Chapter 66: The Unbreakable Resolve

“You can block tens of thousands of arrows head-on, but what about now? Let’s see if you have time to halt your advance!”

As You’s cold command rang out, the archers expertly unleashed a volley.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Undeniably, Wang felt the rush of air behind her. She didn’t need to turn to comprehend the imminent danger.

A complete turn was no longer an option, so she abruptly pitched her body forward.

Wang thrust an elbow out, bracing herself on the ground as she executed a swift side roll, then planted a foot to regain her balance.

After the ninety-degree pivot, her body halted, presenting its side to the incoming arrows. Her free hand deftly spun her longsword, unleashing a flurry of dense sword light by her side.

One side had prepared meticulously, while the other was forced into a frantic defense.

Despite the stark contrast in readiness, this sudden volley of arrows remained utterly unsuccessful.

Not a single arrow found its mark on Wang’s body. Each sharp, metallic projectile was deflected by her blade, a sword dance performed with skill bordering on the divine.

“Tch, she evaded it again… But how much longer can you keep up that defense?”

If Wang continued to raise her sword, relying on the safest methods to fend off the arrows, she would undoubtedly squander precious time needed to return.

Conversely, if she abandoned her sword, she could race back at maximum speed, yet her chances of survival before reaching her destination would plummet dramatically.

Even the mightiest individual, one whose power rivaled the heavens, still possessed a mortal body, inherently fragile despite the immense strength it contained.

Wang’s ability to endure numerous direct assaults without a scratch previously wasn’t due to an impenetrable physique, but simply the effect of coating her body in holy power.

Activating this holy power, however, required time—a commodity Wang desperately lacked in this moment.

‘It’s too late. It will be too late!’

The dragon’s roars from behind intensified, growing ever more savage, a clear sign that the situation at her destination was rapidly deteriorating.

The window of opportunity for Wang to intervene was shrinking, moment by agonizing moment.

Thus, from this instant forward, she would abandon that method of self-preservation.

This was precisely the outcome You desired, yet Wang’s decision was born purely from her own resolute will.

Her still-sharp longsword was then lifted, its hilt gripped firmly by her conjoined fingers.

With the hilt pointing up and the blade facing down, it was the most expedient way to carry her weapon.

Wang abandoned her defensive stance, turning her back to the enemy once more and surging forward. This time, she would not look back.

‘What was a mere brush with death?’

A person willing to stake their very life, once truly committed, would never be swayed by such minor considerations.

Her slender silhouette, elongated by the sunlight, appeared impossibly grand in the eyes of the distant soldiers.

In that moment, the demon leader seemed like a titan forged from light itself.

She ran as if traversing an empty expanse, her retreating figure a silent taunt to the numerous forces behind her, as if declaring:

“My life lies before you. Come and claim it, if you dare!”

Almost every soldier believed this was their prime opportunity to end her life.

Yet, despite their thoughts, the soldiers and commanders largely remained motionless. They simply dared not act.

They were like a pack of hyenas gazing at a tiger’s retreating back, constantly baring their fangs yet never daring to reveal true predatory intent. They remained rooted to the spot, not even daring to lift a paw.

A hundred thousand strong army stood as if petrified, paralyzed by the mere sight of one individual’s back, none daring to draw their bows or loose an arrow.

A suffocating sensation, as if all the air had been sucked from the battlefield, gripped the kingdom’s soldiers, leaving them breathless and afraid to even exhale.

The longer they endured this oppressive atmosphere, the more the three Legion Commanders felt their own throats constricting, as if clutched by an unseen hand, a growing ache accompanying every swallow.

Even You, whose murderous intent was the most palpable, found himself speechless under the crushing pressure. Issuing a simple command felt impossible.

Realizing this paralysis wouldn’t suffice, You snatched a knife from a nearby comrade and plunged the blade into his own thigh.

*Thud!*

You had only shallowly pricked his thigh, yet the sharp jolt of pain was enough to finally subdue his primal fear.

Though You remained mute, his right hand shot up, fingers clenched tightly into a fist, signaling the order to fire.

The standard-bearer, witnessing their commander’s desperate act, immediately began waving the flag in their hand.

The soldiers glanced back. Seeing the new command delivered, they knew that any further hesitation in loosing their arrows would result in their immediate execution as deserters.

Under the looming threat of a different kind of death, the emboldened soldiers, their fingers trembling at the base, reluctantly nocked their arrows onto their bowstrings.

This cacophony, multiplied by thousands, reached Wang’s ears as she sprinted ahead, making her acutely aware of the impending onslaught.

*Snap! Snap! Snap!*

Over ten thousand bowstrings snapped in unison.

