Chapter 77: A Surge in Proficiency, Attempting Visualization
Chapter 77: Chapter 77: A Surge in Proficiency, Attempting Visualization
He visualized the scene.
A fireball shot into the sky, bombarding the mountainside.
Tang Wen flicked his wrist and threw a pebble.
CLACK.
The pebble flew a few dozen meters before losing all momentum.
’What? That’s not even as far as a kid could throw during a fight.’
He shook his head. ’I might as well not have visualized at all.’
He couldn’t get a feel for how to channel his power.
’Again!’
He visualized, then threw the stone.
The pebble sailed through the air in an arc, its aim completely off, and quickly hit the ground.
’That’s not right.’
Once, twice, five times, ten times.
Each attempt was worse than the last.
Down below, Captain Liu had no idea what he was doing.
Zhou Bing stepped forward and reminded him, "From what I know, the way you channel power for Hidden Weapons requires its own specific Contemplation Method."
Tang Wen nodded thoughtfully.
Flying Locust Stones were a type of Hidden Weapon.
’What kinds of Hidden Weapons are there?’
Images flashed through his mind:
Money Darts, Darts, Hand-Throwing Arrows, Flying Needles, Flying Swords, Flying Blades, and more.
But a moment later, he shook his head. ’Those are all hand-thrown projectiles. They’re no help.’
TWANG!
A bowstring vibrated.
Tang Wen glanced up to see a massive, spear-like arrow streaking toward the circling, bird-like beasts.
’A Bed Crossbow!’
This was the kind of Bed Crossbow that could pierce straight through a log cabin.
Turning his head, he saw four Guards on the wall working together, straining to turn a winch and draw another crossbow string.
"Those feathered bastards, flying so high! They’re too damn cunning!" Captain Liu cursed.
In the sky, the flock of birds nimbly dodged the spear-like arrow, which then lost its momentum and plummeted toward the ground.
The Bed Crossbow was incredibly powerful. It could be used to shoot men and horses, or even to assault fortified cities.
But the bird-like beasts were small targets high in the air. By the time the arrow reached them, the flock had already scattered.
Still, the bow’s elasticity made Tang Wen think of another weapon.
A slingshot.
He focused his mind and began his Visualization.
In his mind’s eye, he slowly sketched out a massive, Y-shaped tree. It had no branches, only a main trunk, as if it were the natural frame of a slingshot.
Two thick, yellow bands with a black leather pouch were tied to its top.
As he continued his Visualization, the bands snapped taut. SWOOSH!
The pebble flew about a hundred meters.
It clattered to the ground.
’Huh?’
’That can’t be right.’
’With that little power, I could piss farther than that.’
’What’s the point of this Visualization?’
After a moment of thought, Tang Wen once again sketched the oversized "slingshot" in his mind.
But as he visualized pulling the bands, he made an adjustment. He pictured them going from loose to tight, to taut, and then to their absolute limit, until even the tree trunk itself began to bend!
WHOOSH!
At that ultimate moment, Tang Wen felt a faint warmth spread through his right shoulder, as if a warm current were pouring into it. His arm seemed to transform into a giant catapult, violently launching the pebble in his hand.
The pebble shot forward, instantly becoming a barely visible black dot in the distance.
’What the...?’
Tang Wen picked up the Thousand-Mile Telescope to estimate the distance.
The stone had flown nearly a thousand meters.
But that was completely useless.
It hadn’t even made a sound as it tore through the air, meaning its initial velocity was pathetic; it hadn’t broken the sound barrier.
Tang Wen, however, was invigorated. The proficiency for his Flying Locust Stone Skill was soaring.
[Flying Locust Stone, Expert Level (4103→4339/6000)]
Gaining over 200 proficiency points for an Expert Level Skill in a single attempt was an upgrade speed he would have never dared imagine.
He visualized, then threw a Flying Locust Stone.
He visualized again, threw another Flying Locust Stone...
The Panel gave continuous feedback!
(4339→4501→4597/6000)
The amount of proficiency gained was smaller each time.
’Something’s not right,’ Tang Wen thought, frowning.
’If the slingshot Contemplation Method I designed is correct...’
’...then the proficiency gains should be increasing with each attempt, not decreasing.’
"CAW! CAW!" "SCREECH!" "CHIRP!" The calls of the bird-like Mutated Beasts grew louder, apparently enraged by the continuous barrage of Crossbow Arrows.
Different species of the bird-like beasts began to circle high in the sky.
On the ground, the Guards felt a growing sense of unease.
Years of Martial Arts Training had sharpened their five senses, and they now had the distinct feeling of being watched by predators.
Clearly, the flock wasn’t just staring at the bait on the ground, but at all the humans as well.
To these bird-like Exotic Beasts, accustomed to dive-bombing their prey, the Guards’ armor was nothing more than the hard shell of a potential meal.
A sharp screech echoed as the birds spiraled down.
"Shields up!" Captain Liu roared.
A series of sonic booms cracked through the air. Tang Wen had made his move.
The bird-like beasts couldn’t dodge in time, colliding head-on with the pebbles. Blood and feathers flew everywhere.
The members of the Hunting Team breathed a collective sigh of relief, giving Tang Wen grateful looks.
