Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 43 The Powerful Thief

The night was deep and quiet, and the noise outside had subsided considerably. Perhaps after most of the free shopping spree lasted for most of the night, most of the homeless people had begun to disperse...?

However, just then, a rustling sound seemed to come from outside the eastern wall. To Zhou Ye's surprise, a head appeared on the wall and then silently climbed over into the courtyard.

After landing, the first man looked around the house and, finding no movement inside, immediately turned to help his companion. At that moment, the second man had already climbed to the top of the wall and was preparing to scale it.

At such close range, Zhou Ye had already switched to a kneeling position and was drawing back the eight-stone bow to aim.

With a "bang," the bowstring twanged, and an arrow whizzed past, striking the target squarely in the back of the first man's head, piercing right through and embedding itself in the wall.

Zhou Ye moved with lightning speed, followed by a second arrow. "Whoosh—!"

The second man reacted extremely quickly. Upon hearing the bowstring twang, he landed and immediately rolled away, dodging the arrow. After rolling several times, he drew his sword, stood up, and lunged towards Zhou Ye.

Zhou Ye only had time to shoot his third arrow when another head suddenly appeared on the wall.

"Whoosh—!"

The man was also prepared; he ducked his head, and the arrow missed its mark.

At this moment, Zhou Ye couldn't help but curse inwardly, wondering how his dilapidated courtyard could have attracted so many thieves.

And only one out of three arrows hit the target? Clearly, these thieves are highly skilled martial artists. Are they out of their minds? Why would they target small fry like themselves instead of robbing large shops or wealthy individuals?

However, as the bandit approached with his knife, Zhou Ye threw down his bow. He gripped the handle of his fish-scale shield in his left hand, drew his knife in his right, and charged forward without flinching.

Then came the clanging sounds as the weapons clashed repeatedly, sparks flying. In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged more than a dozen blows.

However, after exchanging blows, Zhou Ye became increasingly astonished. This person was also using the Ten Forms of Military Knife Techniques? And his strength was even slightly greater than his own? He knew his own strength was +4, already far exceeding that of an ordinary person. This thief was even stronger? He must be a martial artist at the Energizing Realm, and a rather formidable one at that.

Especially considering his superior martial arts skills. Even if his ten-form sword technique wasn't perfected, it was certainly at the pinnacle. And his sword was even sharper. In just a few exchanges, Zhou Ye's sword already had several nicks and chips.

At this moment, Zhou Ye had no idea that the other party was actually even more shocked than he was.

Although Zhou Ye's waist saber was at a disadvantage, he had his fish-scale shield, which remained undamaged when struck. Combined with his basic shield bash, it was impossible to break through Zhou Ye's defense.

Furthermore, in the martial arts competition, Zhou Ye had the advantage of basic slashing skills? Although his ten sword techniques were slightly inferior, his fundamentals were exceptionally solid. He was not only able to block attacks, but also occasionally launched several threatening counterattacks? And he even broke out in a cold sweat several times in a fright.

In other words, Zhou Ye lacked combat experience and failed to seize the opportunity to press his advantage. Otherwise, perhaps he would have already fallen into a disadvantageous position?

Seeing that Zhou Ye wanted to continue fighting, the bandit quickly lowered his voice and shouted, "Wait! It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! You're also one of our brothers in the army, right? Could you do me a favor?"

"What's convenient?"

"We escaped from the city. We want to get to the mountains. Just give us some food and we'll leave."

"Just some food?" Zhou Ye lowered his weapon, and he relaxed a little.

"Yes, yes. We don't want anything else. If we continue fighting, we'll both be injured, which would only benefit others." The thief was clearly relieved and put down his knife.

"The kitchen is in that room; go in and get it yourself."

"Alright! Thanks, brother... Go to hell!"

The thief suddenly erupted, a flash of cold light in his hand, and a blade slashed towards Zhou Ye. Taking advantage of Zhou Ye's relaxed vigilance, he launched a sneak attack.

But what happened next made the thief's eyes widen. He saw Zhou Ye's figure disappear in a flash, and with a "whoosh," a blade of light slashed towards the thief's neck.

Zhou Ye grinned maliciously. "Are you guys here to be funny? You know I've already killed someone. Do you think this can end peacefully? Even if I let you go now, won't you come back for revenge later? Or beat up the younger one and then the older one? It's better to settle things now."

At this moment, the thief was so angry he was about to vomit blood. How could this kid be so cunning? He actually copied his sneak attack?

Facing imminent death, the thief desperately retreated, trying to dodge Zhou Ye's fatal blow. Unexpectedly, he suddenly had a stroke of luck, tripped, and fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack.

When Zhou Ye was practicing basic movement techniques, he had already transformed the courtyard into a spider cave. Although all the ropes had been removed after reaching the maximum level, digging out the wooden stakes buried in the ground was still too troublesome.

Okay! Zhou Ye admitted he was a bit lazy. Since it wouldn't affect his actions anyway, he decided to leave it in the yard for the time being.

And since it was still dark, the thief was completely unfamiliar with the layout of the courtyard. He tripped over a wooden stake and was lucky enough to escape with his life.

Zhou Ye was somewhat disappointed to find that his strike had missed its mark. He stepped forward, preparing to finish off the thief on the ground.

However, at that moment, a whooshing sound was heard as an iron spear came flying from his side. Zhou Ye quickly used his fish-scale shield to block it and jumped back a few steps to create distance.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that another thief had finally scaled the wall. He wielded an iron spear over four feet long and, with a few moves, forced Zhou Ye away, while also covering the thief on the ground as he got up.

Zhou Ye glanced around the courtyard and finally received some good news: there shouldn't be any new thieves; it was just the three of them tonight. Or rather, only two of them were still alive.

It was obvious that the two thieves didn't want to make a big fuss; they were afraid of being discovered by outsiders.

In fact, Zhou Ye also didn't want to make any big fuss, fearing that his strength would be exposed to the outside world.

In this situation, neither side can turn away; they've essentially turned their backs to their opponent. In other words, the two thieves have inexplicably found themselves in a deadly struggle.

On the contrary, Zhou Ye's agility increased by 10. If he can't win, he still has a chance to escape.

After a brief pause, the two thieves exchanged a glance. They immediately coordinated their attack, launching a strike from the left and right.

Zhou Ye, also wielding a shield and a sword, and the three quickly engaged in combat...