Volume One, Chapter Fourteen: Unrivaled in Single Combat Within a Hundred Steps

Having sharpened the wooden sticks, he next used some components he had made the day before, along with birch and sour jujube wood he had recently chopped, and combined them with the bowstring left by his father, to craft two very simple crossbow-like launchers.

Though rudimentary, enhanced by his modern design and craftsmanship, they were more than capable of piercing a human body within twenty paces.

Setting down the simple crossbows, he carried the finished wooden stakes into the courtyard and began digging pits at three predetermined spots.

Having killed Zhang Guang, he was sure to have stirred the ire of the Black Wind Bandits.

Knowing the mountain bandits’ vindictive nature, if they discovered he was responsible, they would undoubtedly come after him; it was only a matter of time.

Therefore, he had to prepare in advance.

The young maid sewing at the door grew curious and asked, "Master, what are you making?"

While working, Li Chen replied, "I went up into the mountains recently and saw many wild beasts. Our home is right next to the mountain, so at night some wild animals might sneak in. I’m digging a few pits to guard against accidents.

You must remember the locations carefully—under no circumstances should you walk near them and get hurt."

He didn’t want to alarm the young maid by telling her about killing Zhang Guang in the county seat just yet; that story could wait for another day.

"All right, Master," she said, startled, quickly nodding obediently. She helped by handing him the dirt and occasionally brought him a bowl of tea to quench his thirst.

Li Chen worked swiftly, soon finishing three pits over half a zhang deep, placing sharpened stakes inside, then covering them with branches and soil.

Though the pits appeared to be dug at random, Li Chen had calculated their placement precisely from a psychological perspective, ensuring they covered every path someone would take after jumping over the courtyard wall and entering the house; no matter how one tried to avoid them, passage through at least one of the pits was inevitable, guaranteeing their lethality.

Back inside, he tested the power of the two simple crossbows and was fairly satisfied.

He then set up bows in two corners of the room, connecting them by thin strings to the windows and doors for a trial.

Anyone daring to enter through the doors or windows would trigger the mechanism and be shot immediately.

After finishing all these preparations, Li Chen let out a long breath.

If the bandits dared to come, these simple devices would be more than enough to give them a bitter surprise.

Returning to his workshop, he sat down to craft some truly effective weapons.

He picked up a battered bow.

It was a Northern Mang infantry bow, salvaged from the battlefield by the old bowyer in the arrow shop.

The Northern Mang war bow was famed throughout the land for its power.

Moreover, its body was designed as a recurve bow—short yet formidable.

This discovery surprised Li Chen greatly; weapons in this era were not as backward as he had imagined.

This Northern Mang war bow had an effective lethal range of at least sixty paces, far surpassing his hunting bow.

Though the bow was damaged, Li Chen’s skills were more than sufficient to repair it.

After some labor, he finally restored the bow, then began modifying it into a compound crossbow with pulleys.

He added an eccentric wheel at both the top and bottom, and supplemented the main string with two sets of auxiliary strings.

Though easier said than done, the process required constant calibration and testing to ensure accuracy and power, while also making the crossbow rugged and durable—not too delicate or prone to breaking with rough use—so it would hold up under the harsh realities of battle.

From dusk till after midnight, he labored until the transformation was complete.

He went to bed afterward.

The next morning, as usual, Li Chen trained himself, then ascended the mountain to test his new crossbow.

Thanks to the two added pulleys, drawing and holding the bowstring required little effort; he could easily pull it to full draw with one hand, with power increased by at least thirty percent over a hand-held bow.

Previously, this bow’s effective lethal range was about sixty or seventy paces, and even the elite soldiers of the army could only draw it fully about fifteen times before tiring.

But now, after Li Chen’s pulley modification, the effective range extended to at least a hundred paces, with greatly increased power and minimal effort—drawing the bowstring no longer required holding it, theoretically allowing infinite shots.

Li Chen even introduced a more advanced concept: he added a magazine beneath the bow capable of holding ten arrows.

