Chapter 158 - 134: Ambush
’Who were those people? Why did they go into the woods?’
From the shadows, Liu Chuanzhi had naturally seen the group of tall figures rush toward the woods from the distant slope.
’Where did these people come from? Why are they all so tall? And they’re charging right for the woods where the Black Wind Thieves are hiding.’
Before he could make sense of it, the sound of battle cries erupted from the distant woods.
The people who had charged in were fighting the Black Wind Thieves.
~~~~~~
On the other side, the men from the Mo Mountain Tribe had just charged into the woods, thinking they had reached safety.
But before they could even catch their breath, a volley of arrows rained down upon them.
Dozens of men in black, their faces twisted with malice, had appeared before them and were attacking.
"Damn it, we’ve been tricked! That bastard deserves to die for deceiving us!"
The Seventh Elder of the Mo Mountain Tribe immediately realized he had been ’deceived.’ The strength of their targets far exceeded their estimates, and someone had even placed men on their escape route to ’intercept’ them.
Who else could it be but the one who gave them the information!
But no matter how furious he was, no matter how much he wanted to tear the schemer to shreds...
...the immediate crisis was dire. It was very likely they would all die here.
"Elder, we’ll hold them off! You go first!"
Without waiting for his orders, several warriors from the Mo Mountain Tribe stepped forward and charged the men in black.
They were completely fearless, braving a hail of arrows to crash into the enemy ranks and clash with the men in black.
"Let’s go!"
Seeing his chance, the Seventh Elder of the Mo Mountain Tribe immediately led the remaining seven or eight tribesmen and fled in another direction.
~~~~~~~
’Hm? Something’s not right. Who are these people? They’re definitely not guards from the merchant caravan!’
Han Sanshan, the leader of the Black Wind Thieves, had been wondering how they were found. Their hiding spot was so well-concealed, yet someone had come barging in to kill them.
After fighting for a short while, he realized his opponents were abnormally tall and clad in animal skins. They were obviously not merchants or guards.
They were more like mountain people—savages from the deep mountains.
It seemed obvious that they had ’coincidentally’ run into these people, sparking the conflict.
Usually, his bandits had some dealings with the mountain people from the surrounding forests.
After all, it was a way to sell cheap daily necessities to the mountain people at inflated prices.
They usually kept to their own business, so why had these people attacked them today without a single word?
As Han Sanshan was still puzzling over it, the situation on the battlefield shifted once more.
He watched as a portion of the mountain people broke off and fled, while the few who remained launched a suicidal charge at his Bandits.
In the blink of an eye, the mountain people were cut down, but not before taking several of his own men with them.
"Get them! Don’t let a single one escape!"
He didn’t know what started all this, but now that blood had been shed, there was no room for mercy. He couldn’t let any of them get away.
At Han Sanshan’s command, all the Black Wind Thieves sprang into action.
Under the night sky, the forest was filled with battle cries, a chaotic mess of fighting.
~~~~~~~
’Hmm? Are there other people in the woods up ahead?’
Fang Yue had, of course, heard the battle cries from the woods. Something unexpected was clearly happening in there.
He immediately slowed his pace, concealing his presence as he crept closer.
Once inside the forest, he discovered that the men from the Mo Mountain Tribe were locked in combat with a group of men dressed in black.
’Who are these people?’
Unsure if they were friend or foe, Fang Yue didn’t make a move.
Instead, like a Hunter, he concealed himself and scanned the chaos below, searching for the Mo Mountain Tribe’s elder.
The other mountain people were fierce, but they weren’t his concern. Only the elder of the Mo Mountain Tribe was strong enough to pose a threat to him.
Shouts of battle, the sickening sound of blades tearing through flesh, agonized screams, and groans all mingled with the heavy downpour.
The men in black were more numerous, but the individual strength of the mountain people was formidable. Though they had been fighting for only a dozen breaths, both sides had already suffered dead and wounded.
Soon, however, the men from the Mo Mountain Tribe began to flee.
The men in black, of course, wouldn’t let them go, pursuing them while still fighting.
At that moment, Fang Yue spotted the Seventh Elder of the Mo Mountain Tribe. His tall frame made him easy to recognize.
The Seventh Elder was currently engaged with one of the black-clad Martial Artists.
The man in black was quite strong himself, another Martial Artist who had achieved Great Success in Marrow Transformation.
Ordinarily, this man would be no match for the Mo Mountain Tribe elder. However, the effects of the Beast Blood were now fading from the elder’s body, leaving him increasingly weak. As one’s strength waned while the other’s remained constant, the two found themselves locked in a stalemate.
Fang Yue immediately drew his bow,
aimed at his target, and let out a cold shout.
"Die!"
The bowstring thrummed. The arrow pierced the curtain of rain, its incredible force causing the surrounding raindrops to explode, forming a small vortex in the air.
