting with all his might.

One hundred meters, eighty meters, fifty meters.

Chen Shouyi’s steps suddenly halted. Without even catching his breath, he swiftly nocked an arrow and drew his 500-pound recurve bow to full draw.

The barbarian had just set foot on the sand when— A sharp whistle pierced the air as the arrow tore through the rain like lightning, leaving a long trail in its wake.

The barbarian raised his spear as if to block, but before he could even lift it halfway, the arrow pierced his skull with unstoppable force, the tip bursting out from the back of his head.

His body stiffened before collapsing backward.

Compared to a traditional bow, the recurve bow not only offered greater accuracy but also stored more energy, granting the arrow far greater kinetic force upon release.

On Earth, the 500-pound recurve bow specially designed for Martial Artists could achieve an initial velocity of 400 to 500 meters per second, far exceeding the speed of sound. Moreover, due to the arrow's substantial mass, its kinetic energy far surpassed that of a rifle bullet, making its lethality at short to medium distances utterly terrifying.

Just as the first barbarian fell, before the one behind him could even react, a second arrow arrived, piercing straight through his eye socket.

Chen Shouyi continuously drew arrows, nocked them, and fired. Though his mind was tense to the point of slight dizziness, his daily practice of at least a thousand shots had ingrained everything into pure instinct, requiring no conscious thought.

In mere seconds, all five barbarians in the first canoe had been wiped out, their blood slowly staining the sea red as their bodies floated lifelessly in the water.

The smooth start calmed Chen Shouyi’s nerves somewhat, easing his tension. Seeing that the second canoe was still over a hundred meters away, he quickly stepped forward and pulled the arrow from the first barbarian’s skull.

There were twenty-three barbarians in total, but he only had twenty arrows. One extra arrow meant one less danger.

Yet just as he placed the retrieved arrow back into his quiver, a sharp short spear shot toward him like lightning across the water.

A warning flashed in Chen Shouyi’s mind, and a fierce gust of wind grazed past his face, stinging his skin. His scalp prickled with alarm.

At that moment, he could almost feel Death’s icy breath on his back.

Chen Shouyi hastily retreated while swiftly drawing another arrow and nocking it, aiming forward.

On a distant canoe, a tall and powerfully built barbarian stood straight at the bow, glaring at him with a savage expression.

"You! Die!"