"What, you want to use those people as targets?"
"These foreign races are too malicious. Although they can speak human language, they don't act like humans at all!"
"My lord, let's make our move! Let's eliminate these inhumane beasts."
Upon hearing the Centaur Prince's words, the people in the territory were instantly enraged.
Using living people as targets—if it were non-humanoid foreign races, it might be understandable, but these centaurs, who possess human blood, are so cruel to humans!
However, although Xia Tian's face was also grim and his teeth were clenched.
He did not impulsively launch an attack, only because the captives were not only tied with ropes but also had bows and arrows pointed at them by a large group of green-named, Tier 7 centaur elites surrounding the Centaur Prince.
Even if the territory's 'Divine Arm Crossbows' concentrated their fire, it would be impossible to kill them all instantly.
On the contrary, the captured people would definitely die!
"Untie him!"
At the edge of the jungle, the Centaur Prince had a playful smile on his face as he nocked an arrow onto his bow.
Then, he ordered his subordinates to untie a middle-aged captive.
"When he reaches a certain position, I will release the arrow. If you can intercept it, you can save his life!"
Hua Rong's expression was serious, and he also drew an arrow from his quiver, notched it onto his bowstring, and prepared to shoot.
"You beasts, give me back my daughter's life!"
However, after being untied, the middle-aged man did not run towards Xia Tian's territory. Instead, with deep-seated hatred in his eyes, he suddenly turned and charged towards the Centaur Prince's position.
"Pfft..."
A bowstring twanged.
The middle-aged man was struck in the forehead by an arrow and fell to the ground, and Hua Rong's arrow didn't even have time to be released!
After all, the distance between the man and the Centaur Prince was too short.
"Heh, it seems you lost the first 'target'...
The Centaur Prince smiled, looking triumphant.
Next, he untied a second young man... This man immediately ran towards Xia Tian's territory. When he had run a certain distance, the Centaur Prince drew his bow and shot an arrow, which flew towards the young man's back with a fierce whoosh!
Clang!
Just as it was about to hit.
An arrow accurately intercepted the Centaur Prince's arrow in mid-air.
Then, both arrows fell to the ground.
The young man successfully ran into the territory's protective shield area, his face filled with the joy of surviving a catastrophe.
The string of Hua Rong's silver longbow was still vibrating. Intercepting one arrow with another in mid-flight could only be achieved by grandmaster-level archery.
"Indeed, your archery is quite good. Killing Karim was no coincidence."
The Centaur Prince's eyes narrowed, and his expression turned cold.
"Untie the next one!"
"Don't pick me, don't pick me..."
Among the captives, a plump man with a queue braid was sweating profusely, muttering frantically!
"Very well, you're the one..."
The Centaur Prince raised his hand and pointed at him.
"No, Your Highness the Prince, I am a Yellow Girdle, a royal relative... I am still useful to you, don't kill me..."
The man with the queue braid's face changed dramatically, and he frantically kowtowed, trying to beg for mercy.
However, he was immediately kicked out by the elite centaur behind him. After getting up from the ground, he frantically ran towards Xia Tian's territory.
Then, when he was halfway to the territory's shield.
He was shot through the heart from behind by an arrow from the Centaur Prince, spitting blood as he fell to the ground.
Hua Rong failed to save anyone again!
This was because the Centaur Prince had already drawn his bow and shot an arrow when the man with the queue braid had only run a third of the way.
This meant that Hua Rong's arrow had to be released even earlier than the Centaur Prince's to shoot it down.
The problem was that if Hua Rong shot prematurely, he wouldn't know the trajectory of the opponent's arrow and thus couldn't intercept it at all!
"Despicable!"
"This isn't an archery contest at all; this is cheating..."
"Rules are always made by the strong; the weak can only obey!"
The Centaur Prince's face was full of disdain.
However, when he tried to "replicate" the trick again, he was severely slapped in the face.
Because an arrow, like a white jade carving, resembling a white rainbow piercing the sun, came later but arrived first, intercepting the arrow that the Centaur Prince had shot when the captive had run a third of the way!
It was precisely the black and white feathered arrow that Xia Tian had crafted earlier.
The characteristic of this white arrow was that its weight became lighter and its speed greatly increased under "high-speed movement"!
And the next two people were also saved by Hua Rong with "white feathered arrows," causing the Centaur Prince's face to become extremely unsightly.
"Release them all..."
He coldly uttered a few words, ordering his subordinates to cut all the ropes on the remaining four captives, then drove them to frantically run towards the territory!
At the same time, the Centaur Prince held four arrows in his hand at once, nocked them onto his bow, and aimed them simultaneously at the backs of these four people.
"Now, how do you plan to save them, Prince?"
Whoosh!
Just as he was about to shoot, an arrow flew from Hua Rong's hand, heading directly for his head.
This forced the Centaur Prince to abandon his attack and hastily dodge, but Hua Rong's arrow still grazed his scalp, creating a cut that instantly bled profusely... "You damned humans, charge! Kill them all!"
Seeing that the four people had already run into the territory, the Centaur Prince was furious.
The elite centaurs around him immediately shot arrows at those people, and the centaurs surrounding the territory also began to charge towards the territory, stomping their hooves!
At the same time, they also shot arrows and threw javelins.
In an instant, javelins and battle arrows rained down, covering the territory.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
Of course, there was no doubt.
All of the centaurs' arrows and javelins were intercepted by the invisible barrier, forming a circle around the edge of the territory.
"What's going on?"
The centaurs who were in the midst of their charge had a drastic change in expression.
Some centaurs couldn't stop in time and crashed into the shield, splitting their heads open and sending both rider and horse tumbling.
"Fire!"
And the next moment, the Divine Arm Crossbows, which had been prepared in the territory, fired in unison.
Volleys of crossbow bolts, like cannonballs leaving their barrels, covered the charging centaurs with fury!
"Trebuchets, fire!"
At the same time, several trebuchets, which had been prepared earlier, also fired in unison after Xia Tian's command.
With a thunderous roar, they all fired at the centaur horde.
Puff, puff, puff... Centaurs were only Tier 6 creatures. When hit by the Divine Arm Crossbows at close range, their leather armor was pierced like tofu. Some who were hit in the head by thrown stones were instantly decapitated.
Except for a small number of elite centaurs who reacted in time and immediately stopped their charge, retreating backward.
The rest of the ordinary centaurs didn't even have time to react before they were struck down.
After all, their ability to dodge the Divine Arm Crossbows depended on having enough distance and reaction time, but having already charged to the edge of the shield, it was too late to dodge.
"Retreat, retreat..."
The Centaur Prince, his head injured and his eyes obscured by blood, gave the order in a state of disarray, leading the remaining centaurs to retreat into the jungle, attempting to wait for an opportunity to "rise again"!
"Howl, howl!"
Just then, a series of roars suddenly echoed from within the territory.
Immediately, twelve creatures covered in black and white feathers, with heads and claws resembling those of a dragon, and standing about two meters tall.
Charged out of the territory at high speed, pursuing the fleeing centaurs!
Black and White Jiao Pheasant (Green), Sub-adult state, Tier 7!