Chapter 42 : Personal Scoreboard
“No way…”
Jie Yuanshao’s fingers dug into the wall as she watched the scene, but she stared blankly at the little ferocious lizard collapsing in the distance.
“How is this possible…”
As the little ferocious lizards kept approaching, the wooden crossbows began to unleash their power, firing every three seconds. By the time the lizards got close to the outer wall, their numbers had already been reduced by a third, with no reinforcements arriving, and the six crossbows continued to chip away at them as they attacked.
“Demons killed by the crossbows… they don’t resurrect?”
Shang Xinlei murmured softly, her voice filled with astonishment. She abruptly turned to Jiang Shi: “You knew this?”
Jie Yuanshao also looked over; the two top noble heirs of the Liang Kingdom fixed heated gazes on Jiang Shi, the black-belt guard. Qian Gongyu noticed their expressions. This was clearly a chance to get closer, but for some reason, a deep sense of… worry welled up inside her.
“I didn’t know.” Jiang Shi’s face remained calm. “It’s my first time coming to Mansu Forest.”
Jie Yuanshao opened her mouth, clearly with countless questions, but she held back and continued watching the battle unfold through the window. Qian Gongyu quietly approached Jiang Shi, nibbling her lower lip, her face etched with concern, unsure what she could do.
“Miss.”
Jiang Shi reached out and gently ruffled Qian Gongyu’s hair.
“Don’t worry.”
Roar—!!!
With a deafening roar, the giant ferocious lizard demon in the distance started moving toward the stone hut! By now, the wall had lost half its structure. Though the crossbows were efficient, dozens of little ferocious lizards were still attacking the wall.
Jiang Shi suddenly spoke up: “You must help. At this rate, the wall will collapse, and the lizard demon will enter the courtyard and destroy the crossbows. Then we’ll lose any chance of killing it.”
“But how can we help?” Shang Xinlei asked. “The demons we kill will resurrect.”
“How long until they resurrect?” Jiang Shi asked.
Jie Yuanshao immediately replied, “According to my family’s records, it takes about ten breaths.”
“Go out and kill all the little ferocious lizards attacking the wall,” Jiang Shi commanded. “Don’t let them damage it—buy the crossbows time to kill the big lizard demon.”
“You’re not going?” Shang Xinlei sounded surprised.
“I’m not a messenger yet.”
Not yet.
What a bold claim—it sounded as if she could become a Messenger anytime if she chose to.
Yet strangely, none of the three present suspected her of lying. Even more strangely, although Jiang Shi was the weakest, all three messengers obeyed her direction.
After leaving the stone hut, the roars of the little lizards grew louder and fiercer, but still within bearable limits. Jie Yuanshao and the others were unsurprised—according to previous records, the mental pressure from demon waves builds gradually; it was tolerable at first, but after an hour even a second-stage Messenger would struggle.
Qian Gongyu, trembling with fear, stepped behind the wall. She watched a little lizard attack the wall repeatedly, then flicked her finger at the perfect moment, neatly splitting its skull.
Unlike the crossbow kills, the lizard’s exploding skull didn’t spatter blood, and the corpse vanished instantly. After ten breaths, a brand-new little lizard appeared in the same spot, resuming its assault on the wall.
Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao were undoubtedly more efficient: Shang Xinlei used a pair of flying rings, spinning like boomerangs among the lizards—she could kill three or four in one breath. Jie Yuanshao wielded a longsword, launching sword qi in midair; her kill rate matched Shang Xinlei’s.
Thanks to their efforts, the little lizards outside the wall were wiped out, and all six crossbows focused on the big lizard demon within range, firing at once!
“Whoa—!!”
The demon let out a wailing shriek. Arrows pierced its body, blood gushing from the wounds—it was severely wounded. But it moved faster, and after the second volley from the crossbows, it smashed into the wall like a bulldozer. What remained of the half wall shattered, half of it collapsing instantly!
“Keep suppressing the little lizards,” Jiang Shi ordered from the gate. “The wall can still hold—they can’t strike this hard every time.”
Indeed, although the big lizard demon’s next attack was still fierce, it wasn’t as horrifying as the first. Yet the wall continued crumbling at an alarming speed. Seeing the wall on the verge of collapse, Jiang Shi stepped aside, ready to let them escape back into the stone hut to seek shelter.
Just then, the fourth volley of crossbow bolts struck, turning the ferocious lizard demon into a bloody pincushion.
The demon let out a miserable cry, but this time, it could no longer make a fierce charge—it collapsed to the ground and turned into a massive corpse.
Seeing this, Jiang Shi immediately blocked the door: “Quick, protect the crossbows! Don’t let the little ferocious lizards destroy them!”
Even though they knew Jiang Shi was right, even Qian Gongyu couldn’t help but feel a hint of resentment.
Once all the demons had been shot down by the crossbows, the girls stood amid the demon corpses in the courtyard.
Looking around in silence, Jie Yuanshao hesitantly asked, “Is it… over?”
“It’s over,” Jiang Shi said. “The next wave will arrive in two quarter-hours.”
“So everyone, it’s time to go out and gather resources.”
...
...
Luo Weijin fled out of the thick mist, his face full of panic, stumbling and crawling.
Only when he saw the elderly guards waiting at the entrance did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Like him, many noble children exited the Mansu Woodland—after all, many came here just to get by.
Surviving the first demon wave was already considered passing; it was enough to report back to their families.
Once Luo Weijin calmed down, the first thing he did was search for the two girls from the Qian Family.
After looking around and finding no sign of them, he sneered, “They just got lucky…”
“Come quick! Look at this!”
“What’s going on? Why are the scores so high?”
“Is there something wrong with the secret realm?”
“I get it—it must be that the Shang and Jie families uncovered the secret of the Mansu Woodland!”
“That must be it! That’s why those two noble ladies came to the woodland—it makes sense now!”
“But why is Lady Jie’s score so low…?”
Amid the rising voices of discussion nearby, Luo Weijin curiously approached and saw that everyone was looking at the scoreboard.
Everyone who entered the Mansu Woodland had their names appear on the Personal Scoreboard, and teammates were listed together.
Luo Weijin first saw his own score: 5 points.
Most people had the same score as Luo Weijin, since surviving the first wave earned 5 points.
Theoretically, 5 should be the highest score on the board at this stage, because increasing points required surviving the second wave.
However, among the sea of 5-point entries, the four names at the top of the scoreboard shone like the blazing sun, too bright for anyone to stare directly.
Luo Weijin rubbed his eyes multiple times and checked the list repeatedly before finally failing to suppress his emotions: “How can the scores be that high?!”
“Jiang Shi: 256 points”
“Qian Gongyu: 190 points”
“Shang Xinlei: 180 points”
“Jie Yuanshao: 50 points”