Demon Emperor

Chapter 8: Changpo - Archery
Ruan Hu swung his sword.

With a clang of metal, the demon in the painting was instantly split in two.

But soon the evil spirits in the painting began to writhe and coalesce again like smoke.

seem.

Although Ruan Hu's sword struck it, it couldn't damage its core.

Ruan Hu looked at the evil spirit and found that it was very angry.

He only glanced at Ruan Hu, and Ruan Hu slashed him with his sword.

Whether in life or in death, he had never suffered such humiliation.

"..."

The demon in the mural seemed to be cursing loudly, but Ruan Hu could only see it and could not hear what it was saying.

He was too lazy to listen.

Then he saw that the evil spirit was even trying to break free from the painting, wanting to take revenge on Ruan Hu, who had slashed him with his sword.

As the evil spirit drew closer, its form grew larger.

"Bang!"

Ruan Hu wouldn't let him crawl out, and swung his sword at him again right in front of him.

This time, it was with thorns.

This time, the evil spirit was pierced and scattered again, returning to its original position and solidifying.

This made the evil spirit even more furious, as it was unable to escape.

The demon took the bow from its back, seemingly preparing to draw the bow and shoot an arrow at Nguyen Hu outside the mural.

but.

When Ruan Hu saw the evil spirit about to emerge, it grew much larger and he realized that it looked somewhat like a deity statue enshrined in a temple.

He quickly turned around and slashed at the statue next to him.

This time.

The evil spirit panicked.

But it was too late. Ruan Hu leaped onto the platform and smashed the statue to pieces in a few moves.

The guards following beside him also had no idea what was going on, and hurriedly caught up, but still couldn't figure out what was happening.

"call out!"

At that moment, the demon's arrow was shot.

Unfortunately, the arrow was limp after leaving the painting and was swatted down by the tiger next to Ruan Hu before it could even get close.

"boom!"

The arrow was knocked down and turned into a blob of ink that fell to the ground.

Ruan Hu turned around and saw the terrified face of the demon in the painting, and the bow in his hand fell limply to his side.

This statue seems to be the true form of this evil spirit, the root tree that allows it to remain in the mortal realm.

At this moment, Ruan Hu personally destroyed the statue, which seemed to trigger the tiger's mechanism.

"Roar!"

The tiger let out an impatient roar and pounced directly into the painting.

Tiger only comes out at night, but previously it had to wait until the dead objects condensed into ghosts the next day. This time, the opponent was a ghost directly, and Tiger ate the evil ghost right in front of Ruan Hu.

At this, Ruan Hu was even more terrified when he saw the expressions of the "gods" in the mural.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The tiger emerged from the painting, chewed for a long time, and finally spat out a ball of light, which merged into Ruan Hu's mind along with his eyes.

Ruan Hu immediately saw many images.

There are scenes of people getting up early every day to train their martial arts skills, drawing their bows and arrows.

There are scenes of soldiers facing the enemy on the battlefield, shooting down an enemy soldier with a single arrow.

The changpo has no name; these are all the memories the other person has of archery throughout their life.

This bow-bow skill seems to be the demon's most prized skill in life, which the tiger refined and summarized into what can be called...

"Changpo Archery Skill (Never Misses a Shot)"

Ruan Hu looked at the mural, especially the figures flying in the sky.

At this moment.

The "gods" in the painting returned to their original appearance and remained motionless.

It seemed that the change that had just occurred was just Ruan Hu's illusion.

Ruan Hu was also unable to enter the painting and had to give up in the end.

Thinking that he would send someone to take the mural away after he returned home.
-
The autumn sun shines brightly.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta~"

The leaves in the forest of Fenghuang Mountain were still covered with the cold dew of last night. The hooves of the Imperial Guards trampled the golden and red withered leaves on the ground, causing the dewdrops to fall as well.

Under the tree branches, Ruan Hu heard the chirping of crows and sparrows.

