Chapter 249: You Have Many Secrets
The corpse of the “Iron Hawk” military officer, his viscera mangled, crashed to the ground with Zhou Yan’s spear strike. Blood suddenly spurted from the wound torn open by the spear edge.
Zhou Yan urged his warhorse forward, holding the reins of the jet-black Tanlong treasure horse.
“Giddy up!”
The “Night-Shining Jade Lion” galloped like lightning. The jet-black, lustrous treasure horse actually followed without resistance. Zhou Yan chuckled; a phoenix follows a dragon, and the jet-black Tanlong treasure horse following the “Night-Shining Jade Lion” was quite effortless.
He released the reins, and the horses followed, one black and one white, galloping like meteors, rapidly approaching the boulder maze.
At a distance of about two li, the “Night-Shining Jade Lion” naturally slowed down. Within Zhou Yan’s line of sight, the scene was as chaotic as a boiling pot of porridge.
The Shi Brothers’ beast taming was not aimless. Lions and tigers charged out from the mountain forest, while hundreds of leopards blocked the retreat. Except for the “Iron Hawk” military officer and forty to fifty riders who immediately broke free from the beast horde, all other cavalry were thrown to the ground by their trembling warhorses. The bloody and brutal fight between man and beast was shocking.
Even separated by a thousand paces, Zhou Yan could smell the strong, distinct scent of wild beasts and killing intent mixed with blood in the air. With a neigh, the “Night-Shining Jade Lion” was overwhelmed by the smell, and the horse began to back away. Zhou Yan even saw several ownerless Hexi warhorses collapse to the ground, their legs weak.
The whistling of Shi Bowei, Shi Zhongmeng, and Shi Shugang, all possessing the five tones of the palace, commercial, angle, horn, and five, grew more urgent. The attacks of the lions, tigers, and leopards became fiercer and more bloody. The escort team members hid within the boulder maze, not daring to step out.
Zhou Yan turned the “Night-Shining Jade Lion’s” head and pursued the dozens of riders who had escaped.
…
The air was filled with a sickeningly bloody stench. A leopard leaped into the air and pounced at a rider. The armored rider let out a hysterical howl, his sword light flared, and he swept it out. The leopard’s body leaped into the air, but with a flick of its thick tail and a twist of its waist, it dodged the fatal blow. Its claws swept out, and the rider was knocked to the ground. The leopard landed and pounced again, its fangs bared, and a fleshy thorn on its scarlet tongue was like a red-hot needle.
Amidst a scream, the leopard’s bloody maw landed on the rider’s jaw. The rider’s longsword also pierced the leopard’s soft abdomen. Scenes of man and beast perishing together were everywhere.
Huang Rong’s complexion was ashen white; the indescribable smell permeating the air almost made her want to vomit. Mu Nianci watched the bloody scene within her sight, her hand holding the spear trembling.
Suddenly, a figure dashed out beside the two of them. The figure did not employ any high-level lightness skill, but each stride covered ten feet. In just a few breaths, he had appeared over thirty feet away. Huang Rong looked and saw it was Zhang Wangyue.
Fu’an’s chief escort galloped for a li, leaped onto an “Iron Hawk” warhorse that was fleeing into the forest, and rode towards the direction Zhou Yan was pursuing. Huang Rong instinctively chased, but after a few steps, she retreated. Once the dismounted cavalry charged over, she would need to command and deploy the formation and could not leave.
…
Under the bright spring sunlight, two blurred lines caught up to the dozens of “Iron Hawks” from a parallel direction before slightly slowing down, revealing their jet-black and snow-white forms.
Zhou Yan drew his bow and nocked an arrow.
In this situation, it was not the time to consider the warhorse’s life. Zhou Yan aimed for the horse’s legs.
With his masterful archery and the steady gait of the “Night-Shining Jade Lion,” he effortlessly found the correct interpupillary distance for shooting the moment he drew his bow.
With a “bang,” the gray long arrow pushed a distinct ripple through the air, traversing about one hundred and twenty paces before unleashing its most ferocious killing intent upon the warhorse.
The triangular arrowhead tore through the hide and pierced the warhorse’s front leg. Blood instantly dyed a large patch of yellow a glaring scarlet. The warhorse crashed down, the sound of its bones breaking like ice cracking. Following closely, the second, third, and fourth… warhorses tumbled to the ground, the splashed mud blooming like huge gray lotuses.
“Kill him.”
“Pfft!” Just as an “Iron Hawk” cavalryman shouted to kill Zhou Yan, his head jolted. His facial bone now bore a trembling long arrow. Some cavalrymen nocked arrows and shot at the rapidly galloping Zhou Yan.
A streak of brilliant green light suddenly flared like a rainbow. Zhou Yan held his spear in his right hand and his sword in his left, the “Night-Shining Jade Lion” advancing in the center. He smashed with his spear and chopped with his sword, deflecting all the incoming arrows.
Zhou Yan charged into the formation alone, facing over twenty “Iron Hawks.”
An “Iron Hawk” exhaled heavily and thrust his great spear towards Zhou Yan. He raised his right arm, parried the opponent’s thrust, and the Qingfeng sword swept out horizontally, slicing off half of the opponent’s face. The two riders crossed paths, and the bloodline from the sword edge flew into the sky.
