Lu Fang kept a close eye on Li Man'er's actions. Seeing her shoot arrow after arrow, he narrowed his eyes and began searching in the distance.
He had witnessed Li Man'er's archery skills; it was impossible for her to miss. But why hadn't he seen anyone hit by an arrow?
Lu Fang searched around and finally noticed something amiss. Only the right-hand trebuchet of the barbarians was continuously launching projectiles, while the left one seemed to have misfired, remaining silent for a long time.
He carefully observed the direction Li Man'er was shooting, then looked at the trebuchet. The distance between them was at least four hundred meters, nearly five hundred. Yet, Li Man'er's arrows could accurately hit the trebuchet operators, demonstrating her precision.
Five hundred meters!
Lu Fang knew he couldn't achieve that, and even Yang Yitian likely couldn't. He hadn't expected that Li Man'er had held back some of her strength during their previous archery contest.
While Lu Fang was lost in thought, an arrow flew towards him. Fortunately, the man accompanying Lu Fang was loyal and pushed him aside. Lu Fang stumbled sideways, and the arrow grazed his arm.
Blood was drawn. If the arrow had been poisoned, it could have been fatal.
"General."
"I'm fine." Lu Fang lowered himself, casually tore a strip of cloth from the hem of his robe, and wrapped it around his arm as a makeshift bandage.
Lu Fang was a tough man. Despite being wounded, he was not affected. Seizing an opportune moment, he suddenly stood up and, with his saber, charged at the barbarians climbing onto the battlement.
"General, the barbarians are increasing in number, it's like they're endless."
"Endless or not, we have to kill them."
Both sides were locked in a bloody battle. The ghost archer who had hunted the Zun Kingdom soldiers last time had reappeared. This time, he seemed to be targeting Li Man'er specifically. He had remained inactive until he noticed Li Man'er targeting the trebuchet operators, and then his arrows began to fly towards her.
Li Man'er's sense of danger was top-notch. No matter how fast an arrow was, could it be faster than a bullet? She could dodge bullets, so she wasn't afraid of his cold arrows.
However, one couldn't always guard against an assassin. While that person couldn't kill her, he posed a significant threat and needed to be eliminated.
The most sophisticated hunters often appear in the guise of prey. He thought Li Man'er was cornered, but didn't Li Man'er see him as a meal?
They exchanged blows, shooting at each other for ten arrows, but unfortunately, neither managed to wound the other.
It seemed a bit of cunning was needed.
Li Man'er thought for a moment, then drew three arrows from her quiver. She crouched and sprinted across the city wall. Her movements were swift, but she also revealed her position. A'si wanted to follow, but a few arrows conveniently flew towards him. A'si could only swing his staff to block the arrows, missing the best timing.
In battle, hesitation was the greatest taboo. Since the best moment had passed, it was better to focus on killing enemies and avoid being too distracted, lest one lose their life, which would be truly tragic.
Li Man'er was relieved that A'si hadn't followed.
What she was about to do was risky, but she had a way to dodge the opponent's arrows. If A'si had followed, he might have been hit, which was something she didn't want to see.
Li Man'er knew that in the darkness not far away, a pair of eyes were fixed on her. The opponent was an experienced hand, and any slight misstep would lead to her death.
Li Man'er took a deep breath and suddenly poked her head out. Sure enough, an arrow shot from afar, sharp and fierce. The arrow, like the fangs of a wild beast, spun at high speed towards Li Man'er.
Li Man'er thus discovered the opponent's position. The three arrows she had prepared earlier were simultaneously nocked, her bow drawn like a crescent moon. With a *whoosh*, three arrows were loosed together, all aimed at the same direction but from three different angles.
The opponent's arrow arrived. Li Man'er rolled on the ground and shot again.
However, the opponent was not so lucky. Li Man'er had shot three arrows, two of which hit him. What was more infuriating was that Li Man'er's arrows were poisoned. While not fatal, they could paralyze the nerves, impairing motor function. Trying to draw a bow again would be a lifetime's endeavor!
"General, are you alright?" Zhang Jingfeng had appeared beside Li Man'er at some point. Seeing that she hadn't moved for a while, he thought she was injured.
"I'm fine. How is the North Gate?"
Because of Zhang Jingfeng's agility, Li Man'er had asked him to constantly monitor the situation at the North Gate to avoid falling into a barbarian trap.
"Temporarily safe."
The North Gate's geographical location was between the new and old cities. The possibility of a large-scale barbarian invasion was very low. However, infiltration by small groups still existed. If it were a small enemy raid, they would certainly not carry large offensive weapons, and their personnel and equipment would be kept to a minimum.
Poor equipment and few men, how could they attack the city?
Li Man'er did not think so. There were countless examples of small units achieving victory against superior numbers. There were always more skilled people, and what if they encountered acquaintances? One had to be cautious.
"Third Master Li sends his regards and asks if the General requires reinforcements."
Just as he was speaking, the enemy's trebuchet seemed to have eyes. A massive stone hurtled towards their section of the city wall.
"Get out of the way!"
Li Man'er shouted and grabbed Zhang Jingfeng's collar, rolling to the side. Those who reacted quickly scattered to escape, while those who were slower suffered unfortunate fates, being directly struck by the stone and mangled.
As the dust settled, Li Man'er finally saw the situation on the city wall.
A large breach had been made by the impact, and barbarians were climbing over the gap onto the wall.
This was unbearable.
Li Man'er leaped up, grabbed a saber, and charged forward with a roar. She seemed unaware of fatigue or danger, her saber flashing, cutting down the two barbarians who had climbed up first.
Zhang Jingfeng also got up from the ground. Watching Li Man'er's charge, he felt his own body fill with energy. He picked up a nearby weapon and charged forward without hesitation.
Just moments ago, Li Man'er had saved his life. If she hadn't acted quickly, his own life would have been forfeit here.
The breach created by the stone was vast, and barbarians continued to climb over. A'si and others also came to help, and chaos erupted on the city wall.
At this moment, the enemy's war drums began to beat, and the deep sound of the horns spread throughout every corner.
Li Man'er's heart sank. This was the signal for the enemy's general assault. It seemed their commander was adept at seizing opportunities.
This was like the final bayonet charge, a battle of morale.
Li Man'er roared, "Sons of Zun Kingdom, follow me to kill the enemy! Charge out of the city!"
Only by charging out could they relieve the pressure on the city gate.