NOVEL WEB Chapter 2 - Wild Bull Strength
The surrounding soldiers exchanged bewildered glances.
"He's terrifyingly strong!"
Oliver Sheng's pale face, thin arms, and legs made him look like a frail scholar. No one could tell how strong he really was.
Seeing that Oliver was unwilling to retreat to the back, the veteran spoke up, "Go get him a good bow and ten arrows."
"Uncle, I want fifty arrows. Today, I want to hunt to my heart's content," Oliver said with boundless enthusiasm.
The veteran was speechless. This guy changed too quickly. Just a few minutes ago, he was trembling like a frightened quail, scared out of his wits.
Now, he seemed like a seasoned warrior.
Although puzzled, the veteran still said, "Get him twenty arrows."
A soldier took the order and hurried to fetch the bow and arrows.
The others continued to hold their steel knives and spears, defending the position, or throwing stones down to crush the enemy soldiers climbing the siege ladders.
Boiling feces were also poured down in torrents.
As long as it killed the attacking enemies, it was all fair game.
Oliver saw a few arrows shot by the enemy lying on the ground and immediately went over to pull them out.
"Not bad, still usable."
He pulled out six arrows from the ground and continued to use his old bow to shoot at the enemy.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow took a life, and his kill points increased by one.
Soon, all six arrows were used up, killing six Hun soldiers.
The surrounding soldiers were dumbfounded. Was this really not a case of a wolf in sheep's clothing?
You call this an forced volunteer?
What kind of forced volunteers could easily kill ten enemies without even changing his expression?
His kill points increased to ten, and a plus sign finally appeared behind the ordinary archer level.
He could allocate points again!
Without hesitation, Oliver allocated the points, upgrading from an ordinary archer to a bronze-level archer.
A wealth of archery experience flooded his mind, and his strength increased slightly.
After becoming a bronze-level archer, Oliver felt incredibly powerful.
The veteran and the surrounding soldiers looked at Oliver with changed expressions.
With just an old bow, he had killed eleven enemies. His archery talent was truly terrifying.
If he could collect the heads of these eleven enemies, he could directly be promoted to platoon leader based on this military merit.
In the Great Wei Dynasty, a squad leader could command five soldiers, and a platoon leader could command ten.
The veteran was a platoon leader, commanding ten soldiers, including Oliver.
Now that there was an archer prodigy like Oliver in the team, the veteran felt a protective urge.
Soon, the soldier who went to fetch the bow and arrows returned.
"Kid, kill the enemy well and strive to survive. Maybe you'll become a general someday," the veteran said with a smile.
With the new bow and arrows, Oliver tested them out. They were much better than the old bow.
"To kill and serve the country, that's the true spirit of a man. Uncle, watch closely. I'll send these Hun brats to hell," Oliver said as he nocked an arrow and drew the bow.
After becoming a bronze-level archer, Oliver felt that his stance while drawing the bow was much more impressive.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow shot out, hitting a Hun soldier right between the eyes, killing him instantly.
Soon, twenty arrows took twenty Hun lives.
By now, some Hun soldiers had climbed up, but they were all cut down by the garrison soldiers and fell off the city wall.
Below the city wall, a pile of Hun corpses had already accumulated.
Blood stained the city wall red.
But the Hun soldiers below continued to climb up fearlessly, stepping on their comrades' corpses.
The retreat drums had not sounded, so the siege continued. Anyone who retreated without reason would be executed, and their family would be enslaved.
Therefore, the Hun soldiers attacking the city would not retreat even in death.
After Oliver used up his arrows, the veteran ordered him to rest.
***
The battle continued until noon when the Hun army finally sounded the drums to retreat.
The attacking Hun soldiers retreated like a tide.
This morning, the Hun army failed to breach the city wall, leaving behind over a thousand corpses.
Unfortunately, Oliver's golden finger only counted the enemies he personally killed for kill points. Otherwise, he would have soared in power.
The Hun army did not withdraw, indicating that today's battle was not over.
Oliver retreated to rest and checked the light screen.
Name: Oliver Sheng
Race: Human
Cultivation Method: None
Talent: Bronze Archer (+)
Kill Points: 20
With twenty kill points, a plus sign appeared behind the bronze archer level, but Oliver did not rush to allocate points.
For now, the experience of a bronze-level archer was barely enough for defending the city.
