51: Chapter 51 The Final Battle (Part 1)

"Loose arrows!"

Gao Feng's voice cut through the night wind of the valley, devoid of any emotion, yet seemingly imbued with the force of a thunderbolt.

It was like a key opening the gates of Hell, inserted into this death canyon known as "A Thread of Sky".

The archers of Panshi Stockade, who had long since pulled their bowstrings into full moons on the slopes on both sides of the canyon, released their fingers from the strings at that very instant!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!"

In an instant, hundreds of sharp hisses merged into one, transforming into a symphony of death.

The sound of arrows piercing the air grew deafening; the sharp whistling seemed capable of piercing eardrums and shaking one's Soul!

Hundreds of arrows, shimmering with a cold, eerie glint under the moonlight, broke free from the constraints of the bowstrings. As if possessed by bloodthirsty life, they turned into a sudden, lethal rain of steel from the pitch-black slopes, pouring down wildly upon the Dushan Stronghold bandits trapped in the narrow canyon, shoulder to shoulder with nowhere to run!

Geographical advantage!

This was the ultimate geographical advantage, a feast of death that Gao Feng had meticulously prepared for Bear Overlord and his eight hundred elites, betting all the future of Panshi Stockade on it!

The bandits trapped in the narrow canyon were packed together, shoulder to shoulder, their chaotic formation leaving them with absolutely no room to dodge.

They were like fish violently stuffed into a sardine can, becoming the perfect, helpless live targets beneath the dark cloud of steel and death overhead!

"Squelch!" "Squelch! Squelch!"

The sound of arrows tearing through crude leather armor and burrowing into warm flesh was as dense as a violent downpour suddenly descending on a midsummer afternoon, pounding fiercely against emerald banana leaves.

That sound should have been a natural melody, but now it carried a sickening stickiness and dullness, the final echo of lives being easily stripped away.

"Ah—!" "My eyes! I can't see, my eyes!" "Help! I've been hit! Help... urgh!"

As the first wave of arrows fell, screams, wails, and pleas for mercy instantly merged into one, completely turning this already eerie valley into a massive living Hell.

The bandits charging at the very front hadn't even seen where the enemy was before they were instantly shot into hedgehogs.

Their bodies bristling with arrows of various lengths, like ridiculous, moving targets, they stumbled forward two more steps out of inertia before collapsing with a crash, their faces filled with shock and confusion.

Their corpses piled up, layer upon layer, becoming an insurmountable barrier of flesh and blood for those following behind.

The bandits behind wanted to retreat, but discovered in horror that the path they had come from had been completely sealed off by raging fires and continuously rolling boulders!

Waves of scorching heat mixed with a pungent, burnt smell rushed toward them, searing their cheeks. That raging, impassable wall of fire was the color of despair, burning away all their hope of survival.

They wanted to charge forward, but their path was tightly blocked by their companions' corpses and the equally chaotic and frenzied crowd ahead!

To advance was death! To retreat was also death!

Panic, like an invisible plague, spread wildly in the hearts of every bandit in the enclosed canyon, moving faster than the arrows.

The fear of death robbed them of the ability to think, leaving only the primal instinct to survive.

"Raise shields! Raise your shields quickly! Everyone, raise your damn shields for me!"

A surviving minor leader roared at the top of his lungs, attempting to organize a shred of effective defense amidst this apocalyptic chaos.

Some bandits frantically raised the crude wooden shields in their hands that were enough to block stray arrows on the plains, or simply grabbed the still-twitching corpses of their companions beside them to use as meat shields, attempting to block the rain of death falling from the sky.

But this was of little use.

Every arrow from Panshi Stockade had been quenched in Spirit Spring water; they were incredibly sharp with astonishing penetrating power, enough to pierce ordinary wooden shields and leather armor.

And their archers, under more than a month of devilish training from Luo Qin, had archery skills that were no longer what they used to be.

Positioned high above, like calm hunters, they constantly changed their shooting angles, specifically targeting the weak points in the bandits' defenses, the gaps in their shields, and the most densely packed areas of the crowd.

Each wave of arrow rain claimed dozens of living lives.

Blood began to slowly pool on the canyon floor, at first a trickle, but soon accumulating into puddles.

Stepping on it produced a "squelch, squelch" sound, as if stepping on a huge carpet made of a mixture of blood and mud.

The thick smell of blood mixed with the scent of dust rushed into their nostrils, making one want to retch.

"Bastards! Bastards!!!"

Bear Overlord, tightly protected by his personal guards in the middle of the crowd, watched as his men were ruthlessly harvested wave after wave like wheat in a field after autumn. His eyes split with rage, and he let out roars of extreme fury!

He brandished the massive mountain-cleaving giant axe in his hand, spinning it into an impenetrable black whirlwind, hacking away and smashing all the arrows shot toward him.

Those arrows, striking his body, could only produce a series of metallic clangs, not even scratching his thick skin, which was comparable to a Yao Beast.

But he could not save the others around him.

His proud, terrifying Fourth-Stage strength, capable of splitting mountains and shattering stones, appeared so pale and powerless at this moment, in this terrain where his performance was completely restricted.

He possessed heaven-destroying, earth-shattering power, yet he couldn't even see the face of a single enemy!

This feeling of being stifled to the bone almost made him go mad on the spot, his blood and Qi surging in reverse!

"You brats of Panshi Stockade! If you have guts, get down here! Fight me fair and square!"

He roared at the sky, his voice filled with unwillingness and madness.

He tried to use this method to provoke the enemies on the slope, letting them rush down to engage in melee combat with him, entering the Domain he was most skilled in.

However, the only response he received, besides a new, even denser rain of arrows, was a series of shouts from the slope, capable of destroying their last bit of morale!

"Brothers down the mountain, listen! Our Stockade Master only wants Bear Overlord to pay with his life! Surrender now, drop your weapons, and lie on the ground, and you can live!"

These shouts, like a thunderclap, exploded in the ears of every bandit still struggling to survive, making their already panicked hearts waver even more.

And this was just the beginning.

Immediately after, even more vicious and targeted voices followed!

"Heroes of Third-in-Command Du Wei! We are allies! Quickly find a place to hide! Once we kill Bear Overlord and Nie Kong, you will be the great heroes of Panshi Stockade!"

"Big Brother Du Wei! Act according to the plan! We won't touch your brothers! Quickly tell your trusted men to stand aside!"

These shouts, like steel needles quenched in deadly poison, carried cold malice and stabbed fiercely into the already fragile trust among the Dushan Stronghold bandits!