Chapter 120: The Silent Night
Among the Bai family, several members were skilled in archery. Combined with the bows and arrows provided by Yu Zhengqing, even those who weren’t experts had at least learned to draw a bow after practicing throughout their journey.
At this moment, precision didn’t matter. The beasts were packed so densely that even if someone fired blindly, the arrow was bound to hit something.
Although the system had already warned Yu Luo that these creatures had thick hides and wouldn’t die easily, the pain from the arrows disrupting their formation was enough to send them into chaos. The beasts, now panicked, started colliding into each other, inadvertently injuring their own kind.
Seeing the opportunity, Ye Jiamei suddenly pulled out a large barrel of sulfuric acid and poured it over the beasts below.
“ROOOAAARRR!”
The acidic liquid corroded their thick skin in an instant, causing agonized screams to erupt across the battlefield. Within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, two to three hundred beasts collapsed, writhing in pain.
While it was uncertain whether they had died or simply lost the strength to fight, at the very least, they were no longer attempting to peck at the trees.
Yu Zhengqing, who had been firing his crossbow tirelessly, suddenly realized something. He had been pulling the trigger for what felt like an eternity, yet it continued firing arrows.
Realizing this anomaly, he only became more determined, releasing a storm of arrows upon the creatures below.
Meanwhile, the remaining beasts seemed to finally recognize the threat they faced. Seeing their comrades fall, they hesitated, their instincts finally overriding their aggression. Many turned and began fleeing into the distance.
Yet, there were still some mindless beasts that continued their assault.
Seeing this, Yu Luo urged her parents to keep shooting. Every beast they took down counted towards her system points—she couldn’t let them escape!
System rewards weren’t always so easy to earn.
After another few minutes, the men firing arrows had run out of ammunition. However, Yu Luo and her parents still had ten crossbows loaded with bolts, and they continued their relentless assault.
Each of them wielded two crossbows, and every shot found its mark. The wounded beasts didn’t get far before collapsing in pools of blood, letting out dying howls before going completely still.
The battle lasted less than a quarter of an hour. In that time, more than half the beasts had been slain.
The few that managed to escape never looked back.
The eerie silence that followed was almost as terrifying as the battle itself.
Under the cold glow of the full moon, hundreds of monstrous corpses littered the snow-covered ground. The remaining survivors, huddled in the trees, didn’t dare make a sound, still shaken by the fight.
Even the children, normally prone to crying, were utterly silent.
The night was deathly still.
Yu Zhengqing, still gripping his crossbow, pulled the trigger one last time. When no more bolts fired, he finally spoke.
“Stay in the trees for now. Xiaoxuan, come with me. We’ll make sure these things are really dead.”
No one could be sure whether some of the beasts were merely playing dead. To ensure their safety, Yu Zhengqing and Yu Xiaoxuan leaped from tree to tree, delivering final blows to the creatures that still showed signs of life.
As they worked, the rest of the group remained frozen in fear, too focused on their own survival to notice a hundred figures hidden in the snow just over a kilometer away.
From their vantage point, these men had watched the battle unfold.
“Who the hell are these people? How did they manage to kill so many sharp-beaked beasts so quickly? We struggled for ages just to lure these creatures here!”
“No idea. If I’d known they were this strong, I never would have agreed to this. Now we’ve wasted all that effort for nothing!”
“But what do we do now? Just let them go? We came all this way for those women—are we really going to leave empty-handed?”
The men, blending seamlessly into the snowy landscape, looked on in frustration.
Though they still coveted the women, the sheer strength of Yu Zhengqing’s group had left them shaken.
“Forget it. We’ve survived this long without them. I’d rather live than end up like those beasts.”
As Yu Zhengqing and his son methodically finished off the remaining creatures, the group of a hundred men quietly retreated into the darkness, disappearing without a trace.
Meanwhile, Yu Luo received a system notification.
[Congratulations! You have earned 3,000 system points.]
Hearing the number, Yu Luo was stunned.
“Wait—didn’t a lot of them escape? How did I still get so many points?”
With 3,000 points, she could exchange them for five growth points.
If she invested all five points into internal energy, she could finally use light footwork!
Even if she couldn’t move as fast as a master, she’d at least be able to escape danger by leaping onto trees or rooftops.
[Although you didn’t kill exactly two-thirds, most of the escaping beasts were injured. As a result, I’m awarding you full points for eliminating 66% of the horde. Enjoy your reward!]
“Awesome! Thank you!”
Yu Luo wasted no time.
“Exchange my points for growth value and invest all five into my internal energy!”
[Are you sure?]
“Yes! Don’t give me time to hesitate—I’ll just end up overthinking it!”
[Confirmed. Growth points have been applied. Internal energy successfully increased. Keep up the good work!]
“Thanks, system!”
The moment the system confirmed the boost, Yu Luo felt a surge of warmth spread through her body.
Her dantian pulsed, and suddenly, the bone-chilling cold that had tormented her for so long became a distant memory.
She no longer felt frozen.
So the rumors were true—internal energy really did ward off the cold.
Had she known, she would have done this sooner!
Determined, she made a note to earn more points and enhance her parents’ internal energy as well. They had suffered enough in this harsh winter.
As Yu Zhengqing and Yu Xiaoxuan continued dealing with the carcasses, the braver men from the group slowly climbed down from the trees.
Grabbing their weapons, they set about decapitating the fallen beasts to ensure they were truly dead.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoran was arguing with Liu Mingxia about returning. Their heated discussion was cut short when Yu Xiaoxuan suddenly appeared before them, landing gracefully using his light footwork.
“Xiaoxuan? How did you get here so fast?”
As soon as Yu Xiaoran got close, his sharp nose picked up the overwhelming stench of blood.
It wasn’t human blood—but there was so much of it that his expression darkened.
