Gu Qingcheng looked closely and saw the sound of splashing water.
A dense mass of heads suddenly appeared on the water, all zombies. There were thousands of them, and it was unclear where they came from, possibly drifting towards them with the current.
As they got closer to the island, they could smell the scent of people and instinctively swam in this direction.
Gu Qingcheng was certain that these zombies were mindless; everything they did was involuntary.
Gu Qingcheng and her Phoenix Village subordinates were not alarmed, as they had experienced the zombie siege of the village before.
This was their second encounter with a zombie horde, and they felt a slight thrill.
"Prepare, fire arrows."
Gu Qingcheng had a clear aim. As the first wave of zombies entered the range of their fire arrows, she calmly issued the command.
Hundreds of fire arrows were shot into the zombie horde. Because the zombies were densely packed, the arrows easily hit their targets.
As highly flammable and explosive material, the zombies ignited, and the water surface erupted in flames, with constant explosions.
Zombies that were not hit by arrows instinctively dodged, and slowly, the distance between them increased, diminishing the effectiveness of the fire arrows.
Previously, accuracy was not a concern, making the archers very effective.
But now, only precise shots would suffice.
Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo's archery skills were second to none. Even an amateur could see that they were both incredibly accurate, hitting one zombie with each arrow.
Besides them, Wang Dapeng and other Phoenix Village villagers also possessed decent archery skills, having been trained by Mi Guo.
It was thanks to these skilled archers that they successfully repelled the first wave of zombies.
Despite their efforts, many surviving zombies still swam to the riverbank and came ashore.
Gu Qingcheng then directed everyone to shoot and retreat, ordering those behind to light the firewood piles.
Zombies feared fire and hesitated before the flames.
Gu Qingcheng instructed everyone to beat gongs and drums and even blow trumpets, making all sorts of noises.
Stimulated by the sound, some zombies became frenzied and, disregarding everything, charged through the fire, intending to attack the source of the noise.
But as soon as they jumped into the fire, they realized they had been tricked. The moment they touched the flames, they exploded.
More than half of the zombies that came ashore were lost in the wall of fire.
However, their preparations were hasty, and the firewood was insufficient. As the flames of the firewood piles gradually died down, some zombies, with their powerful leaping ability, managed to break through the fire line and rush towards the crowd.
Encouraged by their previous successes, everyone mustered their courage and began to engage the zombies in close combat.
Gu Qingcheng, skilled in ranged combat, maintained her distance and fired fire arrows.
With her extraordinary archery skills, every arrow found its mark, and no zombie escaped.
As she was in the midst of a fierce barrage, her hand was suddenly grabbed by something. Startled, she turned around to see an unfamiliar middle-aged man urgently asking her:
"Young Master Gu, have you seen our young lady?"
"Your young lady? Who?"
Gu Qingcheng was momentarily stunned. At a time like this, someone was looking for her to find someone else?
What was going on?
The middle-aged man was Old Zhu. He quickly replied:
"Du Lanyue, my young lady's name is Du Lanyue."
"What happened to Sister Lanyue? Did she come to the river?"
Hearing this, Gu Qingcheng's heart sank.
"Yes, she must have come to find you. I had arranged for the whole family to hide in the cellar, but she secretly went to the Bafang Inn alone. The innkeeper said she was looking for you. When she heard you weren't here, she rode her horse to the river, probably coming this way."
"Ah? This!"
Gu Qingcheng was deeply touched.
It seemed Sister Lanyue, fearing that she might be in danger, had rushed over to warn her without hesitation.
"Are you sure she reached the pier?"
Gu Qingcheng became anxious.
She knew archery, but Du Lanyue, being so gentle, didn't seem like she would know martial arts.
If she encountered zombies, she would surely be unable to protect herself.
"Yes, I saw her riding this way, but my two legs couldn't keep up."
Old Zhu also secretly regretted why he hadn't ridden a horse when he left.
It was so foolish.
He had assumed his young lady wouldn't go far, staying near home. His young lady wasn't foolish; she knew there were zombies by the river and still came.
But he never expected that his young lady would be so foolish.
"Don't worry, we'll split up and search."
Gu Qingcheng forced herself to calm down.
She continued to shoot zombies while searching for Du Lanyue.
She hadn't expected her new friend to be so kind to her, to care about her so much, and to think of notifying her when facing danger.
"Sister Lanyue, please don't be in any trouble. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to bear the responsibility."
Gu Qingcheng felt guilty and desperately searched among the crowd.
When Du Lanyue arrived at the riverbank on horseback, she saw crowds of people everywhere, making a commotion. She was dumbfounded; she couldn't see Gu Qingcheng anywhere.
She wanted to shout loudly but felt it would be a waste of effort. With her voice, she couldn't possibly be heard over the noise.
She dismounted and weaved through the crowd, hoping to find Gu Qingcheng.
Just then, she suddenly heard shouts from the crowd:
"They're coming ashore! The zombies are coming ashore!"
And at that moment, she saw Gu Qingcheng.
Gu Qingcheng stood at the very front of the line, drawing her bow and issuing commands.
At her order, everyone aimed their fire arrows at the zombies in the water.
At that moment, Gu Qingcheng appeared majestic, like a great general commanding an army of thousands, exuding an imposing aura.
Du Lanyue was mesmerized.
She had worried that Gu Qingcheng wouldn't be able to protect herself, but unexpectedly, Gu Qingcheng was already directing everyone to face the zombies and protect them.
What kind of person was this? To possess such ability and demeanor!
Calm in the face of danger, capable of commanding a defense!
As Gu Qingcheng and others shot arrow after arrow at the zombies in the water, the crowd erupted in cheers of surprise and joy.
It could be heard that hope had returned to everyone's hearts.
Du Lanyue also overheard people around her discussing how fragile zombies could be.
Du Lanyue temporarily forgot her fear. With Gu Qingcheng at the front, eliminating zombies, she felt she had nothing to worry about.
She felt that her trip was not in vain. If she hadn't witnessed it firsthand, she wouldn't have seen Gu Qingcheng's heroic and dashing appearance at this moment.
Just then, as the first wave of zombies approached the shore, Gu Qingcheng led the crowd to retreat behind the firewood piles, which were then lit.
While using the burning firewood to detonate the zombies, they continued to shoot arrows. The crowd began to stir slightly, and people, armed with sickles and hoes, met the zombies head-on.
An uncle nearby saw Du Lanyue standing bare-handed, looking bewildered, and became anxious:
"Young lady, are you here to watch the excitement? Why aren't you carrying a weapon?"
Saying that, he unhooked a sickle from his waist and handed it to her.
Du Lanyue quickly thanked him and accepted it.
At this moment, the zombies began to break through the firewood defense line and charge towards the crowd, and everyone began to fight.