"Thwack!"
No scream followed, only the wet thud of a sharp arrow biting into flesh.
The people of the Recycling Station felt no pain. As long as their heads remained intact, an injury like this hardly counted as a scratch.
Hiding in the tall grass, the assailant had found a split second to dodge. Li Ban's casual throw hadn't pierced the man's brain as intended.
Just as Li Ban closed in on the sniper's position, a figure suddenly rose from the brush. His shortbow was already drawn taut, the sharp arrowhead glinting with cold light.
An arrow was lodged in the attacker's throat. The man had endured it in silence, waiting until Li Ban was right on top of him before springing up to shoot.
A snap shot at such point-blank range left Li Ban with almost no time to react.
"Twang!"
The bowstring snapped with a harsh vibration. The arrow flew straight for the space between Li Ban's eyes.
But just as the shaft was about to pierce Li Ban's right eye, a hand suddenly snapped up to block its path.
With a light pinch of a thumb and index finger, the impossibly fast arrow came to a dead halt.
"What? Impossible!" the archer gasped.
He couldn't fathom how anyone from the Recycling Station could possess such speed and control.
And he would never have to.
Li Ban wrapped his fist around the arrow, leaving only the sharp tip protruding from his grip.
Then, he brought that fist smashing down onto the ambusher's head.
The arrowhead broke the skin and bit into the skull, meeting a momentary trace of resistance.
But the crushing force of his fist shattered all obstacles. Driving the shaft forward, the blow punched right through the skull with a wet crunch, the tip bursting out from the other side.
Just as Li Ban cleanly dispatched the hidden sniper, Zhu Yao and Ed engaged another ambusher attacking from the flank.
Zhu Yao threw herself sideways to the ground just as the rush of air from an attack swept past her back.
"Ahhh!" Ed, who had been the first to spot the figure sneaking up behind Zhu Yao, raised his axe with both hands and launched into a leaping cleave.
His body bulged with explosive, corded muscle—a physique bought and paid for with the wheat flatbread he and Zhu Yao had painstakingly saved up.
The shadowy figure, who had been inches away from Zhu Yao's back, kicked hard against the ground. Coming to a sudden halt, the ambusher immediately changed direction, dodging Ed's heavy, momentum-fueled axe swing.
But the attacker didn't stop there. Shifting angles, the figure launched a low sneak attack at Ed, who had just landed and had yet to regain his footing.
However, a wooden spear thrust perfectly between Ed's legs to intercept the strike.
It was a thrust made without the slightest worry that Ed might dodge upon landing, or that she might accidentally maim her companion's legs.
And sure enough, the moment Ed hit the ground, he didn't move an inch. He hadn't even considered shifting his stance to defend against the incoming attack.
It was as if he had entrusted his entire defense to his partner, completely unconcerned for his own safety.
It was a seamless coordination forged from countless battles fought side by side.
"Tch."
The ambusher clicked his tongue, finally realizing he had run into some hard targets.
At the same time, he noticed that his partner had been cleanly dispatched.
That seemingly unimposing yet unexpectedly terrifying man was already turning his way.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue again. With extreme agility, he shifted his momentum in midair, contorting his body sideways to evade Zhu Yao's spear.
Bending his legs, he touched one hand to the ground and rapidly bounded away like a fleeing cheetah.
He fled.
Zhu Yao gave chase for a couple of steps before stopping.
She simply couldn't match the fleeing attacker's speed.
Moreover, she had to guard the Tricycle. She couldn't risk this being a diversion to lure her away and steal their most valuable supplies.
At a time like this, she had to leave the pursuit to the other man.
Li Ban had already returned to the Tricycle, but rather than stopping to assess the situation, he shot straight past it, chasing after the retreating figure.
The person was incredibly fast. If Li Ban didn't use his spiritual rhinoceros, he likely wouldn't be able to catch her.
This ambusher was strong—so strong that Li Ban reconsidered killing her immediately.
In a world like this, it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring a few capable subordinates under his control to do the heavy lifting.
When he needed to conserve his spiritual rhinoceros, he couldn't just rely on fighting completely alone.
He might even consider... establishing his own camp?
Of course, he needed to familiarize himself with this world first.
With that in mind, Li Ban picked up his pace.
However, as he accelerated, the fleeing ambusher actually sped up as well, nearly doubling her previous speed.
Such incredible speed?
Li Ban knew that catching her with pure physical speed was no longer an option.
Just as he connected with the Wizard Embryo Fragment within his consciousness, preparing to cast a spell for the first time in this world, he suddenly saw a pair of cat ears perk up on the top of the runner's head.
The spell forming in Li Ban's mind abruptly dissipated.
He paused for a split second. By the time he prepared to resume the chase, the figure had already vanished completely behind the tall brush.
Li Ban came to a full stop.
Only now did he realize that the ambusher's back had looked somewhat familiar.
Giving up the pursuit, Li Ban returned to the Tricycle.
Zhu Yao and Ed were still maintaining their defensive stances.
Seeing Li Ban return, Zhu Yao nodded. "They were roving bandits. No need to chase them too far. Let's get back on the road."
Obediently putting his axe away, Ed started grunting and huffing as he clambered back onto the vehicle.
"This world must be full of bandits, right?" Li Ban asked, hopping on as well.
"Yeah. Roving bandits are just scattered petty thieves. One second they might be traveling merchants or camp dwellers out on a mission, and the next, they'll turn into bandits over a wheat flatbread and attack anyone they think is weak."
Zhu Yao dragged the body of the ambusher whose head Li Ban had crushed onto the cart.
"This is also something we can harvest—intact limbs."
She paused and glanced up at Li Ban. Seeing no disgust on his face, she proceeded to stuff the corpse into a burlap sack with Ed's help.
Li Ban understood what Zhu Yao meant; the pair of legs he had swapped in had cost him thirty wheat flatbreads.
And this dead archer had a full set of strong, lean limbs.
They were slightly gaunt, probably from going a long time without enough wheat flatbread to eat. But they would still fetch a decent price.
Zhu Yao figured that although this set of limbs was on the leaner side, they would perfectly match Li Ban's body type.
So, she asked him first, "Do you want to keep these limbs as spares?"
Recalling the enemy's physical state, Li Ban shook his head. "These aren't quite suitable."
As if trying to spare Li Ban's pride, Zhu Yao lowered her voice. "I'm not saying you'll definitely need them. It's just in case."
Li Ban laughed. "I know. I'm not against swapping body parts. It's just that this one's physical strength is fairly average. It's a body forged purely through basic training."
He wanted a backup body that had been nourished by spiritual rhinoceros.
A body forged entirely by mundane training was much poorer in both toughness and vitality.
Moreover, the flow of spiritual rhinoceros through such a body would be incredibly sluggish.
Zhu Yao nodded in agreement. "You're right. You have a lot more options now, so you really should set aside a top-tier set of limbs as a backup."
Li Ban studied Zhu Yao as she started pedaling the Tricycle again. "I've noticed your bodily coordination is exceptionally good. Have you ever swapped out any limbs?"
Ed threw both hands in the air. "Zhu Yao is whole! Never been chopped!"
"Shut up, Ed."