“A sound.” As an internal martial arts practitioner who had cultivated to the late stage of Gang Jin, Teng Shou’s hearing was exceptionally acute.
He listened intently.
“Brother, how much longer until we reach the Xingyi Sect?”
“Haha, don't rush. We are within the Merchant Caravan of the Qingshan Guild Hall. In about ten days or half a month, we’ll reach Dayan Mountain. Then you’ll see what the sacred land of internal martial arts truly is. Your current skill might let you dominate our village, but once we reach Dayan Mountain, you’ll know that there’s always a higher heaven and a greater man.”
Amidst the caravan, the clamor of over a thousand youths never ceased, each one thrilled by the prospect of entering the Xingyi Sect at Dayan Mountain. Little did they know... a disaster was about to befall them.
“Hmm?”
Teng Shou’s ears twitched. He filtered out the sounds of the caravan and finally caught the faintest whispers in the distance. Because they were in the wilderness, the cold wind was immense, and he couldn't make out the words clearly for a moment.
“People. And quite a few of them,” Teng Shou’s gaze settled on the snow-covered wilderness mountain afar.
...
Behind that desolate mountain, a group of martial artists, all clad in silver armor, stood holding their breath, awaiting their leader's commands.
“Gentlemen, a thousand days of training for a moment of use. Today, it is up to you,” the leader swept his chilling gaze across the assembled group and stated in a low voice, “This Qingshan Guild Hall caravan contains over a thousand internal martial arts practitioners who wish to join the Xingyi Sect. We have only two possible outcomes if we strike—”
“Either we die, or they all die!” The low, cold, and stern voice echoed from behind the desolate mountain.
“Yes.”
Over a hundred men nodded in unison, their eyes sharp and resolute.
“Move!” With the leader’s order, the more than one hundred warriors in silver battle armor, carrying bows and arrows on their backs, instantly charged out from behind the mountain like lightning.
The caravan moved slowly along the official road like a long dragon, but Teng Shou’s attention was entirely fixed on the wilderness mountain.
“Hoo~~ Hoo~~”
The cold wind howled through the wilderness.
Suddenly—rapid footsteps sounded.
“Bandits! Be careful!” Teng Shou roared, the sound tearing through the silence. The entire caravan seemed to ‘whoosh’ as everyone skillfully contracted towards the center, while the caravan guards instantly drew their weapons, or readied their bows, instantly forming a defensive line.
It was common for the caravan to face bandits, so their reactions were practiced. Teng Shou only yelled ‘bandits’ so as to prevent general panic.
“How dare they rob us?”
“They’re courting death.”
Many hot-blooded youths, mostly armed with long spears and some with blades, were eager to test their mettle, eyeing the silent warriors in silver battle armor charging toward them like beasts spotting prey.
“But these bandits are all wearing armor. And it’s not some cheap, inferior make,” these internal martial arts disciples quickly grew vigilant.
“Hoo!”
A slightly taller man in silver armor raised his right hand high. Instantly, the more than one hundred men halted simultaneously. This scene of 'immediate obedience to command' shocked the Qingshan Guild Hall caravan. To maintain such discipline while running at full speed, following a leader's hand signal, was something only a truly elite team could achieve.
“Quite quick to react,” a low voice sounded from the man in silver armor. He had intended to charge in and wreak havoc immediately, but he hadn't expected them to be discovered so fast, nor their countermeasure to be so swift. Since a surprise attack was off the table, they would fight head-on!
Whoosh!
The more than one hundred silent warriors simultaneously drew the longbows from their backs, instantly drawing the strings and nocking arrows. All the arrows were aimed generally toward the caravan. Within the caravan, many guards also held bows, ready to fire.
“Who are you? This is the Qingshan Guild Hall Caravan! Retreat immediately, lest you draw steel!” the caravan leader barked coldly.
“Not good, their arrows are poisoned!” someone in the caravan suddenly shouted. It was apparent from the icy arrowheads of those silent warriors that they bore a faint trace of azure blue.
Hearing the word ‘poison,’ the caravan leader’s face darkened, and he immediately roared, “Fire arrows!”
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Suddenly, hundreds of arrows tore through the air. The more than one hundred silent warriors merely dodged slightly; only about twenty percent were struck, but their impacts elicited only a dull ‘clang.’ The arrows flew dozens of feet before failing to penetrate the silver battle armor of these warriors.
The leader sneered, “Gentlemen, kill them all!”
With that command, the hundred silent warriors simultaneously loosed the arrows in their hands. The arrowheads, each shimmering with azure poison light, upon leaving the bow—
“Roar~~”
A terrifying roar, seeming to rise from the very earth, abruptly erupted, causing involuntary tremors, and spread across the wilderness. Simultaneously, a vague phantom instantly materialized in front of the caravan, and a hurricane spontaneously generated. A powerful gale whipped madly, kicking up massive amounts of snow, rocks, and dirt, sweeping toward the hundred warriors.
The speed of the arrows was drastically reduced within the hurricane, and some were even blown back scattered and reversed. Only a few arrows that had been shot farther afield escaped the blast.
