Within just a few seconds, the Horse-Faced Bear's belly was pierced by numerous spears, making it look like a hedgehog.
Gushing blood flowed out, staining its fur crimson.
The Horse-Faced Bear shrieked in agony.
Its round, thick neck actually allowed it to stubbornly hold out even under such extreme circumstances.
On the hillside behind the camp.
“Chieftainess, your power has severely degenerated. There is no need for you to take risks. You can just leave this kind of thing to them,” her handmaiden, Si Yun, said worriedly.
“It is fine. Using it once in a while won't do much harm,” Si He said.
She held a large longbow in her hands.
Gripping the body of the bow with her petite foot, she raised her hand to take a long, feathered arrow from her handmaiden and notched it. Grasping the shaft of the arrow with both hands, she pulled it back over her shoulder, drawing the bowstring with all her might until it was fully drawn.
The arrowhead slowly lowered from the high canopy of the trees, eventually aligning with the Horse-Faced Bear's head.
Si He held her breath and focused her mind, doing her utmost to stand steady.
Unbelievably, the arrowhead remained so steady that it barely trembled.
She slowly adjusted her aim, targeting the Horse-Faced Bear's left eye.
From her direction, what she saw was the eye on the right side.
Si He took a deep breath. At the very moment the Horse-Faced Bear thrashed and shuddered, her gaze suddenly locked on, and she abruptly released the long, feathered arrow.
Swoosh!
The arrow let out a sharp screech as it tore through the night sky, flying straight toward its target like a sudden crack of thunder.
Thwack!
The force behind the feathered arrow was extraordinary. It pierced straight through the Horse-Faced Bear's left eye with a distinct sound of cracking bone.
Blood splattered everywhere as one of the Horse-Faced Bear's eyes went completely blind, and it let out an excruciatingly painful shriek.
The members of the tribe felt a sudden surge of morale at this sight, renewing their desperate attacks.
Arms that had been on the verge of exhaustion felt a trace of strength return, and they once again grabbed their spears and hurled them with all their might.
Seeing this, Yan Shou abruptly turned his head toward the hillside behind the camp, where he spotted Si He.
After seeing her give a slight nod, his heart tightened, and his gaze fell toward her lower body.
Her left foot, which was gripping the bow, was trembling visibly, almost slipping off the bow's body.
Her delicate sole was noticeably flushed red.
Yan Shou gritted his teeth, turned back, grabbed the spear beside him, and hurled it with tremendous force.
This throw was backed not only by all his strength, but also by a surging rage.
The rage of his own powerlessness.
Si He watched the battle from afar, her face visibly pale.
Fine beads of sweat trickled down her face.
The side effects of forcing herself to draw the bow and shoot with her foot were clearly manifesting in her body.
A sharp pain shot through her left thigh as if it were cramping, and her left foot felt so weak and sore that she could barely grip the large bow.
Both of her arms were practically depleted of strength, aching with cramp-like pains, so stiff that she could barely move them.
This body of hers was simply too weak. An eleven-year-old's body was far from fully developed. If not for the remnants of the tribe's former power residing within her, she would not even be able to draw the bowstring, let alone stand steady.
Yet, even with that power, the side effects it brought were immense.
At the very least, she could hardly move now.
“Chieftainess!” Her handmaiden, Si Yun, anxiously rushed forward to embrace her. She took the bow away, gently supported her waist to lower her, and laid her flat on a pre-prepared straw mat. Then, with a practiced, rhythmic technique, she began to press and knead Si He's thighs and arms to help relieve the cramp-like spasms of pain.
The agony from the side effects grew increasingly intense.
The fine sweat on Si He's forehead suddenly swelled into pea-sized droplets that rolled down.
Her face grew as pale as paper.
Her tightly pursed lips had lost all traces of color.
She gritted her teeth tightly, refusing to make a sound, lest her handmaiden worry too much.
