Chapter 4: Frantic Flight (Part 2)

The three Rune Warriors rushed forward without hesitation, but it was obvious they were already exhausted.
Roar!
Guo Shieru shouted, “Scatter and run!”
The three Rune Warriors immediately separated, spacing themselves dozens of meters apart, and rushed out of the forest. Soon, they saw a wandering wildman chasing those who were scattering in all directions, as well as a group of Rune Warriors pursuing the wildman.
The wandering wildman seemed to know that the Rune Warriors chasing him were not easy to deal with, so instead of fighting back, he focused on chasing the weaker humans. Unfortunately, he targeted Guo Shieru and the others who had just rushed out of the forest—there were five children, and eating children was the wildman’s favorite.
Any wildman would go mad at the sight of human children, but Guo Shieru was unaware of this. When he saw the wildman give up chasing the others and head straight for him, he cursed in surprise, “Damn it… Does this wildman hate me? Don’t stop! Charge at him!”
It was absolutely impossible to turn around and run at this point, as the wandering wildman was extremely fast. The Rune Warrior carrying Guo Shieru was already near exhaustion, and turning back would mean certain death.
Guo Shieru steadied his mind. He had no intention of using a one-time-use rune, as such things could only injure the wildman’s skin and would only anger it further. He didn’t want to provoke an adult wandering wildman. Instead, he planned to use the precious rune on his left wrist to attack once. The power of that rune was sufficient to hurt the wildman, and with a precise strike, it might even deal serious damage.
The Rune Warrior carrying Guo Shieru was drenched in sweat. He wasn’t afraid of death, but he couldn’t afford any accidents with the child on his back, so he was extremely nervous.
Guo Shieru whispered in his ear, “Uncle, charge at the wildman. When I shout to dodge, make sure to run to the side.”
The Rune Warrior wondered why the child wasn’t afraid. But at this point, he didn’t have much to think about and replied, “Shieru, be careful. Just don’t lose your life here!”
Guo Shieru said, “Stay focused. I’m ready!” He began to channel the power of the runes and activate the precious rune using its sigil. He activated the single-target attack rune, Ice Arrow, which could fire an ice arrow two feet long. Its power was immense, as it was a rune crafted by Luo Jie himself.
Guo Shieru had no other choice but to fire the Ice Arrow head-on—this gave him the best chance. And with only one attempt, he might have to take a risk.

By Luo Jie’s estimate, Guo Shier could barely activate the talisman once, but he didn’t know that Guo Shier had a powerful soul. Even Guo Shier thought he could only activate the talisman once, so he was extremely cautious.
“Don’t die! Get out of the way!”
“Hey! Dodge quickly!”
“Is there any sorcerer? Send an attack talisman… to drive away that beast!”
The squad of talisman warriors chasing the wildman were shocked and panicked, shouting loudly. They saw a talisman warrior carrying a child charging straight at the roaming wildman. At that moment, a bright glow appeared, and a two-foot-long arrow appeared in the child’s hands.
About thirty meters away from the wildman, Guo Shier shouted, “Dodge!” The ice arrow in his hands was shot out instantly, whizzing toward the wildman.
Since Guo Shier wasn’t very confident in controlling the talisman, he didn’t dare aim at weak points like the wildman’s eyes or neck, fearing he might miss. Instead, he aimed at the wildman’s chest and abdomen—larger areas that were easier to hit and also made the wildman less cautious. Sure enough, the wildman didn’t dodge at all, ignoring the incoming ice arrow completely.
Fortunately for Guo Shier, the ice arrow hit its target on the first attempt.
The wildman moved quickly. Just a few steps later, the ice arrow struck his lower abdomen. He initially didn’t care, thinking that with his thick skin, even ordinary talisman bows could hardly hurt him, let alone a small ice arrow. But when the arrow hit his abdomen, intense pain spread, forcing him to cry out in agony as he staggered.
The ice arrow was almost completely embedded in his abdomen, with only its tail remaining outside.
Taking advantage of this pause, the talisman warrior carrying Guo Shier darted past the wildman from less than ten meters away. As they passed each other, Guo Shier softly commanded, “Explose!” A talisman seal was cast, causing the ice arrow stuck in the wildman’s abdomen to explode suddenly. This was the true power of the ice arrow.
The wildman stared in disbelief at his abdomen, unable to understand how a child could create such a powerful attack. A large hole had formed in his abdomen, and another huge hole appeared in his lower back, with flesh and internal organs flying everywhere. Feeling his endless strength fading, he let out a painful roar before collapsing to the ground.
One arrow had severely wounded the wildman.
This was definitely not the work of an apprentice—it was a talisman attack only a sorcerer could perform, even more powerful than that of a sorcerer warrior. The squad chasing the wildman was stunned for a moment, and someone shouted, “Great!”

