The sharp and powerful arrow did not stop after piercing through Mahmud's arm, continuing on with great momentum until it finally embedded itself in the trunk of a huge tree far away. More than half of the arrow was buried in the tree trunk, which was large enough for a man to hug by linking his arms together, showing only the tail of the arrow which was still quivering slightly.
"AH! My arm!"
Mahmud fell heavily onto his back from the impact as he grabbed his arm and screamed in pain.
A large and ugly hole had appeared from his left shoulder all the way through to his arm. His entire left side was slumped to the side, and his left arm dangled uselessly by his side. All the flesh and muscles on that arm had been completely torn in two!
Copious amounts of blood gushed out of the wound, bringing a deep chill into Mahmud's heart as he regained his senses. If he hadn't reacted fast enough, that arrow would have directly pierced through his heart from the back!
[1] ED/N: A Chinese idiom, it refers to avoiding striking with full strength (or at all) because of the likely collateral damage / casualties (which usually would be worse than the gain)