The birds were incredibly fast; very few of the men had any confidence they could have dodged them.
The surviving bird-like beasts, terrified by the booming pebbles, scattered in every direction.
"Commander Tang is incredible! It’s just a shame his attacks are so destructive. Not a single good bird was left intact."
Captain Liu remarked, then loudly instructed his men, "Keep a sharp lookout! We’re definitely going to make a big haul today."
Quiet fell over the wilderness once more.
Tang Wen silently resumed his Visualization, continuously throwing Flying Locust Stones. The Power behind each throw was inconsistent, sometimes strong, sometimes weak.
Captain Liu, resting at a stone table, asked Wu Tian, "Commander Tang’s Flying Stones have such explosive Power, they’re almost as strong as a Martial Artist’s full-force attack. He’s already wiped out two waves of bird-beasts, so why isn’t he taking a break?"
Wu Tian sighed. He remembered when Tang Wen had first joined the team, how he’d been able to dominate him and the others from their very first meeting.
His stamina was so immense that even ganging up on him in waves had been useless.
Now that he was a Martial Artist, his stamina was even more absurd.
[Flying Locust Stone, Expert Level (4866→4870→4873/6000)]
Time slowly passed. His proficiency gains dwindled until they finally dropped to the single digits.
Tang Wen understood that this meant the slingshot Contemplation Method was not the right approach.
Or perhaps it was, but he didn’t understand the principles behind a slingshot, the conversion between tension and elastic force. His Contemplation Method thus had no foundation, and he had no way to imagine how much Power it could truly generate.
’Looks like I’ll have to try something else.’
He thought of many technological weapons.
’Guns and cannons, for instance.’
He understood the basic principle of firearms: the firing pin strikes the primer, the gunpowder rapidly combusts, the expanding gases create thrust, and the bullet is instantly propelled forward.
At this thought, Tang Wen closed his eyes again, slowly sketching out a long rifle in his mind.
"AWOOOO!"
"Captain, Commander! Sand Wolves! It’s Sand Wolves!"
Captain Liu was both shocked and delighted. "Quick! You two Commanders, please attack at once!"
With that, he led his men and charged out, sprinting madly toward the Sand Wolves.
’He’s pretty bold,’ Tang Wen thought. ’Wouldn’t it be better to defend from within the fortress?’
Tang Wen was confused, but he knew this wasn’t the time for questions.
Without hesitation, he and Zhou Bing immediately sprinted in the direction of the wolf pack.
Something strange happened. The howls of the Sand Wolves rose and fell from all around, suggesting there were many of them and they were widely spread out.
But when they saw Tang Wen and the others charging at them, they actually turned and fled.
For Mutated Beasts of a similar level, their speed and agility generally surpassed that of human Martial Artists, regardless of their combat power.
Captain Liu and his men were powerless to keep up.
Luckily, Tang Wen and Zhou Bing were fast enough. In the blink of an eye, Tang Wen’s Flying Locust Stones had struck and killed two Sand Wolves.
Zhou Bing, a step slower, wounded one and then moved in for the kill.
"You have to rely on the Commanders!"
"Quick, bleed them out! Bleed them!"
"This is the blood of a Middle-level Exotic Beast! It’s sure to attract something bigger!"
Captain Liu’s face was flushed with excitement.
Then, he finally explained, "Sand Wolves are cunning and intelligent Mutated Beasts. These few were just scouts for the pack.
They don’t all charge in just because they smell blood.
Instead, they send scouts to see how much food is here and to check if it’s a trap.
When they discovered we only had three pieces of bait but so many people, this pack of Sand Wolves must have decided it wasn’t a good deal."
Wolves were already difficult animals to deal with, to say nothing of them being Mutated Beasts.
This was the first time Tang Wen had ever seen a Middle-level Exotic Beast like the Sand Wolf.
The Sand Wolf’s fur was an earthy yellow, blending in well with the color of the wilderness.
From a distance, they were difficult to spot.
They were also much larger than ordinary wolves.
They had amber-colored vertical pupils, which were said to glow red at night, not green like a normal wolf’s.
SPLASH!
A bucket of Sand Wolf Blood was poured over the three pieces of bait.
The scarlet blood trickled down. DRIP. DRIP.
The rank, bloody smell in the air grew even stronger!
Captain Liu and his men got busy, dismembering the three Sand Wolves on the spot.
Everything from the fur to the internal organs was valuable.
The bone marrow, spinal cord, and brain were to be sent off for pharmaceutical production.
The other parts were choice cuts of meat.
Tang Wen went back to mulling over the Contemplation Method for the Flying Locust Stone.
Zhou Bing sat in the courtyard, resting and recuperating.
An unknown amount of time passed, and dusk began to fall.
Suddenly, Tang Wen looked toward the shadow cast by a distant mountain peak and spoke slowly.
"Looks like I’ll be on watch tonight."
Captain Liu was about to say that the Commander should rest and that they could handle the night watch.
But then he heard Tang Wen continue, "We... are being watched by something."
"What?"
Captain Liu’s heart leaped into his throat.
He followed Tang Wen’s gaze but saw nothing and felt nothing out of the ordinary.
’Could it be... a High-level Exotic Beast?!’