He also made a delicate adjustment to the mechanism, attaching several thin bamboo strips that, exploiting their elasticity, would automatically push an arrow out of the magazine as the bow was re-cocked after firing.

This saved time and effort, effectively creating a semi-automatic cold weapon far ahead of its time.

With this weapon and his near-perfect marksmanship, Li Chen felt a surge of pride and confidence.

Within a hundred paces, he was unbeatable in single combat.

Even against fierce beasts like the tiger-striped boar, armored wild pigs, or ferocious human-bears, he could stand his ground head-on.

After finishing his training and testing, Li Chen brought the oddly shaped crossbow back inside, tidied up his gear, and hung his small weapons on the single-person carrying rack he had made yesterday, preparing once more to go hunting.

This time, he took both the powerful crossbow and his hunting bow.

For ferocious beasts or long-distance shots, he would use the crossbow.

For ordinary game, he would use the hunting bow.

"Zhang Hu is dead; be wary of retaliation. Stay where there are many people."

"If I don’t return by nightfall, it’s best not to stay home alone—go borrow a room from Aunt Xu."

After giving these instructions to the young maid, and packing a bag of steamed buns and salty radish strips made by Yu Qingwan, he set off.

Not wanting to attract attention, he covered the crossbow with a rough cloth case and slung it on his back.

The hunting bow hung over his right shoulder, with the quiver strapped diagonally behind his right back, the feathered arrow fletchings exposed for quick access.

Passing by the big elm tree at the village entrance to the mountain, he saw a group of women standing there, looking expectantly into the distance.

"Brother Chen, off to hunt in the mountain again?" Liu Jincui was the first to spot him and greeted him with a smile.

Thanks to the mountain chicken he had gifted her, her impression of this young man had grown ever more favorable; she found him more and more agreeable.

Li Chen smiled and nodded in return.

Standing nearby, Xu Xiuer watched him intently and suddenly said, "Li Chen, don’t rush into the mountain. Word came that a few wild boars have been spotted and are being hunted. If you go help, you can get some meat without risking a deep mountain hunt."

"Oh, Xiuer, what are you saying? The men of the village work hard—why should he get a free ride at the end?" Wang Caifeng turned around upon seeing Li Chen and hearing Xu Xiuer’s words, shooting him a hostile glance.

"Exactly! If he wants meat, he should hunt for it himself. Why should he share our wild boar meat?"

Zhou Jiao, who had ripped Yu Qingwan’s clothes yesterday, stood nearby glaring at Li Chen, sneering.

Li Chen turned to face the two women, his gaze coldening.

"What are you looking at? If I don’t need your help, you don’t get a share.

And your business with me yesterday isn’t over. When my father returns and we’ve eaten the meat, I’ll come find you and beat you to death!"

Zhou Jiao lifted her chin defiantly, glaring viciously.

Li Chen ignored the obstinate women and turned away, heading up the mountain.

As he walked, he pondered that with the crude weapons in the villagers’ hands, catching small wild boars was one thing, but if they came across the armored wild boar, it would be reckless and futile—they simply couldn’t stop it.

About fifteen minutes later, just as he was about to take the mountain path to the left, suddenly loud noises and screams came from ahead.

"Heavens! Run! Another big wild boar is coming—oh my god..."

Then came the sounds of trees crashing and breaking, mingled with heart-wrenching screams.

"Could it really be? The curse has come true—we’ve encountered that armored wild boar."

Li Chen’s heart stirred with alarm as he hurried toward the source of the noise.

Soon, he saw dust rising in the distance, terrified cries and agonized roars mingling with scattered footsteps and the wild boar’s fierce, murderous bellows echoing through the forest ahead.

Then, about a hundred paces away from the trees, a large group of people burst out, their faces pale with terror as they fled desperately.

Li Chen clearly saw someone discard their hunting net—inside were two small wild boars.

They had evidently caught the smaller ones, only to attract the larger one.