However, she did not know that even without saying a word, her pale face and violently trembling body had already terrified her handmaiden.
“Relax,” Si Yun said, biting her lip. She massaged her with tense yet steady hands.
Si He took a deep breath, trying her best to relax her body.
Worried about the battle, she could not help but raise her head, only to be firmly but gently pushed back down by Si Yun.
“You are not allowed to look! Hunting Chief Yan Shou is down there; they will handle it!” Si Yun's voice, gentle yet carrying a trace of firmness, squeezed out from between her lips.
“Do not worry too much. They are battle-hardened veterans. Even without you, they can handle it well.”
She analyzed the situation calmly, doing her best to put Si He at ease.
“Is your power about to completely fade away? The side effects this time are more severe than expected. You are still growing; you cannot afford to let anything go wrong!”
“No, my power is enough to support it,” Si He said, stubborn to the last, and then smiled weakly. “It was like this before, too. You are just always so nervous.”
“How can I not be nervous?! We shouldn't have brought this longbow along in the first place!” Si Yun grumbled.
“It is an heirloom from my father,” Si He said, feeling her body relax slightly.
“...” Si Yun fell silent, focusing on massaging Si He with highly skilled movements.
Time flowed silently. After a brief moment...
“Roar!”
A furious roar suddenly echoed through the mountain forest.
The sounds of the Horse-Faced Bear thrashing and attacking frantically erupted.
Trees snapped and broke, and the ground trembled.
Someone was sent flying, letting out a pained cry.
Si Yun's attention was drawn away. Seizing this gap, Si He sat up.
The sight before them left them shocked.
The Horse-Faced Bear was actually dragging the massive boulder that had fallen down the cliff, fighting fiercely with the hunters.
Even though they cleverly kept their distance, some were still hit, letting out screams of pain.
Si Cang leapt down from a tall tree branch, driving his spear forcefully into the Horse-Faced Bear's back.
The Horse-Faced Bear shrieked in pain and shook itself violently, throwing him off.
Yan Shou constantly circled the beast, picking up dropped spears and throwing them again with great force, burying them in the Horse-Faced Bear's body.
But the Horse-Faced Bear quickly gave chase, running wildly after him, while turning its head to slap away those who pursued it from behind.
Si He watched the scene in a daze.
Watching them struggle to hold their ground with desperate maneuvers after exhausting all their options.
Gritting her teeth, she rolled over, grabbed a long, feathered arrow, and picked up the longbow on the ground.
“Chieftainess!” Si Yun cried out at the sight, running over in an attempt to stop her.
But Si He knew what she was planning to do. In her haste, she drew the large longbow in one swift motion.
Si Yun froze on the spot, not daring to speak further, only clenching her hands tightly.
If she suddenly stepped in to stop Si He now, it could easily cause the arrow to release abruptly, leading to an even worse muscle strain.
Therefore, she could only stop.
She knew that Si He had clearly anticipated her thoughts and intentionally drew the bow so quickly.
Si He certainly knew she was being somewhat unfair to Si Yun, but in this moment of life and death for the tribe, they could not afford any mistakes.
She had no time to rest.
Gripping the body of the bow with her petite foot and pulling the string back over her shoulder, Si He held her breath and focused her mind. The moment the arrowhead aligned with the Horse-Faced Bear's other eye, her gaze locked on, and she abruptly loosed the arrow.
The feathered arrow screeched as it broke through the air, whistling forward.
Flying over the camp and past the weaving hunters, it shot straight into the skin just under the Horse-Faced Bear's other eye.
The shot missed its mark.
Not only did it fail to blind the Horse-Faced Bear, but it also infuriated the beast. Its single remaining eye followed the whistling sound of the arrow's flight.
Soon, it spotted Si He standing on the hillside on her right foot, holding the bow to shoot with her left foot.
“Roar! Roar! Roar!”
A roar far greater than any before shook the mountain forest.
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