Chapter 262: Killing the Bandit Leader Before Ten Thousand
The air was thick with the smell of blood, making the wind feel viscous.
When Qiu Qianzhang leaped onto the hill, his complexion was even paler than the zombie-like face of Xiaoxiangzi. He had traveled far and wide, swindling and deceiving, and had seen much, but he had never encountered cavalry charging into battle. He had thought that with martial arts reaching the level of his second brother, Qiu Qianren, one could roam the world unimpeded. However, the scene he had just witnessed had overturned his understanding of martial arts.
The Golden Wheel Dharma King, whose cultivation was not inferior to his second brother’s, could only flee like a stray dog before the iron cavalry that surged like a river tide. Darba held on for one round before nearly being trampled into a pulp. As the iron cavalry advanced, people were continuously swept up, their screams echoing through the mountains and fields.
Qiu Qianzhang’s body trembled, but his mind was remarkably active and wandering. The Great Song could not defeat the Jin cavalry, and the Jurchens, who once roamed the world unopposed, were now no match for the Mongolian iron cavalry.
This world would eventually belong to Mongolia.
As long as he stuck close to Huo Du, there would be great prospects.
“Hoo!” Qiu Qianzhang exhaled heavily, forcing himself to suppress his surging emotions. He slipped into the forest. He had risked coming to the place that had been blood-washed by the Cuya Mountain iron cavalry, smeared himself with blood, and then galloped into the mountain forest to rendezvous with Huo Du.
…
Huo Du, Xiaoxiangzi, Ma Xiuping, Ran Tianshi, and others fled onto the hill. The pale-faced Mongolian Little Prince turned to look. In his field of vision, the cavalry was still advancing like a gray tide, irresistibly crushing everything in their path.
Ma Xiuping’s facial muscles twitched, and his gaze was obscure as he looked at the armored cavalry below. He was from Western Xia and recognized their equipment as that of the “Iron Hawks.”
“What’s wrong?” Huo Du’s voice suddenly came to Ma Xiuping’s ear.
Ma Xiuping exhaled and said, “We failed to protect the Prince.”
“No, you performed very well. If it weren’t for your and Xiaoxiangzi’s alertness, I might have lost my life under the iron cavalry,” Huo Du said. Suddenly, he remembered that Qiu Qianzhang had been the first to give the warning. He quickly asked, “Where is Mr. Qiu?”
Everyone searched around, only to see a figure slowly walking out of the distant mountain forest, covered in blood.
“Mr. Qiu?” Huo Du was greatly surprised and leaped forward, saying, “What happened to you, sir?”
Qiu Qianzhang said, “As long as the Little Prince is safe, I am at ease. The group was scattered, and I was worried about your safety, so I searched everywhere and fought with that cavalry.”
“Cough, cough…”
Huo Du was deeply moved by Qiu Qianzhang’s words and quickly asked, “Are you injured, sir?”
“It’s nothing, it’s all the opponent’s blood. Can the Little Prince see the Dharma King? I wanted to save the Dharma King, but I was trapped in heavy encirclement.”
Just as Huo Du was about to reply, a scream suddenly rang out. He and Qiu Qianzhang looked in unison, only to see a figure dart out from the mountain forest below like a leopard. The sword light in his hand bloomed like lightning, and the head of a Tongbai Mountain leader who was fleeing uphill flew high into the air along with the sword’s momentum.
Immediately following, countless figures emerged from the mountain forest. A woman’s spear fiercely pursued and stabbed, knocking several people to the ground in an instant. A woman in black moved like a ghost, and wherever she went, her palms spun, and people screamed and fell out.
A shocking rain of blood suddenly exploded within Huo Du’s sight. A burly man, around forty years old, cut a Tongbai Mountain leader in half with a single saber strike. The saber light in the man’s hand erupted like a howling tornado. As he advanced, blood and flesh splattered, carving terrifying saber marks in the air.
Qiu Qianzhang’s gaze fell on the woman in black. He was inwardly astonished, wondering how his third sister was among these people. He recalled that Qiu Qianchi had once stayed at Cuya Mountain and suddenly shivered. Could this group before him all be from Cuya Mountain? If his third sister recognized him, wouldn’t he be in trouble?
