Chapter 190 - 145: Assaulting the Mountain (3)
He only slightly altered his features and made his aura colder and sterner. He stretched his frame just a little, making himself appear a fraction taller.
Though the changes were minor, the effect was quite good. At the very least, he looked completely natural.
Fang Yue had left Sanshui County Town around noon. After about an hour of travel, he saw a vast expanse of water. In the distance, three river currents, winding like dragons, converged and then plunged down a sheer drop of a full thousand feet.
This was the confluence of the three rivers—a majestic and vast sight, its momentum astonishing.
He traveled onward for another hour.
Mountain peaks rose one after another from the earth, forming a continuous, rolling range.
’The feel of this mountain range... it’s completely different from the one near Xiahe County, isn’t it? It doesn’t have that same gloomy, cold feeling.’
As soon as he entered the mountains, Fang Yue felt the difference.
The mountains here lacked the distinct pressure he always felt in the ones near Xiahe County.
In Xiahe County, going deep into the mountains would create a sense of pressure in his mind, a pressure that grew more intense the further he went.
But he felt nothing of the sort here.
Clearly, this place was not the same as Xiahe County.
Mulling over this question, Fang Yue continued deeper. This trip was just to scout the way and see what Tenglong Stronghold was really made of.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, at a hidden location at the foot of the mountain where Tenglong Stronghold was located, a troop of more than thirty men clad in armor had gathered.
"Chen, just give the order and we’ll charge right up. With more than thirty of us Martial Scholars, won’t taking a small stronghold like this be a piece of cake?"
A burly, thick-waisted man with a massive scar on his arm spoke up.
"That’s right, Chen! If we go up and take the stronghold now, we’ll pass the Prefecture Examination just like that. We’ll get a huge lead on everyone else. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; we can’t let it slip by!"
The other Martial Scholars chimed in, agreeing.
Most of them were lower-ranked Martial Scholars who originally had almost no hope of passing the Prefecture Examination.
But now, this additional test had given them a chance. How could they not be excited and overjoyed?
’A mere bandit’s nest... With so many of us Martial Scholars gathered here, how could we possibly fail to take it?’
Their leader, the man surnamed Chen, was Chen Hu, a direct descendant of the Chen Family.
The Chen Family was one of the top three Noble Families in Shanyang Prefecture. The Chen Family’s patriarch was once the Mansion Master of Shanyang Prefecture itself. However, the clan later suffered from a lack of successors and a generational gap among its masters. As a result, they were surpassed by the Zhu Family and relegated to a second-tier family.
Even so, they remained a renowned family in Shanyang Prefecture.
Chen Hu himself was ranked second among the Martial Scholars in the Shanyang Prefecture Examination.
Chen Hu, however, had his own ambitions. He had always hoped to make a stunning impression during the Prefecture Examination.
He wanted to take the top spot, win the championship in one fell swoop, and make a grand name for himself.
His success was all but guaranteed.
Because of this, Chen Hu was all the more eager to destroy the stronghold in a single stroke and make his name.
Thus, for this additional test, he vigorously encouraged several other Martial Scholars to join him. He was so determined to take the top spot that he didn’t even hesitate to use the connections left to him by his father’s generation.
That was how he had managed to gather so many Martial Scholars.
At this moment, in terms of sheer power, his group was without a doubt the strongest among all the Martial Scholars.
"Everyone, don’t be hasty. As for Tenglong Stronghold’s true strength, let’s have someone else test the waters for us first." Although he was actually quite anxious himself, Chen Hu managed to be patient, deciding it was best to wait.
As a scion of a great family, he had actually arranged for someone to notify his family the day he left Shanyang Prefecture City, two days ago, asking them to investigate the details of the Prefecture Examination’s target.
’By my calculations, the report should be arriving soon. I’ll wait a little longer. It’s better to act once I have a clear understanding of the situation.’
"Everyone, quiet down. Chen is right, we should wait and see." Someone immediately chimed in to support him.
This group, however, managed to restrain themselves.
But there were definitely some who could not.
Another group, a small, self-organized band of about twenty Martial Scholars, launched a direct attack on the stronghold as soon as they arrived in the vicinity of Tenglong Stronghold.
Instantly, most of the Martial Scholars who had already arrived at the scene began to observe the situation, each using their own methods.
If the attack went well, they would surely swarm in to join the fray.
If it didn’t, they would naturally have to reconsider their plans.
For Tenglong Stronghold to have become the only bandit force in Sanshui County—and indeed, in the entire border region of three prefectures—
and to have survived to this day despite facing numerous campaigns by the government’s Guard Army,
meant that it naturally had some extraordinary qualities.
Tenglong Stronghold was built atop a sheer precipice, surrounded on three sides by cliffs so steep that ordinary people could not possibly climb them.
The only approach was a long, narrow path that allowed no more than three people to walk abreast.
With such terrain alone, it was naturally exceedingly difficult for an ordinary Guard Army to launch an assault.
But they, the Martial Scholars, were an exception.
Even the most treacherous cliffs were scalable for them, given enough time.
A fortress capable of defending against an army of thousands would be utterly defenseless against a surprise attack from a large group of Martial Scholars if it lacked a master to hold the line.
And so, this dozen or so Martial Scholars passed through the treacherous terrain with great ease, arriving at the base of the stronghold to begin their assault.
Only then did the bandits guarding the stronghold discover the Martial Scholars.
However, the bandits’ reaction time was not slow. In just two breaths, they had already prepared their defenses.