He needed to consider learning martial arts. In this world, martial arts existed, and to survive on the battlefield, he had to become strong.
During the noon break, everyone introduced themselves and got acquainted.
"My name is Oliver Sheng." Oliver said.
"My name is Zane Wang," a burly man said.
"My name is Ian Zhang," said Ian Zhang, who was as robust as an ox.
"My name is Tom Li," said Tom Li, who looked rather frail.
"Jerry Li."
Jerry Li said his name and then fell silent, looking aloof and a bit tall and thin.
"They are brothers, real brothers," Zane Wang said with a smile.
Oliver's jaw almost dropped. Were their parents so careless in naming them?
***
After everyone introduced themselves, only the veteran remained silent.
"Uncle, what's your name?" Oliver asked curiously.
"The platoon leader is just called the veteran, no name," Ian Zhang said.
No name? Could there be a story!?
"A name is just a label," the veteran said flatly.
Oliver scratched his head, becoming even more curious about the veteran.
After getting acquainted with everyone, Oliver looked at the veteran and asked, "Uncle, are there martial arts in the army?"
The veteran looked at Oliver and then said, "You should indeed learn some martial arts. Otherwise, with those thin arms and legs, the Hun bandits will cut you down in two strokes."
"Uncle, do you have to belittle me like that!?" Oliver said helplessly.
"You killed thirty-one enemies today, so you are now officially a member of the Peace Pass garrison. I can decide to teach you the martial arts practiced in the army."
Hearing that there were martial arts, Oliver was overjoyed.
"The martial art practiced by the Peace Pass garrison is called 'Wild Bull Strength.' Once mastered, it grants the strength of a wild bull, with arm strength exceeding ten thousand pounds," the veteran said.
"I want to learn, I want to learn!"
"Alright, I'll teach you right now!" The veteran nodded.
Taking advantage of the noon break after lunch, the veteran taught Oliver the cultivation formula and body movements of 'Wild Bull Strength.'
The veteran demonstrated the body movements once and then asked Oliver.
"How about it, did you remember?"
Oliver nodded, "I remembered."
How could he not remember? The golden light screen already displayed Wild Bull Strength.
Name: Oliver Sheng
Race: Human
Cultivation Method: Wild Bull Strength (+)
Talent: Bronze Archer (+)
Kill Points: 20
"Did you really remember?" The veteran asked skeptically.
"Really!" Oliver nodded earnestly.
The veteran was a bit suspicious. Could Oliver be a martial arts genius?
"Show me the movements," the veteran said.
"Alright!" Oliver nodded.
Then he allocated points, and instantly a warm current spread throughout his body. He felt full of strength, as if he could punch a cow to death.
At the same time, the memory and experience of practicing Wild Bull Strength appeared in his mind as if they were innate.
His kill points were directly consumed by ten, and Wild Bull Strength reached the Small Accomplishment stage.
Oliver assumed a stance and demonstrated the body movements of Wild Bull Strength.
The veteran and the other soldiers watched in astonishment.
Was this level of proficiency really achieved after just one demonstration?
They looked at Oliver as if he were a monster.
"Did you really only see it once? Have you never practiced before?" The veteran asked incredulously.
Oliver nodded, "Yes, is there a problem?"
"Demon!" Ian Zhang muttered.
"A martial arts genius among millions?" Tom Li also spoke up.
"I feel like we're all useless," Zane Wang said self-deprecatingly.
When they first joined the army, it took them two and a half months to barely learn the body movements of Wild Bull Strength.
Everyone looked at Oliver as if he were a freak.
Wild Bull Strength required practicing the body movements along with the cultivation formula to be effective.
Oliver touched his nose. What could he say? With a golden finger, wasn't he just a demonic genius?
This Northern Frontier battlefield was perfect for him.
He looked at the golden light screen again:
Name: Oliver Sheng
Race: Human
Realm: Early Martial Disciple
Cultivation Method: Wild Bull Strength (Small Accomplishment)
Strength: 300 pounds
Talent: Bronze Archer
Kill Points: 10
The golden light screen now displayed the realm and strength columns. Oliver had directly advanced from an ordinary person to an early-stage Martial Disciple.
"Uncle, are there realm divisions in martial arts?" Oliver asked.
"Of course, there are realm divisions," the veteran nodded and said.