“Little Prince, let’s go.”
Huo Du instinctively followed Qiu Qianzhang’s suggestion. He turned and fled wildly, with Qiu Qianzhang following, and Xiaoxiangzi and others guarding them. The group retreated into the depths of Tongbai Mountain like stray dogs.
Behind them, Qiu Qianchi, Wang Kui, Mu Nianci, Liang Xiaowu, and the elites of Zhenwei, Fu’an, and Cuya Mountain were unleashing their most ferocious killing intent. Behind the escort team, the infantry of Cuya Mountain advanced across the mountains and fields.
…
The “Night-Shining Jade Lion” galloped like the wind, bending the grass and flowers by the roadside with its speed. The Golden Wheel Dharma King retreated, while Zhou Yan pursued the Tongbai Mountain leaders Liu Qianfeng and Zhang Xiaoyue.
The “Night-Shining Jade Lion” grew farther and farther away from the iron cavalry and closer and closer to Liu Qianfeng.
Yang Miaozhen saw this and was about to spur her horse to chase, but Zhang Wangyue suddenly said, “Leader Yang, you must not.”
“Why?”
“An army cannot be without a commander. My ‘Tanlong Treasure Horse’ is divine. I will go to aid Brother Zhou.”
Zhang Wangyue and Yang Miaozhen had both read Wumu’s Military Writings, but when it came to applying military strategy and assessing the situation, Zhang Wangyue, the descendant of a general’s family, was superior. He added, “Tongbai Mountain’s elites are all lost, and the remaining are just a rabble. The tide has turned. The bandit leader will surely flee to Funiu Mountain. Leader Yang can send a small force to Tongbai Mountain and the main force to attack Funiu Mountain.”
Yang Miaozhen understood immediately. “Brother Zhang is right.”
Lu Beihe said, “I will go to Tongbai Mountain.”
“Brother Huyan, you go with Brother Lu.”
“Got it.”
Zhang Wangyue gave his instructions and galloped away. The “Tanlong Treasure Horse,” excited by the iron armor and the smell of blood, neighed and shot forward like a black lightning bolt. Yang Miaozhen took out a command flag and began to issue orders, dispatching troops.
In Zhou Yan’s vision, Liu Qianfeng’s figure was constantly growing larger.
With bandits all over the road, Zhou Yan charged in like a dragon entering the sea, wielding his Profound Iron Heavy Spear left and right. Blood and severed limbs scattered, falling like raindrops on both sides of the road.
Liu Qianfeng and Zhang Xiaoyue heard screams behind them, each more piercing than the last. They turned to look and saw a person and a horse approaching rapidly, breaking through like a bamboo.
“Third brother, stop him,” Zhang Xiaoyue said with a ferocious expression.
Dozens of riders turned their horses and roared towards Zhou Yan. Zhang Xiaoyue glanced at the gray tide in the distance and said to Liu Qianfeng, “Big brother, the stronghold is probably lost.”
“To Funiu Mountain.”
“Alright.”
The cavalry thundered towards Funiu Mountain Stronghold, adjacent to Tongbai Mountain.
In the agitated air, Zhou Yan and the dozens of riders who intercepted him clashed head-on.
He disdained them. The horse bandits of Tongbai Mountain, though seemingly fierce, were far inferior to the “Iron Hawks” he had encountered in Ganzhou.
With a “clang,” the Qingfeng Sword was unsheathed. He held the sword in his left hand and the spear in his right, slashing with the sword and thrusting with the spear as he broke into the cavalry.
Ding ding ding ding…
Dozens of riders circled Zhou Yan, besieging and killing him. More than ten sparks bloomed on his sides, and falling bandits rained down.
“Ah!”
A burly man roared and swung his saber. The Qingfeng Sword instantly pierced the saber light and retracted like a phantom. As the man with the sword in his throat fell, Zhou Yan thrust his spear into another horse bandit’s chest. Without pulling out his spear, he stood on the stirrup with one foot, his other foot suspended, using the flying stirrup technique. He leaned outward, clamping the two spears that were thrusting at him under his armpit.