WHOOSH!
The arrow became a meteor streaking across the sky, flying straight for the Seventh Elder of the Mo Mountain Tribe.
The Seventh Elder naturally sensed the movement behind him, and his expression turned grim.
He wanted to dodge, but he was tangled up with his opponent, unable to evade. If he dodged the arrow, he would surely be struck by the man’s broad-ringed saber.
Choosing the lesser of two evils, the Seventh Elder made his decision in an instant. He twisted his body, avoiding the incoming broad-ringed saber.
THWACK!
A spray of blood erupted as the arrow pierced straight through his shoulder, blood gushing from the wound.
"AHH!"
The pain made the Seventh Elder cry out. His face turned white as a sheet, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.
The arrow had pierced clean through his shoulder, making it impossible to put any strength into that arm.
Now, with one injury compounding another, the Seventh Elder knew that if he kept fighting, he would surely die.
He immediately broke away from Han Sanshan and, abandoning his remaining tribesmen, fled north.
Since the man was determined to flee, Han Sanshan had no desire to risk his own life in a fight to the death.
Besides, the archer hiding in the shadows made him wary. He had no idea if this person was a friend or an enemy.
For a moment, he held back, not giving chase.
"I wonder which friend lent a hand. I am in your debt."
Han Sanshan kept most of his body hidden behind a tree, not daring to expose himself. He wouldn’t be so arrogant as to present a target to such a master archer.
Especially when he didn’t know their allegiance. A man like him would never bet his life based on a single action.
But he waited for a long time, and the sounds of battle around him gradually faded, leaving only the sound of the rain.
He never received a response.
’Hm? Did they leave?’ Han Sanshan wondered. Still, he waited a little longer before stepping out from behind the tree.
The first thing he did was look toward the direction the arrow had come from, but the spot was already empty.
~~~~~~
’I will have my revenge. The messenger must die, the one who took the scepter must die! Everyone here tonight must die!’
The Seventh Elder of the Mo Mountain Tribe fled relentlessly, his body growing weaker as he left a trail of blood in his wake.
After the Mo Mountain Tribe had been defeated, very few of its people had survived.
The men he had brought with him today represented more than half of the elite among the survivors. He had thought they could easily retrieve the scepter, then travel to their ancestral lands, unearth the Secret Treasure left by their forebears, and rebuild the Mo Mountain Tribe.
But he never imagined the intelligence would be so wrong. They had been utterly deceived.
As a result, all the elite warriors he’d brought with him had died, returning to the embrace of the Beast God. He had to avenge this.
Just then, the Seventh Elder suddenly threw himself to the side, ignoring his injuries as he rolled into a nearby ditch.
Where he had been standing just a moment before, an arrow was now quivering in the ground, only its fletching visible.
The archer had caught up!
"You call yourself a warrior! If you have any guts, face me in an honorable, head-on battle!" Hiding in the ditch, the Seventh Elder’s mind raced, trying to figure out a way to escape.
In these conditions, if his opponent just kept shooting arrows, he wouldn’t be able to dodge more than a few times, nor could he escape. He was completely defenseless and would be shot dead sooner or later.
His only hope of survival was to lure his opponent into close combat.
"Fine," Fang Yue’s voice called out. "Come on out, and we’ll have an honorable fight."
The Seventh Elder heard this, but he still didn’t trust him.
He immediately called out again, "Swear an oath! If you deceive me, may you never advance another inch in your Martial Dao!"
"Fine, I agree!"
Fang Yue agreed to the oath without a moment’s hesitation.
Hearing this, the Seventh Elder climbed out of the ditch he was hiding in.
But in the next instant, an arrow flew through the air and pierced him directly through the heart.
Even as he fell to the ground, he couldn’t believe it. How could Fang Yue be so treacherous! He’d sworn an oath, yet he hadn’t honored his promise!
’Finally dead.’
Fang Yue walked over to the Seventh Elder’s body. After a kill, it was only natural to search the corpse.
As for why he had dared to make such an oath, it was because he was now on the path of a Qi Cultivator. His cultivation was different from that of a Martial Artist, so he naturally had no fear of such a vow.
Besides, it was always best to press one’s advantage and pursue a routed enemy. He was a modern man at heart; he wasn’t about to let a silly oath get in his way.
So, the man couldn’t complain about how he died!
Even if the Seventh Elder had stayed hidden, it would only have been prolonging the inevitable. He couldn’t have held out for much longer.
It was only a matter of time. Luring him out simply saved him a little effort; the outcome would have been the same regardless.
"What a pauper."
After searching the body from top to bottom, Fang Yue realized this elder from the Mo Mountain Tribe was dirt poor.
Other than a single piece of gold and a piece of animal hide, there was nothing else on him.
He really was a pauper. It didn’t match his status at all!