The elite archers, overwhelmed by extreme tension, had accidentally snapped their bowstrings—every single one of them, simultaneously!

The atmosphere on the battlefield had been utterly agonizing. Merely standing there for ten minutes had made the soldiers feel as if they had aged a decade.

Nevertheless, they collectively exhaled a sigh of relief. The arrows, though released from snapped strings, had still launched in a mass volley, now a deadly rain descending upon their target’s head.

As Wang continued her retreat, a current of worry for her family coursed through her, yet her mind remained remarkably calm.

Even as the exaggerated phrase “ten thousand arrows unleashed” became a terrifying reality, the person directly beneath the lethal threat showed not a flicker of concern on her face.

Wang’s thoughts were lucid.

‘While tens of thousands of arrows might blanket one entire side of the battlefield, it doesn’t guarantee they will reach my precise location.’

‘During earlier skirmishes, I had meticulously observed something crucial.’

‘The effective killing range of these arrows is approximately five hundred paces, or roughly one hundred and fifty meters.’

‘While those cowards squandered precious time, I used my full-speed sprint to extend the distance between myself and the enemy formation to about a hundred meters.’

‘The arrows themselves also require time to travel, and that brief interval was enough for my legs to cover another thirty meters.’

‘This, then, implies:’

‘These ordinary arrows, devoid of magic or tracking capabilities, could at most threaten me for another twenty meters.’

‘Naturally, even this relatively short distance, when covered by an unbroken rain of arrows, would be enough to fell countless others.’

‘If any of the Legion Commanders were to swap places with me, they would be riddled with arrows like a hedgehog, even if the distance were only ten meters, let alone twenty.’

Wang’s internal resolve was intensely pragmatic: she would not avoid a single arrow.

‘Not that she couldn’t, but that she wouldn’t!’

The instant she had resolved to turn back, she had already cast aside all thoughts of life and death.

Now, at this critical juncture, why would she deviate from her initial resolve? To spare herself, only to put her family at greater risk?

Wang had calculated that precise distance in her mind for one reason alone: to gauge just how much faster she needed to run.

By this point, Wang had already pushed her speed to its absolute maximum.

Even the thousands of arrows pursuing her, forming a relentless rain, found only their foremost ranks barely entering their effective killing range.

*Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!*

Only three arrows proved fortunate enough to strike their target, not merely grazing her body, but truly finding purchase.

Wang’s arm, thigh, and shoulder each absorbed an arrow in that fleeting moment.

No living being could possibly remain unscathed.

Confronted by an arrow storm capable of felling a thousand, Wang sustained only superficial wounds, and her momentum faltered for merely a split second.

This outcome was enough to leave the soldiers wide-eyed in disbelief, and to irrevocably plunge the hearts of the three Legion Commanders into an abyss of terror!

Those were the final wounds she would suffer, for the soldiers, their bowstrings snapped, had no further opportunity to loose arrows.

For Wang:

‘She had won!’

‘She was drawing ever closer to the place that occupied her every thought!’

The blood flowing from her wounds trailed a long, crimson path on the ground, appearing even longer than the distance she had traversed.

You had miscalculated once more.

It wasn’t his first error in judgment, but this one brought with it a profound sense of regret.

The most opportune moment to eliminate their formidable enemy had just slipped through their grasp.

Once Wang successfully rescued those behind her and inevitably turned back to retaliate, an immense disaster would befall them all.

Facing the impending slaughter, the three Legion Commanders felt an even greater terror than You.

Their faces, too, had turned ashen with boundless regret, as they agonized over why they hadn’t withdrawn in time.

When Dibiles’s army had retreated, these three had inwardly scorned that Legion Commander, harboring resentment for such ‘cowardly, useless wretches’ lacking courage.

‘And the result?’

This brutal, fruitless war had only served to prove that Legion Commander’s wisdom.

In stark contrast, the three who remained on the battlefield now appeared adorably foolish.

Not only had they missed the most suitable opportunity to leave, but they had also been manipulated by You, used as his pawns.

The soldiers they had brought from their own nations were all forced into thankless, arduous tasks, suffering heavy casualties in multiple instances of infighting.

This was enough. The three had endured enough of being exploited. As a spirit of defiance blossomed within them, they reached a silent, unspoken consensus.

They would channel their fear of the demon leader, and their anguish over their heavy losses, into a furious rage directed at You!

It wasn’t just the commanders; even the foreign soldiers, now recovering from their panic, believed You was the root of all their tragedy.

‘If not for his reckless commands, how could the army have suffered such devastating losses?’

‘If not for his misguided suggestions, how would our brothers have died?’

Hundreds, thousands of such sentiments surged forth, intertwining with the commanders’ fury, threatening to ignite a veritable inferno within the united army.

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