Chapter 57: Bluffing

Chapter 57: Bluffing

Rumors tend to amplify and distort as they spread.

Chen Shouyi had no idea how the barbarians who escaped last time had portrayed and exaggerated his terror upon their return.

By the time he charged forward, he found that aside from a mere five individuals who remained behind, mustering the courage to fight, the rest of the barbarians had already fled in terror into the forest, their spirits utterly shattered.

There was no point in chasing those who had already run. Chen Shouyi slowed his pace deliberately, transitioning from a sprint to a jog, and finally to a steady walk. His initially labored breathing from the sudden burst of speed gradually evened out.

In contrast, the barbarians across from him grew increasingly breathless.

The five barbarians gripped their spears, forming a semicircular formation. This might have been an effective defensive tactic against powerful beasts, but against Chen Shouyi, who wielded a bow and could attack from a distance, it was practically suicide.

Once he entered within a hundred meters, he swiftly drew an arrow and slowly pulled back the bowstring.

At seventy meters, he released the string, and the arrow shot forth like lightning.

A moment later, one of the barbarians let out a muffled groan, clutching his pierced chest before collapsing to the ground.

What followed was nothing short of a massacre.

He fired arrow after arrow in a steady, rapid rhythm.

Some barbarians attempted to charge at him, only to crumple to the ground with arrows piercing their skulls. Others tried to flee but were no match for the arrows that pursued them like vengeful spirits. The only slight threat came from a spear hurled by one of the barbarians in his dying moments.

Yet, Chen Shouyi didn’t even flinch. The spear embedded itself in the sand more than ten meters away from him.

These spears weren’t the short, throwable kind, and the barbarian lacked the sheer strength of the late Tribe Chief. Each spear was nearly three meters long, heavy and unwieldy—designed for fending off beasts, not for throwing any significant distance.

Within seconds, all five barbarians lay dead on the ground.

As he walked over to retrieve the arrows embedded in their corpses, the wind began to stir.

At first, it was a gentle breeze, but it quickly escalated into a fierce gale. The branches of the nearby forest swayed violently, leaves rustling loudly.

Simultaneously, an overwhelming, oppressive aura began to permeate the air.

Sensing the ominous shift, Chen Shouyi immediately stood up.

Only then did he notice that the surroundings had grown dark and gloomy without warning.

There were no clouds overhead—the sun still hung high in the sky—yet the light passing through the area seemed dimmer, as if weakened.

"Giant, let’s go back!" Shell Woman’s voice trembled as she shivered uncontrollably.

Chen Shouyi remained silent, his expression grave. His heart pounded with fear as he quickly retreated several steps along the beach.

He realized that the "sacred tree" was far more formidable than he had imagined. Its mere presence exuded an aura so overwhelming that he couldn’t muster even a shred of resistance.

Soon, his feet were submerged in seawater, ready to flee into the ocean at the first sign of danger.

Having grown up in the watery countryside of Jiangnan, he was naturally adept at swimming.

Even if the "sacred tree" pursued him, he could easily escape.

After all, trees couldn’t swim, could they?

Then, he keenly observed something: the closer he moved to the sea, the brighter the light seemed to grow, and the oppressive feeling weakened slightly.

Perhaps realizing that this intimidation tactic wasn’t working,

The fierce wind soon gradually subsided, and the light quickly returned to normal. Everything became calm and peaceful, as if nothing had just happened.

Chen Shouyi stood tensely by the shore for a long time, only relaxing when no further disturbances occurred. The aura earlier had been terrifying—it felt like facing an enraged primordial beast, filling him with intense dread. Yet, he found it strange that the display had been all bark and no bite, almost as if it were mere bluster.

...

The Tree God was deeply agitated.

In recent days, its followers had been rapidly dwindling. In just a few days, nearly a tenth of its worshippers had vanished. A full tenth! Since the barbarian tribe first began worshipping it and it gradually gained sentience, it had never suffered such a massive loss.

Yet, it could do nothing against the invader.

It was not an animal but a tree—an exceptionally massive one. Its enormous size and tremendous weight made movement impossible.

Though it had grown increasingly powerful since gaining divinity—its trunk hardening, its Perception expanding until it covered the entire island—it still had limitations. It had developed supernatural abilities, such as altering the climate within a certain range, ensuring favorable weather and mitigating natural disasters. It even possessed some foresight into fortune and misfortune.

Through the barbarians' faith, it had formed a rudimentary faith domain, driving away the eerie natural spirits. These abilities had allowed the barbarian tribe to flourish rapidly. In just over a century, the once-struggling tribe of barely a hundred had grown into a large community of over three hundred.

Yet, against a formidable enemy, these powers were useless. At best, it could only attempt intimidation—and when that failed, it was left helpless.

...

Beneath the great tree, a crowd of barbarians knelt in fear, trembling at the Tree God's sudden wrath. Some children and women were so terrified they wet themselves, wailing loudly.

The elderly Old Shaman lay prostrate on the ground, communicating reverently with the Tree God. Suddenly, his mind grew hazy, slipping into a half-awake state. Before long, he jolted back to awareness, shakily rising to his feet with a mournful cry:

"The evil one has come. Stay away from the sea."

...

As the saying goes, both sides fear each other.

Chen Shouyi watched warily for a long while before finally easing his guard slightly, though his wariness toward the forest only deepened. He retrieved his arrows from the corpses and returned them to his quiver.

Then, as he continued along the coast, he kept a sharp eye on the forest for any signs of movement. But after that single outburst, no further disturbances came—no barbarian attacks, no anomalies. Gradually, his tension eased, and he quickened his pace.

On the other side of the island, he found two more canoes still fishing in the shallows. After circling the island once more, he found no others—likely, these were all the canoes the barbarian tribe possessed.

Once he spotted his targets, he wasted no time pushing the canoes back into the sea.

As the island grew distant, Chen Shouyi finally let out a deep sigh of relief, his entire body relaxing at last.

The previous pressure had been overwhelming, and several times he had nearly succumbed to the urge to flee. Fortunately, in the end, he emerged unscathed despite the close calls.

In the following hours, Chen Shouyi attempted to ambush the two canoes as he had done the day before. Unfortunately, the two vessels were too close together. When the other canoe sensed danger, it immediately began to flee, leaving him with only one successful strike.

He gave chase for a while, but being alone against two barbarians in the other canoe, he was far outpaced.

To make matters worse, the barbarians didn’t retreat toward the island but instead sailed further out to the open sea.

Left with no choice, Chen Shouyi could only watch helplessly as they escaped, his mission left incomplete.