The two bandits exerted great force. The sword light from Zhou Yan’s left hand, the Qingfeng Sword, cut through like a cold flame appearing out of nowhere.
Blood spurted from their throats and bloomed in the air. The two bandits’ horses fell. The moment he broke free, he snatched the Profound Iron Heavy Spear from the corpse of a bandit on the ground.
In his field of vision, it was now empty. More than half of the dozens of riders had been killed.
“Magnificent!”
Zhang Wangyue cheered and galloped forward, his copper rod striking left and right, knocking four bandit riders off their horses in an instant.
The Tongbai Mountain third leader, who was leading the interception, let out a cry and turned his horse to flee.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Zhou Yan followed like a shadow. The third leader, relying on his astonishing horsemanship, stepped on the horse’s back, hooked his foot around the horse’s belly, and flipped backward, thrusting his Returning Spear.
This Returning Spear move was truly amazing. Zhou Yan couldn’t help but exclaim, “Good spear technique!”
Before his voice fell, he leaped into the air, clamped the spear between his legs, and exerted force like scissors.
The leader cried out “Ah!” and was thrown off balance by the irresistible force from the spear shaft, falling from his horse.
Zhou Yan landed on the fallen leader’s warhorse and thrust his spear into the opponent on the ground, killing him.
Zhang Wangyue had already killed the last rider and galloped over.
“This bandit’s ‘Returning Spear’ technique is something I’ve never seen before, but Brother Zhou’s method of breaking the move is even more astonishing.”
Zhou Yan scoffed, “Adapt to the situation. This ‘Returning Spear’ move can be learned.”
“Indeed,” Zhang Wangyue said, changing the subject. “Tongbai Mountain’s elites are gone, and the tide has turned. Brother Lu and Brother Huyan, attack over there. Leader Yang, go to Funiu Mountain.”
“Excellent, let’s press the attack. Don’t give them a chance to breathe. My old brother and I will cut down the bandit leaders.”
“Splendid!”
Zhou Yan braced his feet and leaped backward onto the “Night-Shining Jade Lion.” The black and white steeds once again pursued Liu Qianfeng and the others.
…
Funiu Mountain’s peaks were layered, its forests vast, its springs flowed, and its birds sang. Its grandeur blended with natural elegance, and its ruggedness was matched by its delicate beauty. However, this harmonious natural scene was shattered by the urgent sound of horse hooves and human voices.
“Who goes there? Dismount and halt.”
“Quickly open the stronghold gate.”
“It’s Tongbai Mountain’s Leader Liu.”
Liu Qianfeng’s face was contorted with rage. He had been pursued relentlessly like a maggot on a bone, losing his entire retinue, with only a dozen riders left. Where had these formidable figures come from?
“Fire arrows, stop the cavalry behind!” Liu Qianfeng shouted hysterically.
The stronghold, with a population of ten thousand, erupted with the sound of copper gongs at Liu Qianfeng’s roar.
Zhou Yan saw the stronghold gate open and the enemy about to ride in. His arm suddenly exploded upward, and the Profound Iron Heavy Spear in his hand flew out. He himself left the horse’s back, his feet landing on the ground. He used the “Instant Thousand Li” light body technique, his speed actually surpassing that of the “Night-Shining Jade Lion.”
The spear fell with a sharp whistle of arrows. Liu Qianfeng shouted and dodged to the side. The spear pierced the horse’s back, and with a chilling sound of bone and flesh cracking, the horse toppled to the ground.
Zhou Yan’s figure had already appeared behind the fallen Liu Qianfeng. Liu Qianfeng, wrapped in fox fur, turned and roared, shooting his prayer beads towards Zhou Yan.
Sharp sword light splashed out like moonlight, and the prayer beads scattered in all directions.
“Clang!”
A sharp sword cry echoed throughout the area, arriving before Liu Qianfeng with a terrifying sound of breaking wind.
“Pfft!”
A flash of sword light, and blood splattered five paces!
The bandits on the entire stronghold wall fell silent, as if time had frozen.
Liu Qianfeng looked down at the bloody hole through his heart, a look of confusion and unwillingness in his eyes. He was only dozens of steps away from entering the stronghold.
As he thought this, blood entered his lungs, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, falling backward.
