Chapter 1739 - 1741: Defense
The wine jars were smashed open, and the wine spilled out.
The brothers from the Escort Agency were getting anxious, this escort mission was a wasted trip; the goods were destroyed, and they would have to compensate.
They didn’t know who the attackers were; they stayed hidden in the shadows, only shooting arrows. Even with their martial skills, they were at a loss.
Each of them looked towards the Store Manager, seeking a breakthrough.
Yang Ming was certainly anxious too, but this was no time for panic; he had to remain calm as his brothers needed him.
Seeing the wine jars broken, Yang Ming realized this might not be a robbery; if it were a robbery, they wouldn’t disregard the goods on the carriage. So he shouted around, "Who are you, and what grudge do you have with our Xuntian Escort Agency? We always make friends widely; if we’ve offended you, please forgive us. Since our escort goods are destroyed already, can we meet face to face?"
But Yang Ming’s yelling did not sway them; the attackers still kept silent and continued shooting arrows.
Seeing the anxious looks in his brothers’ eyes, Yang Ming hurriedly gestured for everyone to stay hidden; their lives were most important, and without knowing the attackers’ location, to peek out would be deadly.
He didn’t believe they had an endless supply of arrows.
Receiving the Store Manager’s signal, the group decided to hold their ground.
Although Yang Ming said this, he himself did not stay idle. He reached for the bow and arrows strapped to his back and pulled back the bowstring while watching the direction the arrows came from.
He finally spotted it.
His hand held the bow tight.
A ’whoosh’ was heard as the arrow was released.
Soon after, they heard a cry of ’ah’ in agony.
Clearly, he had hit one of the attackers!
The brothers were all excited, thinking their Store Manager had a plan. But they were helpless without bows, only equipped with long knives to block the arrows coming at them, unable to retaliate.
At this moment, a few brothers carrying bows began to act; more ’whoosh’ sounds followed, along with cries of ’ah ah ah’. More hits were made.
Yang Ming kept searching for the attackers’ location, shifting his position, while gesturing to the brothers with bows to change their positions too, to avoid being located.
They fought against the hidden attackers like this for about a quarter of an hour.
However, all of this was seen by Ye Jinyan hiding behind the carriage.
As the arrows seemed to head toward him and his master, Qi Ming urgently wanted to defend, but was stopped by Ye Jinyan.
Qi Ming understood if he acted now, their identities would be exposed.
Fortunately, Yang Ming had moved away, leaving two individuals with knives to help block the arrows, sparing them from being injured.
A moment later, the sound of arrows ceased.
Both sides appeared to have run out of arrows!
If they wanted to continue fighting, they’d have to reveal themselves and battle with real blades.
Yang Ming waited for the moment, watching to see if the attackers would depart or intend to kill them.
Time ticked on, and those hidden in the shadows realized they had hoped to resolve the issue without losing a single soldier. They hadn’t expected the opponents to be so fierce, with defenses as strong as those of trained soldiers.
To complete the mission given by their superiors, they had no choice but to fight. So, with a gesture, all hidden attackers rushed out.