Zhou Yan chopped with his sword and thrust with his spear. The Yin Yang Reversal Blade Technique of Gongsun Zhi, the Valley Master of the Valley of Unfeeling, was displayed to its fullest.
In his eyes, this set of cultivation techniques had many flaws when dealing with experts, but it was sufficient for dealing with the “Iron Hawks.”
…
Zhang Wangyue galloped his warhorse. From afar, he saw over a dozen cavalry surrounding Zhou Yan, thrusting with spears and slashing with sabers. Zhou Yan wielded his sword in his left hand and his spear in his right, attacking from both sides with unstoppable force. His longsword occasionally struck armor, sending sparks flying.
“This looks like the cultivation technique used by Gongsun Zhi of the Valley of Unfeeling at Shaoshi Mountain,” Zhang Wangyue muttered to himself, his warhorse continuing to gallop. Fu’an’s chief escort rapidly approached. In his forward view, a spear edge suddenly leaped up and thrust towards him. Zhang Wangyue’s copper rod at the front end flicked up, parrying the spear thrust. The copper rod then “bang” struck the opponent’s chest armor, taking his life.
The warhorse continued to charge forward. Zhang Wangyue parried and struck from left and right, the sounds of crackling and popping extending to Zhou Yan’s side in an instant.
“Brother Zhou, I’m here!”
“Nine riders left.”
“Four for me, five for you. The capable should bear more.” Zhang Wangyue laughed and charged forward. Zhou Yan sheathed his Qingfeng sword and held his spear with both hands. The continuous spear shadows danced like a raging dragon, roaring and surging towards the five “Iron Hawks.”
…
With a mournful “neigh,” Zhang Wangyue’s warhorse stumbled and fell after being pierced in the leg. He slid off and landed. The warhorse of the “Iron Hawk” in front began to accelerate, its saber light undulating with the horse’s gallop, raised in the air.
Zhang Wangyue’s eyes were like cold steel. His body did not move.
The warhorse galloped forward, and the rider’s saber struck down like thunder. Zhang Wangyue moved slightly, and the saber grazed his face. His copper rod suddenly leaped up from the ground and struck the horse’s leg. With a long neigh, the warhorse and rider tumbled to the ground. Zhang Wangyue stepped forward and smashed the opponent’s facial bone with a single blow.
Having killed his opponent, the sudden silence made Zhang Wangyue a little unaccustomed. He looked over; Zhou Yan was nowhere to be seen, only a few warhorses nervously snorting.
“How about that jet-black Tanlong treasure horse?”
Zhang Wangyue glanced at it and praised it highly: “A good horse, not inferior to the ‘Night-Shining Jade Lion.’ It belonged to that ‘Iron Hawk’ military officer.”
“Mm, I’ll give it to Old Brother.”
“I wouldn’t dare refuse.”
Zhang Wangyue walked quickly, leaped onto the jet-black Tanlong treasure horse, and the two galloped off. The dozen or so ownerless warhorses recognized the treasure horse and automatically followed.
…
The battle at the valley entrance had ended. The Shi Brothers drove the surviving lions, tigers, and leopards into the mountain forest. What appeared in Zhou Yan and Zhang Wangyue’s sight were over a hundred fierce beasts lying on the ground, eighty percent of which were leopards.
The “Iron Hawks'” one-for-one fighting style also caused considerable losses to the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor.
Huyan Lei rode forward and said, “Dozens of ‘Iron Hawks’ rushed into the boulder maze and were all killed. The rest died in the mouths of beasts.”
“Thanks to the three heroes,” Zhang Wangyue said.
“Indeed,” Huyan Lei replied.
Zhou Yan dismounted and walked forward. He said to the Shi Brothers who came to meet him, “It’s a real pity to have lost so many lions, tigers, and leopards.”
Shi Bowei laughed heartily, “Young Hero Zhou, please don’t worry about it. There are plenty in the mountains and fields. It just takes a little more time to go into the mountains a few more times. The escorts and runners of the escort bureau are all quite skilled; it would be a pity to lose even one.”
“If you ever need my help in the future, just give me a call, my brothers.”
“Brother Zhou, since you say so, we won’t stand on ceremony. If you have any trouble, my brothers and I will go through fire and water for you, no questions asked.”
“Well said.”
Zhang Wangyue, followed by Huyan Lei, stepped forward to express their gratitude. Zhou Yan introduced them, heroes recognizing heroes, making for a lively scene.
Liang Xiaowu led the runners to gather the warhorses that had scattered and were standing in various places. Zhou Yan smiled and said, “The ‘Iron Hawks’ are treasures from head to toe. The escort team’s return journey will have empty escort carts.”
Zhang Wangyue nodded, “That’s right. The escort carts can be loaded with armor, weapons, and even warhorses and sent directly to Cuya Mountain.”
Huyan Lei laughed, “Good idea. Leader Yang will be overjoyed.”
“Indeed!” Zhou Yan nodded.
Huang Rong blinked her eyes, thinking to herself, where did Cuya Mountain come from now?
The dust settled, a great victory.
Zhou Yan, Zhang Wangyue, and others stripped off armor and collected weapons. Huang Rong walked over and squatted beside Zhou Yan, smiling and saying:
“You have many secrets!”