Hoo~~ Hoo~~
The hurricane howled, a chaos of flying sand and stone. The hundred silent warriors, who had been utterly confident moments before, were greatly shocked. Under the gale, they couldn't see clearly ahead, and some warriors involuntarily began to float slightly, struggling to remain steady even after employing techniques like the ‘Thousand-Jin Weight Drop.’
“Where did this strange wind come from?” many warriors muttered in alarm.
“Separate! Head for the mountain!” the leader cried urgently.
The hundred warriors immediately charged swiftly toward the mountain, reasoning that this gale could not move a small hill.
The ghostly hurricane that had appeared so strangely vanished as abruptly as it came.
“Hmm?” Sensing the wind’s dissipation, many silver-armored warriors who had reached the edge of the mountain turned back in confusion.
They saw the Six-Legged Saber-Chirr hovering in front of the caravan. It was its two pairs of wings that had generated that terrifying hurricane, directly scattering the barrage of arrows. The four arms and two leg-blades of the Six-Legged Saber-Chirr all gleamed with an icy sheen. Its blood-red eyes were even more chilling.
“It’s a Void Realm demonic beast—the ‘Saber-Chirr!’” The leader’s face instantly turned ashen white, and he roared, “Run!!!”
“Too late,” Teng Shou, inside the caravan, revealed a cold smile.
“Roar~~” The Six-Legged Saber-Chirr’s blood-red eyes flashed. Then, a dense swarm—all the barbs from one of its saber-arms—flew out and suspended themselves before it. A total of one hundred barbs, neatly arranged in ten rows of ten barbs each, floated there. Immediately—
Buzz!
The hundred barbs shot forward through the air instantly. How could such speed be easily avoided? The hundred silver-armored warriors stationed before the mountain heard sickening Thwack! Thwack! sounds as the barbs pierced their armor. Before the Saber-Chirr’s ‘barb attack,’ the armor seemed as flimsy as paper. Blood leaked from the holes.
Thud! Thud! Warrior after warrior crashed to the ground.
However, the Six-Legged Saber-Chirr’s ‘barb attack’ was an area-of-effect attack; it could only target a general zone, launching all one hundred barbs at once. It couldn't individually control each one. This meant the move was most effective against tightly packed armies. If the troops were too spread out, one hundred barbs might only kill a dozen or two. This time, the Six-Legged Saber-Chirr’s initial ‘sifting’ sweep resulted in only eighteen casualties.
“Hoo!” But those hundred barbs gathered again and swept through a second time. The group of warriors was like standing targets.
“How can there be a Void Realm demonic beast here?”
“How could this happen?”
Many of the previously silent warriors let out furious growls.
“Someone betrayed us!”
“Who betrayed us!” Angry shouts erupted from every silver-armored warrior.
“Kill!” “Kill!” These silver-armored warriors went mad, roaring as they dispersed widely from each other, then charged madly toward the caravan. Simultaneously, the surviving silver-armored warriors drew their bows. For an army approaching two thousand strong, the spread of their arrows was considerable.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
While the Six-Legged Saber-Chirr was slaughtering them, arrows flew toward various points in the caravan. Due to the wide spread, the Saber-Chirr couldn't intercept many.
Thwack! Thwack!
The Six-Legged Saber-Chirr ‘sifted’ through them two more times with its hundred barbs. Of the original hundred-plus warriors, only about ten were still running.
“Who betrayed us!”
“Who!” These warriors screamed in fury, yet they pulled out a small sphere from their chests and hurled it violently toward the caravan.
“Hold your breath!” a loud shout echoed throughout the entire caravan.
Yellow mist began to spread. The Six-Legged Saber-Chirr transformed into a phantom and, in just one breath, killed the remaining ten-plus attackers. From start to finish, these highly capable warriors never managed to engage the caravan in close combat... there was no choice, as the Saber-Chirr's speed was too frightening, and its crowd-control ability was astonishing.
The caravan soon stabilized.
“What is the damage?” Teng Shou frowned. The caravan leader’s face was etched with anger. He replied respectfully, “These warriors were too ruthless; their poisoned arrows meant instant death upon impact. We lost two guards, one merchant, and two internal martial arts youths unfortunately.”
Teng Shou’s expression shifted.
“And their blades and swords were also coated in poison,” the caravan leader ground his teeth. “If not for the esteemed lords such as yourselves, those hundred men might have wiped out our entire caravan.” They could all see that those hundred men were elites among elites, far surpassing the newly trained internal martial arts youths.
“Among those we captured who were severely wounded but not dead... three guards were accidentally killed by them,” the caravan leader said, barely restraining his fury. “Afterward, all the living prisoners committed suicide.”
Teng Shou’s face grew grimmer.
“Investigate them. From their appearance and everything else, find out who they are,” Teng Shou ordered quietly. “I refuse to believe that such a group of masters, where the weakest is a first-rate expert among second-tier martial artists, numbering over a hundred, could leave no trace. Investigate their blades, swords, and armor as well.”
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