This time, when he looked up, his sharp gaze immediately locked onto his target.

His Changpo Archery skill (unfailing accuracy) also enhanced his perception. "Caw caw caw~"

Seemingly noticing Ruan Hu's sharp gaze, the crow swiftly flew away.

Yuchi Chongwu stood beside the imperial carriage, holding the reins, and watched as Ruan Hu removed the arm guard embroidered with gold dragons, then immediately reached out and took it.

Ruan Hu wore an ochre-yellow robe with arrow-shaped sleeves today. The gold-inlaid dragon pattern on the belt shone brightly in the morning sun. He still carried the sword that had slain shamans and demons at his waist.

"Raise the siege!"

A loud shout pierced the silence of the forest.

In an instant, the bugle sounded deafeningly, and the sound of iron hooves thundered as they crushed dry branches.

Ten banners fluttered in the wind on both sides, and the earth seemed to shake along with them, startling foxes, rabbits, and deer into darting out of the bushes.

One of the men rushed out and fired an arrow, but unfortunately, he missed.

The person next to him followed closely behind, and the second arrow was already released, piercing through a fleeing gray fox.

Seeing this, Ruan Hu clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

"it is good!"

"We have captured one of the enemy scouts!"

"reward!"

Upon hearing this, everyone around burst into laughter.

The good start also energized the soldiers participating in the hunt, making them even more eager to find prey in the jungle and drive them away and surround them.

Ruan Hu, sitting on the imperial carriage, looked at Yuchi Chongwu beside him and spoke.

Give me the bow!

Without the slightest hesitation, Yuchi Chongwu knelt down on one knee and presented the bow with both hands, along with the deerskin quiver at his waist.

Ruan Hu glanced at it; it was a five-stone hard bow. He then threw it back.

She turned her head to the side and pointed at him.

"you!"

Although it was only one word, the guard understood Ruan Hu's meaning and immediately followed Yuchi Chongwu's example, presenting the bow and quiver on his back.

This is two stones, just right.

Just then, a wild deer, startled by the commotion of the hunt, came out of the woods and crossed a clearing, trying to leap into the bushes.

Without hesitation, Ruan Hu drew his bow and shot an arrow.

"call out!"

The arrow pierced the air, and the wild deer leaped high into the air, but before it could plunge into the layers of bushes, it fell from mid-air.

In an instant, cheers erupted across the hunting grounds.

"Good good!"

"bingo!"

"who is it?"

"It was Your Majesty, Your Majesty hit the target."

"Your Majesty's perfect shot!"

Immediately, a cavalryman spurred his horse forward, retrieved the deer, and brought it to Ruan Hu.

He dismounted and knelt down, and two guards beside Ruan Hu came forward to help, lifting the wild deer high.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

When Yuchi Chongwu saw the wild deer, he was also shocked. The arrow pierced through the deer's throat and killed it instantly.

At first, Ruan Hu felt a bit awkward touching the bow.

As the shots hit their mark again and again, that sense of distance gradually disappeared.

just like.

The man who got up early every day to draw his bow and arrow, and who was a crack shot on the battlefield, was himself.

"Your Majesty has won again!"

"Truly excellent archery skills."

"I never imagined that His Majesty possessed such divine archery skills."

In the military, archery is arguably one of the most important skills.

Everyone looked at Ruan Hu, and their gazes changed instantly.

If Ruan Hu initially relied on his status and rewards to control these men, now he can be said to have conquered them with his archery skills.

As dusk paints the hunting grounds red.

The Imperial Guards were counting the game that had piled up into a small mountain. Under the setting sun, everyone had smiles on their faces, boasting about their heroic performance on the hunting ground that day, and then occasionally stealing glances at the Emperor in the distance.

As night fell completely, a sudden northerly wind swept up the fallen leaves, and Ruan Hu looked up and saw the distant mountain ridge.

Ruan Hu frowned.

It felt like something else was watching me.

(End of this chapter)