The pursuing rune warriors swarmed forward. The wildman suddenly sprang up from the ground, threw himself at the first rune warrior to reach him, and bit down with his mouth wide open. A rune warrior coming from the side shouted loudly and kicked the wildman hard on the side of his head; with a crack, the huge head was knocked aside. The wildman bit down hard on the ground with his open mouth, chewing up mud.

The rune warrior who had been knocked down felt a chill in his neck and immediately broke into a sweat, shouting, “Save me!”

Another rune warrior, wielding a thick short spear, leaped forward, concentrating all his strength into it. The runes on the spear immediately began to glow. Shouting loudly, he thrust the spear deep into the wildman’s back. This strike made the wildman release the rune warrior he had been attacking, and he roared wildly as he threw his head back.

Another rune warrior grabbed the person who was pinned down and pulled him free from under the wildman, shouting.

Ha!

A blue flash of light appeared, and the wildman’s head was severed.

By the time the severely wounded wildman fell to his knees, the rune warrior carrying Guo Shier was exhausted. He had rushed about fifty meters away from the wildman, his steps unsteady. A rune warrior quickly ran over, supported him, and said, “It’s okay! Put the child down.”

Guo Shier also said, “Uncle, take a rest.” Although the previous attack had drained the power of the runes in his body, he felt a sudden surge in the fluctuations within his soul, and the lost power was replenished almost instantly. This meant he could activate the precious rune again. This discovery filled him with great joy.

Guo Shier fired ice arrows, which were seen by all the rune warriors present. They admired this child who could activate such a powerful rune. If it weren’t for the wildman’s severe injuries, their team would have suffered casualties, so they were all very grateful to Guo Shier.

The rune warrior who had severed the wildman’s head threw the head at Guo Shier and said, “This is your achievement. You’re truly remarkable, kid! Have your followers take it to complete the mission!”

The rune warrior carrying Guo Shier grabbed the wildman’s head and said, “Thanks, brother!”

The man waved his hand and said, “You’re welcome. If not for him, some of our team might have been hurt. It’s me who should thank you!”

“We can’t stay here. Let’s get into the city quickly. There are more wildmen behind us. Go! Go!”

Anxious, Guo Shier asked, “Uncle, can we still go?”

“Go! I can still walk!”

The talisman warrior carrying Guo Shier also realized the severity of the situation. Though exhausted, he could still walk and pulled Guo Shier toward the city gates. Huo Bao and the others had also gotten up and rushed toward Guo Shier excitedly. Guo Shier shouted anxiously, “Run to the city gates! Run to the city gates!”
This was a critical moment; as long as they could enter the city quickly, there would be no danger. If they lingered outside, and if two more wildlings appeared, then none of them would be able to escape. While shouting, Guo Shier kept running frantically toward the city gates. He too had used secret talismans to strengthen his body, so his legs were strong. Although his steps were small, he moved quickly.
There were still seven or eight hundred meters, nearly a kilometer, left to the city gates. Guo Shier was out of breath as he neared the goal when he suddenly heard continuous roars behind him. He glanced back while running and couldn’t help but gasp in shock—his hair stood on end. With just a quick glance, he saw no fewer than three wildlings rushing out of the woods, with more seemingly following.
Run! Run fast!
Guo Shier wanted to run faster, but after all, he was just a nine-year-old child—desperate but lacking strength. Suddenly, an unfamiliar talisman warrior rushed over, grabbed him, and dashed straight for the city gates. In just over ten seconds, they reached the gates. At that moment, the gates were slowly closing. The man shouted, “Wait!”
Soon, Guo Shier and the others were inside the city, with the three talisman warriors also rushing in. Watching the gates close slowly, Guo Shier looked gloomy. He said, “Uncle Luo still hasn’t arrived? What should we do? Let’s go! Up the city walls!” He hurried toward the walls.
One of the talisman warriors blocked him, saying, “Go home quickly. You can’t go up there!”
Guo Shier replied, “Uncle, I’ll go up and see if I can help. Look… I’ve already killed one wildling.” The talisman warrior behind him raised his hand, showing a wildling head the size of a fist.
The man stared at Guo Shier in disbelief. Another talisman warrior beside him said, “That’s right. He’s the one who seriously injured that wildling. I saw it with my own eyes.”
The man’s attitude softened immediately. He said, “Alright, you may go up. But be careful—the wandering wildlings have extremely strong throwing skills. Stay alert.” Since this child could seriously injure an adult wildling, he certainly deserved to be on the city walls, so he stopped blocking them. In Ye Guan City, as long as one had the ability and strength, they had to contribute—this was an unbreakable rule.

The patrol team outside the city was retreating at full speed. Instead of using the city gates, they climbed up using ropes hanging down from the city walls, so their retreat was by no means slow. Guo Shier narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance; right in front of him, five barbarians were charging over with roars. With a long howl, a green glow flashed out from the forest. Huo Bao, with his sharp eyes, shouted, “It’s Uncle Luo!”